November Meeting Update

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Santa Anita Bonsai Society November 2020 meeting is cancelled

Santa Anita Bonsai Society Members,

The fall season is upon us.  We have been having some warm weather, but forecasts are showing cooler weather soon.  My trees are trying to figure it out.  Some have dropped leaves while others are still holding onto leaves.  It is interesting to watch the variations.

The Arboretum is still closed for use of its classrooms, so there will be no meeting in November.  As long as the virus case numbers fail to meet County standards for opening, it appears nothing will change soon.

Searching “bonsai” brings up a lot information to pick through and explore. There is a great deal of bonsai activity online for those interested in exploring.  Tom Lau has done a series of videos for Baikoen, visiting bonsai collections and nurseries.  The YouTube link for the videos is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7fXUS6h9Dw0BFlhagik-wA

The California Bonsai Society also has a YouTube page you can view for interviews with visiting artists at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIceyAUJsaSjDlccfiZPM6w

For those of you interested in traveling: The 12th Annual Fresno Bonsai Society Bonsai Yard Sale is Saturday Nov 14th 2020  at the Clovis Botanical Garden, Clovis, CA. 9am- 1pm.  All things Bonsai to buy, sell or swap.  For more info contact Mike Saul at  tinytreeme@sbcglobal.net 

The committee planning the Bonsai-A-Thon is working with the Huntington to settle on dates and parameters for the event; possibly in February 2021, details when available.

CBS is planning their annual show for Mar 19-21, 2021 at the Huntington.  I will share details as they come in.

I am hopeful we will also have a show in 2021.  Plan for our usual Memorial Day weekend show at the Arboretum, and we will work out the details with the Arboretum.  I look forward to the Arboretum providing guidelines for a safe show.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Lorraine & I at [email protected] or via our website at www.sabonsai.org  

Continue to stay safe and stay well.  I look forward to hopefully seeing you soon.

Dave

October Meeting Update

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Santa Anita Bonsai Society Members,

We will not have a meeting at the Arboretum in October.  They can not use their buildings for meetings yet.

I recently received the 2021 Reservation Form for our meetings year.  I reserved our regular second-Saturday dates, so hopefully, regular meetings will resume no later than the end of this year.

A bonsai-sale notice went out on our website and emails recently for the tree collection of long-time club member Heriberto Valdes.  Heriberto’s wife, Raquel, was pleased with the sale but still has many trees left.  We scheduled another sale at her home for Saturday, October 10, from 9a-4p. at the following address:

9209 Downey Ave., Downey, CA

Phone contacts:
Hm 562-861-8162
Cell 562-619-9033

There are some very nice junipers in the collection as well as other tree varieties.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Lorraine & I at [email protected] or via our website at www.sabonsai.org  

Continue to stay safe and stay well.  I look forward to hopefully seeing you soon.

Dave

Private Bonsai Sale

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Dear Members and any interested bonsai enthusiast,

Our club was contacted recently through our web page by a woman named Raquel Mizrahi. Raquel said her uncle passed away and left a bonsai collection of approximately 100 trees. She gave no further description.

Her aunt will be having a sale for the trees on Monday Sept.21. Anyone interested in attending the tree sale can contact Raquel and her aunt for the sale times and any other information. The address of the sale location is 9209 Downey Ave., Downey, CA. Telephone # 562-861-8162, Mobile Phone # 562-619-9033.

Dave

September Meeting Update

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Santa Anita Bonsai Society
September 2020 meeting is cancelled

Santa Anita Bonsai Society Members,

There will be no club meeting in September.  At this point, I could probably stop sending letters and repeating this message and just let you know when we can meet.  However, these letters are at least one way I can stay in touch with all of you.  The Santa Anita Bonsai Society still exists, and it is important to maintain our common interest in bonsai.  Even though we don’t meet, taking care of our trees is something we all share in spirit.  It is great therapy during the isolation caused by the virus.

We are coming to the end of summer and will soon be in the fall season.  The beautiful fall colors in our deciduous trees will put on a show for us to enjoy.  The strong summer growth patterns in most of our trees will begin to slow down.  We can start cutting back on pruning and use less nitrogen-based fertilizers.  Start turning to more potash and phosphorous feeding, and your trees will love it.

I hope you have had the opportunity to watch Peter Macasieb’s three-part twisted Itoigawa demonstration on our website.  Peter shares a lot of great information that is usable on any of our trees.  The videos are still on our website for viewing.  Thanks again to Peter, Matt, Song and Robert for making the videos possible for us.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Lorraine & I at [email protected] or via our website at www.sabonsai.org

Stay well and I will stay in touch,

Dave

Twisted Itoigawa Juniper Video Part 3

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It’s here!! In light of our current social distancing environment we asked Peter Macasieb to record some demonstrations to share with everyone while our bonsai meetings have still been on hold. Please enjoy part three of Peter’s demo as he continues to shows us how he creates twisted Itoigawa Junipers.

