Phoenix Bonsai Society

2010 — On January 21, the University of Arizona in Tucson recorded a wind gust of 73 mph, a state of emergency was declared in Maricopa County, Flagstaff picked up between 35 to 40 inches of snow in the past four days, and voluntary evacuations were taking place in Sedona due to the near-record flooding forecast for the Oak Creek.  Flood stage was 14 feet, however, it was forecast to reach a river stage of near 20 feet.  This was just how our state was affected by four back-to-back powerful Pacific storms which were resulting in a state of emergency also being declared in five flooded California counties and bringing heavy precipitation throughout the Southwest.  (From the 18th through the 22nd Phoenix received 2.05″ precipitation.  Total January rainfall this year was 2.13″ compared to a .83″ average.)  By this time, David Meyer was less involved with the Tucson Bonsai Society due to health issues.  In February the club presented a display at Matsuri only this year.  March saw a display of trees at the Maricopa County Home & Garden Show at the University of Phoenix Stadium.  The March/April issue of the Golden State Bonsai Federation magazine contained “Growing Bonsai Under Extreme Weather Conditions,” an article with photos by member Cheryl Sykora on pp. 32-35 about tree requirements in Wisconsin and Phoenix.  A Bougainvillea Workshop at Gardener’s World with bonsai artist Cindy Read was held in April.  On June 17 Jim Andrade, Elsie’s husband and partner for 53 years, died.  (The club made a donation in his name to the American Lung Association.)  The club set up a Facebook page as of July 23.  Reiko “Ruth” Fujii, the widow of our late sensei Leroy, died on August 4.  (They were married from 1951 until his death in 1998.)  On September 15 the first of the club’s new slideshows and other videos were uploaded to the club’s YouTube account by assistant webmaster Eric Zimmet.  The 50-page yearbook this season had a tan cover against the four-color logo, and included the new sponsor Valley of the Sun Koi Club, Inc.  The club had a display with a demo at the Arizona State Fair from October 15 to November 7 (now closed on Mondays and Tuesdays).  As it would turn out, this would be our last year participating at this venue.  Ben Oki’s workshops at Baker’s Nursery were held November 13-14.  The December 2010 issue of Phoenix Home & Garden contained an article on pg. 53 by Cathy Cromell, “Scottsdale Gardeners Carol and Ken Roberts Explore the Art and Science of Bonsai.”  Our newly renovated homepage debuted on December 13.  The last morning of the year saw a wintry mixture of snow and hail with the appearance of snowflakes in the Metro Phoenix area.  (The day before a foot of snow was recorded in Flagstaff, closing parts of Interstates 17 and 40, the two major thoroughfares in northern Arizona.)

2011 — The Ted Matson Critique and Lecture was held in January.  The club participated in February’s Matsuri. By request Robert Baran specifically wrote a History of Bonsai article for the multi-lingual Belgium-based website bonsaiempire.com.  March saw a second club display at the Flower & Garden Show at the Cardinals’ Stadium.  The club’s first annual Spring Show at the Valley Garden Center took place on April 9, and the following weekend saw another “Art in the Garden” at Berridge Nursery.  In late April, an older article by Robert was also published on-line, The Synergy of Magical Miniature Landscapes.  In May, Jim McEown, a member since right after Matsuri 2008, was elected club president.  Also, Eric Zimmet spearheaded the website’s Tree Gallery project as well as the separate website, Bonsai of the Week.  And long-time member Fred Carpenter died on May 23.  A somewhat rare huge dust storm (reminiscent of those regularly experienced during the summers in the 1960s and 70s) swept through the Phoenix area on the night of July 5.  A trio of large dust storms (smaller than the early July monster) on July 18 and then another single large one on August 18 also covered everything in the Valley and briefly caused Sky Harbor Airport to be closed.  A record was set this summer for number of days above 110°F: 33. The 52-page yearbook this season had a white cover against the four-color logo and script in red “Celebrating 50 Years.”  It included the new sponsor West America Import and Export, Inc.  Eighty members were listed. Ben Oki’s workshops at Baker’s Nursery were held November 12-13.

