elionwyr | *picking dirt out from underneath my fingernails*

Let me tell ya what makes my job kinda cool.

The stargazer lilies are in bloom right now. Their scent is heady, and my nose is probably still covered in pollen from sniffing them so much today.

Hummingbird sightings are a daily occurrence, as are hummingbird moths.

I took a few breaks from work to go rescue yellow swallowtail butterflies that were getting caught in a partially-enclosed greenhouse.

The air around me changed from the scent of stargazer to the addictive smell of varied mints, as my last job of the day was to repot a bunch of mint plants - chocolate, apple, and orange mints as well as spearmint and peppermint.

And there is something very gratifying in snipping away dead matter from plants, in moving them from a pot where their roots are struggling for space into something that allows them room to stretch out a little.

While it's true that most of the time I am alone at work - much as I am, well, much of the time - and I am making very little money, there are days - like today - when it's just me, the plants, the insects, and the sun, when I am very happy indeed to have this job.