August Meeting Update

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Santa Anita Bonsai Society August 2020 meeting is cancelled

Santa Anita Bonsai Society Members,

The county has not yet approved the reopening of meeting rooms at the Arboretum, so our August meeting has been cancelled.  I hope all of you have been able to stay safe and healthy during this long period of ups and downs with covid-19.

The heat of summer is here, and watching our trees during the heat is important.  Watering in the morning before heat builds up allows our trees more time to use the moisture before evaporation.  When the temperatures exceed 100 degrees, a second, lighter application of water in the late afternoon can help trees recover from the excessive heat.  You can always do a basic moisture check by sticking your finger into the soil about an inch.  If it is dry, you should probably water.  Watch for wilting leaves that are otherwise healthy.  Your trees will tell you when they need water.

The third installment of Peter Macasieb’s twisted Itoigawa demonstration should be up on our website soon, so be sure to check it out.  It is a great lesson and worth trying out.

While you are on the computer, Google “bonsai” and you will find lots of bonsai related info and videos.  You can search “Tom Lau” and find his bonsai videos that are well done.  There is much to watch to help keep our enjoyment of bonsai satisfied.  The GSBF magazine “Golden Statements” is available at www.gsbfbonsai.org/Articles.asp?ID=291.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Lorraine & I at [email protected] or via our website at www.sabonsai.org

Stay well, and I will keep you informed about any upcoming chances to safely meet.

Dave

Twisted Itoigawa Juniper Video Part 2

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In light of our current social distancing environment we asked Peter Macasieb to record some demonstrations to share with everyone while our bonsai meetings have still been on hold. Please enjoy the second part of Peter’s demo as he shows us how he continues to create twisted Itoigawa Junipers.

July Meeting Update

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Santa Anita Bonsai Society July 2020 meeting is cancelled

Santa Anita Bonsai Society Members,

Hello to all of you. I continue to miss seeing you all in person and sharing the art of bonsai. I had hoped that a July club meeting might be possible, but the decision to cancel has been made.

The July meeting was scheduled to be held at the home of Peter and Marissa Macasieb. I spoke with Peter, and we agreed it was still too soon to be able to guarantee a safe space for our members to meet. We always enjoy getting together at Peter’s, but the backyard space would not allow for safe distancing and food would be an issue.

Meeting at the Arboretum was a possibility with the cancellation of concerts, however, they have not decided yet to allow it. So, unfortunately, a decision to cancel our meeting was necessary. I hope you have had a chance to view our May Virtual Show. It is still available for viewing on our website. For those of you who did not get the email link to part 1 of Peter’s twisted Itoigawa demonstration, you can see it by going to our website, www.sabonsai.org. Part 2 of Peter’s demo will be posted for viewing within days. Thanks again to everyone who entered trees for our Virtual Show, and thanks to Peter for the demonstration.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Lorraine & I at [email protected] or via our website at www.sabonsai.org.

I look forward to the day we can meet again as a club. Until then, stay safe and healthy.

~Dave

Twisted Itoigawa Juniper Video

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In light of our current social distancing environment we asked Peter Macasieb to record some demonstrations to share with everyone while our bonsai meetings have still been on hold. Please enjoy part one of Peter’s demo as he show us how he prepares pre-bonsai stock to create twisted Itoigawa Junipers.

June Meeting Update

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Santa Anita Bonsai Society June 2020 meeting is cancelled

Santa Anita Bonsai Society Members,

Greetings to all of you once again. It has been hard to communicate with the Santa Anita Bonsai Society members in writing only. I miss our opportunities to meet in person and hope we can get back to regular meetings soon. Unfortunately, our June 13 meeting has been cancelled. I have asked the Arboretum to remember our club if the facility becomes available in July, and I will keep you posted.

We will obviously have to make adjustments for future meetings, but we will do whatever is necessary to keep our members safe and well.

Thanks to everyone who participated in our Virtual Show. I appreciate the time you spent to set up for your photos and then send them to Robert. Thanks also to Robert Sencer for arranging all the photos and producing the show on the website. We had a beautiful variety of trees, so I hope everyone has been able to view the show. It will remain available for viewing for the immediate future at www.sabonsai.com.

Recently we arranged for a recording of Peter Macasieb doing a tree demonstration at his home. The recording was done by member Matt Mahaffey. Matt edited the demo tape into specific segments for easy viewing. I will notify everyone when the demo is posted and available to see. Thanks to Peter, Matt, Sung, Robert and Gabriel for the work done to provide this demonstration for our members.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Lorraine & I at [email protected] or via our website at www.sabonsai.org

Best wishes to all,
Dave