6.04.2025 Demolition proceeds.

 ~o~

  Sunday 6th 29F/-2C [7.00]  Sunrise, bright sunshine. 11C/52F promised by late afternoon. The parabolic pond is frozen over. Dull on the surface instead of dancing reflections of the sky. It is still badly out of level.

  Up at 6.15 after a fairly quiet night. 64F/18C in the room this morning. It had soon reached 68F/20C by bedtime last night thanks to the stove. That took four logs and two hours.

 7.45. Time to get ready for a walk. No sign of any movement out there due to the wind. Unlike yesterday, when it was raw walking into the north wind. 

 8.40 Back from a walk to the lanes. It didn't take long to walk off the daily back ache. Too cold for bare hands. Not a breath of air movement. It was unnaturally quiet. Last man standing quiet. No cars at all. No traffic noise, distant or close. One sparrow and a crow. 

 A neighbour's small dog barked but fell silent as I approached. The skylarks broke rank and competed to fill the silence above the lanes. Several cars passed on the way back. Just another Sunday after all. 

 11.20 46F/7.8C. Bright sunshine. Cold northerly breeze. I was in no real state for another ride. My hands are aching from resting on the handlebars. No pain in my legs though.

 Back to the observatory demolition. The last of the plywood cladding is removed. To join the neat heap of recyclable plywood. Out of sight to the left. 

 I soon became extremely breathless, slightly dizzy and hot! So had to came in for a rest. 

 13.15 47F/8C. Lunch over. Going back out. Room at 68F/20C. The greenhouse door has been open for ages but has still reached 100F/37.8C. It feels very cold in the shade outside. I'll wear a thinner jacket than earlier. To avoid overheating.

 2.40 Back in again. Many of the screws sold for terrace boarding failed to respond to the Torx bit. The structure has lost its stiffness without the cladding. Which was providing stressed skin triangulation.

 So I turned my attention to the central pier. Removing the dozens of screws holding the 18mm cladding. Which stiffened the pyramidal form. Yet again the Torx screws failed to come out. So I was reduced to using the crowbar. Breaking 18mm plywood is hard work. I am dripping with sweat again. 

 I am not sure how best to proceed. Should I pull the whole thing over? I need to remove the ladders first. To avoid them being crushed and bent.

 

 

  ~o~

5.04.2025 Greenhouse pond?

 ~o~

  Saturday 5th 39F/4C [7.30] Bright but rather cloudy. Increasingly breezy from the north east. The clouds seem to be moving quite quickly from the north Two more days of sunshine promised but at lower temperatures. Today might reach nearly 9C/48F. 

 Up at 6.15 after another quiet night. Lower back pain may be the result of a day wasted on the computer. No immediate plans beyond my morning walk. 

 8.40 41F/5C. Overcast! Well past time for a walk. 

 9.00 And back again. I only walked a few hundred meters along the road before turning back. The wind made it feel very chilly. Not nice at all.

 Moved here from yesterday's post: 

 The Chemo/Cemo colour options [and blue.] These are a smaller model but images of the 1500l are hard to find online. The image below of the grey container is the correct model but gives little sense of the proportions.

 I am looking at options to house a raised, rectangular goldfish pond. Using a green [or grey?] GRP, industrial storage container out in the greenhouse. The outside of this container could be covered in timber boards. To make it look more attractive. Though the tanks themselves are smooth and cosmetically acceptable in their own right. Shall we say more purposeful than deliberate greenhouse furniture.

 A level, plywood base would not raise it any more than necessary. The base would need to be strong and load spreading. Only high enough to allow a seated person to easily admire the contents. I do not have any reason [at all] to be out in the greenhouse at present. Which is a bit of waste. The greenhouse's considerable volume could house many plants. Though probably only the hardiest of cacti at present!

 The greenhouse's double, open door width is 85cm. The range of containers I am admiring are [by happy coincidence] 81cm high in a variety of increasing volumes. I could easily slide quite a large container on its side through the open greenhouse doors. [Tapered walls willing.] Using suitable battens, boards or plywood on the ground and floor. Which will protect the container's finish. Not to mention making it upright while siding it on its edge. The dry weight of the larger 1500 liter containers is just under 50kg. Manageable, but a bit lumpy for one old fart to move around on his own. One mistake and the greenhouse could become an expensive repair job!

