14.07.2022 Just another busy day.

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Thursday 14th 52F, bright start. Up at 5.15am. Probably woken by the dustbin lorry. Tormented by my memories of my wife and the recent lack of tidying.

 6.15 A flock of geese has just gone over, heading south. The sky is covered in thin, high cloud. It is not too early for breakfast now. 

 Plans?  I really must start tidying again. I have become a complete slacker while upgrading the bathroom. I still need to replace the basin downpipe with a longer one. That shouldn't take long. The floor out in the balcony room is still full of boxes. I haven't touched that job for a week or probably more. 

 It seems I have completely lost track of time. I badly need to be able to stack boxes of fragile stuff but haven't found a solution. One layer is incredibly inefficient use of storage space. Cardboard removal boxes become anonymous without labelling. How do you label mixed stuff to mean anything? I have chronic sorting fatigue. The remaining tree offends my eye every time I look out of the bathroom window. I completely lost omentum on that with the DeWalt saw breaking down.

 My one success has been the lean-to greenhouse cooling. It required the combination of double shade net and open, double doors at each end to achieve a draught. Neither system works alone. I covered the doors in fine metal mesh frames years ago. For security and to keep cats and the walking wildlife out. It is also fine enough to stop flies from coming in. So I can safely leave the sliding greenhouse doors open while I am out. I let the greenhouse cool off after dusk. To avoid heating the house interior unnecessarily in summer temperatures.

 The double glazed, house door, in the middle, is locked as required. Temperatures in the greenhouse have been surprisingly modest. Often only a couple of degrees above [shade] ambient. I have two digital thermometers with sensors on long leads. These sensors are hidden under tables to ensure they remain in the shade but are in free moving air. 

 There is still some tidying to do out there but nothing major. It is still too painful to consider throwing out many of the things. Which are so closely associated with her gardening. She would sew her seeds and pot up her seedlings out there. 

 With tatty, white, lightweight tarpaulins hanging down perpetually everywhere inside for shade. They did almost nothing useful. Shade has to be outside the glass to function properly. Green netting is kind to the eyes. White is intolerably bright. When lit by the sun.

 It could all have been so very different. She died too early to benefit from the professional grade, shade netting. I had already hung one layer over the greenhouse roof. That was last year but it wasn't enough. The second layer was vital. Doubling half the roof covering. While hanging down outside the front, vertical wall. Helping to shade the brick floor.

 All this finally makes the greenhouse a pleasant place to be. For the very first time since I built it two decades ago. While providing the full, open space. [8'x22'] Without the hindrance and ugliness of anything dangling down inside. Not to mention the former clutter.

 7.00 58F. It is becoming cloudy. Time for a walk. 50 minutes elapsed as I walked to the village and back. A bird of prey circled over the prairie but was too far away for a decent snap. Highly variable cloud cover and a westerly breeze. I have taken 128 pictures so far today. The birds are singing again. Warblers, blackbirds, a Song thrush and even a cuckoo calling in the village.

 9.20 65F. Overcast. The bathroom basin downpipe has been cut to length and fitted. I have sprayed and scrubbed the tiles and grouting in the corner o the bathroom with mould killer. Now I must start tidying upstairs and down again. Which makes me depressed. I sorted the debris for an hour.

 10.20 60F. There was a  shower. I mopped the bathroom and kitchen floors. Put the bedding into the washing machine.

 Then moved outside. To cut back the dolobrata hedge. Allowing a much larger entrance to the expanded garden. I want to be able to drive around the chestnut stump with the trailer in tow. So I can bring in loads of compost to raise and smooth out the bottom of the garden. A large heap of free compost is always available at the recycling yard. My wife said it was too rich for her plants but that won't matter for a lawn.

 12.30 65F. Overcast but dry. I have delivered the dolobrata branches and lots of dropped needles and twigs to the recycling yard.

 13.00 66F. Dinner over.

14.25 63F.  Overcast. I couldn't keep my eyes open after lunch. So had a half hour nap. I was hoping to mow the grass but
it is sopping wet.

15.00 61F. I have sawed some logs and split others. Added them to the stack against the shed. Then it rained. Then it stopped. So I went in for the bedding to put it out on the line. Then there was a cloudburst. So the washing is still waiting to be hung out. It looks as if most of the showers have now passed. At least according to the radar. 

 15.30 Now the sun has come out and the washing is drying in the breeze. I keep looking at rotary driers. They seem similar but I'd need to install it somewhere useful for it to do some good. Most of the garden is in partial shade from the tall trees. I could park the trailer somewhere else. Then the drier would be easily accessible from the house and get some sun and wind.

 17.00 63F. Warm sunshine. I have strimmed and mowed the 100m drive and the lawns. The grass was rather wet from the rain. So I raised the blade and walked more slowly when necessary. The grass cuttings sticks to themselves when wet. So the grass box needs frequent emptying. Two large wheelbarrows were filled and disposed of.

 I trundled the green, recycling, wheely bin the 110m along to the tipping point. The bin was full and heavy. It is only emptied once a month.

 Dinner was cod in breadcrumbs with organic frozen peas. Followed by tomato soup and a bread roll.

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