17.05.2026 Clearing the yard.

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  Sunday 17th 52F/11C [8.15] Bright start expected to cloud over later. Windy again. 68F in the room thanks to the heat pump. 50F/10C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 3am because I was tormenting myself on not knowing the exact bus times. To get to the city hospital on Wednesday. So I got up, searched out the bus timetables online and printed them out. Then I confirmed that, no, the buses drove straight past the vast hospital grounds without entering. Leaving potential patients to cross a six lane, inner city race track. Then walk 3/4 of a mile, or a kilometer, to the Hospitals' main entrance or A&E. Whereupon I went back to bed approaching 5am and slept until 7am.

 8.30 I had just turned off the computer and was about to go for my walk. When I realised I hadn't started my blog. Nor had a cup of tea. So here I am back at the keyboard again. Job done. Now I really can go for my walk.

 9.00 The cacophony of bird song quickly gave way to the barking of the small, hairy guard dog. It's owner had to retrieve the animal. I turned about and retraced my steps. Should I invest in some dog treats? Is that the answer? If so, which? What if I get a bad batch and the poor little mutt keels over? Is it the done thing to bribe another person's dog? To bypass their protective instinct.

 Since I was already upright on my return. I cleared the last of the timber still defacing the parking area. Before returning to the keyboard.

 11.50 More tidying of the yard. I ran the asphalt rake over the granite chippings. Pulled out a few weeds.

 The greenhouse pond seems to be recovering from its serious algae problem. I have changed half of the water. As well as adding the shade net over the greenhouse. The filter pump has also been cleaned twice.The Canadian pond weed is no longer smothered in algae. The leaves [?] are clearly visible as belonging to plants. Earlier, they were completely smothered in dark green, cotton wool.

 The water change would dilute the nutrients on which the algae thrive. The shade reduces the light levels on which it depends. I had noticed the fish grazing on the algae on the ponds sides. Now there is little left for them to feed on. 

 I dragged a recycling bin along the drive. 

 Dinner was cheese on toast with tomatoes. 

 

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16.05.2026 More downsizing.

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  Saturday 16th 45F/7.2C [7.35] Overcast and windy. With rain until midnight. The trees and hedges are moving. The heat pump is maintaining 68-69F/20-21C. 51F/11C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 7.00. The usual aches. I must make an effort to do some more tidying. 

 9.20 Back from my brisk walk. Grey and breezy but dry. The neighbour's dog was outside. So I turned back without loss of distance. Just to avoid a commotion.

 The image is of an obscuring bank or berm. Raised between a riding stables and scrap man's hoard. The bank has been planted with conifers and some kind of shrub. Which should eventually provide a visual shield again the chaos beyond. Isn't it amazing how one person can ruin so many people's lives? The sky clearly shows today's weather conditions.

 11.00 I had just cleared the trailer of wood chips. Debris from the last load of logs. Then I started to collect the packaging from the new doors. Prior to placing the old door and window in the trailer. Right on cue it started tipping down. A handy pause to catch my breath. 

 12.15 Back from the recycling yard. I got rid of the old door and window. The pallet and packaging for the new. Plus some old, scrap door frames, etc. The rain held off. Mostly just spitting. The parking area looks a lot tidier now. More to be done. After lunch.

 Dinner was a chicken and mushroom fry-up. 

  

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15.05.2026 No house points.

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  Friday 15th 50F/10C  [8.00] A bright start to several days of rain. Windy too. Peaking at 12C/53F. Gusting to 12m/s. A slightly cool 66F/19C in the room. Heat pump remote set to 16C overnight. Greenhouse at 50F/10C.

 A rather disturbed night. Lower back aching. Shoulders better today. 

 9.30 Back from my usual walk.  I wore my Ventile jacket to protect me from the wind. The Husqvarna robot mower is doing a fine job on the new paddock. Achieving clearly defined stripes and a very uniform appearance in only one day. A far more sophisticated sward compared with the usual tractor and towed mower. Half a dozen starlings were grazing. With wagtails busy too. Only a few swallows overhead. 

 The lilacs are looking well. With many deep purple examples flowering in the area. Fyn has countless kilometers of lilac hedges. Both as field barriers and roadside hedging. It makes an attractive and nicely dense wind stop. With a wide variety of coloured blossom. Seemingly able to tolerate harsh clipping by the tractor flails. I have often been grateful for lilac hedges, While cycling in windy weather.  

 11.15 I need a rest. I have been moving the ladders out of sight. Rather than stacked by the carport. In the open space of the parking area. Now highly visible from across the back field. The ladders were an untidy eyesore. Much like everything else. 

 I had gone out looking for 18mm plywood. For the indoor floor space between the new glazed door and the water pipe. Of course I was side tracked. I couldn't get rid of the old door and window yesterday. Because the bank holiday meant the recycling yard was closed. 

 I'll get another chance tomorrow morning. If I load the trailer. If I make the short journey into the village. Probably in the rain. The whole place is a tip. It is so much easier to go for a ride or a drive.

 The afternoon was spent dozing over YouTube. 

 Dinner was sardines on toast with tomatoes. 

 

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