7.04.2023 Clearing the West Wing.

 ~o~

 Friday 7th 37F. Easter and the shops are shut. Bright sunshine after another overnight frost. I had to get up at 12.30 in the night and stayed up for an hour watching YouTube videos. I was having unhappy dreams and thoughts again. I have tried counting backward and forwards but cannot escape.

 The view to the west. My late wife's willows bathing in early morning sunshine. These towering trees were planted as pencil-sized sticks from cuttings.  

 A backdrop of larches and oaks provides shelter from the prevailing winds. A small stream runs through the marshy ground. Photo taken with my phone through the windows of the balcony room. Before the golden light turned to silver.

 8.00 I must make an effort today. To walk off the aches and and pains.

 9.30 6C/43F. Returning from a longer walk in bright sunshine. Despite the cold wind I followed the rough edge of the prairie past the marsh pond. A pair of hares were sitting near each other but soon retreated to the woods. 

 The marsh pond bereft of single, visible bird.

 Large areas of the giant field had yet to be ploughed. So I had considerable freedom to choose my own line. There being no crops or seedlings to worry about. Though it was a bit soggy underfoot in places. This same wetness may explain the late ploughing.

 The lack of 3-wire, Scotchlok connectors had put the e-bike repairs on hold. I have ordered some from an online dealer. Though I cannot expect them to be delivered until the middle of next week. Because of the Easter holidays. Which means I must find something else to do. Some tidying would not go amiss. I have been avoiding it for months. The close associations with my late wife are just so utterly depressing. 

 I really should tidy the balcony room. It is full of tools in plastic tubs and trays. Largely untouched since I was helped to put up the cement-wood-straw boards. They were too heavy for me to hold and fix at the some time. High up on the overhanging 45º ceilings. 

  The bare, western half of the prairie.

 The tools belong in the shed. I brought them in to have them handy. It was far too time consuming to go back and forth every time I needed something. There is still some local insulation work to do on the outer edges of the glazed, gable wall. I couldn't get to the area because of all the tools!

  I also need to seriously consider shading and/or ventilation now. The temperature out in the balcony room soars in the afternoon in summer. I had plans to have shade net outside. Stretched on the diagonal to follow the southern roof slope. The outer tip of the diamond shape net would be tensioned. With a guy line out to a screw type ground anchor. 

 I may need to put up a pole. With a further pair of guy lines. To lift the net away from the gable glazing. I am not sure how the net will behave in diagonal tension. Just reaching the tip of the gable. To fix hooks or eyes to the boards. Is quite a ladder stretch! 

 Last time I tied my two-stretch ladder to the 5m roof ladder. Just to be able to reach! I felt very unsafe as I fixed the boards above the glazing. Over 6m to the tip of the underside of the roof overhang. With the ground sloping gently away from the house.

 The gable end some years ago. The huge horse chestnut is now gone. It completely dominated the entire western garden.

 I have a better ladder solution now. If I fix the ladders to my tallest Japanese, tripod stepladder. Its base is probably six feet wide and is much stiffer than the roof ladder. So it provides serious triangulation and stability. I had better warn the neighbours to keep an eye out for unintentional acrobatics! 😳   

 12.30 9C/48F. Bright and continuously sunny. I have been clearing and tidying the balcony room for well over an hour. Before it gets too warm out there. I should really call it the West Wing. Just to avoid confusion. 😉 The greenhouse is warming the entire house again. All internal doors open. 

 14.30 Still plodding away. I unrolled the balcony carpet. Which was unused for who knows how long. 1.7m x 2.3m. It fits the balcony like a mat with room to spare all around. Though it would also also work perfectly in the lounge by the door from the entrance hall. I'd have to lift the bottom of the stairs to slip it under. Prop a brace back to the wall when there is enough clearance. No problem. Except for all the charity shop donation stuff. Still resting at that end of the lounge. There's always a Catch 22! 

 16.30 It has clouded over. 20C in most rooms now. I have made an even worse mess! The landing and lounge are bursting with stuff. You can't have your cake and eat it. A storage room makes a poor sitting room and vice versa. I'd have to fit doors to the lower sections at either end. Or hang curtains? Close off the triangular sections beyond the balcony windows. 

 I sat on a stool and gazed out of the ex-balcony, lower windows. There were white polystyrene boxes full of plants and weeds in clear sight. So I went out and emptied them of their soil. Keeping the root ball together. Then I laid the contents on bare soil to give them anything living a chance. 

 One big iron pot was full of ants! Now it isn't. They will have to make do with the soil. I presume my wife was growing stuff to plant out and it never happened.

 Dinner was fish fingers, chips and beans. He made me do it! 

~o~