31.03.2024 Spring forwards? Dogh!

 ~o~

  Sunday 31st 43F/6C. Overcast. Northerly breeze. Max of 10C/50F. Rain possible after lunch. A reduced risk of thunderstorms and cloudbursts today. Up at 6.45 after a reasonable night. I need to walk off my lower back pain.

 08.45 Returning from my walk around the field. The birds are busy as usual. As are the neighbours. 

 A rest day from gravel shifting would be sensible. So I need a goal for a ride. I know! Down to the coast. 25km each way. Plus any detours which take my fancy. Wallowing in nostalgia. From past trips down that way. I'd better take a spare battery.  

 10.00 Going.

 13.00 47F/8C. Continuously grey overcast. Back again. 65km/40 miles. I was too cold again. Had nothing to eat. Why do I do it? I should carry the split mitts. Even if I don't start off in them. A spare jumper takes up no space. I was wearing only the thin cardigan, over a racing jersey and long thermal vest, under the rain jacket. With racing shorts over long thermals and my lightest shoes. My feet were cold too despite my thickest wool socks. I keep doing this. I need an extra layer on the e-bike. Foolish optimism is just that. Foolish!

 Down to 12% battery charge. Well into the red. I rode 77% in Sport Mode. The rest in Turbo for climbing the many hills. Though I did the last couple of km in Tour mode. To ensure I got home with some remaining assistance. Too much traffic today. Easter Sunday? Near the coast? Saddle sore from 50km/30 miles. I kept pushing myself backwards right from the start. A smidgen more nose up might help.

 13.30 I made a cup of tea while I donned a load of warm clothing. It has started raining. So I was lucky not to get caught in that. I would have been even colder.

I have just realised that I have not put my clocks forwards. 🙄 Duly adjusted the times and the clocks. Where did the day go?

 Dinner was poached eggs on toast. Well, somebody had to. Or the chickens will become redundant.

  ~o~

 

 

 

 

30.03.2024 Ready to rubble.

 ~o~

  Saturday 30th 43F/6C. Overcast. Rain possible this morning. 

 Up at 4.50. I have upset my sleeping patterns. With daytime naps and dozing off on the computer. I lie there in bed, tormented by my memories and have to get up to escape. 

 7.00 Back to bed for half an hour.

 8.15 Time for a walk. It is inexplicable but my usually deaf, left ear suddenly seems much louder. Putting on my hearing aids made my slippers sound like wooden clogs! I removed the right aid and the increased, hearing sensitivity persists. Is scotch broth a known cure for asymmetric deafness? 😄

 8.45 Returned from a brisk walk. Grey but dry. Taking in the circumnavigation of the usual field. A little breathless on the climb but reasonable. Three ducks came careering over with absolutely no sense of direction. Probably two males chasing a female. Everything sounds too loud! Cars like lorries. The gentle breeze roaring. 

 I can see Chez Hovel much more clearly from across the back field now. A surprising change considering the few, spindly trees I felled. I can see the gravel heap clearly silhouetted against the house. The boundary trees will hide it all when they are in leaf. I will still have to do some serious tidying though. It looks like a tip at the moment! Some of the stuff I had hidden in the dome is visible now. Well, that's my excuse.

9.00 Morning coffee over. I can hear the computer mouse moving on the mat. This is very silly! My hands rubbing on my clothing sounds like sandpaper. The computer keyboard has bass? Since when?

9.15 Time to start work. I can't believe how well it is going. I do get tired, hot and breathless. Though that is no surprise at my age. Or any age. 

  9.50 Raining. I had to come in. No point in getting wet. I have widened the access path for the rubble trailer. Leveled it across the width. Is the trailer end tipping or side tipping? I have no idea. Not yet. Half the gravel heap has gone.

 12.00 The sun has come out. Early lunch I think.

 There is bad weather warning for this evening and overnight in Southern Denmark. Thunderstorms and cloudbursts are possible. Cloudbursts are very unusual in March. 

 15.00 Out of curiosity I measured the distance from the north face of the house. Out to the front of the observatory building at 15m. The intended distance, for the raised area to match the rear of the observatory platform, is 20m. With another 5m to the field boundary. That's a lot of space!

 19.30 Early dinner was cheese on toast with halved tomatoes.

  ~o~

 

 

29.03.2024 Timber!

~o~

  Friday 29th 41F/5C. Bright start becoming cloudier later with possible light rain. Southerly wind increasing. Up at 5.30. Dozing on the computer, yesterday, was not sensible. They could use YouTube as a general anesthetic.

 6.30  The sun is just rising over the low hill to the east. Today I have to clear the trees I felled. Then move more gravel away from the gap. Through which the tipper trailer will pass carrying demolition rubble. To raise the sunken area to the north of the parking area. 

 7.30 I think I'll go for an early walk.

 8.00 Veiled sunshine and a cold wind. I saw a resplendent Yellowhammer. Amongst many other small birds. The ground was too wet to take to the fields. I made it to the lanes and then retreated. 

 I haven't been shopping. So have missed a third, toasted roll with marmalade. Never mind, as soon as I have finished my coffee. I shall be out there slaving away again. 

 9.30 I need a rest! The felled tree trunks have been cleaned with the chainsaw. Then laid beside the trailer passage. More as a guide than for emergencies. I am trying to limit the level raising area to the right of the board on the ground. To avoid spilling over into the cultivated garden. Where there are desirable, mature bushes. Just to the left outside the picture. A black leafed elder and a Cotoneaster Salicifolia. Both must be 15' high now.

 I have raised the left side of the gravel access area. To improve the level for the builder's trailer. The gravel heap will be steadily reduced or moved. By the time the rubble is delivered next week. I may have to fell more trees. To push the raised area further back.

 The branches are cleared into my trailer. Ready for a run to the recycling yard. Fortunately the garden waste area is open year round. I wonder if the supermarkets are open? Yes, it seems they are. I can restock on bread rolls.

 12.15 52F/11C. Veiled sunshine. Another rest. I am actually feeling hungry. Which is highly unusual. I'll have early lunch. 

 The gravel heap is gradually shrinking back where it matters. To give maximum clearance for a trailer. It is very hard work shoveling or raking. Because the gravel is so sticky and heavy. A few more skinny trees have been cut down. Mostly Fastigiate Red oaks. My wife used to collect the acorns in public car parks. Before they were squashed by the cars.

