To promote knowledge, enjoyment, cultivation, and conservation of cacti and other succulent plants among its members, other individuals and organizations throughout West-Central Colorado

NOVEMBER MEETING:

HASTA LA VISTA CUBA!

Our November meeting will feature a travelogue of Maryann & Loren Benoit’s trip to Cuba earlier this summer. They will have many anecdotes and photos to share but in preparation for their program, here are some interesting facts about Cuba, the island nation heretofore “off limits” for 50 years.

Cuba is a Caribbean island nation under communist rule. It has sugar-white beaches and is dotted with tobacco fields, which play a part in the production of the country's legendary cigars. The capital, Havana, is lined with pastel houses, 1950s-era cars and Spanish-colonial architecture in the 16th-century core, Old Havana. Salsa music plays in the dance clubs and cabaret shows are performed at the famed Tropicana. The president is Raul Castro, the

population is 11.27 million and the Cuban peso its currency and official language, Spanish.

Wikipedia provided these ten “amazing facts” about Cuba’s culture and island lifestyle to whet your appetite for Maryann & Loren’s program:

#10 - Cuba is often called El Caiman or El Cocodrilo (Spanish for alligator), which is what the island looks like from an aerial view.

#9 - Grade school is mandatory for every child in Cuba between the ages of 6 and 15. Uniforms are universally required with different colors for each grade level.

#8 - Fidel Castro erected a statue of John Lennon from The Beatles in 2000. Castro admired Lennon and believed he was a true music revolutionary.

#7 - Cuba is the most populated country in the Caribbean, with more than 11 million residents.

#6 - Cubans don't typically write their recipes down. Instead, they are passed down from generation to generation through stories and shared experiences.

#5 - Cuba has the highest doctor to patient ratio in the world. There are so many doctors in Cuba, that doctors are often sent abroad to countries with a great need of medical professionals.

#4 - Dance is very important in Cuba, the birthplace of classic dance styles like the Bolero, Mambo and Cha Cha.

#3 -A rare prehistoric fish called the Mangar is now only found in Cuba.

News of the Chinle Cactus & Succulent Society November 2016 Vol. 8, No. 11

Succulent Morsels

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#2 - Cuba has a 99.8% literacy rate, which is one of the highest in the world.

#1 - The only cars that Cuban citizens can own legally are cars created and bought before 1959. After this year, the Cuban government seized all of the cars, and owns them all to this day. Most of the pre-1959 cars in the country are from the United States.

Be sure to put this interesting meeting on your calendar!

GET READY FOR OUR ANNUAL DINNER MEETING! DATE: Thursday, December 8, 2016 PLACE: Bookcliff Country Club, 2730 G. Road, Grand Junction, CO 81506 TIME: 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm

WHAT IS NEEDED FROM MEMBERS NOW:

1. Make your reservation(s) by calling Julie Bursi at 970-812-5955 or emailing her at 4cyclejeb@gmail.com. Reservations should be made by November 30th. When you make your reservation, indicate your dinner choice (chicken, steak or salmon).

2. Cost: $25 per member, $30 for non-members. Julie needs to have your check(s) no later than December 1st, made out to Chinle Cactus & Succulent Society. You can give your check to her at the November meeting on November 10th or mail it to Chinle Cactus & Succulent Society, PO Box 233, Grand Junction, CO 81502.

3. Door Prizes donations: Members are encouraged to contribute items for door prizes. Joy Bush and Pam Johnson have agreed to handle this part of the Annual Dinner Meeting program. Popular items for door prizes are cactus & succulent related items, ornaments, books,& photos,etc. This year, however, feel free to also donate non-cacti specific door prizes such as bottles of wine, gift baskets with homemade goods, lavender, chocolate, towels, services like pet sitting for a weekend, an afternoon of gardening,leading a hike, etc.

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Please email a description of what you are donating for a door prize to either Joy (joytyne@earthlink.net, phone 255-6467) or Pam (pjohnson@fcfpremium.com phone 970-523-5443). Please give them your items by November 15th. They will tell you if you should drop off the item the night of the ADM or ahead of time.

