12.07.2025 Wittering on.

 ~o~

  Saturday 12th 61F/16C. A bright start leading to cloud and showers.

 Up at 6.10 after a fairly quiet night and more weird dreams.

 How can one person accumulate so much washing up?

 I have been reading lots of headlines about the dangers of dehydration. Particularly in old age and during increasingly common heatwaves. So I am forcing myself to drink a small glass of water every time I make tea, coffee, make a meal, or visit the bathroom. Without the additional water my daily average consumption of tea and coffee is only 1.8 liters. So I am under the 2 liter recommendation for old farts. 

 The doctor advised me to drink much more water. He said it would help with the frequency. Which sounds like a complete contradiction. To which I foolishly retorted that I didn't like the local water. Not did I enjoy drinking water anyway. I always feel as if I am drowning. When I try to drink a large glass.  

 Somewhat ironically they no longer stock organic beer at any of the local supermarkets. Of which I would enjoy a single small can after dinner. And, since I have no immediate plans to start drinking bottled water. Nor consume anything fizzy or sugar bombed. I had better do something constructive. Stop sniggering at the back! This is important! 🙄

 I'd normally ride to a charity flea market in another village on Saturday morning. Why not? I have waterproof clothing. It's only a 24+km round trip. Exercise is good for me. Preparing for the ride and a making a shopping list is good for the memory cells. I get out of the house. See real people being people. There are two other supermarkets more than the nearest chains. 

 So, why not? A: Tire spray from passing vehicles. The flea market never has anything of interest. Nothing I might want to buy. To add to the never ending hoard. You can't give loads of stuff away to the local flea market and continue collecting. Dos not compute.

The clock is nearing 7.45. It is still dry. Time to stop wittering on and go for a walk!    

 8.30 63F/17C. Warm but rather cloudy and windy. I walked down to the village. Around the church and back again. The traffic was almost non-existent. All gone south to top up their skin cancer? They should do a national recall on Danish registered Audis. They seem incapable of cornering without crossing the double white lines. Isn't this a potentially serious steering fault?

 Lots of warblers singing again. Including one in a bare tree. Which had lost all its leaves. Warblers are usually invisible. Hidden in dense foliage. A black kite was circling over me as I neared home. Though I'd have put up a good fight to avoid becoming breakfast. Unlike the mouse. Which a black and white cat caught and immediately started to munch on. 

 9.46 Off we jolly well go. 

  ~o~

11.07.2025 Felling for a fall.

 ~o~

  Friday 11th 54F/12.2C [7.00] A mostly sunny, dry day after early cloud. Rather breezy from the NW turning NE. A wet weekend in prospect.

 Up at 6.00 after a quiet night. 

 It clouded over and became misty. Though I still went for a walk. It was cold on my hands. Particularly while walking into the breeze. The warblers seems untroubled by the change in weather. I don't remember them singing for so long. 

 The mist provided a little extra drama to the all too familiar scenes. Misted spiders webs clung to the tips of the oil seed rape. Sunshine is expected around 10am. 

 So far I haven't a clue what to do today. There are so many things waiting to be done: Tidy the remains of the observatory. Dig the holes for the foundation blocks for the carport. Tidy upstairs. Tidy the sheds. Where to begin? 

 10.50 65F/18.3C. Bright sunshine. Back from grocery shopping in the village. 

 12.30 70F/21C. Hot! I have been aligning the carport with the shed. 

13.15 73F/22.8C. I brought out my tallest stepladder and attached a rope as high as possible. To the red oak tree beyond the carport. Even with a rope to pull it down. After sawing a notch and back cut. It is still very risky. 

 The carport is one side and the workshop/shed the other. Leaving a very small safe angle for felling. One mistake and it could be very costly! I have to dash over to pull the rope. Only to fall flat on my face and have the tree fall on top of me! 

 Best not to try. It can't be allowed to fall backwards due to the much bigger trees behind. It could hang up and become dangerous.

 15.15 76F/24.4C Too hot to be outside in direct sunshine. Very pleasant in the shade with the cooling breeze. I have gently pruned the brown tips on the dappled willow. There were green leaves growing out everywhere. Even where the tips were completely brown and withered. Hardly a return to its former glory but a definite recovery. Though it has lost its shape. 

