The Austin Pond Society held their May Meeting this past Monday which was attended by around 40 of its Members. This meeting was a combination of Speaker Presentation and as it is also the last meeting before the Tour, a lot of time was dedicated to wrapping up the final details which included handing out the packages to the Owners and Volunteers.

The Members were treated to fried chicken with the fixins brought in by the members as were the deserts. Incidentally, none of the chicken remained at the end of the meal.

Prior to the Speaker’s Presentation, Barb, our President, went around the room asking if we had any new members and for them to say a bit about themselves. As it happened, at least four of the people and maybe more, were not pond people but were there to listen to the Speaker, Katie Boyer who is the Monarch Conservation Coordinator for the Southeast Region of the US Fish and Wildlife Services. Monarchs, it appears, are a popular subject. Our meetings are open to all and we welcomed them with open arms.

Following Barbs introduction, Ted, our Pond Tour Director had some words of wisdom to impart about the upcoming Tour. At this point it was time for the Speaker and she kept us interested for the next hour talking about a subject which is obviously her passion. The video below is of her entire presentation.

After Katie had finished, we carried on with our normal business most of which was Pond Tour related. BJ made a brief presentation on when and how to fertilize water lilies which of course opened up a discussion on the subject. Ted had more to say about the upcoming Tour and presented the Owners and Volunteers that were in attendance with their packages.

The evening closed with the drawing for the raffle which is always a lot of fun. The next meeting will be June 17 and it will be dedicated to the Pond Owners who had put their ponds on the Tour each of whom will be given the opportunity to discuss their experiences.

Written 5/25/2019