4. Silent Auction donations:

Don Campbell is organizing the Silent Auction activity for the Annual Dinner Meeting. He is accepting show quality cacti & succulents, as well as other non-cacti related items or services (like a gardening apron, conducting a field trip, providing music for a party, doing a thematic dinner in your home, pottery, objects d’art, etc.) Like Joy and Pam, Don needs to know what you are donating for the Silent Auction by November 15th, and requests that you bring item(s), etc. to Bookcliff Country Club prior to the meeting during set-up. You can contact Don at campbell.di.cj@bresnan.net or 970-245-5088.

AGENDA:

4:30 pm - Set up (Come early with your Silent Auction items and door prize donations and help with setting up for the meeting) 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm - Registration, Social hour (Cash Bar) Check out Silent Auction items 6:30 pm - Dinner served Choices: Chicken breast with lemon caper cream sauce 9 oz NY Steak with burgundy mushroom sauce Salmon with mango pineapple salsa Fresh garden salad, Chef’s choice vegetable side Roasted rosemary and parmesan potatoes Dessert: Cheesecake, chocolate cake 7:30 pm - Rest Room Break, Silent Auction Shopping 8:00 pm Business Meeting President’s Report Nominations for 2017 Board - Election of Officers 8:30 pm Last chance to bid on Silent Auction items 8:45 pm Door prizes, Gift plants, Silent Auction winners

ADJOURN

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FINAL GARDEN PARTIES FOR 2016 The “penultamet” Garden Party of 2016 was held October 8th at the Western Colorado Botanic Garden. As you can see by the photo below, eight smiling members turned out to finalize work at the WCBG for the season. Participants were Maryann & Loren Benoit, Tom Burrows, Don Campbell, Lois Davidson, Lisa Hamilton, Deb Mallory and Kate Weissenburger. Don Campbell shot the group photo below and Lisa Hamilton snapped the other three.

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The last Garden Party for 2016 was at the CSU Extension Garden on October 22. We were so pleased that two of the visitors at our last Regular Meeting attended (Michelle Morga & Marg McKenna) as well as Tom Burrows, Lois Davidson, Bill & Janet Hassell, Leslie Renquist and Walt Scheer. We still had our share of weeds to pull, and Tom used his shop vac to remove debris while Walt used his power saw to dispense with overgrown cacti. Lois treated us to delicious cranberry chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.

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A WORD OF APPRECIATION to all the Chinle Gardners who gave up their Saturday and Wednesday mornings to work in the Western Colorado Botanic Gardens and the Colorado State University Extension Garden over this past year. And thanks so much for the guidance and expertise provided by our Garden Activities Coordinator, Lois Davidson, as well as other members who stepped in to cover when Lois couldn’t be there. Lois reports that this year, volunteers donated 161 hours at the WCBG and 143 hours at the CSU Garden. We can be proud of their accomplishments and thankful for their hard work!!!

AND THE WINNERS ARE……. At the October Regular Meeting of the CC&SS, members did the final step of the Photographic Scavenger Hunt: THE JUDGING!!! Members had submitted their photographs which were grouped in the various categories below. Members then voted on the best photo in each category. The winner in each category is shown here.

Category: ANIMAL - Praying Mantis on Cholla Photographer: Kate Weissenburger - Comment: “The praying mantis (not preying....interestingly....) was spotted on the rescue cholla that I got from the Benoits. It was the FIRST plant that I planted at our new house.”

Category: PEOPLE - “Hugs” Photographer: Glenn Mallory Comment: “All the photos submitted by the two of us were taken at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix - the last week of March 2016. We were there when all the opuntias were either in full bloom or about to be in full bloom. It was really spectacular. “

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Category: INDOOR PLANTS - “La Mur Rouge” Photographer: Glenn Mallory Comment: Taken at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix in March 2016

Category: EVENT - “Tres Chicas” Photographer: - Maryann Benoit Comment: “This photo was taken on our May field trip to Capitol Reef. I loved those three little bursts of color against that rust background.”

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Category: HUMOR- “Kilroy was here” Photographer: Kate Weissenburger Comment: Here is a pic of Don holding up a map that Ken used while speaking to members at Capitol Reef. My understanding is that ‘Kilroy Was Here’ is now meant (casually) as a homage to WW2-era folks.Don't quote me on that. Ask Bill Hassell!”

