15.05.2026

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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.

 

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14.05.2026 Deary me!

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  Thursday 14th 45F/7.2C [8.10] Bright overcast. Dry morning, rain after lunch, sunshine this evening. It is a cosy 68F/20C in the room. Thanks to the heat pump. Set at 18C overnight. Now turned down to 17C. 48F/9C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 7.25 after numerous failed attempts to take off. A rather rough night. With periods of wakefulness and weird dreams.

 My hands, shoulders and back are painful. That will teach me not to lift and carry heavy contractors saws! Silly old whatsit! Use your brains. When your brawn is all used up.

 04.40 A small deer came down the drive and crossed the parking space cautiously. The "night colour" camera's LED lights came on and was reflected in its eyes. It froze for a moment and then walked on. 

 8.30 Sunshine. I feel like a ride this morning. One battery is fully charged. 

8.45 A walk first.

 9.15 A pleasant walk but a cold wind. 

10.50 Going for a ride. 

 13.15 Back from a 43km ride. Taking the narrow lanes to my goal.  It was a religious holiday. So the traffic was affected. Cool but mostly sunny. With an annoying SE wind on the way back. Giant clouds towered in black and white.

 I stopped at a village pond. For a short rest from the 3D saddle. Where a gaggle of baby ducklings came rushing over. No doubt expecting to be fed. The trusting mother followed along later. They soon lost interest when nothing edible was forthcoming. 

 Swallows, wagtails and sparrows provided aerial entertainment. A pair of swans was hiding under the huge willow. I passed a bunch of club cyclists. Waiting for a puncture to be repaired. Lots of motorcycles rode though bearing panniers. 

 Dinner was fried chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes and boiled, new potatoes. 

 

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13.05.2026 Move that saw!

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  Wednesday 13th 43F/6C [6.45] Heavily overcast. With rain forecast all day. 68F/20C in the room. Heat pump on all night set to 16C on the remote. Greenhouse 51F/11C. 

 Up at 6am after an unusually quiet night. Aching shoulders from yesterday's heavy lifting. 

 I should have a run with the trailer to the recycling yard. To get rid of all the debris from removing the door and window. Plus the door packaging. Continuing work on the woodwork over the new doors could take place under the carport. There is little to do. I spent/wasted most of my time moving and setting up the heavy saws. I was also overthinking the job. Trying to saw a deep rebate instead of simply thinning larger material to match the spaces.  

 It was raining lightly as I enjoyed my usual walk along the drives on the back field. The robot mower has been moved to another, flatter area. I shall enjoy monitoring its progress in improving the sward. An interesting variation on watching other people work. Not quite as much fun as actually owning one but considerably cheaper!

 13.00 The doors are finished. Though the carpenter still has to return to  complete the caulking. I had to drag the saws out again. Working under the carport as the sky dripped. Backwards and forwards. Again and again. As I trimmed more off. 

 Then I changed the front wheel on the Morris. I had left the spare on since the puncture was mended. Lazy git! 

 Lunch time but I have run out of bread rolls. I'll have toast and go shopping afterwards. 

 15.45 Returned from shopping. Where only my quick thinking saved me from an inadequate driver in the car park. They reversed without looking. The bread rolls were half price. So I bought two bags of each. The sun was piercing a black sky on the way home. Lifting the gorgeous countryside a couple of notches into truly magical. 

 Dinner was poached eggs on toast. Overdone.

  

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