2012 — Ted Matson and then Phil Tacktill presented demo/lectures in January.  The club participated in February’s Matsuri.  In early April visiting bonsai master from India Urvashi Thacker gave a talk before the club.  As part of the new appearance of Facebook pages, our page now included many historical details in its Timeline.  And then, by request, Robert Baran specifically wrote the What is Bonsai? article for bonsaiempire.com.  On April 21 the club held a very successful second Spring Show in commemoration of Phoenix Bonsai Society – Bonsai Show 2012.  There were some 107 items displayed in an artistic and educational manner with demonstrations and even a 7-1/2’W x 7’H x 32″D tokonoma (display alcove) built by Frank Harris and assembled with the help of Val Engermann. (The tokonoma would be disassembled and stored until its next uses.) Many club members participated and assisted.  Ken Roberts was in a TV-5 spot the day before the show and Carol Roberts and Jim McEown were in one on TV-3 the morning of the show.  Then throughout July, Mike Mantsch and Alex Gray spearheaded the building of a new and much better organized storage shed with good roof. Significant work was also done on the adjoining garage roof at the Valley Garden Center.  The Sept/Oct issue of GSBF’s Golden Statements contained a double feature: the cover photo, by Frank W. Harris, was of a Ginkgo Forest by Richard Robinson, and pp. 17-20 had an article (also by Frank, with assistance by Artie Apostolos) with twenty-six photos of trees and stones from the 50th Anniversary “Phoenix Bonsai Society Bonsai Show April 12, 2012.”  The three PBS Legacy Trees of Leroy Fujii and Doug Acker were successfully re-potted Sunday morning, Sept. 9, by the Re-Potting Team of Richard Robinson, Tom Gatz, Bob Gomez, Ken Roberts, Chuck Journey, Laurylie Norman, Gene Goerke, Ardie Apostolos and Mike Apostolos.  Elsie Andrade pruned the trees on Saturday in preparation for the project.  Our 52-page yearbook this season had a dappled tan cover against the four-color logo.  It included the new sponsor Mt. Fuji Garden Center.  Too late for the yearbook was another new sponsor, Sanctuary Bonsai.  On October 16, Matsuko Edna Matsusaki, 97, formerly of Fruitland, Idaho, passed away peacefully in her sleep in Kent, Wash.  Edna had been a charter member of the Phoenix Bonsai Society which her husband, Paul Matsusaki, founded in 1962.  Ben Oki’s workshops at Baker’s Nursery were held November 10-11, and sensei was assisted by David Nguy.

2013 — On January 22, Ted Matson gave a demonstration on the treatment of deadwood and the carving of Jin and Shari.  Jim Barrett conducted two workshop sessions on February 2 for us.  A fast-moving storm on February 20 left snow-like precipitation in some parts of the Valley.  The club then participated in late February’s Matsuri.  Wayne William Harrison (member since 2011) passed away on March 3.  A successful third Spring Show was held in April.  In May, eight-year member Frank Harris was elected club president. In mid-June we added mobile device access to our basic website information.  The dry month of June, with no daytime highs lower than 104°F (and no nighttime lows below 76°F) ended officially with days of 116, 119 and 115 degrees — however some quality backyard thermometers in the Valley did reach at least 120 and 121 degrees on that second-last day.  In mid-July, we added a Member Site section and Online Store to the website.  The October issue of the ABS “Bonsai in America” newsletter included a two page article by Cheryl Sykora, “Hydrogen Peroxide, Root Rot, and Azaleas.”  Our 54-page yearbook had a pale goldenrod cover behind our four-color logo.  It included the new sponsor Bonsai Care & Watering Service by Laurylie.  Ninety-two members were listed. The bi-lingual Indonesia-based website, Bursabonsai.com, included a short original article “The History of Kusamono” by Robert Baran.  Frank Harris restarted publication of our Fujii Notes newsletters towards the end of October.  The November issue of the ABS “Bonsai in America” newsletter included a half page article by Cheryl Sykora, “The Value of Critiques.”  Sensei David Nguy conducted the November 16-17 workshops at Baker Nursery.  (This would be our last event at that venue as the family then closed the nursery.)  And the 2.78 inches of rain we received on November 21-22 was over four times the usual monthly average of 0.65 inches for November.

