Geneva Area Pond Club's free meeting on March 2

We're continuing to meet in a different club member's home and garden on the first and third Sundays of every month. The March 2 meeting will be hosted by new club member Andreas Luchsinger in the village of Conches, on the outskirts of Geneva.

We meet in a different home and garden every time so that we can see many different styles of ponds. Each has different features, like fountains, streams, waterfalls, islands, stepping-stones, sculptures, bridges, lighting, etc. We can then be inspired to enhance our own ponds, or design new ponds incorporating the features we like.

Andreas installed a bridge to span his 2.5 x 5 meter pond, and stocked the pond with goldfish, water lilies and water plantain. He maintains the pond himself, although most of his time is spent in a wheelchair. He speaks English, French and German. You can phone him for travel directions to his home, but it's better to click the blue link above marked 'Info/Map.' That will bring up a Google road map to Conches in which you can zoom in and out. Under the map you can click on the link marked 'Get directions,' type your address in the box provided, and then read (and print) clear travel directions from your home to the meeting place in Conches.

Every Geneva Area Pond Club meeting is described on the club's informative web site at http://ponds.meetup.c.... Just click on the site's 'Calendar' section at http://ponds.meetup.c... for a list of all future meetings. Click on each event's title to get its full description, then submit your RSVP by clicking Yes, Maybe, or No to indicate if you can attend. Meeting hosts prepare snacks and drinks for all who attend, so they have to know in advance who's coming and who isn't coming.

Now that everyone's pond is coming out of its winter hibernation, we can again see the beauty of many club members' ponds. If you'd like other club members to admire your own pond and its unique features, consider hosting a meeting in your own home or garden soon. The club meets on the first and third Sundays of every month. To reserve a convenient date for hosting a meeting chez vous, write to club leaders Suzanne and Peter at PeterSuzanne2@hotmail.com.

Meetings can be hosted only by pond club members, but membership is free and without obligation. Instant membership is available right on the club's web site, by clicking the red link marked 'Sign up.' Currently 97 families or individuals are members of the club, and membership continues to grow. Members can be informed of all upcoming meetings, and enjoy the other benefits of membership.

Among those benefits is the right to determine how the club should be run. Everyone can read the options in the web site's 'Polls' section at http://ponds.meetup.c..., but only members can vote to affect the outcome. Members can click on each question to see its options, then click to see the results of the polling so far. Members can then submit or change their votes, and instantly see the change in the results.

Only members can have photos of their ponds posted in the web site's 'Photos' section at http://ponds.meetup.c.... Digital photos can be submitted by e-mail to Peter, who will upload them in the album titled 'Club members' ponds.' If you submit at least ten photos with their captions, you'll be assigned your own album. For an example of such an album, log on to http://ponds.meetup.c.... The 'Photos' section also features other albums displaying 400 captioned pictures of pond plants and pond fish to help identify the available varieties.

Members and non-members alike can browse through the rest of the web site for more information. The 'Messages' section at http://ponds.meetup.c... features dozens of tutorial articles about designing, constructing and maintaining garden ponds in the Geneva area. It also includes offers of free fish and plants, plus pond questions by some members and helpful answers by other members.

The site's 'Files' section at http://ponds.meetup.c... features some of Peter's illustrated articles. They had been published on the largest pond web site on the Internet, Water Gardens International, where Peter is the editor for all articles from Europe. It also includes road maps and driving directions to the club's more popular meeting places.

The 'Welcome' section at http://ponds.meetup.c... lists the latest changes in our club and its web site, such as the newest members, articles, photos, messages, etc. The 'About Us' section at http://ponds.meetup.c... explains everything about the club, and how to navigate the many pages of its extensive web site. Enjoy exploring the entire site.

But first submit your RSVP for the March 2 meeting to be held in Conches. We hope to see all the regular members there, plus some of the newcomers who joined the club this winter. Eveyone's welcome, so bring your interested friends and neighbors along.