 The Yellow willows were her work too. She would grow them from pencil sized cuttings. The western boundary is lined with 50' tall specimens. They seem to be fastigiate too. Rocketing upwards but only bushy at the top. 

 They have outgrown the mature larch trees in the shelter belt. I stood a 4m long pole against the base of the trees and then photographed it from as far away as possible. The trees are all at least 24 meters high. Over 52'.

 Even topping the fast growing Leylandii "Waterloo." Which she brought with her as tiny plants in the mid 1990s. Only to have the neighbour try and kill them with his tractor sprayer. Back when they were only a few feet high. 

 They became horribly twisted. Before they finally found their feet again and shot up. The "Waterloo" has splashes of cream highlights in the foliage. The image was taken through the window. From the upstairs balcony room. The prostrate yew has also taken off. Since I felled the huge Horse chestnut two years ago. Previously it was constantly in the dark.

 14.30 Returning from delivering the branches to the recycling yard and shopping. 

 15.00 Time to catch up on my sleep. 

 16.30 Rain. 

 17.00 Lit the stove. The sunshine was so weak. That the greenhouse never became warm today. Only 61F/16C indoors. I'll have to think about getting more firewood logs after the holidays. Only a few days left.

 Dinner was a tin of Heinz Scotch Broth and a bread roll. My wife bought several tins from England. When she was desperate to rekindle her appetite. Alas it was much too late. I wouldn't say I hated the product but will not be repeating the experiment.

  ~o~

 

 

28.03.2024 The big, green dome has finally gone!

 ~o~

  Thursday 28th 40F/4C. A smudgy sky but brightening. Rain is forecast. With windy conditions at times. As weather fronts pass over. Up at 6am. The parking space suddenly looks twice the size! 😐

 Day 1 of being free of the big, green dome project. After three years of carrying the burden. In one way or another. It blocked proper access to the parking space for far too long. Even when I wanted to be rid of it. Even free of charge, there was very little interest. Facebook claimed over 3,500 clicks on my advert but I had only three responses. Including one complete time waster. 

 The sheer scale and weight of the components must have put many people off. The eventual buyer, for mere pocket change, brought a large, flat bed trailer. Typically used for transporting mini excavators. The stacked segments almost dwarfed it! Fortunately the three of us were able to load the trailer. Mostly due to the low bed height and drop down sides. I hadn't intended to help. Though it would not have happened so easily with only two people lifting. 

 The huge, gravel heap is still looming as my next, self-imposed burden. Thankfully things went far better yesterday than I would have dared to hope. I became breathless a few times but no other symptoms. 

 My new neighbour has been demolishing floors. So he has a lot of clean, concrete hardcore lying outside. Some of which I could use to lift the ground level beside the observatory. Where there is a drop of at least 60cm. Over 2' or probably more. Depending how far out I want to enlarge the new platform. With a generous, double carport in mind. For which will use the observatory construction timber once I have demolished it.

 A few wheelbarrows of hardcore. Even if it involved a 150 meter journey each way. Would make lighter work. Than moving at least a cubic yard of heavy gravel 4-5 meters into the void. The gravel is self compacting and flatly refuses to flow. Even heeling a shovel into it is very hard work! 

 Raking is the only way I can manage the work. At the required scale in a reasonable time. Getting another lorry load delivered, just to raise the level, is doable. Though far harder work than maximizing the gravel I have left. The lorry can't reach where it needs to be tipped. Because the ground is too soft.

 7.30. Time for a walk.    

 8.00 It was cool but not cold. Thanks to a lack of wind. The local turbine group was at a standstill. Light bank holiday traffic. The ground was still dry. So I circumnavigated the same field, again. Maintaining a brisk pace on the tractor tire ridges. 

 I was entertained by a large bird of prey. Which was flying slowly and parallel to me. A chevron of geese went over. Noisily complaining at the lead bird's awful sense of direction. Umpteen small birds sang or moved about. A neighbour is erecting some sort of structure up on the hill. Something to do with horses? A large JCB is occasionally active on the new drive.

 8.30 I had another look at the gravel heap and the space to be filled. There is still probably 2/3rds of the original heap left. Lots! So wasting my time. By tootling back and forth with a wheelbarrow full of rubble. Is not really very sensible. Rain is forecast from lunch time onwards. So I ought to shop this morning. If I am going on the bike. Or I'll wait and go in the car later. So I should stop waffling and get on with something more useful! 

 But not yet: I am still waiting for somebody to suggest. That every humanoid robot. Should have a man with a red flag walking [very slowly] in front of them. Now back to work! 

 9.30. 45F/7C. Overcast. Another hour of hard labour. Getting a bit hot and breathless. Time for another rest. I have filled the lowest corner beside the observatory base. The space I have been leveling is much closer to that required. Where is the humanoid robot I was promised? Is it afraid of hard work? 

 If I am to build a double carport I may need to go back as far as the observatory platform. Which means a lot of small tree felling and lots more gravel fill. It is difficult to judge the space available. While the observatory and a large pile of gravel are still in the way. The front of the shed might be a useful reference.

 10.00 Going back out.

 10.45 More hard labour. Then had a nice chat with my builder neighbour about his rubble. He will be delighted to deliver it to the spot where I need it. It will save him having to go to the recycling yard. I just need to make room for his tipper trailer. To reach the low area behind where I am working. We both win. 

 I'll have to thin out the spindly trees too but I have a new chain on the DeWalt. I am now trying to save as much gravel as I can. To more thinly cover the enlarged, raised area. No need to waste it in bulk filling any more. 

 I have been digging away one end of the gravel heap. To make room for a trailer to pass. Then filled a low spot with old bricks.  

 11.40 I couldn't stay awake after working so hard.

 12.20 Woke from an early nap to find it is raining. 

 12.30 Lit the stove. The room temperature is 60F/16C. 

 13.00 Lunch over. Dozed while watching YouTube videos.

 15.45 It has stopped raining. I have been widening the gap at the end of the gravel heap. It is even heavier and stickier when wet! Then I cleared the logs and felled the trees in the expanded, sunken area. Some of them were well over 3m or ten feet longer than I expected. When they fell! I have lopped some of the larger trunks into manageable lengths. Breathless, sweating and tired. Again!

Update: I have no idea what happened to the last half of this post. Dinner was fish fingers and chips.

