I love Bee Balm or Monarda. It is such an interesting flower shape.
The bees love it.
This tall Monarda makes an excellent backdrop for this bench where you can sit a spell.
It is warm again here in Minnesota, the humidity is high. It wears me out, so I usually have an nap after work.
I hate the weeks when I have to give up my Monday night for meetings where nothing gets decided. No one ever makes motions..but they discuss lots of “stuff.” I always present my list of concerns..Computers and Printers that don’t work…Vacuum cleaners that don’t work..most with their rummage sale tags still attached. ( DUH..why do you suppose people were selling the damn thing in the first place??) I guess I can always sweep the threadbare carpets. Some days the humidifiers do not work..or they over flow and do not shut off..I am a pretty good dehumidifier repairwoman but I cannot work miracles.
A safety issue that I brought up was totally ignored by the board, they offered no help or solutions other than a volunteer might be able to fix it. I am discouraged. I did not feel like going into work on Tuesday morning..but I went anyway and tried to stay cheerful for the visitors.
Friday I will fix the safety issue myself…a bookcase leaning at a precarious angle will be unloaded into a sturdier bookcase. I will hire the Grand boys to help shuffle the huge books filled with National Geographic's that no one ever looks at. I am capable of coming up with a plan so that we don’t have a nasty accident with an overloaded failing bookshelf.
I am reminded of a poster that my husband used to have in his office. It was a toothless old man in a Air Force flight suit and a helmet..it said “It is hard to soar with eagles when you work with turkeys.”
The bee in my bonnet will fly off into the Monarda now..thanks for listening:)
I guess the board members have the other inspirational poster hanging up in the conference room... the one that says, "Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines."
ReplyDeleteNew vacuum cleaners are expensive. I was shocked when I had to get one.
Lovely photos !
ReplyDeleteYes it is frustrating when no one will take what you say inconsideration. But sometimes ya have to push a bit to get your ideas and or point accross just dont let them get ya down with the job think of all the pluses and the wonderful folk who visit ! Have a good day !
It is my goal to have a Bee Balm in my garden someday. I love the color. Good luck with fixing the bookcase!
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh at Intense Guy's quote. It says it all, doesn't it? Those bee balm plants are also irresistible to hummingbirds, I'm told. Do you have them as well as the bees? And I would be discouraged too, to bring up a safety concern and have no response. I just hope the grands can safely get the job done for you...
ReplyDeleteYup - - - I feel your pain. Been there/done that at many jobs. Sounds like your board members could work for our government.
ReplyDeleteHopefully when they expect you out at night, they either pay you extra or give you comp time.
Thank God for people like you, who are doers, to supplement all the planners.
ReplyDeleteI know you are discouraged and I don't blame you. The City that John used to work for asked him to be on the Safety Committee one year, only to remove him promptly once he started writing down violations!
ReplyDeleteWe had red bee balm at the old house and the hummers loved it. My fav bee balm is a deep purple.
Beautiful pictures.
ReplyDeleteHow frustrating for you when all you want to do is make it a nice (and safe) place for visitors!
Guess you gotta do what you gotta do at your job. It sounds reasonable to empty the leaning bookcase and make the changes to prevent possible accidents. The board must want you to take initiative and do those things. You didn't know all the small print in your job description, did you?
ReplyDeleteLove that bee balm as you know! Don't really notice the bees on it, but sure notice the hummingbirds. It's really neat when some of them become a two story flower.
ReplyDeleteYes, if you are required to attend a meeting out of your regular work hours, you should be paid, and I'm sure you could find that somewhere in the labour laws.
I often wonder if any of the board members read this blog:)
Oh you make me GRIN!!!! I've attended sooooo many meetings no agenda, no decisions simply yak, yak, yak.
ReplyDeleteI can see why you are frustrated with being there.
ReplyDeleteBut I've never seen live bee balm so thanks for the photos!
I think that beautiful park bench is where you need to hide after the day you had.
ReplyDeleteYou are much more tactful than I would be at those board meetings. I have found my fuse has gotten very short when it comes to stupidity. Probably from being burnt so many times over the years.
Change is slow. Keep pluggin' away and don't get discouraged.
ReplyDeleteI say just take charge and do what needs to be done. I hate meetings like that......total waste of time. I've always wanted to try Bee Balm but haven't seen any in the garden center.
ReplyDeleteI love Bee Balm...yours is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteLinda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
Amazing! We have a bench almost like that and about the same amount of bee balm growing just behind! The only real difference is that our bee balm is on the other side of the bench.
ReplyDeleteI used to say that I went to work to go to meetings and I went home to go to work. I really admire folks who can run a good meeting; they have a strong agenda, they get through each point and they somehow have learned the art of expediting discussion and streamlining the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine how frustrated you must feel when it seems that they don't even listen to you.
Good luck!
I love Monarda too. Maybe I'll have better luck with it here. Your bench looks so peaceful. It must be a nice place to unwind and lose all your frustrations (that's a hint!)
I have three suggestions. (1) If it's something you can do yourself (like the new book shelf) just do it. (2) If it's a bigger deal and requires a policy change or a budget allocation, submit a brief proposal in advance of the meeting. (3) If it's REALLY big, have a conversation about it with at least one board member who will support it, in advance.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I hope you will put your grandsons' names on a volunteer honor roll to be displayed at the museum!
Great advice, Blissed Out Grandma! You are obviously more meeting savvy than I am. I know if I went to meetings for long enough where no decisions were ever made, I'd probably announce that I would no longer be attending and would in future just submit in writing whatever they were going to ignore anyways. I know all about going ahead and doing things yourself and even spending your own money to do so...but, things like getting members on your side would probably go a lot further. LOL!! ;)
ReplyDeleteAre you also a voting member of the board? Can you make a motion? I was Fair Manager for our community fair for several years. Finally it struck me, I wasn't really managing anything, I couldn't make a move without their permission, that is not managing, I was the top worker bee for folks that don't like change, crumbling ruins maybe, but never change.
ReplyDelete