Category: PLANT IN NATURAL HABITAT Photographer: Shari Skeie Comment: “I took the picture in Gold Butte near Mesquite, Nevada, just south of Cliven Bundy's "ranch" where he is starving cattle. We saw thousands of cactus and a few tufts of grass, so I can't imagine how they ever get enough to eat. Oh, well, the cactus were beautiful and plentiful.”

Category: SCENERY - “January Fireworks” Photographer: Maryann Benoit Comment: “This photo was taken at a botanical garden near Cienfuegos, Cuba in January, 2016.”

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Category: CLOSE-UP DETAIL - “Orbweaver” Photographer: Ken Weissenburger Comment:

(To the right,, eye pattern sketch and position of jaws and fangs)

“This is an orbweaver spider showing its distinctive pattern of eight eyes in a central group of four with a tight pair flanked on both sides. Orbweavers have a one-year lifespan. This one did good service at our outbuilding this spring and summer and we hope to have a descendant replace her next year. Photographed while she was hanging upside down in her web beneath the eaves, the image has been rotated to make her appear right-side up. “

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And the final photo winner:………..

Category: PLANT IN DEVELOPED LANDSCAPE - “Rabbit Ears” Photographer: Ken Weissenburger Comment: “Fendler’s hedgehog (Echinocereus fendleri) blooming in early June; purchased the year before, in May, and then planted in our front yard. This was one of the “buy and try” cold hardy plants brought by Leo Chance for his presentation to the club on cold hardy plants for this area.”

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Category: OPEN- “Have A Nice Day” Photographer: Ken Weissenburger Comment: “This collared lizard divided his summertime between two of our sandstone-block retaining walls. When standing below the larger wall, you could find yourself eye to eye with “smiley” in one of his favorite hunting grounds, the dappled shade of a cholla. (The cholla is a Cylindropuntia whipplei given to us by Tom Burrows in spring of 2015.)”

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ON THE LIGHTER SIDE …with the holidays coming, keep this little test handy, just in case!

Some great roads and philosophies of life GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:

1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.. 2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.

3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always Catch the second person. 4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.

5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.. 6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair..

7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time. 8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk. 9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white horts.

10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandma's lap. >

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> GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:

1) Raising teenagers is like nailing jello to a tree. 2) Wrinkles don't hurt.

3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts. 4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside. 6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.

>> THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:

1) You believe in Santa Claus. 2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.

3) You are Santa Claus. 4) You look like Santa Claus.

> Always remember to forget the troubles that pass your way;

BUT NEVER forget the blessings that come each day.

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Chinle Cactus & Succulent Society - Regular Meeting - Thursday, October 13, 2016

The meeting was called to order by President, Janet Hassell. Copies of minutes from the previous two meetings were available for review. Minutes are also available in the monthly newsletter and at our website - chinlecactusclub.

Four new attendees were present at our meeting. All had learned about our club from the new Meetup Group site. Even though Lisa Hamilton will give a formal presentation of Meetup at the November meeting, Janet explained the basics of the site to all attendees, indicating that this is a new way for us to get our club activities out to interested people in our area.

Due to Lisa Hamilton’s absence, the financial report was presented by Loren Benoit. Expenses for the month were $9.95 for web hosting and there was one new membership received. Per the last bank statement, there is a total of $7779.69 in our two accounts, with $117.00 cash on hand.

Due to Lois Davidson's absence, Janet reported that we worked at the WCBG garden for the last time on October 8 and our last 2016 garden party at CSU will occur on Saturday, October, 22. For the benefit of our guests, Janet went on to explain about the club’s monthly responsibilities for caring for the two public cactus and succulent gardens. Don Campbell added that he is putting together an order for plants and tools from Miles To Go and presented a catalog for any interested members.

Janet reported that she had appointed the CCSS Board as the nominating committee for next year’s officers. Since all members except the Past President, Maryann Benoit, have agreed to serve for another year, there is a full slate of officers. However, if anyone is interested in serving on the Board they are invited to submit their name for consideration at the Annual Dinner Meeting election. Janet also added that there are numerous opportunities to serve on the various committees needed to arrange our yearly events.

