10.04.2026

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  Friday 10th 36F/2.2C. Heavy overcast with rain. Clearing mid afternoon. Wind gusts to 13m/s easing throughout the day. Snow is reported for Jylland [Jutland] 

 Up at 7.45 after a false alarm at 7am. 

 

 

 

 

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9.04.2026 Broccoli master class.

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  Thursday 9th 38F/3.3C. Bright start with lots of sunshine promised. 63F/17.2C in the room. 44F/44F/6.7C in the greenhouse. A wet day with gales and a risk of snow tomorrow! 

 Up at 6.45 after a busy night.

 Cooking class today.  

 13.45 53F/12C. Bright sunshine and breezy from the SE. Returning from cooking class. Where I prepared and cooked broccoli. 107F/42C in the greenhouse! 65F/18C in the room and rising. With the internal windows and doors open. I'm trying to decide where to go for a ride. 

 19.30 47F/8.3C. Back from a 54km ride to Helnæs and back. It was a foolish choice. I was fighting an icy SE headwind all the way there. In bottom gear in Sport Mode I was barely making headway across the viaduct. The inland water was choppy with white horses. It is usually as flat and calm as a farm pond. 

 On my return I was cruising at 40kph on the same stretch. The DMI says 14m/s gust but the base wind was far stronger than that! My knees were hurting and legs were burning. I came within a hairsbreadth of turning back. As I was already committed, half way there and had managed most of the crossing I decided to continue.

 I was cold on the way back and colder when I arrived home. So I piled on three fleece jackets, a fleece hat, thick socks and went to bed for half an hour. 

 I finally lit the stove at 20.00. The room had dropped to 19C.

 No dinner required. I made do with coffee and a biscuit.

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8.04.2026 Missing tower.

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  Wednesday 8th 33F/1C. Another sunny day after a cold night. Hint of frost on the western lawn. Expected to peak around 13C/55F well after lunch today. Much lighter winds. Starting light NE this morning. Gusting to 8m/s easterly mid afternoon. 63F in the room. 40F in the greenhouse.

 Up at 7am after a typical night. Woke several times to attend to the fire bucket. Resisted the urge to get up.

 I'd like a ride but for the cool start and only reaching comfort levels around lunch time and beyond. I'll see how it feels with a walk at 8.00. 

 9.10 After my walk I have been preparing the trailer for a run to the builder's merchants. I'll go early to avoid cycling while there is still white frost on the grass. Then have a ride later.

 11.00 Back from a trip to the shops. I bought some more petrol and six, massive paving labs. The latter are 30x60x10cm. 12"x24"x4". Recommended by a builders merchant to be stacked under the heat pump unit. To avoid snow drifting blocking the airflow. I'll give the installer a free choice when they turn up.  

 I may have to net the greenhouse pond. The water has reached 60F/15C. The goldfish seem to be trying to increase their numbers. I can hear them sploshing about out there. 

 17.30 Back from a drive to find a bird watching tower at a wildlife wetland site. Unsuccessfully, I might add. I stopped to ask a pair of walkers for directions. They turned out to be Scots and could I speak English?! I drove along the track and found the car park mentioned online but not the tower. 

 I was lucky enough to see a Lapwing preening close to the track. So I stopped the car and watched it through my binoculars. Now I am back at home I can see that I didn't go quite far enough. Though the tower should have been visible from the public car park and from where I walked on. The information online suggested the tower was rotting away and should be demolished. That was some years ago. 

 Further online research confirms the tower supports had rotted. Making the building unsafe. So it was demolished after some years of closure to the public. 

 Searching mapping apps online shows a pale patch on the ground. After years of a black tower throwing a shadow. I needed to have walked a further 200m from the little car park. Which is embedded in the woods. I would have preferred to have ridden to the site but it was rather too late. For covering that total distance there and back.  

 Dinner was mackerel on toast. With halved tomatoes. 

  

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