 The plant is still sitting in the original pot in the shade under the north roof overhang. It only gets sun in the early morning. So it should survive. Despite it being the wrong time of year for pruning. 

I might even risk re-potting it. Though I shouldn't until much later in the autumn. It was horribly root-bound when I bought it. 

 I have seen several superb specimens on my travels. Usually ball shaped on a clean stem. Planted in the ground or lawn in posh gardens. Pink lollipops spring to mind. 

 Dinner was cheese on toast with halved tomatoes. 

    

 ~o~

10.07.2025 96km not sitting comfortably.

 ~o~

  Thursday 10th 65F/18.3C [9.15] Dry and mostly sunny this morning. More cloudy after lunch. A high of 20C/68F should last for some hours.

 Up at 6am after an unusually quiet night. Though again with weird dreams. 

 8.40 Back from my 40 minute walk in warm sunshine. To the lanes, as usual. Then a bonus loop around the neighbours' shared drives. The traffic was very light. 

 They must have started harvesting the grain crop at the saddle yesterday. No sign of any activity this morning. The warblers were singing merrily away again. Now joined by a repetitive chaffinch.

 It is such a beautiful day that I feel the need for another ride. I have the second battery on charge. While I have a leisurely morning coffee.

Which raises the inevitable question of where to go. Should I change the saddle back to my well worn B17 from my trike? I felt as if my buttocks were the main source of pain on yesterday's 31km/20 mile ride. 

 The Contec "Classic Touring" is the same width as the Brooks B67. Which was awful from the very first ride! The hard edges of their decorative pressing really hurt! While the completely smooth and softer Contec did not. 

 The best experience so far is on the Contec. While wearing the bare Assos bibs with their chamois cream. No cargo trousers worn over the top. The cargo trousers are thin and very useful thanks to all the pockets. As I grow more ancient my flexibility for reaching the racing jersey rear pockets is fast reducing. 

 Lunch packed. I shall ride to Bogense on the north coast. 

 10.20-15.50 70F/21C. 96km/60 miles. I took a circuitous route on the way. All thanks to the work on the new, high speed rail line. With most of the roads blocked to all traffic. I took a few snaps of the major earthworks ad concrete structures. Usually right beside the roaring motorway! As I worked my way steadily westwards. When I really wanted to go north. I could finally escape the road blockages just above Ejby. 

 The nearer I got to Bogense the colder it became. Until I finally had to don my cycling jacket. It stayed on after that. Though it soon warmed up again away from the coast. 

 The countryside was absolutely gorgeous. With most fields full of ripe and surprisingly colourful crops. Made all the more attractive by the straw shortening breeding. Which enhances the gloss on the smooth, visible surface. 

 The Bosch Nyon computer screen went almost blank for quite some time. Until I experimented with pressing the on/off button to reboot. It was fine after that. I'll have to remember this if it happens again. I was more afraid of losing power than the temporary lack of information. I was still able to change assistance Mode without any problem. No ride data was lost. 

 I suffered from saddle pain for about half the ride. Pulling the legs of the shorts down seemed to help. Suggesting, perhaps, that the thick Assos padding must be folded under me. Though I can't imagine fitting elastic stirrups three feet long. My sewing skills aren't that good! Adding more chamois cream, mid-ride, might have helped.

 I saw lots of birds of prey today. Including several hunting slowly over the fields close to the road. I meandered on the way back too. With a bit of grocery shopping in the last village. 

 It is amazing how some villages are expanding. With modern estates springing up all over the place. Elsewhere there are lots of abandoned houses. Particularly old farmhouses. Often overgrown and dying where they stand. 

 Small farms are not economical. When a farmer dies or retires their offspring, if any, have to buy the business. It seems that fewer and fewer want to take on the thankless, unprofitable workload. Often with totally unsuitable buildings. For housing today's vast and cripplingly expensive machinery. So the big farms constantly expand and get richer. They can get somebody else's kid to till, sew, spray and harvest their prairies in a few short hours.

 Dinner was a salmon pasty, peas, pasta and tinned tomatoes. 

 

  ~o~