Greetings everyone,
It’s August already as we leave this partially wet July behind. Remember to check your trees as the temps climb higher and higher in the month.
Prairie State Bonsai society has exciting news to share. In-person meetings are once again not only a possibility but will begin again in October. How fun it will be to be able to once again meet in person. Please remember to start thinking about what to bring for our raffle table and get a ticket. Stay tuned for more information.
As Dean recuperates from surgery we are going to have two more zoom meetings. First, the long-awaited Tropical program by David Cutchin. David came through the Hurricane unscathed and is ready to share a few of his favorite trees for inspiration and ideas. I had the chance to get to know David during the Bonsai Societies of Florida or BSF show this past May. He is a wealth of knowledge and has just joined Bonsai Mirai’s teaching staff as the resident Tropical specialist. We are very lucky to have David joining us and I hope everyone can tune in.
September brings one last zoom meeting with none other than Rodney Clemmons as the guest lecturer. Rodney hails from Georgia where he has a beautiful nursery. Many of you also might remember him for Brussels Bonsai where he teaches each year at Rendezvous. He is known for his rock plantings and azaleas. I would advise members to log in early to save your virtual seat as Rodney will surely not disappoint. The date is the 1st. of September so mark your calendars.
A huge thank you to Nick DiBattista for all the work he has put in as our current special events chair. As a result of Nick’s hard work along with many others currently serving on our board the picnic, this past weekend was a huge success. We even picked up a couple of new potential members. Welcome!
Our sister club is having its annual show on the third weekend of this month. Please consider showing a tree and taking a workshop. All levels are welcome. The Midwest Show will be held the weekend of August 19- 22nd. at the Chicago Botanic Garden. The exercise of prepping your tree by getting it ready for the show is a great learning experience within itself along with the advice, feedback, and compliments you will get during the show. Our very own Phil Malhiot is this year’s guest artist. Congratulations to Phil who has been a longtime member and past president of our club. I look forward to the event and supporting Phil at the show. Hope to see you there.
Finally, we are looking for articles for the newsletter. Please let me know if you have an interesting topic or tree you would like to discuss.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Price
