29.05.2025 I do like to be beside the sea.

 ~o~

 Thursday 29th 49F/9.4C [7.15] Bright morning with cloud later.

 Up at 6.30 after a busy night attending to the fire bucket. 

 No immediate plans. Sunshine and light westerly winds suggest a ride. Though it's not particularly warm.

 7.30 A walk in bright sunshine will do me good. Let's start there and work our way up.

 8.15 Back from my walk. A fox lay dead on the blind bend. Were I risk my life every time I walk back home. Somebody had lifted it onto the opposite verge. While I was out walking. No doubt the fox was excited at the odour of the neighbour's chickens. Which are safely locked into the barn overnight. The worry is that it was a female fox and any offspring will die of hunger. 

 The wild birds were in fine voice this morning. With several, unfamiliar warblers chattering away. The traffic was almost non-existent on the way out. A few more cars on the way back. It is a bank holiday. So I might find some shops closed today. Most [but not all] supermarkets will be open. 

 10.15 I am going for a gentle ride down to the coast.  

 13.15 Returned from a 46km ride down to the south coast. All very rural and unspoilt. Undulating with short steep hills. Lots of cyclists out and about. Little traffic. I stopped near a campsite right by the water.  For an organic apple juice and a sub-micro, Corny bar. Variable saddle discomfort throughout the ride.

16.00 I have been pottering about outside. Raking and moving stuff about. The sheer scale makes it impossible for me to do anything very useful. The area in front of the entrance door is slightly low. So a puddle would collect there and has. The gravel just needs to be a couple of inches/cm higher against the steps. I invested in a manual tamper. A flat steel plate with a sturdy shaft. I have always wanted one and now I have. I can use it to compress the gravel close to the house and sheds. Without the risk of damage when using a machine. Which I don't own anyway. It can be used after raking to mend any local thinning or looseness.

 They used the plate vibrator around the steps. Though they were struggling with the height of the underlying concrete slab. Which was left in place. The shed and steps are built on top of it. So it is best left well alone. We discussed the risk of slippage but the gravel is deep enough to be stable. With the granite chippings on top again to lock it all together. 

 I will be glad when the job is finished. So I don't carry the sand everywhere on my shoes. The crusher dust on the granite chippings will probably take a little time to be washed away by the rain too. 

 Dinner was a salmon pasty with peas, pasta and tinned tomatoes. I didn't sieve the tomatoes this time. 

 

  ~o~