19.06.2022 A bit of a downpour.

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 Sunday 19th 53F. Overcast and raining heavily at times. Up at 4am. 

 There is a heavy rain warning for Denmark until around lunch time. Up to 45mm could fall in places. Nearly 2". 

 The earlier radar chart suggest we are on the southern edge of a stream of bad weather crossing the North Sea from the English Channel. This is due to the boundary between the heatwave to the south [in Germany and beyond right down to Portugal] and cooler air to the north.The first heavy downpour I noticed was a roar on the roof around 4.20. 

 It is now 5am and raining steadily. No thunder yet. Checking the latest forecast show we are fully embedded in the weather stream now. As it broadens further to the south. With lots of lightning recorded in a chain to the south of us over northern Germany. 

 5.15. 52F. Mid grey clouds can now be seen against the paler grey of the background sky as it gets lighter. They are moving steadily from West to East.

 5.30. I tried to go back to bed. That lasted about five minutes.

 7.00. It's an hour since I had breakfast. Am I twirly for morning coffee? I have been watching YT videos. About elite [multi-million income] cyclists getting cold and wet on their, well over £10k machines. While wearing dark glasses under a leaden sky in pouring rain with rim brakes which don't work in the wet. [Amateur night doesn't even begin to describe this farce!] 

 It is still pouring with rain here. So no walk. Nor a ride. It could be all over, apart from showers, just after 12.00. It is 73F indoors and I feel cold in a jumper and fleece trousers.

 7.30 Morning coffee? I shan't tell if you don't. 

 I forgot to Mention the Tree creeper [small bird] foraging on the chestnut stump yesterday. Only 3m or ten feet away from where I was standing. The birdsong from the trees around the garden was incredible yesterday. Wrens, warblers, finches, tits and blackbirds all singing away. Cuckoos and thrushes too, at intervals. 

 A nuthatch has just been down to the garden. Foraging by the chestnut stump. An accompanying, brown, speckled bird may have been a juvenile. The female is similar to the male.

 09.15. The forecaster's radar shows we are now behind the rainfall. With only showers remaining. Worth the risk of a walk?

 10.20 I have just returned from a 40 minute walk to the lanes. Light rain at half way but nothing to worry about. Saw a heron and a tiny bird of prey over the same field. Large and small. Going in opposite directions. A Sparrowhawk? Birdsong was very muted in the hedgerows today.

 12.15 54F. I managed a longish nap. Still heavily overcast but it is not raining. 

 12.30 Early lunch.

 14.00 Returning from the shops. With enough cable to wire a third light and the extractor fan in the kitchen.

 16.00 Rewired the counter-top lights in the kitchen to make three. I haven't heard from the shop about a third lamp shade I ordered.

 Still short of a nearby mains supply for the fan. I can't use the lights as a source because that is switched. So I am using an extension cord from the hall.

 19.40 The lettuce was already wet and brown in the fridge drawer. So salad was out. I went with fish fingers, baked beans and half a tin of chopped, organic tomatoes.

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