  ~o~

27.05.2024 Groveling the gravel.

 ~o~

  Wednesday 27th 41F/5C. It could reach 13C/55F around lunch time. Cloudy this morning with sunshine later. Up at 5am after lying there with my memories churning over. 

 7.30 Time for a walk. The green dome should be picked up this evening.

 8.15 It was cold on my hands but not quite bad enough to hide them in my pockets. Probably thanks to a lack of wind. I took to a field to circumnavigate it via the spray tracks. The ground was mostly firm and dry. Or I would not have bothered. Weak sunshine so far. The sky looked dark to the west. I saw my first Bullfinches of the year. A pair crossed from one side of the road to the other. 

 I am trying to decide what to do today. 100km in the last four days went well enough. 390km this month. Average speed 23kph/14mph. This figure includes when I am tootling along without the need to be anywhere. From memory, my average speed used to be around 28kph on a ride. That was when I first started riding the Moustache about a year ago. Long before the recent breathlessness presented itself.

 Luckily I seem to be able to automatically avoid breathlessness on the e-bike. Simply by adjusting my effort, mode and chosen gear. Though I normally ride in Sport mode in fairly high gears within 80-90rpm cadence. Sport mode offers 240% motor assistance. With Turbo [340%] increasingly used on climbs. 

 While even simple tasks, off the bike, make me unpleasantly breathless. I can still cycle comfortably within my present threshold over extended periods. Had I continued on the manual trike I would probably have given up cycling over two years ago. 

 10.30 I have managed to cover quite an area of hardcore with the sand/gravel mix. Just by using gravity and raking it down the heap. Then raking it out and about. The pole is 4m long and used as a quick measuring rod. Also to check the level using a builders bubble level laid on top of the pole.

 My wife used the same raking technique to fill wheelbarrows. When a local contractor broke an agreement. To send a machine to move the gravel for us. This time the heap is close to the sunken area. 

 So a 77 year old, with a possible heart condition, can still manage the job. Given enough time. The landscape gardener never got back to me. So I'll just have to press on myself. Then the cost will be what I paid for the lorry load of gravel.   

 The board and pole are both level. The light coloured gravel [middle right] is the parking space level.

 11.30 55F/13C. Another hour of raking gravel and I need a rest and a drink of water. The heap looks no different from the other side. While the gravel is almost level over the area I had roughly defined with hardcore. My images do no justice to the area covered. Nor the depth. 

 13.30 It is a beautiful, sunny day. Birds are singing all around me. The southerly wind is blocked by the house. I have seen ladybirds and butterflies for the first time this year. The greenhouse thermometer was showing 111F/44C! So I have opened the internal windows. 64F/18C and rising, indoors.

 14.30 56F/13C. Another hour. It has become overcast. I am making good progress on the gravel. Though I am getting tired, breathless and sweaty now. Pulse 90bpm. I need another rest to recover. 

 15.45 Still at it. I am breathless and knackered. I will have to give up for today. 

 18.15 I have been doing a little more shoveling and raking. I am expecting the arrival of the dome removers between 6-7pm. It is a long drive. So difficult to predict an ETA. There has been no further contact in 3 days. 

 19.10 I am finally free of the green dome. The new owner will use it as a sheep shelter. Perfect! 👍

  Dinner was mackerel on toast with halved tomatoes.

  ~o~

26.03.2024 Breathless planting.

 ~o~

  Tuesday 26th 36F/2C. Light overnight frost showed white on the grass. Dry but cloudy forecast. Brightening later but more windy. Up at 6am. Thursday cooking class has been moved to Tuesday because of Easter. I'll ride there on the e-bike. Dressed warmly! 19km each way. One battery will do.  

 The picture is of my arm this morning. From the hospital visit last week. It hurt at the time of insertion but not afterwards.

 I'll check on progress on the Morris Minor. I pass the door going both ways. So I might as well look in. They have had it since the 8th. Unable to diagnose why the engine won't pick up from low revs.   

 It was cold but sunny riding to the cooking class. The Morris Minor is still in intensive care. It starts banging loudly after it warms up. Then burns out the points in the distributor and the wiring! He had bypassed the wiring and ensured a proper earth to the chassis. Still unsolved! The coil? No date has been set for the car's safe return.

 I made a chocolate cake at cooking class. It was supposed to look like that apparently. Though it should have been rectangular. Rather dry, hard and crumbly. There were no suitable baking trays. So I had to use a round one. It was okay but nobody wanted seconds.

 Only four of us turned up today. I rode home in the opposite direction in sunshine. It was much warmer but now I had a cold headwind. A bird of prey took off from a field and soared low over my head. Lucky I wasn't on the breakfast menu! Another 40km.

 17.00 I had opened the greenhouse covered windows to the room and kitchen. To let some of the 99F/37C warmth in. While I had a nap. I kept nodding off at the computer. It rose from 61F/16C to 65F/18C indoors. A useful boost at no cost to the diminishing wood pile. No need for dinner tonight. I still feel full!

 18.00 I had better light the stove. The temperature is dropping fast. Despite the greenhouse windows being closed for an hour.       

 18.45 It is dusk and I have finally planted out the Buddleias. Which I bought ages ago. The were looking untidy and unhappy for too long in their pots. I had planted them in big iron pots to go near the house. The pots weren't drained and filled with water overnight. My wife would never let me drill these pots. Because the ants would get in. So they spent years on their sides draining another flood! 

 I arranged the plants in a zigzag on my wife's flower bed. So they could breathe if they ever grew. They were bound to be planted on top of something important! Meanwhile I became very breathless and the stove had tried to go out. My chest is full of slime.

 

  ~o~

 

25.03.2024 40km.

 ~o~

  Monday 25th 41F/5C [at 8.15] Bright overcast. Up at 6.30 after another restless night.

 8.30 Sunny periods. I ought to be going for a walk. Then thinking about a ride. Cool, but mostly dry. With a light, westerly wind. 

  9.45 It was quite chilly on my hands but not enough to seek comfort in my pockets. The new neighbour has a cement mixer lorry delivery. New floors I presume. I turned for home before reaching the lanes.

 12.15 46F/8C. Well, that was novel. I just rode a 30km round to trip. To a more distant shopping village. But left my wallet behind. I decided not to wear my stretchy trousers because it was sunny. The wallet was in the pocket. Grr? I'll have some lunch and go out again.

