President’s Message
May 2021
May is upon us, and still we are in limbo as to when the state is going to open up larger formal gatherings that will facilitate our club’s monthly meetings. No one could have seen this coming a year ago, but with newer regulations opening up for restaurants and professional sporting events, we can now see progress in the right direction. We could be just a few months away with vaccinations taking on a larger percentage of Californians and the opening up of vaccinations to all age groups.
Club Programming
I will be holding a board meeting this month for everyone to gather and decide how the club wants to move forward once the restrictions are removed. The club needs to find out how many active club members we have at present as we move forward to the remaining months of this year. Meeting programs and demonstrators for the months ahead will need to be scheduled so we all will look forward to our monthly meetings ahead. But it will take everyone that had previously attended meetings to reach out and take part in supporting our monthly meetings in order to justify this club’s existence.
We are at a very important pivotal point with so many club members not sharing in the zoom programs that have taken place monthly. We need everyone to make a special effort to support the club’s meetings ahead and be there as we open the church facilities and once again get back to our twice monthly meetings.
As I look back over this past year and few months how easy it has been to slip into a new routine — one based upon our COVID issues daily. How are we going to readjust that routine? Are we going to get back into a more active social type of interaction with others and be there at our meetings where we have that interaction? We all need each other’s help, we all need to share our bonsai knowledge that will strengthen our bonsai skills and see the great results that come from an active bonsai club. Some of my most memorable meetings the club has had over the years is seeing everyone working together at our third Thursday workshops with all the tables full of club members working diligently on their various trees supported by senior club members helping those that need assistance. It is my hope to see this vision once again, but we all need to be vigilant and reach out when meeting opportunities are available for everyone’s sake.
Rewarding and Satisfying
On a more positive note, I want to once again encourage club members that want to reach out for additional opportunities to further their bonsai knowledge by signing up for Ryan Neil’s weekly bonsai programs called “Mirai Live”. Ryan is giving away weekly bonsai skills at the highest level for everyone in this country to get on the bandwagon and take on the world — even Japan. Ryan has made it easy for everyone to signup for a small monthly fee. He does three weekly programs all designed to further your bonsai skills and answer any questions you may have live. Just Google “Mirai Live”, and follow the needed instructions to get on board!
Watching our trees putting on their new foliage and growth spurt is an exciting time of year for me, especially the month of May. Watering my trees, fertilizing them, and seeing them prosper from your loving care is very rewarding and satisfying. Getting up early and feeling the warmth of the morning sun and doing your daily chores makes for a meaningful start of the day. I hope everyone is experiencing this same content we share with this incredible earth we live on.
Have a great month doing bonsai everyone!