7.03.2026 Another 25km.

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  Saturday 7th 42F/5.6C [9.00] Overcast and expected to remain cloudy. Rain possible this afternoon. 63F/17C in the room. 52F/11C in the greenhouse. 

 A quiet night leading to dozing and clock watching. One minute it was 6am and then next it was nearly 8.00. The fish start dashing about in their pond as soon as they hear me making breakfast. Which is at odds with their torpor while it was cold. 

 I fancy my Saturday ride to the next village. Only about 24km round trip. There is a charity shop open today. Though I have no idea why I keep going there. I am trying to downsize. Not add to the burden! 

 10.10 Back from my walk. Cool and grey though I needed no gloves. There was a a brief brightening from behind the clouds. A few, occasionally noisy gulls out on the prairie. I'll have morning coffee and then go for a ride. 

 13.00 Back from a 25km ride to the shops. Grey and damp. It felt cool but not cold. It rained quite hard for the first ten minutes but stopped by the time I reached the nearest village. By which time my trousers were dark with wet. Puddles forming in the folds of my Endura jacket. I continued and soon dried out. Winds light. Turbines standing still. 

 17.00 48F/9C. I lit the stove mid afternoon. The lack of sunshine did not provide any free warmth indoors. It was only 63F/17C indoors but felt colder. Already 70F/21C.

 Dinner was mackerel in tomato sauce on toast with halved tomatoes. 

  

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6.03.2026 Just whittling away.

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  Friday 6th 40F/4.4C [8.50] Bright start to another sunny day. 63F/17C in the room. 49F/9.4C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 7.20 after another busy night. I am learning to minimize the waterworks distractions and quickly go back to sleep. I certainly get plenty of practice. When I do wake for any other reason I just relax until I doze off again. No more spiraling into sad memories and getting up at 3am! A lack of deep sleep is very bad news for overall health. So I do everything possible to reduce its effects. Bright moonlight can both help and hinder.  

 I'll have a walk first and then have a ride into the village.

 Both completed. Constant sunshine. 

 I have spent most of the day packaging an item I have sold from my lifetime collection. The fruits of each of my obsessions is slowly being whittled away. Nobody will have a clue what anything is worth once I am gone. 

 I have wrung every last ounce of pleasure from ownership over the long decades. It is time for somebody else to enjoy these things. Before it is too late. Otherwise it will probably all end up in a skip.

 Dinner was mince and chips. It was fine. I must invest in some onions next time. I washed up while it cooked.

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5.03.2026 A tame kestrel!

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  Thursday 5th 38F/3C [8.40] Another overnight frost. Already sunny. Expected to remain so. Reaching 10C/50F after lunch. 61F/16C in the room. 45F/7C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 7.50 after waking repeatedly during the night and morning.  

 10.10 Back from my walk in bright sunshine. I was suddenly made aware of the arrival of spring. By the birds singing and calling in the hedgerows.

 A male Kestrel was perched in a tree on my right. It dived down to the field and then back up to a tree on the left side of the road. We stared at each other for about five minutes. Myself through my binoculars. It, with its remarkable vision. It must have been hungry to be so tame. We were barely 20 meters apart. So I left it to its own devices. I became aware of the first skylarks only a couple of days ago. They usually pop up singly but now they are everywhere.

 15.45 I have spent most of the day trying to capture the sun through my [correctly filtered] telescope. Using the camera in my mobile phone. Not with a great deal of success. I need to set up in the front garden with full computer control. A bird of prey was calling from somewhere behind the garden trees.

 I wasn't going to light the stove. 64F/8C all day. It soon shot up to 66F/19C and climbing. I'll let it burn down before it becomes too hot.

 Dinner was poached eggs on toast. Past their Best by date. So I used up all three. I nearly forgot to take a picture!

 

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