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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4.3.2026 Cold 55km ride

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  Wednesday 4th 32F/0C [7.00] Overcast and very misty. My neighbours to the north are invisible at 150m. 64F/18C in the room. 45F/7C in the greenhouse. It should brighten to another sunny day and 9C/48F later. Modest NW winds.

 Up at 6.20 after a quiet night. 

 I hope to have a ride later. 

 8.30 Returning from my walk. I chose the worst time to leave for commuter traffic. Nose to tail. Hurtling out of the mist. I took to the neighbour's drives to escape. A simple loop and back home. I could just make out my garden trees as darker fuzzy outlines from the drives. I'll wait for a clearing before I dare to venture forth on the e-bike. 

 13.50 45F/7C. Back from a 55km ride. Cold and misty but clearing. With sunny periods, becoming sunny. My hands were soon aching blocks of ice in the GripGrab lobster mitts. I changed to the skiing gloves and was comfortable after that. I was saddle sore at intervals. Despite wearing an old pair of DHB padded shorts.

 I explored one of the remaining road blocks on the route of the new railway line. Which runs parallel with and close to the existing motorway. The top picture is looking west. The next is looking east from the same point.

A harrier was flapping and calling over the front field as I arrived home. It was trying to soar but there wasn't enough wind.

 I drove into the village to shop. To ensure I had something for dinner.

 I made sausage rolls using organic mince and ready-made pastry. The texture was okay after 20 minutes in the oven at 180C but the mince was too bland. No seasoning! The Broccoli was just right. I need sausage meat or to do some cooking homework.

 

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