 I was perfectly warm and comfortable on the way. Then it rained on the way back and felt as if the temperature had dropped by 10C. There was a headwind and my hands were freezing despite swapping to warmer gloves. My body felt cold too. Even though I wore a thin cardigan underneath the rain jacket. I have donned my down sweater to try and warm up. It is only 62F/17C in the room.

 A racing cyclist caught up with me on a long climb. I was twiddling easily up in Turbo mode at 30kph. He climbed out of the saddle and passed me effortlessly. At a skinny 9" wide he was an obvious climber. I watched him disappear into the distance as I continued to climb. No doubt I made a useful target for an interval. He must have been very fit. 

 14.30 Returning from a shopping ride into the village. Cold headwind coming home. 40km total today. 25 miles.

 20.00 Dinner was chicken and chips.

  ~o~

 

24.03.2024 Almost gone now.

 ~o~

  Sunday 24th 39F/4C. Rain or showers promised. Up at 5am. Wide awake. 62F/17C in the room. I ought to light the stove.

 8.15 I haven't heard back from the would-be buyer of the green dome. Getting close to 3500 clicks on Facebook Marketplace. Only three responders. Time for a walk. 

 9.00 It was occasionally bright but not blinding sunshine. A cold headwind spoilt my plans to walk to my turning point in the lanes. Chaffinches,  greenfinches and a yellowhammer were singing in the roadside hedges. A wagtail watched me pass. From only a few short feet away. On the slope of a barn roof. 

 Overnight rain had left its puddles. A foolishly overoptimistic, tabby cat tried to hide. By flattening itself onto a recently mown lawn. I smiled but decided not to undermine its failure. By trying explaining a certain lack in its concept of camouflage. I just hope it doesn't try the same trick on approaching cars on the road!

 I had a 45 minute, morning nap to catch up on my 5am start.

 13.00 47F/8C. Cold, rain, bursts of sunshine and breezy. 

 The new owner of my green dome will be collecting it early evening on Wednesday. He will be bringing two helpers and a large trailer. The project has been decorating my parking space for exactly three years. 

 Hopefully another [huge] burden will soon be lifted from my shoulders. Then I can start dismantling the wooden observatory. Though I'd much prefer the ground alongside had been raised by then. Which would make it much safer to be working up high from ladders. 

 I have been outside looking around for the off-cuts of fibreglass. Left overs from my dome modifications. Just in case they want them. It is miserably cold and wet.

14.45 I have finally lit the stove. Steadily ploughing through the backlog of laundry. 🙄 

 6.00 I even remembered to take the recycling bin along the drive. For emptying early tomorrow. I am doing better today at consuming water. I don't much like the taste. So take a swig from the waiting glass at intervals.

 Dinner was poached eggs on toast. Stop laughing! I was experimenting with a table spoon. I separated the yolks from the whites. It didn't work for the whites. Though it remained as tasty as always.

  ~o~

23.03.2024 Going, going...

 ~o~

  Saturday 23rd 40F/4.4C. Sunshine and cloud with a risk of scattered wintry showers. Up at 6.30 after only one trip to the fire bucket. No after dinner coffee. One small beer. I woke at 6am but managed to drift for another half hour. My lower back is hurting. I had better have a walk.

 9.10 Back from my rather breathless walk. I tied to maintain a brisk pace. It was unpleasantly cold in the SW wind but mostly sunny. A red kite was circling but moved steadily away to the north. To be replaced by a soaring harrier on my return home. Lots of birds singing.   

 I have now reduced the price of the green dome to 50kr or £5 in the hope of it being taken away quickly. It is in the way and must go! 

 10.45 Sunny but windy. Just a shopping ride I think.

 13.15  I have returned from a 20km shopping ride to a slightly more distant village. The wind was fierce but mostly across the road. I had to hang off the bike to stay on the road at times. It rained lightly for a while.

 I delayed my departure to answer somebody interested in taking the dome. He lives quite some distance away, 150km and lacks the manual help to load a trailer. I don't know anybody who could help with these large and heavy segments. My days of struggling with this project myself are over. I wouldn't dare risk it now! 

 I am awaiting confirmation that a would be buyer of the dome can arrange help or mechanical aid to load the parts onto a trailer.

 Dinner was salad.

 

 ~o~

22.03.2024 Scanning today.

 ~o~

 Friday 22nd 45F/7C. Heavy overcast and raining lightly. Up at 6.15 after 9 trips to the fire bucket in the night. I was sipping water as usual but then added a mug of milky coffee at 8pm.

 7am. I have a 60km/40 mile drive to the more distant hospital for a CT scan. Fingers crossed that the car starts when I reconnect the battery. I believe I qualify for hospital transport. However, the telephone hours were already over at 3pm. When I did my online research yesterday afternoon. They open at 8am. Which might be cutting it a bit fine. Even if there is an immediate response and quick pickup. My appointment is at 9.50. Further research shows they need to be informed the day before the hospital visit. So I don't apply anyway.

 The drive is over an hour by car according to Google Earth route finder. Perhaps slower during the morning commute. I have selected the most direct, rural route well outside the city of Odense. Only rural roads and no motorways. If I allow myself two hours I shall have time to relax before the scan. I could even wander around outside if the rain has stopped. I'll have a shower first and then try to start the car. 

 60km is on the limit for one e-bike battery in cooler conditions. So riding there would be risky from that point of view.           

 7.50. The car started. I'm off.

 12.00 Safely home again. 60F/16C indoors. There were long detour around roadworks in both directions. With one section via an unmade, single track road! Just potholed gravel! I arrived 20 minutes early. I parked the car at the top of the sloping hospital car park. Just in case it wouldn't start. Fortunately the car behaved itself. Though I didn't dare stop the motor once underway. It rained lightly all the way home.

Today's scan was an extra step in my diagnosis. It was for checking my aorta and main arteries. The procedure was not uncomfortable except for inserting the contrast hose in my arm. The sudden warmth it caused, when released into my bloodstream, was strange but short lived and not unpleasant. I had been warned what to expect beforehand.

 The lady who carried out the scan was highly competent, well practiced and cheerful. We spoke only Danish to each other. Which was fine. I understood everything which was said and would have requested clarification if needed. She seemed able to understand me without the need for repetition.

 I will still have the CT scan of my heart at the end of April. Having imagined that today's scan was instead of April's but was mistaken. Today was my arteries. April is my heart.

