What a spectacular day! Brilliant sunshine, mild temperatures, mellow winds; it could not have been more lovely! Annika and I went for a brief walk up the hill beside town to take some pictures of some of the welding sculptures that are displayed around town. Annika then took a hike up Observation Hill, or "Ob Hill" as it's called here; what a perfect day for a hike! I buckled down and did some more homework. We tried to start packing some more gear for another team of Dr. Doran's that is coming down in a couple weeks; we thought it would be helpful to get them a head start! Since we can't do anything for our project from McMurdo, we had some time to help others out. Due to another team already being in the "cage" area, we were not able to get much done today, but have decided to pull an all-day (or as long as it takes!) session tomorrow.
In the meantime, Maciej, Annika, and I went on a mission. We found it; can you tell what would be special about this shack?
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Any guesses what this shack is used for? It doesn't look like much does it? But - it's a wonderful place!
You might not know just by looking at it.... go on inside!
We saw plants today! It's the greenhouse building! How strange it seemed to be in a greenhouse with big plants growing! They have tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and herbs!
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Tomatoes
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Me and the tomatoe plants!
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Cukes
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Basil!! I LOVE the smell of Basil!
Everything is grown hydroponically. This means that the plants are not in soil, but instead have nutrient rich water flowing over their roots. This greenhouse uses old scrap parts for much of its structure and inner workings! The shack itself was to be discarded; it was subsequently designated as the greenhouse. The plants grow in PVC pipe tubes which they themselves sit inside larger PVC piping that has been cut in half and laid on its side. This acts as a trough to allow water to flow across the plant roots. It's quite successful!
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Chives growing in the PVC pipes!
TAT and I took a brief walk around town:
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TAT at McMurdo sign
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Whale sculpture
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The Skier sculpture
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TAT takes a moment to discuss the view with the skier.
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Tat does his best impression of Admiral Byrd! Admiral Byrd was the first person to fly an airplane over the North Pole AND the South Pole!
The plaque on Admiral Byrd's statue:
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Let's hope so!
You can also check out my journals and pictures from previous seasons at: http://www.ryejrhigh.org/ellwood