2014 — On January 21, long-time member Bill Mooney passed away.  The club participated in Matsuri from Feb. 22-23.  A successful fourth Spring Show was held in April at the Valley Garden Center, a week after we participated in the Art and Flower Show at the Phoenix Art Museum.  Over the course of several evening hours on July 3 the first blinding dust storm of the monsoon season swept through central Arizona, grounding flights at Phoenix’s main airport for nearly an hour, and downing powerlines and trees around the Valley.  The high winds and rain knocked out power for some 25,000 residents.  On September 8, the heaviest rains ever recorded to hit the Phoenix area in a single day fell this morning and swamped especially the East Valley.  Phoenix Sky Harbor picked up 3.29″ with most Valley cities in the 2 to 5 inch range.  For the year, the city had only received 2.22″ through the day before.  The storm was actually a hybrid of the Valley’s seasonal storms and Tropical Storm Norbert.  Our 54-page yearbook published this September had a pale gray cover behind our four-color logo.  It included the new sponsor Wabi-Sabi Import Export LLC by Araxi Hovhannessian.  Sensei David Nguy conducted workshops at Whitfill Nursery on November 15 and 16.  The next month, member Nick Nociforo blogged about his experience at the workshop.  On December 11 Tom Thomas, a member since 2012, passed away.  The year ended with snow throughout Arizona down to North Scottsdale and rain in the Valley on December 31.

2015 — On January 9, our website became accessible on all mobile devices iPads, iPhones, Android and Tablets along with desktops when it was moved from a physical device to the cloud through the efforts of Eric Zimmet, Carol Roberts, and Robert Baran.   The club participated in Matsuri from February 21-22.  A successful fifth Spring Show was held at the beginning of May at the Valley Garden Center, and a few days later co-webmaster Eric Zimmet was elected club president.  On July 1, now out-of-state member Cheryl Sykora was announced as being in the final group of artists whose 70 bonsai compositions were chosen for exhibition in the Artisans Cup in Portland, OR in September.  An intense desert duststorm or haboob covered the Valley on August 11, knocking out power for 10,000 customers, causing diversion of several in-bound flights from Sky Harbor Airport, and leaving half an inch of rain in an hour.  A new and improved issue of Fujii Notes was published later in the month. Thunderstorms on the last day of the month brought damaging winds in excess of 60 mph and dropped around one inch of rain — a month’s worth — in just under an hour.  The severe flooding across the Valley was mixed with power outages for 70,000 customers and Sky Harbor was closed for over an hour.  This carried over into the following day, resulting in still no electricity at the VGC and, apparently, the first-ever cancellation of our inaugural meeting of the new season.  Our 56-page yearbook published this September had a pale cream cover behind our four-color logo.  Eighty-five members were listed. Librarian and two-year member Barbara Miller was selected for a privately-donated scholarship to attend the Golden State Bonsai Federation Convention in Riverside, CA at the end of October. (She would write a 2-1/2 page essay about her experiences for the January 2016 issue of Fujii Notes.)  Sensei David Nguy conducted workshops at Whitfill Nursery on November 14 and 15.