 The size limit is on how much I am willing to allow the tank to project. Out into the greenhouse area from the glass, front wall. With some nominal clearance, of course.

 The kitchen end of the greenhouse is presently no man's land. This is due to several years of untouched clutter. Mostly my wife's stuff.  If that was cleared there would be lots of room. I rarely need to go in and out of the doors that end of the greenhouse anyway. Only the doors at the drive end are ever used. For bringing in logs using a wheelbarrow.

 The cost of these containers is a fraction of any glass, fish tank of remotely the same length. Let alone width and depth. Goldfish tend to grow rapidly in suitable conditions. They are already stretching the acceptable limits in the secondhand aquarium I bought. 100x50x50cm and 250liters. Two tiny fish have grown to almost half the 50cm dimensions. Well, not quite, but appearances aren't that far off. 

 The minimum size of container I would consider is 700 liters. With 1100 and 1500 liter models readily available at the same height. Depending on how much floor space I am willing to sacrifice out in the greenhouse.  

 The 1500 liter container is 182x139x81cm. That would be six times larger than the indoor aquarium. The greenhouse is 2.6m deep. 260-139=121cm. Plenty of room to move past the tank. Which will be quite low at about 85cm to the rim. I'll try not to fall in! At least not when the water is cold.

 Any outdoor pond risks becoming the prey of the many herons in the area. I have already suffered from the attentions of a heron's pointy beak. While rescuing it from a protective net on the outdoor pond. If Danish winters ever return to normal. Then the outdoor pond would be covered in thick snow or ice for weeks. 

 Not to mention the constant rain of leaves. Falling from the surrounding and overhanging trees. The fish were never visible before they ended up in a heron's tummy. Thanks also to the floating pond weed. An indoor pond would allow me to watch their antics. Perhaps in slightly greater numbers than the indoor aquarium.

 I will not get the side view of the fish. Afforded by an inset window or glass aquarium. However, the much greater width and length of the pond. Will allow a clear view as the colourful fish approach the surface. I do not much like black ponds. So will not use rubber or plastic sheeting to make my own indoor pond from plywood. A preformed container will also avoid ugly folds. 

 The grey colour option is beginning to seem a far more sensible than my first choice of green. It will reflect more light than green. Making the fish easier to see under constantly changing light conditions. No doubt the inside surfaces will become green with algae if not cleaned regularly. Particularly in sunlight.

 There are clear plastic cylinders widely available. Which allow fish to swim above the pond surface. The cylinder remains constantly filled with water by excluding air during filling. That might make for an interesting addition. 

 One detail I haven't yet mentioned is water's ability to store heat. Such a large volume of water will help to ameliorate the rapid temperature changes currently enjoyed by the greenhouse. The water will absorb solar warmth during the day and only slowly release it overnight. This should help to reduce the soaring, daytime temperatures. While preventing rapid cooling overnight. 

 It is common practice to stack oil drums full of water in solar greenhouses. To act as heat sinks. This can moderate temperature swings. Enough to allow plants to survive and even grow well. Where outside temperatures are totally unsuitable for plant growth. In desert conditions or old, northerly climates.

 A grey tank should have lower solar heat absorption than a green one. The recent run of sunny weather has resulted in afternoon greenhouse temperatures exceeding 110F/43C! This is in spring. With only quite modest outside temperatures. Around 50F/10C or slightly higher. The greenhouse temperature extremes are entirely due to solar gain and a lack of heat sinks. A solar oven by any other name. I laid a herringbone pattern of bricks on the floor when I built the lean-to greenhouse. This helps to absorb some heat. The southern house wall is white painted brick. With a few, small windows. Not much heat sinking there.

 I should soon be adding the doubled shade nets to the greenhouse roof.  Because they reduce the sun's heat from entering the greenhouse. Once it has passed through the glass the sun's heat is very difficult to control. I have both double end doors open during the day in summer. For any through draft to help vent some of the heat. With fine weldmesh security and insect blocking netting over the wide open doors. Plus the commercial quality shade netting on the roof and front wall of the greenhouse. 

