11.09.2026 56km. Ponds.

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  Friday 11th 55F/13C [8.20] Heavily overcast. A dry morning with rain later. A rather cool 19C/66F in the room. 

 Up at 7.30 after an odd night. I struggled to get to sleep. Got up to take off a jumper. Because it felt too cold at bedtime. I slept better after that. Perhaps I should have a minimum temperature for the heat pump to work on. I haven't developed a proper strategy so far. Just heated or cooled the room briefly. Usually aiming for 22C/72F. 

 Now autumn has arrived the house walls are much cooler. Which means I am radiating more heat to my surroundings. Regardless of the air temperature in the room. Normally I'd light the wood stove and burn a couple of logs. The stove would continue to provide warmth long after it had died down. Thanks to the soapstone cladding. While the heat pump is either on or off.

 I could have a ride this morning.

 The fish are more obviously active now their greenhouse shade net has gone. The Canadian Pondweed [Elodea] is growing like mad. No other plant I introduced lasted for long. The fish seem to like brushing through the Elodea and graze any algae build up. 

 The plants are at their thickest where the submersed filter pumps water upwards. I had imagined it would prefer still water. Not according to the dense growth reaching up to the surface. All around the maximum flow. I don't have a fountain. Because I can't stand the sound of the water constantly falling back onto the surface.

  I tried all the options but even the near silent bell fountain was irritating. So I use the filter pump with the shortest possible exit pipe. To minimize surface disturbance. I can then see the fish and depths of the pond much more clearly. 

 I often wish the pond were larger than its 1500 liters. I was limited by the width of the double doors when I was staring at the Cemo/Chemo catalogues online. 

 The 1500 liter, industrial fiberglass container only just fitted through the open, greenhouse doors on edge. Even then I had to lay lengths of timber and old cushions. To allow the taper sided pond to sit more upright. As it slid in with hardly any room to spare. Working alone as always.

 I badly wanted to protect the container from cosmetic damage. The sturdy plastic container was no lightweight! It is reinforced. To carry and store heavy industrial components and liquids.

 

 I sank the pond to what I felt was a comfortable depth in the greenhouse floor. Though it required lifting my herringbone brick floor and then lots of digging. Before laying sand and fine gravel for the pond base to sit on as evenly as possible. A lower depth might have put myself or visitors at risk of falling in! So I kept it at knee height while seated. A perfect choice in retrospect.

 Cemo are in Germany. I had to wait while they produced another batch of their grey plastic containers. Then collected my pond from the Danish distributor in my little, car trailer. Drawn behind the Morris Minor. I avoided the motorway on the way home!

 Meanwhile, the large, parabolic, fiberglass dish pond out in the garden. Has filled to the brim with water lily and falling leaves. It is impractical to add fish. Due to the limited depth and constant overload of falling debris. No doubt a heron wold soon find it. 

 Just as one did in my big pond in the corner of the garden. I had to rescue the huge bird from the protective net. After it got under the net and ate my entire stock of 8" long goldfish. Its viciously sharp beak making holes in my hands and wrists. During the dramatic rescue! It had got itself well tangled!

 9.30 I'm going for a ride. It's rather cloudy and breezy but I'll still enjoy being out. Away from the damned computer!

 10.00 Off we go. 

 13.30 Back from a 56km ride. Taking in several charity shops. I bought two spotty mugs. Because they were fun and will reduce the pressure to wash up so often. I had to fight a headwind all the way home. It had tried to rain all morning but held off. 

 I saw a superb custom car. Which looked like it was based on a 1940 Ford Deluxe Coupé. 

 Steady progress on the new rail track. I took a few photos with my phone. This one is in the open countryside between villages. Tiny Hønnerup is the nearest. I am standing on the new bridge over the railway. The motorway is just to my right.

 The roads were quiet and the traffic well behaved. Except for one brain dead/ drunken/ drug addled/ immature/ mentally retarded/ registered blind/ senile/ sociopathic/ Ovethi van driver. 

 Who brushed past me. Inches from the end of my handlebars. As he entered a village with a 60kph/40mph speed limit. At high speed. On a blind bend. With only one vehicle approaching. The car just behind him could give me the legal 1.5m spacing. Because there was no more approaching traffic. 

 There are some people working on the overgrown garden. Of one of the abandoned properties in our hamlet. The IC motors of their tools are whining loudly. It sounds like more than one. I wonder if this means somebody has bought the place? Or it is just being tarted up for rental.

 Dinner was cheese on toasted rolls with tomato soup! I haven't had soup for ages.  I used the whole tin.

 

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10.09.2026 Eating out.

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 Thursday 10th 50F/10C [7.10] A sunny day is promised but the WNW wind is gusting to 10m/s. Temperatures peaking at an autumnal 15C/59F. 

 Up at 6.30 after a very wakeful night. Yesterday's long naps took their toll. 

 I gave the heat pump a quick blast to raise the room to 21C/70F from 19C overnight. Don't want a chill after my shower.

 Cooking class this morning. I might have cycled there but for the wind. Which I would be fighting all the way home.   

 13.50 Back from cooking. Where we had a good time as usual. I helped to make a huge pot of a complex sauce with beef mince, mushrooms, onions, carrots and all sorts of additional ingredients. It turned out to be delicious. Then there was rice, a salad and a cake.

 In the afternoon I used the dry day. As a chance to take down the shade net from the greenhouse. I spread it out on the gravel parking space to fold it neatly. It was immediately brighter indoors. Despite the present overcast. The front garden shrubs and beech hedge have grown wildly through neglect. Which will block the low sun in winter. I should attempt some serious clipping.

 18.15 I have sent the mower out to do the drive. The strobe light is much brighter when the sun is down behind the trees. Not so bright when competing with full sunshine. The security cameras register the robot as a vehicle. I had to fetch a stepladder to trim a tree. Which was blocking the view of the drive.

 19.30 While it is still daylight the robot has announced that the sun is setting. It has returned to base for charging. The onboard cameras obviously have a low light limit. That was a first. It didn't need charging but returned to base for safety reasons. You can't have robot mowers parking wherever they like. 

  

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9.09.2026 Sick note.

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  Wednesday 9th

  Woke feeling hot and sweating. Nausea. Spent 45 minutes sitting on the toilet. Not diarrhea. Went back to bed. Then woke later to vomit in a bucket. Horrible taste and smelt like chemicals. 

 11.00 Going back to bed and still feeling awful. Pain in my heart but no point in taking my tablets if I throw up again. Had a glass of water.

 12.30 Slept for the rest of the morning. Feeling better. I'm going to throw the second half of the chicken away. It was the last of the eggs. Both were well within Best By date. My visitor reports no problems. So it wasn't the pastry. Everything else was my normal fare and was already open and used at least once. 

 I've had a bread roll with raspberry jam and a cup of tea. I needed something to keep my eight tablets down.  

 Chatted with my minder. To confirm proof of life. Old farts are supposed to burn their food. Not under-cook it! Allegedly.

 It was a sunny morning, I think, but is darkening now and rain is here. The gravel has already darkened.  I still haven't taken down the shade net on the greenhouse. 

 I decided to have lunch for dinner. Two wholemeal rolls, with raspberry jam, organic honey, curried herring and extra mature cheddar cheese. Not all on the same roll. With a cup of tea. 

 The heat pump had a quick blast to boost the temperature up to 21C when I started shivering.

  

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