18.11.2025

 ~o~

 Tuesday 18th 36F/2.2C. A cloudy day with showers is on offer. 62F/16.7C in the room. 47F/8.3C in the lean-to greenhouse. No doubt helped by yesterday's sunshine. 

 Up at 6am after another quiet night. The hand and wrist pain is hardly noticeable now.  

 I shall be visiting my English friend. Hopefully the roads will have been salted. As they have been over the last few days. There were many accidents on icy cycle paths in Copenhagen yesterday. With too many falls requiring ambulances to be called out. Aside from the vast numbers who cycle in Copenhagen. It must be remembered that cyclists are literally of all ages. A sudden, unexpected fall from a cycle in old age can be life changing! 

 The cyclists blamed the council for not salting the cycle paths. Somebody badly misjudged the weather forecast. The cycle paths are often the lowest priority. I am constantly having to duck to miss overhanging branches above cycle lanes and paths. Or having to crawl though deep leaves and moraines of twigs and vegetation. Built up over countless years of neglect. I would often joke about archeological finds being buried there. 

 The lorry snow ploughs often cleared the roads into the cycle lanes. Particularly in towns and villages. Forcing the cyclist out onto the road. Where the impatient traffic always wanted to break the speed limit. Just as they always do in fine weather. Risking lives to overtake. Just to gain one place in the gridlock to nowhere. The only way they know how to drive. Raving insanity.

 For years I have complained [here] about how perfect the roads alongside often were. Spotless billiard table surfaces as far as the eye could see. While the cycle paths had far more in common with extreme mountain bike trails! I was incredibly fortunate to be riding a two-wheel-drive trike for most of those years. Which gave me a high level of stability. Not enjoyed by the often absent majority of cyclists in poor winter conditions. I could easily ride on black ice and snow. Even on hills. When there were literally no other cyclists to be seen all day. I wouldn't go out in icy conditions on the e-bike!    

 11.30 Safely returned and with shopping. 

 

  ~o~

17.11.2025 Grr-avy!

 ~o~

 Monday 17th 32F/0C [7.00] Another white frost. We are promised some sunshine today. 63F/17C in the room. 45F/7C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 6.30 after a fairly quiet night. 

 I ought to fetch some more logs in the trailer. Last winter's stock has gone down more quickly than I had imagined. Despite my not lighting the stove until the late afternoon or evening. However, I have another parcel coming today. An item returned for repair under guarantee. I am expected to be home to accept the parcel. They came in the morning last time but are normally here well after lunch. 

 8.30 Time for a walk. I tried a different clothing idea yesterday. A felted, heavy wool jumper under my down sweater. Instead of a heavier down jacket with a thin jumper. I was more comfortable and didn't overheat. 

 9.00 Back from my walk in bright sunshine. Thanks to the frost, the ground was firm enough to walk on the spray tracks. So I looped around a smaller field at a brisk pace. Even managing to get slightly out of breath. 

 A small, fast, bird of prey did a loop around the garden. I am calling it a Merlin. Buff, pointed wings, swept back. There were noisy Redwings in the wild cherry trees. Smaller birds everywhere.

 I spent some time tidying up after using the living room as an assembly hall for my telescopes.

 Then I captured a lot of videos of the sun and processed some of them. A late lunch and then back to the fray. 

 15.30 Now I should go shopping.  

 16.00 35F/1.7C. Cold. Back again. Shops full.  

 Dinner was a salmon pasty, peas, boiled potatoes and gravy. 

 

  ~o~

16.11.2025 Wee, sleekit, cow'ran, tim'rous beastie.

 ~o~

 Sunday 16th 30F/-1C [7.15] Another white frost and a confusing forecast. The verbal description talks of sunshine. The graphs show none. The room has dropped to 62.9F/17C overnight. The stove struggled to bring the room up to 68F/20C by bedtime. Only 14C/57F in the bathroom. I have adjusted the small, oil-filled radiator I have in there. Just to keep the chill off. 

 Up at 6.45 after lying awake for hours between weird dreams. I was going to get up many times but managed to resist the temptation. This morning I had a [short] nosebleed for the first time in ages. Could it be the paracetamol? Nope. Dr.AI says it is recommended as a pain killer for those subject to nosebleeds. After one day of taking it my hands are already much less painful. I was beginning to fear for my independence.   

 9.00 31F/0C. No sunshine yet but brightening. Time for a walk. 

 9.40 Most of the sky was speckled. With thicker cloud in the east. Doing its best to veil the sun as usual. A few gulls drifted over. Then a flock of jackdaws chattering noisily. I reached my usual turning point in the lanes. A hunt was just setting up for a shoot by a popular copse. There was low lying mist. Which gave the dark silhouettes an air of mystery. They sent the dogs in to drive the game towards the guns but there were no shots fired. 

 I had ordered a new mouse when my usual one finally gave up. It was years old and had been dropped onto hard floorboards several times. It was delivered on a Sunday to the newspaper pipe on the corner. A hundred meters from the door. I saw a car turn into the drive just as I left. 

 Should I be grateful for a Sunday delivery? Probably. It was sheer luck that I spotted the bag as I passed. There was no newspaper delivery this week for some unknown reason. So I was double checking in the dark depths of the pipe. 

 Theoretically I was supposed to be at home for receipt but there was no notification of intended delivery. They claimed that it was delivered to the door. I checked the security camera recordings. They never drove down to the house. Luckily the M705 worked straight out of the box. 

 Washing up completed. This was no small feat! 

 12.30 I am playing with the solar telescope again. Thick cloud is making it pointless. I'll make lunch.

 An afternoon of education on YouTube. While I was actually awake.

 Dinner was sardines on toast with halved cherry tomatoes. 

   

  ~o~