14.08.2023 Heatstroke photography.

 ~o~

Monday 14th 10C/59F. Bright and almost clear. Some speckled, high cloud to the south. Up at 6am. 

No walk. I drove to the builder's merchants to see if they'd offer a "members" discount on a new mower. A sour faced prune offered a £2 discount on a £400 machine! Despite my having spent a fortune at their emporium over the years. Their competitors were asking up to £60 cheaper! I declined and told them I was going to their competitors. Only to discover online that both "names" had quietly joined forces. Yet another pair of shared monopolies become one!

 I bought the mower elsewhere anyway. The poor old Bosch Rotak is knackered and won't cut low, or wet, or longer grass. The new mower has a much wider cut. Which should save hours of trundling back and forth in narrow strips. Particularly on the drive. The batteries showed they were flat out of the box. So I have them on charge. I am hoping to get a lower cut in. Hopefully before the next rain. The opening of the new collector box/bag is wide open and full size. I like that.

 The Rotak collector box was an absolute pain to empty! It was heavy when full and had to be tipped back and forth endlessly. Just to get the damp grass out of the small opening.

 The designer of that atrocity should be made to wear the collector box over their head for the rest of their life! Nothing less is adequate punishment. For the torture their design has caused countless owners! 

 17.00 The lawns and drive have been covered again. At half the height this time. I even had a go at the verge on the main drive. The new mower gets all excited when it detects increased resistance. It speeds up. Like the roar of an afterburner! 

 Now I have a suitable mower I ought to start on the space behind the felled chestnut. Acres of rolling turf as far as the eye can see? Or not!

It would be pretty major undertaking now. Barren earth has become wilderness. Unknown creatures are swinging from tree to tree. There is the crash of heavy bodies launching themselves back into the ponds. Huge birds circle high overhead calling plaintively. There are strange cries at night! YouTube influencers sneak in to capture strange, alien lifeforms. 

 The picture was taken through the balcony room windows. It was 32C out there and I had to be quick or suffer from heat stroke. You can see the problem! Stop laughing at the back! It's not remotely funny! 😏

Dinner was something they serve in the mess. Aptly named in this case. If I don't blog tomorrow you can blame the week old eggs! Both yolks broke as I turned them over in a firmly stuck pan. I gave it all 20 minutes. Just in case any of it had gone off.

~o~