2016 — In mid-January we had a demonstration during a regularly scheduled meeting with guest artist Ted Matson. February 20-21 we had a weekend workshop with Sam Adina, and then the following weekend was our Matsuri display.  About this time most of the general bonsai history on our site was transferred to the dedicated magiminiland.org site.  April 8-10 saw our Spring Show at the Valley Garden Center, which included critiques by Cindy Read.  In May our website was reissued using the WordPress content management system.  When we reconvened in September, for the first time in 43 years the day of the week was different: we now meet on Wednesday evenings at the Valley Garden Center.  This change allows us more room to have conduct business and workshops simultaneously. (We had taken almost a year to discuss, plan and announce the change.)  Our 48-page yearbook published this September had a white cover behind our four-color logo tree. Cindy Read was back on October 8 and 9 for another set of weekend workshops. Sensei David Nguy returned for a series of workshops on November 12 and 13 at Whitfill Nursery. The first weekend in December saw the Great California Suiseki search hosted by Cindy Read and Elsie Andrade.

2017 — The January issue of the Phoenix Home and Garden Magazine included a 5-page, 10-color photo-illustrated article about member Tom Gatz’s landscaped desert yard and his bonsai collection, “A Flourishing Refuge” by Lori A. Johnson.  The second week-end in January saw a two-day Ted Matson workshop.  February 25-26 saw our display at Matsuri.  Earlier than in past years, our seventh Spring Show took place the weekend of March 11-12 at the Valley Garden Center.  Cindy Read, again, presented a critique of trees for the show.  In May, seven-year club member Richard Robinson was elected club president. June 20 had an official temperature of 119°F in town, although some backyard thermometers registered at least 120°F.  The day before was 118°F, the day after 117°F. A new record of 118°F was set for July 7 — the previous record of 115°F had stood since 1905.  Our 50-page yearbook published this September had a white cover behind our four-color logo tree and now included a glossary of bonsai vocabulary words. One hundred and thirty-one members were listed. Member Craig “Coach” Johnston’s entry won the “Pay my way to Riverside” contest and the club paid for his registration to the Golden State Bonsai Federation’s annual convention from October 25-29.  Upon his return, Coach shared with the club what he had learned.  November 11-12 saw another successful Fall workshop with sensei David Nguy, this year at Dig It Gardens, 3015 N. 16th St.  On November 18 at the Japanese Friendship Garden, along with the Scottsdale Bonsai Society and the Nakama Bonsai Kai we co-sponsored a five-hour long Bonsai, Pottery & Ikenobo Ikebana Exhibit.

2018 — A photograph of one of Carol Robert’s junipers was on the cover of the Winter 2018 issue (Vol. 41, No. 1) of the GSBF’s Golden Statements magazine. The tree’s reddish live vein stands out in front of the white deadwood trunk. On February 23 our honorary sensei Ben Oki died at age 91.  The club’s show was our participation in the Japan Week Matsuri on Feruary. 24-25.  Our eighth Spring Show was held April 7-8, and Robert Baran came to town to give a short history of bonsai as a lead-in to his critique of trees. Our 50-page yearbook published this September again had a white cover behind our four-color logo tree. The Fall workshops with sensei David Nguy took place on November 10 and 11, again at Dig It Gardens. On November 17 of this year we co-sponsored a six-hour long Bonsai Pottery & Ikenobo Ikebana Exhibit at the Japanese Friendship Garden.

