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Thursday 9th 56F, overcast, misty and damp. Woke earlier but dozed until 6.30. Rain promised for this morning. An early walk might be sensible.
8.00 58F. I have just returned from a half hour walk in lightly falling rain. Not heavy enough to soak me but the passing traffic was spraying me too. Not a lot of fun.
No chance of doing anything with the framed pictures today. They don't want to get wet. Which means I need a plan for today. I set the supporting slats in the balcony room straight. Then went outside to load the trailer with more branches. It has dried up and feels pleasantly warm outside.
I donated my third and last BBC B computer to the charity container while I was there. I doubt they will know what to do with it. Nor even know what it is. Not to worry. It is one less burden for me. The charity shipping container had been emptied since I last looked in.
14.30. Returning from my third trip today. Having delivered another trailer full of branches. Mixed cloud and sunshine. I am going back out to saw up the largest logs. Then I can rake more leaf mould away. To let the grass self seed into a lawn. It is beginning to look like a forest clearing. Just what I hoped for when I decided to remove the chestnut.
There are a lot more small birds visiting. The Wood pigeons like it too. I've just had pairs of Goldfinches, Greenfinches and Yellowhammers. I put up a metal birdbath near the bathroom window but no visitors yet.
The 9ah DeWALT battery is very short lived on large diameter logs. It cuts fast and well but is hardly a serious competitor to petrol chainsaws. More of a garden chainsaw. I cut one 12" Ø log and perhaps a dozen 6" and the battery is flat from fully charged. Then there is the long wait for recharging.
No point in waiting for the battery to charge. So I've had a nap. Then had a good long chat on the phone with my brother. Time to get back to work!
The next project is to use my 1.8m Ø fibreglass TV dish as a formal pond and giant birdbath. It will be nice and shallow at the edges and nearly a foot [28cm/11"] deep in the centre. The problem is the garden slopes downwards to the west. [Away from the house] Unless I build up the downhill side it will slope or look very odd.Though I could stand it free of the ground as a feature on its rear, reinforcing ring. I was going to put it on the chestnut stump. Though that needs the stump to be cut perfectly straight and level. It might also stress the dish with the sheer weight of water. Probably best to have it evenly supported by the soil.
I haven't decided where to put the pond/dish yet. I want it to get plenty of light. Not like the original pond. [At top left in the image above] Literally hidden under the 50' trees! The water will freeze in winter but the gentle slope won't break the dish under the expansion of the ice. It will just slide outwards. A small lily will add interest. Some water plants will digest falling detritus.
Oh CRAP! My 40cm DeWALT chainsaw has stopped working! It started after lots of fiddling with the chain blade off. [For safety] Then it wouldn't keep going for more than a few seconds. Grr!
A YT video suggests the safety trigger microswitch can go open circuit. Easily replaced but a lot of work to dismantle the saw.
Getting it repaired professionally [by a DeW agent] is very likely to be half to three quarters the price of a new saw. They want you to buy a new one. Making the old one disposable ****! [Enter a derogatory term of your own choosing.]
The mushrooms worked well on the mackerel. I shall add mushrooms to my mackerel in future. The beans, no. Not in this context. Best with egg. Possibly with bacon?
The tomatoes needed much more patience to drain properly. I use a large, slotted spoon. Too wet, and the toast simply becomes soggy.
I am getting quite competent at keeping two pans going on a single ring. This leaves me free to use the other small ring for the frying pan. Why do they fit such large rings? I had no idea how long mushrooms last. So wanted to use them up. Just as I had two half tins of tomatoes and beans to use up. I really ought to be aiming for thirds of a tin in future. Which means using containers in the fridge to cater for the longer storage. Tins have a poor reputation for storage.
I ate at the head of the table again. As befits an apprentice housekeeper, cook, waiter, cleaner, tree feller, shopper, gardener, charitable philanthropist, plumber, carpenter, TV critic and bottle washer. 😊
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