10.07.2026 Another viewpoint.

 ~?~

  Friday 10th 58F/14C [07.30] Bright sunshine from a milky sky. There was early mist hanging  over the woods again. Light northerly winds. We are promised full sun and 26C/79F by late afternoon. With a nationwide warning of increased drought. Raised temperatures and no rain forecast for the next 10 days. Highest forecast temperature 28C/82F tomorrow. Summer warmth, rather than a heat wave.

 22C/71F in the room. 15C/59F in the fully open greenhouse. Pond 69F/20.6C. Fish lively. The indoor plants seem to be thriving. Particularly those near the south facing, greenhouse windows. With lots of new leaves. The shade net on the greenhouse must act like dappled shade.

  Up at at 7am after a very quiet night and failed lift-off at 6am. I thought I might not sleep after yesterday's frequent naps due to dizziness. My right ear keeps popping. No hint of dizziness so far. 

 The security camera software is becoming more sensitive to detected movement. With a signal balloon appearing in the corner of the monitoring screen. It is now indicating larger vehicles [buses and container lorries] passing on the road. Which is 200-300m away. With two fields, several overgrown hedges and trees intervening!

 The software is not recording these distant vehicles. Presumably as they represent no risk. I have further adjusted my large [28" & 34" 4K] computer screens. So I can see both at the same distance side by side. With only a slight angle between them. To bring their centers equidistant. For improved eye comfort and hopefully, reduced risk of dizziness. 

 This allows me to easily monitor the robot mower and my surroundings. While simultaneously using the other screen for normal duties. All a far cry from the early 1980s days. Of a Sinclair ZX81 with its rubber keyboard and a tiny, portable, B&W, CRT TV. A plug-in RAM extension block of 16k. A tiny thermal printer using special, silver paper in rolls. The Internet and now familiar mouse still somewhere. Far off in the dazzling, hi-tech future.  

 13.30 24C/75F. I spent the morning connecting and setting up another security camera. It has become very warm to be walking back and forth and endlessly climbing tall stepladders. It was difficult to decide on a pointing angle and installed height for the new camera. Though I am very pleased with the new viewpoint. Which solves several problems of former blind spots. I ought to have some lunch! It will give me an excuse for a rest.

 15.30 77F/25C. Back from the shops. With a 3m tall 10x10cm, pressure treated pole and groceries.

 16.00  Sweating profusely after lifting the pole upright from the trailer in hot sunshine. Using several stepladders to get high enough to lift it from the top. Gravity and leverage can be your friends. At times like these. 

 18.20 75F/24C. I have been digging a trench across the drive for the new camera cable. The drive is so compacted that it is very hard and hot work. Even in the shade. I didn't want overhead cables. It would have been ugly and short lived. I had better have a rest and make some dinner.

 

  ~?~

9.07.2026 And don't call me Robby!

   ~?~

  Thursday 9th 58F/14C [9.00] Overcast. It should be full sun again. It could reach 25C.

 Up at 7am after an unusually quiet night. 

 I had another dizzy episode. The word started spinning while I ate breakfast. I had to lie down for an hour. Stopped spinning but I feel sick. My usual coffee tasted foul. Trying a cup of tea. 

 Since I don't feel I can go out I have been running the robot mower. While it is certainly improving The West Lawn. Despite the bumps and hollows of the molehills. The robot's design philosophy has found its match. When the single front castor falls into a hollow the rear wheels become skid steer. They try to revolve in opposite directions. Which would usually work on a smooth surface. On such a lumpy surface as mine it ends up making matters worse. 

 The problem seems to be that it won't attempt to mow bare earth. Not even a small patch. The AI vision sees an obstacle. Which causes the software to demand an about turn.  So there is a lot of the "rotation on the spot" tactic. Which can leave it trapped if it sees more bare earth. Or a single tuft of grass. If it would continue over these flattened molehills. Then it could run far more smoothly and successfully. 

 This said, I am shocked how well it is doing on an admittedly very poor surface. The big Makita mower bogs down in every hollow. Despite having four large wheels. Its own weight is its handicap. Pushing it across the lawn is very hard work. Hence the purchase of the robot mower.

 If I brought in some topsoil. To fill in all the small hollows. Then the robot mower would not even try to mow these areas. Not in its normal [default] mowing mode. Not even if I raked and flattened the new soil to perfection. 

 There are options in the menus. To tell the robot to mow a complete area. Ignoring all obstacles below a certain height. I could try this while carefully monitoring its progress. This option did not prove to be as useful as I hoped. Instead of long runs it is is showing exactly the same hesitancy to cross bare soil. Even a patch as small as my palm and there are so many of them. 

 Another option would be to purchase a cheap garden roller. 50cm wide x 30cm diameter. 37 liters. Filled with sand or water. ~40 or 60kg. Wet sand would be a little heavier.

 13.00 I was feeling unwell again. So it was back to bed. Now I feel better than earlier. I won't bother with lunch.  Just a cup of tea.

 17.00 74F/23C. Another cup of tea and a marmo roll. The mower has been busy all day. With occasional returns to base to recharge. I have monitored it on the security cameras. It has triggered lots of recordings as an intruder. It is still set at maximum cutting height of 75mm.

 Dinner will have to be toast. Probably mackerel in tomato sauce.Which I haven't had for a while. And so it was. The supermarket's own brand is getting worse with each new can I open. Nowhere near a tin full of fish. Lots of visible fish bones. The tomato "sauce" is now so watered down it is clear! I didn't take any pictures.

   

    ~?~

8.07.2026 Where their paths cross.

 ~?~

   Wednesday 8th 58F/14C [8.30] Still overcast. We were promised wall to wall sunshine. Where do I queue for a refund?

  Up at 6am after a very quiet night. Though with weird dreams.

 A pretty tabby cat just walked past the window. I tapped on the glass and it froze. The black and white cat is coming along now. I wonder if their paths will cross? It's fun to watch them in the cameras. It's safe to say that not much else happens around here. 🙄  

  I shall be visiting my English friend. Better a day late than never. I hope the village bakery still has cakes. This is important information. 

 I have discovered that top soil is readily available from numerous "Big Bag" suppliers. All of whom claim miraculous quality control. Though with stones of up to 10 or even 20mm remaining. Ideal, one might think, for leveling a lawn! Or not. 

 The greenhouse shade net has been rearranged. The wind had lifted it over half its considerable length of 22' or 7m. It hangs from a cord threaded through the top edge. By my own fair hand. Tensioned between a fixing at each end of the house. So relies entirely on gravity to hang nicely draped on the gently sloping, glass roof.

 The black and white cat was vocal this morning. It even approached me to be stroked. Which is very unusual indeed. The new tabby must have upset its plans. It wasn't the usual tabby. So the local pecking order may be due for some adjustment. 

 16.00 I went to town to collect my new computer screen glasses. The progressive lenses will take some getting used to. They are not designed for driving. Though I wore them anyway. Perched on the end of my nose as usual. Clear vision of the road over the top. Sharp focus on the dashboard. 

 After that I searched for more cycle path crossings. There were several more I hadn't photographed yet. Even one on a main road. Where I saw the same fine, compacted, grey sand. More typical of UK cycle paths.

 The moment I arrived home I blocked the drive with the bins and sent the robot out to mow.  Unexpectedly it immediately set off across the parking space to attack The West Lawn. I was expecting it to mow the drive first. Later it started on the drive and only then did it return to The West lawn.

 Dinner was a goodly wodge of salad.  I don't anything was missing.

 

  ~?~