2019 — On Saturday January 12 a Ted Matson workshop was held at Dig It Gardens. A massive Pacific storm moved into the state the night of Wednesday February 20 and by its end on Friday afternoon had made a winter wonderland in northern Scottsdale, Carefree, Cave Creek, and other nearby areas. Areas around the Valley received between an inch and two of precipitation from the storm. On Thursday Phoenix set a new record for most precipitation in 24 hours with 1.01″ of rain (the old mark was 0.73″ in 1973). Phoenix set a new “lowest” high temperature Friday of 47 degrees. Barbara Gray, who with her husband Alex joined our membership in 2004, died on the morning of February 22 after about a week in the ICU. The club participated in the Japan Week Matsuri on February 23-24. Our ninth Spring Show was held from April 6-7, and our guest mentor, Gay Lynn Goetzke, did the critique of trees. Members of our late sensei Leroy Fujii’s family visited the show, made a donation, and dropped off a card that included the following message: “Leroy would be honored and humbled to know that, although it has been 20 years since his passing, his basic principles continue to be reiterated. Bonsai meetings were a lifelong highlight for Leroy. We are forever grateful to all who brought such joy into our father’s life.” In May, Ernest Hasan was again (1999-2001) elected club president.  In late summer, our revamped website on a new host was debuted. Our 52-page yearbook was published in September again with a white cover behind our four-color logo tree. One hundred twenty-two members were listed. On October 12 founding member Joan Hosdowich “Hozy” McCarter died.  Arrangements were then made to safely relocate her bonsai, pots, koi fish, and books. In late October members Susie Kingston, Liz Mantsch, Jenna Williams, and Val Engermann became Certified Bonsai Basic Instructors at the GSBF Convention in Riverside. (And thanks to Elsie Andrade for her hard work and dedication in assisting and facilitating the certifying process.) California master Boon Manakitivipart, aka Bonsai Boon, presented a demonstration for us during our November 20th meeting. Two days later a severe afternoon thunderstorm dropped 1-inch hailstones and up to 3″ of rain southwest of Phoenix before leaving smaller hail and 0.83″ of rain by the time it reached Sky Harbor. On November 14 sensei David Nguy shared his unique Black Pine development techniques on the first day of the weekend workshop, and then on Sunday it was a bring-your-own-tree workshop.

2020 — At the beginning of January, the education committee selected four-year member Bill Price as the 1st recipient of the David Nguy Foundations Scholarship. On January 18 we hosted a one-day Ted Matson workshop. On February 1 and 2 we participated in the Ikebana Art Exhibit with Bonsai 2020 at the Japanese Friendship Garden. As the Japanese Matsuri was moved to a new venue this year — at the Steele Indian School Park, 300 E. Indian School Rd., about 4 miles north, with major questions about available parking, uneven walking surfaces, proximity to the light rail and exposure to theft, and evening security for the February 22-23 event — the Board had earlier in the year elected for the club not to participate. More energies were directed to the Japanese Friendship Garden event. On February 23 we did hold the Spring 2020 Beginner Repotting Workshop at the Valley Garden Center. By this time, the Sonora Suiseki Club of Arizona had been formed by some of our members, with meetings at 7:00 pm on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at the VGC. Local media personality Jan D’Atri presented “My New Obsession — The Art of Bonsai!!” as the first half of her March 7 podcast which featured an interview with our president Ernie Hasan. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all events beginning with the March 18 Member-only Swap Meet, our annual LA Bus Trip a few days later, our Spring Show with Critique in early April, and our April meetings were canceled. The Valley Garden Center itself was closed until May 1. On March 31 Gov. Ducey ordered what was originally supposed to be a one-month-long “Stay home, Stay healthy, Stay connected” policy instituted for the state. Beginning on April 2 and continuing for the next few months we posted a series of photos on our Facebook page and website comprising our Virtual Tree Show 2020. On April 26 our 102°F temperature broke the record set in 1992 by one degree. As the VGC was closed into summer, our meetings for the season had ended.  We did hold our first Zoom teleconferencing meeting on May 20th hosted by a few of our Mentors.  This was an update for beginners as they had been missing support from our regular meetings. At the end of May, Bonsai Boon Manakitivipart came over from California and conducted a 3-day study group for six of us, all properly masked. Our 52-page yearbook was published in September with a light purple cover behind our four-color logo tree. By October 16 three new temperature records had been set this summer for Phoenix: 145 days of 100°F or more, 53 days of 110°F or more, and 14 days of 115°F or more. (The previous records, respectively, were 143 days in 1989, 33 days in 2011, and 7 days in 1974.)  A very successful Beginners Workshop was held on October 25. All December meetings, workshops and events were cancelled because of the rise in COVID cases in the state.