 I have heard back from the landscaper requesting more information. Still no interest in my big green dome despite halving the price.

 13.45 Late lunch. The sun has just come out. So I may not have to light the stove. It is still rather cloudy and the greenhouse has only reached 70F/21C so far.

 19.00 Lit the stove and then washed up.

 20.00 The sun never amounted to anything. Dinner was chicken, sausage and mushrooms with gravy. It was absolutely superb!

 

  ~o~

 

21.03.2024 Gravel, isn't it?

 ~o~

  Thursday 21st 42F/5.6C [at 7.30] Overcast after overnight rain. Breezy from the north reducing and going westwards this afternoon. It should reach 10C/50F at 14.00. Up at 6am. 64F/18C indoors. Not sure what to do with today.

  My CT scan is set for the end of April at 9.15. Which is rather early for a ride. Not a complaint. Merely observing that I'd need to be fully relaxed for the scan. They actually mention this in the covering literature. Movement, or a racing heart, will lead to fuzzy pictures. No coffee or tea either.

 Allowing 90 minutes for the ride I ought to be relaxing, on site, by a very arbitrary, 8.45.  So I ought to leave about 7am. Just to be sure of a gentle ride and plenty of time to sit around in the waiting area. Perhaps I will have the Morris back by then?

 Sneaking towards 8am now. I ought to be going for a walk. 

 8.30 returned. I didn't go as far as usual. The sun came out at 8.15 as the sky turned blue. Then it clouded over again. Slightly misty as the sun evaporated the dampness.  

 10.00 Do something! I have halved the price for the dome from 1000kr to 500kr. That's about £100 reduced down to £50. The project has probably cost me 50,000kr or £5000 so far. Now I just want to be rid of it!

 10.30 First I am going to deliver the trailer full of branches. I have already raked the depressed area of fallen twigs and branches. Next is to use the recycling yard open day to be rid of more junk. For which I need an empty trailer. 

 12.00 Trailer duly emptied of branches. I was lucky enough to find the gravel man at home as I drove back. So I asked for a delivery of self-compacting gravel. Meanwhile, a more distant hospital offered me a vacancy for my scan tomorrow morning. Instead of waiting for 5 weeks. I am now expecting a letter of confirmation by Denmark's secure email system. 57km avoiding the motorway. I shall have to go in the old car.

 The gravel man has just has just delivered 8m^3 of gravel. All within one hour. Excellent service! He couldn't quite reach the perfect spot but came close enough. Before his lorry wheels started spinning in my soft, made up ground. I shall just have to be patient and spread it all out in stages. I mustn't lose focus. Getting rid of the untidy stuff in the background is today's priority. 

 13.00 Lunch over. It has become much more overcast. The warmth in the greenhouse isn't enough. Press on with tidying the garden.

 13.40 Time for a rest. The sun has come out. I am breathless and dripping with sweat. The trailer is stuffed with worm farm containers and polystyrene fruit boxes. Which my wife used for bulk seedlings. Two knackered old wheelbarrows and assorted plastic sheet. The latter protecting now rotten logs for a rainy day. One which never came. All horribly depressing but it's done now. I shan't need to deal with it again. I'll give it another ten minutes to catch my breath. Then drive the trailer to the recycling yard.

 14.30 I have decided to contact a local landscaper. To get some idea of the cost of having the gravel spread out for me. A small front bucket loader would make quick work of it. Without my completely exhausting [or even killing] myself. By trying to finish the task in my usual hurried manner. 

 A machine would also compact the gravel far more thoroughly. Than my tromping all over it in my size 46 boots. No doubt an expert will have some sound advice on ground preparation. I am just going to have to accept that I am no longer a septuagenarian superman. 

 17.00 Returning from the recycling yard. Fortunately one of the museum staff was there and came over for a chat. He was big and strong enough to lift an old porcelain sink into the container for me. I was already completely breathless again and had chest pains. Then the old car didn't want to start. Despite behaving normally for the tour into the village this morning. 

 The assisted hospital transport system stops taking calls at 15.00. So I am screwed! I can't ride 60km in the rain! Then ride back again afterwards. I will check the battery and put it on charge if needed. That might be all it needs. The battery is almost new.   

 The battery read 12.87V on my DMM. The Genius 5 charger went up to green in only a few seconds. Though the green light is pulsing slowly. So there's room for a little more charge. I had quite a struggle to open the nearest window to the car. For the extension lead to go out. I doubt it has been opened in 27 years.

 The battery was fully charged. I took out my thermal imaging camera but nothing showed a drain on the main fuse boxes. No doubt there is another fuse box hidden somewhere else inaccessible. I will disconnect the battery overnight to avoid any chance of losses. The voltage hadn't changed after the short pretense at charging.

 I am going with mackerel on toast for dinner. With decorative, halved, cherry tomatoes.

The stove has not been lit all day. 63F/17C in the room. Almost comfortable in my down sweater.

 

  ~o~

20.03.2024 Tweggs.

 ~o~

 Wednesday 20th 45F/7C. Overcast. Up at 6am after another restless night. 

 Museum day, but I may give it a miss. It is difficult to avoid physical labour. When this is precisely the point of attendance. I will have to learn to limit my activities until the diagnosis is completed. Meanwhile, I have to shop for groceries and visit the pharmacy.

  I forgot to recharge the battery on the e-bike on my return yesterday. It was down to 14%. The lowest I remember seeing it. Very close to cutting out to protect the battery. 60km is not bad for winter temperatures and using lots of Turbo mode on the hills. Until you think that is only 40 miles in Olde Monie. 

 Range Anxiety is a serious concern. Since a spare Bosch battery costs a fortune. 6500kr or 5000kr. Depending on source. The Nederlands is much cheaper than Denmark. 5000kr would still buy an awful lot of petrol for a moped. While the e-bike offers near silence and no fumes. So you can hear the birds as you pass and you won't choke any cyclist with smoke. As you scream past them on your modified exhaust.

 The e-bike has to be pedaled to get any power. A moped or scooter only needs a push off and then you can pretend to be a sack of potatoes. Or a sack of anything else which takes your fancy. 

 There is no sign of new battery technology/chemistry filtering down to the humble e-bike. Not for greater speed but for greatly extended range. If the range per charge was doubled then I could use Turbo mode more often. Allowing greater range for the same time. Or a more modest or hilly ride in less time. Resulting in less tiredness. 

