23rd August 2018 It's raining hay, hallelujah!

*

Tuesday 22nd 55F, 13C, heavy, broken cloud but dry.

Q. How can a fat barsteward be a fly tipper?

Walked around the 3 mile block which is mostly fields with a quiet village in the middle. A Red kit was soaring over the village church and onwards. Then I spotted  two large birds of prey close together on a harvested field. One was very obviously a White headed eagle but the other was slightly smaller and looked rather scruffy. They both seemed to follow me home as they circled over the fields looking for a snack. I saw a large hare sitting in a field but the birds didn't seem interested.

Early ride to the shops to catch up on a day without. Blowing quite hard and managing 20mph for a while on the way. The headwind coming home laden wasn't nearly as much fun. 7 miles.

Wednesday 23rd 61F, 16C, warm, bright and still. Even the wind turbines are having a rest. Perfect weather for harvesting? Or tri-cycling? It wasn't to be. I had to collect heavy stuff in the trailer so shopped in the car while I was there. What a waste of a still day!

The London cyclist, on trial following the death of a pedestrian, has been found NOT guilty of manslaughter but GUILTY of "furious" driving. An ancient law from the times of horses and carriages in the previous century. When cyclists were apt to startle the landed gentry. Enough, it seems, to ban all cycle racing from the roads of Gravely Blighted for the next century and more. But that's corruption for you.

I'm still hoping his bike will be confiscated and publicly crushed for being illegal for road use. And, to send a loud and clear message to all the other fuckwits fashionistas riding around busy towns without front brakes. I do not use the term "fuckwit" lightly but it just seems so perfectly apt in this case. Deluded fashionistas should not be allowed anywhere near a bicycle. They might get their nose rings caught in their spokes with their handlebars set that low!

Hay was falling from a clear blue sky while we were working out in the garden. The still air and a harvester working hundreds of yards away can add its own drama to the rural environment. We even had a dust devil one year just after the harvest. With hay spiraling high into the air right beside the garden for a brief, few moments. It was very warm outside today as it spiraled towards 70F, 21C.

Thursday 24th 63F, 17C, light winds, rather cloudy with sunny periods. The harvester was still working after 11pm last night as it produced a huge spherical glow in its home-made cloud of dust.

Walked to the woods past the marsh. Where I disturbed three deer. A little later I came across three more. So must assume they were the same lot. I finally have confirmation of the source of the weird barking I hear in the woods. It is just the doe calling her youngsters when they get scattered. Or as a warning cry to get away from the strange old man with the camera. Walked back along the harvester tracks for a change of scenery. Late afternoon ride to the shops. Only 7 miles.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

*