Kate Weissenburger reported on the progress of the club apron project. While a contest was held earlier in the year for slogans and art work, it was determined that there was no entry that would have universal appeal for sales of aprons outside of the club members. Kate has been working with the people at Hole In The Wall on an image of the claret club cactus to be screen printed on a green apron. She is also looking at using the same image on t-shirts and caps. No decision has been made on the final cost of the items. These was mention of possible places to sell these items and Don Campbell will attend the Denver club’s annual dinner meeting in November to ascertain if they have any interest in buying these items. Kate will send out an informational email to membership in the near future to determine level of interest within the club.

Janet gave a review of the upcoming ADM on Thursday, December 8 at the Bookcliff Country Club. Julie Bursi is heading up this year’s event, with the assistance of Joy Bush and Pam Johnson collecting door prizes and Don Campbell working on Silent Auction items. There will be a larger variety of items that can be donated for both the Silent Auction and the Door Prize giveaway this year. Julie announced that she had sign-up sheets available and reported that this year’s meal will be a sit-down dinner with one entree selection. The club will provide dessert for the event. Costs to members is $25 and non-members, $30. Sign-up sheets will be again available at the November meeting and Lisa will be accepting payment at that time.

Janet will be sending out an email with instructions for how donations can be made and how to contact those collecting these items. Anyone wishing to help with ADM set-up, please contact Julie Bursi.

Janet Hassell donated several plants for the night’s plant drawing that was held during the break. We also enjoyed Tom Burrows’ lemon bars. Shari Skeie announced the various categories for photos in the yearly photo contest, passed out ballots, and began the voting. The votes were reviewed and tallied by Shari and Kate.

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After the break, names of winners for each photo category were announced. They are as follows:

#1 Scenery Maryann Benoit#2 Event or Activity Maryann Benoit

#3 Plants In Natural Habitat Shari Skeie#4 Plants in An Outdoor Landscape Ken Weissenburger

#5 Non-hardy Indoor Plants Glenn Mallory#6 Close-up Showing Detail Ken Weissenburger

#7 People Glenn Mallory#8 Animals Kate Weissenburger#9 Humor Kate Weissenburger#10 Open Ken Weissenburger

Janet thanked Don Campbell for bringing this new type of photo contest to CCSS and for his workconnected to collecting and labeling photos for the contest.Shari Skeie announced that the November meeting will feature a program by Loren and MaryannBenoit on their recent Cuba vacation.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm.

Minutes submitted by Maryann Benoit

CALENDAR OF EVENTS: November 2016 to June 2017

Nov. 7 Chinle Board meeting, 6:30 pm Janet & Bill Hassell’s Home 2666 Summer Hill Ct, Grand Junction, CO 81506

Nov. 10 Regular Meeting of the Chinle C&SS 6:30 pm Program: The Benoits present their Cuba travelogue Location: Western Colorado Botanical Garden Library

Dec. 5 Chinle Board meeting, 6:30 pm Janet & Bill Hassell’s Home 2666 Summer Hill Ct, Grand Junction, CO 81506

Dec. 8 ANNUAL DINNER MEETING - Bookcliff Country Club

The following programs have been tentatively planned for 2017: January - Lois Davidson - Death Valley travelogue

February - Don Campbell, Capitol Reef March - Curtis Swift - Water issues

April - Local field trip May - Out of town trip to Vernal & areas

June - Making Hypertufa pots

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“Alien”-appearing Praying Manti help to keep the CSU garden bug-free! Photographed at the last two Garden Parties of the season.

2016 Chinle Cactus and Succulent Society Board

President: Janet Hassell Secretary: Deb Mallory Treasurer: Lisa Hamilton Vice President: Kate Weissenburger Garden Activities Coordinator: Member at Large: Walt Scheer Lois Davidson Program Committee: Shari Skeie Web Master: Tom Burrows Newsletter Editor: Janet Hassell Don Campbell Past President: Maryann Benoit

Chinle Cactus and Succulent Society usually meets the 2nd Thursday of each month at 6:30 pm. Meetings are held in the Western Colorado Botanical Garden Library, 641 Struthers Ave., Grand Junction, CO. Guests are always welcome.

Chinle Mailing Address: Chinle Cactus & Succulent Society, PO Box 233, Grand Junction, CO 81502 CHINLE C&SS WEBSITE: www.chinlecactusclub.org