 It is obvious that I do not want stray animals or insects entering the warm greenhouse. Deer are regular visitors and wander everywhere. Then there are numerous domestic cats and strays. Rodents would enjoy the cosy conditions too. I have seen a tiny mouse running into the corner out there. To promptly disappear into the floor. 

 10.20 43F/6C. It is brightening up as the cloud thins. I feel a modest ride would be in order. Somewhere around 25-30km will take me to several places I want to visit.   

 13.00 46F/7.8C. Sunny. Back from a 37km ride to the shops. There was a horribly cold wind throughout. With my eyes streaming despite the wraparound sunglasses. There was no protection for my nose streaming. I was just beginning to feel saddle discomfort towards the end of the ride. Am I having fun yet? 

 The greenhouse is at 100F/38C again and all internal doors door have been opened. It reached 68F/20C in the room.

 8.15 Dinner was mackerel in tomato sauce on toast. Followed by a glass of the excellent, locally produced apple juice. Kindly provided by my English friend. The room has already dropped to 64F/18C. I had better light the stove.

 

 ~o~

4.04.2025 Third anniversary.

 ~o~

  Friday 4th 36F/2C [7.15] Another sunny day is promised. Reaching just over 13C/57F after lunch.

  Up at 6.20 after a quiet night. Yesterday was the third anniversary of my wife's death to cancer. Each day that passes it becomes slightly easier to accept. I still have bad days but my memories no longer pull me down into that bottomless black hole of despair. 

 Our over half century together inevitably provides an endless collection of unique memories. Some good, but none so bad I can no longer let them go. Moments pop up quite involuntarily and inexplicably. I constantly relive some moments. Mostly leading up to the time of her death. As if hoping for a different outcome. Could I have saved her? Had I been more firm. In getting the medical help she so desperately needed. But determinedly denied herself until it was far too late.

 Those who told me that time would eventually heal the wounds of my loss were correct. It just took much longer than I had imagined. It took this long for me to accept even seeing a picture of her. One where she was happy. Albeit taken over 20 years ago. It may sound very odd but I never saw how we were both aging. Not until I looked back through the few pictures I do have. She hated having her picture taken. So I must rely on those taken by rare family visitors. Or sneaked while she wasn't looking.

 I am not lonely. I have always been a bit of a loner. Albeit with my constant partner. Until her tragic loss. I feel no need whatsoever of a new partner. Certainly not an intimate one. I find myself laughing at the mere thought of it. The last time I was not really looking for a lifelong partner I caught a beautiful, blonde, Swedish teenager. It was love at first sight. At 78, however, I must seek an entirely different person. One who more closely resembles pictures of my great grandmother. If I had any.

 In retrospect, I enjoyed a lifetime of sharing all our ups and downs. There were things I would give anything to change now, but cannot. So must suffer the lingering guilt of failing to be perfect under sometimes very difficult circumstances. Neither of us was perfect. We were simply human. The fragile products of our own upbringing. Damaged goods. As are most human beings. Tread softly around those you hold most dear. Once carved indelibly into your timeline together. Nothing can [ever] be undone. 

 8.00 Enough waffling. Time for a walk in the sunshine.

 8.40 Back from a deliberately brisk walk to the lanes. The doctor has asked for more blood pressure readings. I wanted to capture the result of exercise. Since my recent dizziness followed lots of exercise. I was concerned that my BP had dropped too far as a result of my medication. 

 The lowest reading followed five minutes of sitting quietly: 96/75 at 75bpm. I'll try again after half an hour of sitting at the computer. Lowest reading after 40 minutes: 98/76 pulse 75. My pulse is usually much slower.   

 I am feeling tired and lazy today. So not much is happening. I cleaned the glass on the goldfish tank. Inside and out. The greenhouse is warming the house again. Currently 72F/22C in the room. 106F/42C in the greenhouse! It eventually reached 73F/22.8C in the room. 75F/24C in the kitchen. All internal doors open.

 Dinner was organic sausage, mushrooms, peas and chips. It was all perfect. Healthy? Who knows?

 ~o~