~o~
Up at 7.00 after waking earlier and dozing.
I'll have a rest from clearing up after the observatory demolition. It would involve a lot of crouching to pick up the remaining screws. Then lots of heavy digging and raking of compacted gravel to improve the levels.
The best place for the remaining timber is probably on recycled pallets. Placed on the original, sunken garden area, beyond the gravel. This will make it all but invisible under a green tarpaulin. Without it being a major job to access and select wood for new projects.
Walking back and forwards for any distance is immensely time consuming. Not to mention the strain of carrying heavy weights. Talking of which: I could leave all the concrete anchors in the ground. Provided I can clear the metalwork and they don't project upwards they can help to stabilize the ground. What would I do with them if they were exhumed? They don't have much value. Handling them is awkward and very heavy work.
A good day to visit my English friend. Should I ride there? Or go in the Morris? I am going to drive.
12.00 Warm sunshine. Back from visiting my friend and grocery shopping on the way back. I wore my new cycling shoes. To help to break them in and acclimatize myself to them. I hardly noticed them.
15.00 Back from the village. A 10km shopping ride. I bought some leather, saddle conditioning wax. Because I couldn't find any Brooks Proofide. I have three tins but can't find any. I am having jabbing pains over my heart area. I tried the nitro glycerine spray but no effect so far. No other symptoms.
The chest pain soon went away so I had a nap. The [horse] saddle wax was little different from Brooks own. I applied three layers on top of each other with the supplied sponge. Then left it to soak in with the help of the warm sunshine. There was no noticeable change to the leather. So I'll leave it on overnight. Then buff it with a clean rag tomorrow.
I am waiting for the sun to go down behind the trees. This will be after dinner now. So I can use my Bosch laser level on the graveled area and parking space. The Bosch is not bright enough for daylight use out of doors. I shall put down bricks to Mark the levels. Or hammer in lengths of kindling as marker posts. Just to get a general feel for the levels. It is incredibly difficult to trust one's eyes. It all looks completely different from every viewing angle. I can almost guarantee it will be a shock.
The 200m drive runs gently downhill to pass the house and onto the parking space. I fitted a channel drain across the drive years ago but it wasn't successful. So heavy rain causes a flow down to the parking space. Causing puddles and softness.
The recent farce, of the electrician being unable to leave in his van, due to wheelspin, demands I do something drastic. My addition of free compost, from the recycling yard, did not help! It was absolutely fine when it was dry. Far too soft once wet. I covered the entire parking space with up to 10cm or 4" of compost.
The wax had soaked into the saddle when I went to check. So I added another layer. The leather on the Contec is very thick. It is unlikely to go floppy just for an application of wax.
Dinner was mackerel in tomato sauce on toast with tomatoes.
8.00 It isn't remotely dark enough yet but I could just make out the laser level line. There is a distinct valley across the front of the graveled area. 10cm is about 4" low. That would take quite a lot of gravel to raise it to match the middle of the parking space over a wide area.
I have a five year old, green cross-line, self leveling, Bosch laser level. A 360 "Universal" model according to those still selling it. At a little over £100 equivalent bare and up to £180 with tripod. A pretty basic model by today's standards. The latest models are well over double the price.
8.45 The room is slowly darkening. Half way through May it will be ages before true dusk. By using a reflective surface, like shiny aluminium, the line can still be seen. Even when it isn't dark. To see the line projected directly onto alternative surfaces, out of doors, requires semi-darkness. Though it works well indoors.
9.00 Now a little easier to see the green laser line now but not much. The image shows how I stacked blocks of wood to show the required ground level. If it exactly matched the laser level's position. Laser unit in the foreground marked with kindling sticks.Whether I should aim for an overall fall from right to left is another matter. I tried to reduce the fall with compost and made a muddy bog in wet weather. May 2025 is heading for the driest in recorded history. So the ground is now rock hard.
The birds were having an evening chorus all around me in the garden trees. Several different warblers, a wren and a blackbird were entertaining me.
~o~
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