Geneva Area Pond Club's free meeting on February 3

Pond club leaders Suzanne and Peter know it's the middle of winter and everyone's pond fish are hibernating. But they also know most of our club's members aren't hibernating, so we're meeting on Sunday, February 3. Of the 27 members who voted so far in one of our online 'Polls' at http://ponds.meetup.c..., the majority have declared they want to continue attending meetings all winter. That may be because pond club meetings are social events, not just instructional. Many members have become close friends, and want to keep in touch all year 'round.

The February 3 meeting will be held in Suzanne and Peter's home in Nyon, about 15 minutes northeast of Geneva. Club members (only) can download clear road maps and written driving directions to their home by clicking on the web site's 'Files' section at http://ponds.meetup.c.... Non-members can instantly become members for free by clicking on the red link marked 'Sign up.'

The formal part of this meeting will consist of a question-and-answer session, with participation by amateurs and experts alike. Attendees can bring up any pond-related topic for discussion. Subjects can include the design and construction of ponds, the strength and longevity of various pond liners, the choice and installation of pond pumps, the addition and efficacy of pond fountains, the feeding and breeding of pond fish, the selection and propagation of pond plants, and problems and solutions we've all experienced.

The informal part of the meeting, as usual, is bound to bring up every other subject under the sun that's not at all related to ponds. Animated conversations and lots of laughs about everything occur spontaneously at these meetings in every conversational group, fortified by the hosts' varied offerings of snacks and drinks. Newcomers attending meetings for the first time, whether they're members or visitors, frequently tell the club's leaders how friendly all the members are. If this will be your first pond club meeting, you'll feel as welcome as if you've been attending for years.

If you're not available to attend on February 3, check out our future meetings in the web site's 'Calendar' section at http://ponds.meetup.c.... Click on each meeting's title to read its location and full details, then click Yes, Maybe, or No to indicate if you can attend. Meeting hosts have to know whom to expect and whom not to expect, so be sure to submit your RSVP.

If Mohammed won't come to the mountain, the mountain can come to Mohammed. That is to say, if you can't leave home to attend a meeting, the meeting can come to you in your own home. Especially in winter and early spring when few people go to these events, hosting a club meeting involves little more than providing some snacks and drinks for those who attend. The club meets on the first and third Sunday of every month. To reserve an ideal date to host a meeting in your own home or garden, write to Suzanne and Peter in Nyon at PeterSuzanne2@hotmail.com.

If you'll be hosting or attending your first meeting, you can see what previous meetings were like right on the club's web site. Click on our 'Past Events List' at http://ponds.meetup.c... to read a description of our 47 previous meetings, and see what some of the attendees said about each event. If you haven't already done so, you can write your own review of any meetings you attended.

Every other section of the web site can be informative to members and non-members alike. The 'Welcome' section at http://ponds.meetup.c... shows the latest changes to the club or its web site, such as the newest members, photos, articles, polls and files. The 'About Us' section at http://ponds.meetup.c... describes the club, and how to navigate the web site. The 'Members' section at http://ponds.meetup.c... lists the 87 families or individuals who are current members of the club.

The web site's 'Photos' section at http://ponds.meetup.c... includes a dozen albums of captioned photos of pond fish, pond plants, and club members' ponds. The 'Messages' section at http://ponds.meetup.c... has pond questions and answers from club members, their offers of pond equipment, free fish and plants, and dozens of Peter's tutorial articles about pond mainenance. His published illustrated articles are in the 'Files' section at http://ponds.meetup.c.... Browse through the entire web site.