October 1- john just started playing golf with three other guys. All four are such poor golfers and don't take the game too seriously. However, john has decided he REALLY needed some professional help (not mental- well maybe!), so he called Liz at the Overland Park Golf Course. As a result, he just completed his first ever golf lesson. he really was impressed with how much Liz could help him. If you live in Overland Park and need a great golf lesson, contact Liz at 913.638.8833.

October 2 - john and Eddie will be working on zenpond today. john and joyce purchased three new trees over the weekend. Two are clumping river birch and one is a Norwegian Sunset Maple.

First, the old Bradford Pears need to come out. That will be done by professionals this week. In the meantime, john and Eddie will be moving the monument rock with the 5 inch square bronze artwork to a new location, moving an Alberta Spruce, and maybe moving the pump for the little waterfall. This will then make room for the new Maple, which is already quite large and can begin providing shade right away.

john learned something from the nursery where he and joyce purchased the trees. There is a product called "Myke" which the nursery says will allow them to provide a 5-year guarantee on each tree. Apparently, "Myke" is a fungus which protects it's host because it knows that the tree and the fungus are in a symbiotic relationship. Each keeps the other healthy. Click here to go to the website for Myke.

October 5 - john, joyce and tucky just received a new email from their friend in Benin, West Africa, Basso:

"Good Morning John, Joyce and Tucky,

It has been very long I heard from you. I guess that everything is going as wished and that life is in its right way. So is it going by this side of the world, despite the bad side of it : poverty. Here, where the majority is living with less than 02 dollars by person per day. Gazoline is more than one dollar the liter. We are dealing with that level of life, but it is going thougher and tougher.

Other ways, I hope that you survived the tornadoes and other winds in America. If Gof sends to us winds over the usual poverty, we will better go to hells. We could see on the TV the pictures of destructions in America, and we could imagine what it would be if it arrived here with our level of life.
Tell me how you stood all those things.

Enjoy life, and
Waiting to hear from you,
Bye Bye,
Basso"

October 9 - Last Wednesday john had two of the three Bradford Pear trees removed from zenpond. Bradford Pears should not have been sold in the Midwest where ice and heavy snow can break their sharp "V" branches like anything. On Saturday, a local nursery planted two Clumping River Birches and one Norwegian Sunset Maple. One of the birches is seven years old and will begin to provide immediate dampled shade to the hostas along the dry stream bed. Today john added more night lighting to the big waterfall and to the large birch. Tonight will tell whether he "done good" or not.

The ducks are not coming in groups of fifty anymore. Apparently they must have headed south for the winter. Now several dozen doves are coming for dinner. Also, there is a mother squirrel eating below the "squirrel proof" feeder. Also two twin baby squirrels are coming to eat (why are there small squirrels this time of year?).

john is keeping a close eye on the Bird Flu (H5N1). he is imagining ducks wrapped in blankets with thermometers in their beaks. If this virus ever learns to tranfer between humans, WATCH OUT. From 150 million to 1 billion humans could die! WWBD? (What would Buddha Do?)

joyce has been hitting the nursery pretty hard. she has brought numerous mums to zenpond (some hanging, some not). The mums are pumpkin colored, yellow and light lavender.