Geneva Area Pond Club's free meeting on July 6

Today's meeting will be held beside Eric Fiechter's lovely pond in his flower-filled garden. The pond measures 6 meters by 3.8 meters, and is a meter deep. That totals more than 20 cubic meters of water, giving his fish and aquatic plants plenty of room to grow. We can look down on them all from the beautifully designed bridge adjoining the pond.

Eric built his first pond 30 years ago, with the help of another Geneva Area Pond Club member, Guy Loutan. He's built other ponds since then, so Eric's a good source of advice for gardeners creating their first pond. The pond we'll see on July 6 was created in the space formerly occupied by three smaller ponds. Photos of the construction are in the 'Photos' section of the club's web site. Log on to the album titled 'Eric Fiechter's pond' at http://ponds.meetup.c... to see details of the construction. You can click on each photo to enlarge it, and scroll down the page to see albums of other club members' ponds.

The main topic of discussion at today's meeting will be what to do about the frogs that discover and move into our ponds. Most water gardeners love the sounds these fascinating amphibians make, enhancing our feeling of being close to nature. Unfortunately, many neighbors don't share our enthusiasm. When club leaders Suzanne and Peter found that frogs had moved into their ponds in Nyon, they were pleased to provide a home for them. But complaints from a neighbor pressured Peter to catch all the frogs (mostly by hand, for a total of 37 frogs) and move them to join other frogs in the lake in Divonne. Eric and other club members have similar problems, so everyone at this meeting will discuss their own experiences and solutions for this situation.

Full details of the July 6 meeting are at the club's web site at http://ponds.meetup.c.... Above its description is a blue link marked 'Eric Fiechter's home and garden.' Clicking on that link brings up a Google map showing how to get to the meeting location. Below the map you can click on 'Get directions,' type in your own address, then click to get step-by-step travel directions to drive from your home to Eric's. The map and directions can be printed for your drive to the event.

Visitors are always welcome at all these free pond club meetings, so invite any interested friends and neighbors to come along. They can read all about the club and how to navigate the web site's many informative pages at http://ponds.meetup.c.... They can also click on the red link marked 'Sign up' to instantly get free membership in the club. We now have 108 families or individuals who are current members, and more are always welcome.

All pond cub meetings are listed in the 'Calendar' section of the web site at http://ponds.meetup.c.... Click on each event's title to read its full details, then submit your RSVP by clicking Yes, Maybe, or No to indicate whether you can attend or not. Meeting hosts prepare snacks and drinks in advance for those who attend, so they have to know who's coming and who isn't coming. If your plans change, you can always return to the meeting's description page to revise your RSVP.

If your busy life means you can't attend any of the meetings already on our schedule, consider hosting a meeting on a date more convenient for you. The club always meets from 3 to 6 PM on the first and third Sundays of every month. You can choose one of those free Sundays to host a meeting in your own home or garden. Hosting entails little more than providing some snacks and drinks for those who attend. To reserve your preferred date for a meeting chez vous, write to the club's leaders at PeterSuzanne2@hotmail.com, or call them in Nyon at 0041 22 362 03 60.

But first submit your RSVP above to indicate if you can attend the July 6 meeting. We look forward to greeting at this event many of the new members who recently joined the club. Come to see Eric's beautiful pond, and to meet his entire family.