 In the 7000km I have ridden in my first year on the e-bike I have not felt a lack of speed. Though I do have to come right down though the gears on climbs even in Turbo mode. The Bosch system is well respected and hopefully secure against fires. Unlike the countless stories of Chinese batteries spontaneously exploding or burning. 

 I saw a claimed figure of 100km range on one battery in Turbo mode from one sales outlet. These are clearly garbage numbers. Yesterday I used 73% Sport mode and the rest in Turbo mode. Yet achieved only 60km. The motor provided well over 3 times as much power as I did. 78% : 22%. Remember that I am an old fart and while reasonably cycle fit have rather limited power output. 

 My maximum speed was 49kph or 31mph freewheeling down a long hill while foolishly crouched low. It was an empty rural lane and I was carefully monitoring my rear view mirror. No amount of pedaling will ever get me above the legal limit of 44kph on the flat. Despite any safety concerns, about high average speeds, I hardly ever see anything above 35kph or 22mph in Sport mode. 

 My average user power output [input?] yesterday was a meager 59Watts. A racing cyclist average power is around 150Watts. Climbing to 500Watts during a final sprint. So, with full battery/motor assistance in Turbo mode I can match a racing cyclist but I'd have very limited range. While the fit racing cyclist can keep it up for hours. Without fear of prosecution. 

 However, a racing cyclist would seriously struggle to maintain 25mph. If they were carrying two loaded panniers. With two heavy U-locks and a spare battery. Not to mention the considerable weight of the e-bike itself. With full suspension, fat tires, a large, sprung saddle, wide mudguards, a full rear rack, lights and an electric motor. While the aluminium frame is seriously overbuilt for longevity and safety.  

 8.00 A walk, I think.

 8.45 Back again. Walked off the back pain to the lanes. Lots of bird activity. No wind. I was too warm in my down sweater on the way back. A red kite was circling over home. It seemed unmoved by my presence. Traffic fairly busy.

 11.45 52F/11C. Bright overcast. Back from a ride in perfect weather. I collected my medicine. Aspirin and a nitroglycerine emergency spray. The side effects of aspirin sound like my daily symptoms! Had a nice chat with the lady pharmacist. Before riding on to the museum. To tell them I was taking a break. Had a nice chat with several of the volunteers. One local chap enjoyed cycling in the area on his e-bike. I hadn't seen him before. Shopped on the way home. So I can eat again. 18km.

12.10 Despite the veiled sunshine the greenhouse is quite warm. So I have opened the protected windows. 76F in the greenhouse. 61F indoors. It might help. The kitchen reached 70F/21C. While the living room topped out at 66F/19C.

 Dinner was organic sausages, mushrooms, tweggs and baked beans.

 

  ~o~

19.03.2024 Security detail for hospital visit.

 ~o~

 Tuesday 19th 37F/3C. Smudgy overcast moving quickly from the south. Up at 6.40 after lying awake for ages. [Again!]

 I have to be at the city hospital after lunch for a heart scan. It is 30km/20 miles by my usual, rural, cycle route. No cycle paths are provided on the direct, main road. With speeding being extremely commonplace and the heavy traffic always busy. There are even sections where cycling is forbidden. Welcome to cycling friendly Denmark!

 I shall allow myself an extra half hour to avoid overdoing it. Or, worse, being late. Having been stung by a crooked parking company in the past. I dare not drive there in the old car. The Morris is still sulking at the specialist Morris workshop.

 The hospital is a huge site with multiple buildings but no map was provided. Just an address. So I am using Google Earth and Street View to locate the entrance I need. No problem and there is a cycle rack near the entrance. I always anchor the bike to a rack or street furniture. To avoid it being lifted bodily into a van or pickup. I shall take both ABUS Granite U-locks. To avoid 2-legged city rats getting a free fix at my expense.

 The next problem is carrying the twin Ortlieb panniers with the spare battery. While I can padlock the panniers to the rear rack The carrying handles could be cut. Or the bags simply opened. So I will have to drag the whole lot down to the cellar heart clinic with me. The spare battery weighs 3.6kg or 7lbs. It's lucky I am only 76! Until next month. When I can become an even sillier, old fart. 😎

8.15 There is no excuse not to go for a walk. My back was killing me when I finally got up.

 8.45 I only walked far enough to be rid of my lower back pain. There was a cold, blustery SE wind already. Expecting to gust up to 11m/s later. Fortunately that will be perpendicular [90°] to my direction of travel. Though the slightly higher speed of my e-bike makes every journey feel like a headwind!  

 The temperature will peak below 5C/41F today at 14.00. With light rain possible on my return journey. Experience strongly suggests I wear warm clothes, cap and gloves. Long thermal underwear. A jumper under the rain jacket over a racing jersey. To keep sweat at bay. Never wear a cotton T-shirt!   

 The Nyon control unit is nicely compact but difficult to operate with thick gloves in winter. I have added the text labeling to the image for clarity of function.

 I'll wear a GripGrab "Aviator" medieval cap under my ABUS helmet. This covers the ears and reduces wind noise in my hearing aids. It is also nicely warm despite the constant headwind. I have been wearing these caps for years on the trike in much colder conditions than today.  

 9.20 40F/4.4C. Cold, grey overcast.  59F/15C in the room. Probably worth wearing the GripGrab split mitts from the very start. Fingered gloves are just too marginal at these temperatures and wind chill factor on an e-bike. There is no loss of dexterity thanks to the split between the fingers. 

  A major irritation is the Nyon Map screen [of seven.] Which has a dire warning notice in text blocking out the screen. Telling the user not to adjust the controls while underway. Which, in reality, means the rider must stop, to remove their glove, to press the on-screen OK button. By which time they will almost certainly have crashed into something! Or somebody will have driven into them from behind! While the poor rider was busy reading the tiny text on the touch screen without their reading glasses! Surely a case of Bosch being hoist by their own petard!

 The sideways scrolling, Nyon touch screen doesn't operate with my thinner gloved fingers. But does with the thick ones! Aha! It's the thickly applied rubber grip strips. The bare cloth has no effect at all. Nor do the spotted grip marks on the split mitts! Grr?

