Cloud forest room and tank maintenance

Today, June 8th, was a relatively simple day at the greenhouse. I spent the first hour watering plants in room C1. I captured the images above from some of the many flowering plants in that “cloud forest” room. The two stacked photos are, of course, orchids. The other is a rhododendron, very fragrant. Since it is summer, and quite warm outside, many of the plants can use extra water, I was generous with it.

The second part of the 3-hour shift was spent helping B... and Curator J... to clean the water-plant trays and tanks in room C3. I have cleaned these two tanks in the past, and the job is quite a chore. The reservoir tanks below the table trays are quite heavy, and they do not have drain holes. So, they must be pulled out and emptied of 100-200 gallons (or so). B and I slid one of the reservoirs full of water just enough so I could tip it up a bit to drain the old dirty water. In the process of helping me, B injured the skin on two of her fingers (requiring bandages to stop the bleeding). But, she is a trooper and was soon back in the saddle helping to finish the job. I may have a bit of a sore lower back tomorrow, but at the moment things feel fine down there.

I cycled home (downhill and with the wind), it was a beautiful ride through the campus in St. Paul, and on through Minneapolis Dinkytown along the commuter trail.

I came home with dirty wet shoes from the tank-draining activity. I’ll give the shoes a hand-wash to see if I can keep the smell out of them.

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