A 180 Degree Turn Around

The day I emailed the State Master Gardener coordinator with questions about the State Dismissal Policy with a concern about accuracy -- one of our very respected MG's called to ask if he could help us by taking our concerns to a higher level, that of the Extension Council on which he sits.  Terrific!  But this never happened because when he thought about it, he decided it was not worth his time to pursue something that was already decided.  He knew State leadership was not going to make any changes to their policy even though our suggestions make sense and would be easy to do.  


 

Foxes in Town

Our friends Jennie and Scott King captured these amazing photos from their deck the end of June. 

A Marvelous Visit - June 25 - July 5, 2012

Liesl age 3, Roslyn age 5, Signy age 7 

Daad in background, Daylily 'Big Bird'

With Vivian Wilson-Cohen's beloved Violet statue given to us when we visited her in Charleston, October, 2011.  Violet graced her parent's property in Newel, West Virginia. 

UU Uganda Festival, Planning Stage

March 2, 2013 will feature a UU Uganda Festival at UUBN.  We are beginning to plan now.  Betty Kimeriembe visited us for two wonderful days, so exciting and busy I forgot about taking photos!  She brought these beautiful Ugandan crafts which we will use as door prizes March 2, 2013. 

More Scented Geranium

Cuttings from the mother plant, which you may view on an earlier post, make a handsome new houseplant. 

The dried leaves will make potpourri -- maybe use for Friends First, the MG program where we work with adults with disabilities.  Very rewarding.....

'Music' Garlic Came Earlier this Year

Ed dug out the bulbs, smaller this year.

Time to cut off the stems after about 3 weeks of drying.

Then the wrappers to into the compost.

We harvested about 40.  

Spending Energy in Pursuit of Justice

In an earlier post I wrote about the unfortunate issue of one of our beloved and award-winning Master Gardeners being "terminated" which caused me to write to the University of Illinois person who heads the Master Gardeners throughout the State. 

Another MG who is the mother of one of Laurie's high school friends, has joined me leading this effort. We've formed a group called VOICE, MGs who are deeply concerned about whether this gal was served due-process.  Interesting situation! The Albert Hirschman piece about "loyalty", "exit" and "voice" helped immensely with the formation of the group. I changed the names just in case....

June 16, 2012

Dear Molly,

The vitality in our U of I McLean County Master Gardener group continues to thrive by bringing volunteers reward by means of the thousands of hours of time we donate to the community through our many programs and projects.  We understand the Federal Supreme Court ruling stating volunteers do not have legal rights, that it is a privilege to be a volunteer.  We understand our local group has no governing power and that MG state policy must be followed.  Before going further, please note that everything herein is meant to be constructive.  As volunteers, we realize that policy is set by U of I staff and the U of I legal department.   As I said in my April 11^th letter to Mr. Hill copied to you, we find working with different personalities to be educationally productive and personally gratifying. 

Barbara asked to meet with me – I think Shelly may have shared with her a strong critique I sent in the comment area to one of the hort educators about a piece she wrote that did not follow U of I policy. 

Our Master Gardener Group

A good friend, and a McLean County Master Gardener who won two coveted local awards, the Helping Hands Award and the Don Meyer Master Gardener of the Year Award was terminated.  She was accused of unprofessional behavior which she refuted.  A certified letter signed by three University of Illinois staff relayed information that none of us could believe.  This gal, and a friend of many, sent all of the MG's everything she received from the U of I along with her emails saying the accusations were not true.  
The group is in turmoil.  U of I staff said she may never be a U of I Master Gardener again!  
There is an expression "you cannot fire a volunteer" but unfortunately this does not apply to the University of Illinois Master Gardener program. 

  

In a few hours Ed and I will perform our last Civic Choral Concert of the year, the Choral Collage featuring all ISU choirs.  Our group of approximately 75 community members and students will perform two PDQ Bach pieces and three madrigals all with lyrics by the bard himself, Shakespeare.  Traditionally ending the concert, all choirs join their voices to sing Leonard Bernstein's Make Our Garden Grow from Candide arranged by Robert Page, one of my favorite choral pieces. 

The 'green' thing.... by Denny Roberge August 8, 2011

 A friend sent this to me and I forwarded it to our UU Minister who incorporated it into a service. 

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that plastic
bags weren't good for the environment.  The woman apologized to her and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."
That's right, they didn't have the green thing in her day. 

Back then, they returned their milk bottles, Coke bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, using the same bottles over and over.  So they really were recycled.  But they didn't have the green thing back in her day.

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn't have an escalator in every store and office building.  They walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two blocks.  But she's right.  They didn't have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby's diapers because they didn't have the throw-away kind.  They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts wind and solar power really did dry the clothes.  Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.  But that old lady is right, they didn't havethe green thing back in her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house not a TV in every room.  And the TV had a small screen the size of a pizza dish, not a screen the size of the state of Montana.  In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn't have electric machines to do everything for you.  When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used wadded up newspaper to cushion, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, they didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn.  They used a push mower that ran on human power.  They exercised by working so they didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.  But she's right, they didn't have the green thing back then.