 The more heavily padded [and much colder] GripGrab winter gloves offer poor dexterity in comparison with the mitts. Particularly on the complex handlebar control of the Bosch motor. Do Bosch e-bike designers never ride in winter? No-of course not! They each get a private parking spot for their Porsches. Probably resistance heated to keep their parking space free of snow.

  11.30 44F/6.7C. The forecast is below 4C. A little brighter. E-bike ready. I am showered and dressed. I have an hour before I should leave. Lunch will be extremely early. Or I will be riding on a full stomach. I could make it now and eat it very slowly. I can't go on a three hour ride without a meal.

 12.30 Off I go.

 17.00 And back again. It took me 1.5 hours to get there. I was just riding steadily each way. No rush. Exactly 30km each way. About 37 miles round trip. Average of 22kph while moving. Though I spent 20 minutes just tootling slowly around the hospital grounds exploring  and to kill time and relax. 

 I found this egg shaped building in the grounds. The "framework" is only an illusion. The silvery bars are actually clear. Each curved sheet is misted up inside. Except where they overlap. Presumably made from clear polycarbonate. A real work of art! It is furnished as a rest room.

 I was being ultrasound inspected for a whole hour. Slight weakness in one place in the heart. Enlarged aorta. Told off for not taking high blood pressure tablets when I should have been. Will be on heart tablets and have a nitroglycerine spray for emergencies. 

 A very pleasant young pair. They spoke English to me and nattered about the progress of the test in Danish. I could understand most of what they said in Danish. I have to go back for a CT scan next. With a dye injected to help locate any resistance due to narrowing or clots. 

 18.00 I have lit the stove. It was only 58F/14C in the room. I didn't do any shopping! Toast again? Cheese or beans? Too late for a nap. I haven't been sleeping properly so I had better go without.

 Dinner was beans on toast.

~o~ 

18.03.2024 16 tons and wadya get?

 

 ~o~

  Monday 18th 35F/2C. Quite bright with overall smudgy cloud.

 Up at 7am. I was up earlier from 4-5.15. Having woken and couldn't get back to sleep. Wasted the night hours on the news and YouTube. No ill effects from yesterday's ride. 

 8.00 After a walk I shall continue throwing rubble. From the edge of the parking area into the lower area beyond. There isn't much rubble left. So I shall need more material to build up the area properly. There is a pile of demolition rubble next door. 

 How to get it from 150m away without exhausting myself? Nor wasting time barrowing it. I could fill my trailer but it's tiring and far too slow to pick it up from the ground. I have already discovered this with the modest amount of rubble I have moved already. Which varies from fist sized to over football size. Mostly concrete from the former "patio." Which I began to break up with a pick and sledge hammer. Until I ran out of energy and momentum. With only 2/3 removed. I left enough for a front doormat and somewhere to park the three big recycling bins. 

 The village sand and gravel man's full sized, tipper lorry is going to struggle to reach the right spot. There is very little room to turn. The drive is narrow beside house. Which probably means bringing the material one load at a time using my own trailer. 

 Or, having him dump the material as near as he can get. Leaving me with barrowing it from the huge heap. Which is exhausting work at my age. It also makes the parking area inaccessible until I finish. 

 Hiring somebody with a front loader?  A few minutes work for a JCB. A little longer for a skid steer. I could pay the gravel man to drive his huge front loader to my place. To move a big heap of self stabilizing gravel into the sunken area. That would be fast and effective. If he was willing. 

 Instead of a walk I decided to exhaust myself by finishing the rubble tossing. I keep getting breathless and tired. I just don't have the strength or stamina I used to have. I managed to move the dome segments further away. Using a mixture of rocking and rowing. Where I did not have the strength to drag them bodily. Let alone lift them. 

 There is now a clear shot for a tipper lorry to reach the area. Only after I dig up the cables carrying electricity to the dome. They are much too shallow now that I have cleared the approach. They used to be safely buried in a high quality, yellow hose. Running around under the hedges I have since removed. 

 The green hose contains a low voltage time signal to the big clock dial on the shed. That too was disconnected after my wife died. I lost all interest in my lifetime passion [obsession] for electrical horology.

 I see from the image that I still have a lot of clearing up to do in the background. My wife's worm farms are still lying about after I released their contents into the wild. She used to feed them with kitchen waste. Producing vast quantities of worms. In their big, inverted water butts with the tops cut off. 

 I never saw her use any of the compost they produced. I would bring it home in bags. From the garden centre or supermarket. She was very fussy about quality and complained for years. That she could no longer buy John Innes. All the bagged compost over here is/was peat based.

 My DeWalt chainsaw keeps shedding its chain. Probably because the chain has stretched. So I can't cut down all the trees and stumps. I'll have to order a chain [or two] online. The steel post once held a huge satellite dish. For receiving British TV from Astra 2. Before they got greedy and killed it for European reception. I dug a deep hole and set the post in concrete. Now it's in the way. It is also perfectly vertical. The slope is entirely the effect of phone camera distortion. Note how the observatory building on the right is upright.

 9.45 41F/5C. Still sunny. Now I am dripping with sweat and sneezing. With a runny nose again. I need a rest and will make morning coffee. 

 10.30 It has clouded over. No more sunshine. Had a rest. Now what? Go and fetch a new chain for the saw? A nice little ride along the lanes. The sun is trying to come out again. I had better save my energy for tomorrow's 50km round trip to the hospital. The weather forecast is dry but grey and windy from the south. So I will be fighting the wind more on the way home. Probably using the second battery by then.

 12.00 Overcast. I have returned, in the car and fitted the new chain to the DeWalt chainsaw. Topped up the chain oil to be certain. The skinny chains are prone to burning. I'll start by tidying up the yellow, willow saplings and stumps. Which might come up again from beneath my rubble and gravel landfill. It is already beginning to feel more spacious. Even before it is all brought to the same level. 

 I am really not sure how far to go back. If I remove too many trees I shall be able to see Scrapman's multiple carbuncles. If only in winter when the trees are bare. Not that people in glass houses shouldn't keep their own place much more tidy! The camera doesn't lie. It just doesn't get pointed that way.

 12.30 Early lunch over. Time to get cracking. Hopefully the chainsaw will behave itself now.

 13.30 Sunny periods. Time for another rest. Why do I get so hot and breathless? All the stumps and small trees have gone. At least as far out as I am likely to expand the car parking area. Another heaped trailer load of branches for the recycling yard. The saw worked fine on the new chain. Making short work of willow stems up to 6"/15cm Ø. 