2021 – All meetings, workshops and events were cancelled in January because of the rise in COVID cases in the state. Our monthly emailed newsletters included more links to bonsai-themed videos from across the country and beyond. On February 27 we held our annual Spring Repotting Workshop for Beginners at the Valley Garden Center.  Sam and Vergi Adina drove in from Stockton, CA on March 20 with a number of pre-purchased as well as still-to-be-sold trees for further developing by our members.  The following day we held our annual show outside at the Japanese Friendship Garden, this year replacing the usual two-day indoor VGC location.  Tickets for this were sold online for each hour starting from 10 am through 3 pm to maintain proper COVID distancing. Cheryl A Sykora’s article “Regional Bonsai Care,” which included info on her experiences in Phoenix and also those of Araxi Hovhannessian in Mesa, was published in the Vol. 55, No 1 issue of the American Bonsai Society’s Journal. In May, Gary Davis, a member with us since 2014, was elected club president. He soon afterwards posted a video of his garden on YouTube. A slow-moving monsoonal storm dropped two-and-a-half inches of rain on the West Valley on Sunday July 25; Scottsdale received over four inches of precipitation throughout that weekend. This year’s monsoon in Phoenix was already wetter than the two previous seasons combined. This July was the wettest July since 1990. A video interview in Vietnamese with sensei David Nguy and his wife Dung at their Chino nursery was posted by Nguoi-Viet on Facebook in August. A record temperature was set on September 9 of 111°F, a degree above the 31-year-old previous record, 8 and 7 degrees above normal for the date. Our 48-page yearbook was published with a teal cover and one hundred members were listed. On the night of September 27, member and wife of past President Jim McEown, Tina McEown, died of COVID complications. Early in the morning of November 1, 8-year member Roger Hansen passed away. On November 17 sensei Sam Adina was at our open workshop meeting, and four days later we participated in the Japanese Friendship Garden show. Early in the morning of December 3 member Dr. Lloyd Gillum died in his sleep. Sensei David Nguy held a workshop December 11-12 at SummerWinds Nursery. Channel 3 and the Garden Guy while doing a live spot at SummerWinds did a quick interview with Ernie Hasan and one of his collected junipers.

2022- Outdoors we held a repotting workshop on January 22 at SummerWinds Nursery, a forest workshop on February 19 at the Valley Garden Center, and a bonsai for beginners class at the Japanese Garden Center on March 6.  On March 20 we had several tables with trees set up at the JGC during their Spring Haru in the Garden festival.. April 2-3 saw our Spring show at the VGC with a bonsai class by sensei David Nguy. Long-time member (since 1984) and former club President, VP, Treasurer, Secretary, Librarian, Mentor, and Historian Penny Schneck passed away in mid-July. The new season started out with the first meeting being attended by 61 people on September 7 and being video-recorded. The new 54-page yearbook was black spiral bound with a white cover bearing a 60th Anniversary emblem. Past member Mike McGee, who had been Joan “Hozy” McCarter’s friend/business partner, passed away in June and his family now donated a number of potted up Portulacaria afra that he had been raising.

The November 2 meeting with a critique of trees was also videotaped.

2023 – On January 8 we had a show at the Japanese Friendship Garden, rescheduled from the original December 4 date which was rained out. In mid-February former club president and mentor, Dr. Kenneth Roberts, Ph.D., passed away suddenly. For the first three months of this year, average Phoenix temps were the coolest since 1998 (which itself was the coolest since 1979), with about a third of an inch more precipitation in 2023 than normally received during this same period. With 1.47″ of rain in March alone, Phoenix exceeded the normal by .64 inches. Our Spring show at the VGC took place April 1 and 2. These two slide shows remind us of some of our members’ creations there. On the morning of May 1, 7-year member “Coach” Craig Johnson passed away. This month Bill Price, a member since the 2015-16 season, was elected president. On August 1, Phoenix set its new record of 31 consecutive days with temperatures at or above 110°F, breaking 1974’s of 18 days. The new 56-page yearbook in September was black spiral-bound with a Barbie pink cover. One hundred and seventy-nine members were listed. The yearbook included a contemporary and updated version of Leroy’s Care Schedule which was first published in 1984-85. September 10 set a new record for the most days in a year with temperatures over 110 F: 55. Richard Newton, Member Communications officer, with us since 2021 passed away unexpectedly the last week of December.

