Vonsgardens

Scott,
Good to hear from ya here. Have you recovered from the show yet? I don't know how you do it. I get tired travelling out there, but I can usually sleep on the plane coming home.

Anyway best to you my friend, I get to do the early March workshops for BIB. For those of you that don't know, you don't have to be a member to show in the BIB show, you just have to get your tree accepted by the show chairman and Boon. The vast amjority of trees in the BIB show are owned by BIB club members who bring trees to monthly workshops with Boon to work on their development and eventually for show preparation. There are a few of us who have joined BIB who live fairly far away, both in California and those of us who live out in the middle part of the country (All current or former intensive students, I believe)- I think the longest commute comes from Minnesota. So for us out-of -staters to work in the BIB club, we have to buy trees in California and leave them there, where they are boarded ( I have 7 there now). So, in order to get the 9 required half day workshops, and to get them spread over the correct times of the year, we travel out to Alameda 4 or 5 times a year, it is always great to sit down in the workshop with 5 or 6 local members, Boon and whoever else might be in town, and catch up. It is truly a wonderful experience (though occasionally a bit tiring with the late Sunday night flight).

The trees in the club range from seeedlings undergoing development to fine old trees that were imported a generation or two ago. So, while the group is very dedicated to increasing the quality of the show every year, it is a very "family like" experience with folks of varying experience and skill, some who look to have 8 or 10 trees in a show, to those who hope to have a tree shown someday. In the context of a club, this is unlike any other I have ever experienced.

Chris, hope I didn't hijack your thread too badly,

John

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"Wiring is simple; However, it is not easy to do it right" Boon