MY Town’s Wastewater Treatment Plant and Other Pleasantries
In my last post I wrote that it’s very difficult to show COLD in a picture. Today I will add that it’s IMPOSSIBLE to show STINK in a picture.
STINK is what got me to investigate further today after picking up my mail at the post office. I had a pretty good idea where it was coming from. Some days are worse than others when it comes to the smell emanating from the wastewater treatment plant and it doesn’t always have to do with which way the wind is blowing. What I mean to say is: THE AIR WAS UNUSUALLY STINKY TODAY.
Maybe you noticed the chain link fence with the barbed wire and the guard tower looming above it in the Title Picture. Perhaps you thought there was a high security prison inside. Uh uh, it was a picture taken from outside of the wastewater treatment plant–as if ANYBODY would want to break into a place that smelled like that. But then, it WAS the smell that brought ME here.
I took those pictures of the wastewater treatment facility, but I never intended them to be the highlight of this post. I went searching for some better photo ops. I found this one and thought it would be the highlight.
But that was far from the highlight of today’s ride. As I cruised through the downtown area, I noticed people gathering around ice sculptures. Unbeknownst to me, our local brewery sponsored an ice sculpting contest on Valentines Day. You would think they would have consulted me before doing something like that. After all, I am the most famous citizen in all of Hastings who is a Cycle365 blogger. Also, I purchase growlers from them, and I buy four-packs of pints of their beer at the local beer stores.
I bear no ill will to the brewery for not asking for my opinion or permission, but it would have been nice if they had promoted the event somehow. We were lucky to have had such cold weather since then or else the sculptures might have melted before I could see them. That’s what is going to happen next week when temperatures are expected to get up into the 40’s.
Here are a few more Valentine-themed ice sculptures:
I raced home and told The Feeshko — my true Valentine — about my discovery. We’re going to go down there together before they melt away.
gregblood
Hi. My name is Greg and I ride my bike a lot. That is to say, I ride my bike almost every day. I go on long rides and short rides. Sunny rides, cloudy rides, and rainy rides. I like commuting, errand-running, day-tripping, overnighting, and touring on my bike. I ride on city streets, highways, gravel, single track, and snow with equal enthusiasm. Sometimes I ride fast and sometimes I ride slow. I try to keep my feet on the pedals at stop lights and I do not dismount when I hop up on a curb. I have a roadie bike, a mountain bike and a touring bike. I try to accept any challenge a bike ride can throw at me without complaint. But I don't like bugs.
11 response to "MY Town’s Wastewater Treatment Plant and Other Pleasantries"
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Pretty amazing ice sculptures! The ice in them is so clear. Say – do you think you’d get more respect from your local brewery if they knew you were our Poet Laureate? You might check it out. At the very least they might serve you up a complementary Downward Spiral.
Downward Spiral = my favorite Spiral brew. Good choice.
Those sculptures are great! I guess it’s an indication of how cold it is that they are out in the sun, and still not melting. Around here, even if the air temp is pretty cold, ice in direct sunlight tends to melt.
Quick story about wastewater treatment plants… When I was a kid, my older brother (12 yrs older than me), worked for the local village maintenance crew. Part of his job included taking care of the water treatment plant (that is, treating the drinking water) and the wastewater treatment plant. He used to let me tag along every once in awhile. As a young kid, I definitely thought the wastewater treatment plant was much cooler. It was stinky though.
WWTPs really are kind of interesting places. A lot of amazing stuff goes on there to take care of our water supply.
WOW, those are such great ice sculptures. I have a friend who, back in the day, did some ice sculpting for restaurants and their brunch tables. They were amazing, and mostly done with chain saws until fine tuning was needed. Amazing to see so many of them on the streets of YOUR town. Good idea to take your valentine on a walk through them ?❤️.
I for so enthused with the ice sculptures I forgot about the wastewater treatment. Good for you to have that so well planned ?.
I saw a couple of those ice sculptures at a fancy brunch one time. I also saw sculptures carved out of big blocks of butter there. Quite amazing.
As you will see in the post coming up shortly, I was inspired by those ice sculptures I saw yesterday. Stay tuned.
My theory on the stinky wastewater treatment plant is that you had a nice, sunny day with little wind and stable atmospheric conditions, thus the stink did not really have the chance to disperse with the wind. Plus, cold air sinks, so if it was quite cold, it would keep the stink close to the ground rather than it rising with warmer air. My theory on the ice sculptures is that you need to be on the pub Board or have a financial stake in the business to get the notification… can’t believe they haven’t asked you to do either just yet. Amazing talent though, I hope the Feeshko got to see them before they lost shape and definition.
I knew there had to be a scientific explanation for the unusual stink, and I’m glad we have a scientist here who could provide that explanation. And this morning I learned you weren’t just blowing smoke. An air quality alert was issued yesterday for the Twin Cities (mainly for people with respiratory conditions) and the reasons for the alert were almost exactly the same as the ones you gave for the smell: cold air, little air movement, etc.
The ice sculptures are amazing!
Beautiful ice sculptures – even if you do have to suffer bitter cold to see them. I have only seen pictures of the ice sculptures in Harbin, China – quite amazing.