 2024 — Our New Year show at the Japanese Friendship Garden, originally set for January 7, was postponed one week due to weather. Legacy bonsai trees were installed behind the gift shop there before the presumed storm. On March 2 we participated in the Annual Bonsai and Pottery Exhibit at the JFG, sponsored by our club and local Arizona pottery artists. Our Spring Show at the VGC took place April 6 and 7, with a demo by sensei David Nguy. Dust and smoke from wildfires in New Mexico combined over the Valley on the morning of June 21 and this caused Sky Harbor International Airport to issue a temporary ground stop due to low visibility for some flights coming into the airport. On September 16, Phoenix saw the last day of its record run of 113 straight days with at least 100°F temperatures as the high. This started back on May 27. That long since shattered the old record of 76 days in a row set back in 1993. The average low over the first 100 days was 87°F. (At least 177 deaths in Maricopa County, where the city is located, were being blamed on heat this year. At least 436 others were under investigation. Last year saw a record 645 heat deaths in the Phoenix metro area.) The new 52-page club yearbook was published in September with a black spiral-bound bright green cover. September 23-30 saw 100°+F temperatures each day, 4 of those over 110°F with September 28th reaching 116°F. October 1-14 saw 100°+F each day with October 6 and 7 being the final 111°F and 110°F days of the year, respectively. In November Robert Baran had a Kindle e-book published, The Past and Present of What We Do: A Short History of the Components of Bonsai.

 2025 — On January 12 an “Introduction to Bonsai” talk for beginners was held at the Japanese Friendship Garden for a couple of dozen people. During an open workshop on February 19, Sam Adina stopped by the Valley Garden Center to work on some of our trees. A well-attended (over 50 visitors) double presentation took place at the Japanese Friendship Garden on March 2. Ernie Hasan gave a pair of demonstrations with Alligator juniper, interlaced with Ann Khalsa presenting a pair of talks on “Suiseki: Unveiling Nature’s Beauty in Stones.” We had a number of different trees on display also during this annual Bonsai and Pottery Exhibit. Founding club member and long-time teacher for many of us, Elsie Andrade passed away on March 24. (Please see her Bonsai Book of Days listing here, https://www.magiminiland.org/Days/DaysMarc.html.) The scheduled club meeting on April 2 was cancelled due to Elsie’s wake being held that day. Our Spring Show at the VGC took place April 5 and 6, with a demo each day by sensei David Nguy. On April 13 we held a bonsai demo at the Japanese Friendship Garden with over 40 people in attendance. In May Randy Mann, a club member since the 2016-17 season, was elected president. A drier than usual monsoon season saw a larger than normal wall of dust followed by heavy rain (haboob) roll through metro Phoenix late afternoon on August 25. (The last haboob of this size happened in 2011.) This brought winds that left more than fifteen thousand people without power and delayed flights at busy Sky Harbor airport, with some roof damage to the Terminal 4 concourse. The new 52-page yearbook in September was black spiral-bound with a pumpkin orange cover. One hundred and sixty-four members were listed. A late-season monsoon on September 26 (and extending into the next day) dumped 1 to 3 inches of rain with hail on Phoenix. Other areas from Southern California to western Texas were similarly hit by precipitation. This was the largest single day amount for us since in October of 2018. Much flash flooding occurred around the Valley due to the short-term dump which surpassed the entire 2025 monsoon season’s rainfall accumulation. Ground stops were announced at airports in Phoenix and Las Vegas, where delays were estimated to be running 1-2 hours, with hundreds of flights either being canceled or diverted.