 It doesn't look like hours and hours of tiring work, does it? My wife assembled a lot of the bricks visible on the right. I found her crouched down there one day. Not long after the chimney was demolished. She was naturally, highly skilled at dry stone walling. So the bricks must have been quite easy for her to stack in layered steps. The gravel on top has flowed down in the intervening couple of years. Hiding most of her work. Thee was no spare rubble until the chimney was demolished.

 

 She also helped to move all the gravel built up under the observatory. When a local contractor abandoned us. After promising to send a skid-steer, front loader and driver that morning. We had to move about 22 tons around 30 meters by shovel and wheelbarrow alone. While in our early 70s. 

 My wife discovered she could lean a barrow against the vast heap. Then rake the gravel down to fill the barrow. It was easier than her shoveling. While I pottered back and forth. Pushing the other barrow full and tipping it into the drop. She was only a tiny 5'/1.5 meters. 

 18.30 Lit the stove. It has been hovering around 61F/16C indoors. So I am wearing a fleece jacket for warmth. The cheapest and most efficient energy is that you don't produce. There are no losses. Except marginal comfort.

 Dinner was poached eggs on toast. There was nothing else left.

  ~o~

17.03.2024 67km means a late lunch.

 ~o~

  Sunday 17th 31F/-1C Bright and sunny. White frost. No visible wind in the trees.

 Up at 6.45 after a reasonable night. I seemed to be lying there awake for ages but wasn't. More like shallow dreaming. Lower back pain as usual and a runny nose. My upper chest continues to feel thick. Having to clear my throat at frequent intervals. Unhealthy stove dust, ash, smoke and gases? Or it's all the tap water I keep drinking.

 Butterburs look more colourful in bright sunshine.

 There is a story on the DR news website. About the huge difference in survival rates of the Danes. Depending on wealth. A country which only pretends to enjoy the greatest equality. Particularly where health is concerned. Published in a major new survey by a Danish University. 

 The country was divided up into parishes. The chances of surviving to 75 being reduced by up to 81% for some areas. Compared with only 13% for a wealthy area. The lower educated being particularly susceptible to early death. Smoking? Obesity? Poor housing? Drug abuse? Stress? Diet? Lack of physical activity. Their type of employment? 

 Every new bunch of politicooze promises to fix the problem. If only empty election promises actually worked in reality. The Danish news is constantly discussing the appalling waiting times for treatment. With many exceeding the legal time-wasting allowance. So that many patients are able to get quicker private treatment at taxpayer's expense. Every new hospital build runs years late and billions over budget. 

 Either Windows or the FF browser is broken. I can't do a simple swipe, Copy and Paste! Paste is greyed out! I have tried repeatedly. It's Firefox! Copy and Paste work as normal in Chrome on editing my blog. Ok. I Refreshed Firefox. Normal editing service has been resumed.

 8.15. Time for a walk. 63F/17C in the room. I won't light the stove. There should be free heat from the greenhouse later. BTW: Don't buy BAY digital thermometers. They eat CR2025 button cells! I bought half a dozen of these thermometers and spend my days replacing the batteries. My digital thermometers, which use AAA batteries, last for years between battery replacements. BAY obvious chose button cells to allow a thinner body. 

 9.15 Back from my walk. I made it to the village. I haven't walked that far in some time. Cold on my hands but I was warm in a jumper and fleece jacket. Lots of birds about. I saw my first wagtail of this year. Sharing the ridge of a roadside house with a noisy sparrow. Though the loudest voices at this time of year are usually the chaffinches. There was a very strange sound from a larger bird this morning. Hiding somewhere in the shelter belt of trees to my west. Alarm call or song? The nearest song/alarm online is a Willow Ptarmigan. How likely is that? It had to be a large bird for so deep a range. I have heard thousands of pheasants over the years and it certainly wasn't one of those. 

 10.00 38F/3.3C. It is determined to be sunny today. Light easterly winds suggest a ride. No phone call from the supposed buyer of my big green dome. Nor any other response to my Facebook advert. 

 10.30. Off I go. 

 14.30 43F/6C. Returned from a freezing 67km/42 mile ride. I headed north. Leaving at about 11am by the time I was ready. I hoped I would avoid a cold headwind. I was wrong. There was a headwind every inch of the way. Regardless of my direction of travel. A lovely ride though. Mostly on narrow, rural lanes. Deliberately so, to avoid main road traffic. 

 Luckily I took a warmer pair of gloves. Even then, the well padded GripGrab gloves weren't really warm enough. So my hands recovered after the change but then became cold again. I should have taken the split mitts. It was daft not to take them. Nothing comes close for warmth.

 Following the same idiotic optimism I wore thin socks and my lightest trainers. So my feet became steadily colder. Without any means to alter the situation. It's not as if  don't have masses of room in the panniers. I took a spare jumper and warmer, medieval cycling cap but didn't really need the jumper. I should have changed caps but didn't want to stop just for that. After a while I forgot I had it with me.

 I wore a pair of thin, stretchy trousers over padded DHB racing shorts. Probably ten years old by now. I had decided to leave the tights off today. So I stayed comfortably seated until about 50km. Then became progressively more saddle sore. Pee stops helped to relieve the discomfort. Since they gave me a break from sitting on the B67. The tights must increase friction by adding more layers.  

 I chewed my way way through four micro Korny bars, but didn't touch the mini apple juice cartons. I saw loads of birds of prey. A buzzard circling over every copse and wood. Plovers having an aerial scrap. Perhaps a courtship routine? Whooper swans nestling beside many flooded fields. A jay flying ahead of me until it veered off. Kestrels hovering.

 15.00 Lunch over. I have the greenhouse door and internal windows open to warm the house but it isn't helping much. Or is very slow. 64F to start in the room but only 65F after half an hour. [18C] While the kitchen has risen from 63F to 68F. [17-20C] 

 I must have got colder than I realised. I am suddenly feeling really cold. So l put on on a jumper and fleece jacket. Plus a warm cap and thick socks. I can't have my afternoon nap in my warm bed because I am full of lunch! I have changed into thermal tights and fleece trousers. Still feeling cold.

 18.00 I waited until after 17.00 for a nap. Felt much better afterwards.

 Dinner was fish fingers and chips with peas. It was that. Or [more] toast! 

 

 ~o~