~o~
Monday 1st 63F/17.2C [6.50] Bright and breezy. Golden light is working its way down the tall trees on the western border. The stubble fields are glowing. With grazing light emphasizing their contours and texture. Cloud promised. Rain this evening.
Up at 6.10 after another quiet night. No afternoon nap. No coffee after dinner. It seems to work.
7.00 I went along to see if the dustbin had been emptied. It had. So I brought it home. Rumbling along the graveled drive. My neighbours' dog to the NE was barking just beyond the trees. Though I couldn't see it. That's a first. They must have been taking an early morning walk along the newly formed path around the paddock. The dense trees of the absent property developers' screen everything from view to the east.
I am expecting the container/skip lorry to arrive at 8am this morning. If they don't clear my drive as promised. Then I shall contact the council to have the containers removed. At the property developer's expense and inconvenience. It is illegal to block access to a home or business.
My access has been blocked for days. I had to put off two visitors and the dustbin lorry was badly inconvenienced. The county council [Kommune] expects 5 days notice to provide the necessary permission. Before a container/rubbish skip can be placed on a road or shared private drive.
8.30 Overcast. For want of any better reason than the 1st of September. I have taken the shade nets down from the lean-to greenhouse. This is not without its own problems. Largely due to the sheer size of the lengths. The greenhouse is 7m long [22'] and the nets overlap both ends and down over the front wall. I was able to lay the nets singly on the gravel on the diagonal. To roll them as neatly as possible for winter storage.
Winter warmth now takes priority. So heat gain from the lower sun becomes important. Though only if the sun can reach the greenhouse.
Now I have to attack the overgrowth in the front garden. I have trimmed the beech hedge inside and out but not the top. The remaining conifers have grown wildly. I had promised myself a bit of squared off topiary. Just for a bit of fun. The shrubs have gone completely mad. Unwanted hazels have taken hold too. Though I was glad to see I hadn't killed the Cornus. It is over six feet tall now. In only one season. After being cut right down to the ground. The main branches were dying. A prostrate, golden Taxus [Yew] has spread over many square meters. Far too untidy to be decorative if fully exposed.
9.00 Still no sign of the promised container lorry.
10.00 67F/19.4C. Still overcast. I have clipped the beech front hedge down to head height. Lots of brambles had grown through it. I have lopped off assorted ash trees, hazels and hawthorns at ground level. Trimmed the conifers to make a path along the beech hedge. Room for a short stepladder. My arms are scratched to hell from the brambles. I am dripping with sweat again. I need a rest.
I have just spoken to the builders. I warned them that I was close to calling the kommune. To have the containers removed at their expense. They say the container lorry is supposedly coming soon. 10.30? So much for the 8.00 time line. It's a good job I didn't have to call an ambulance!
I had chest pains last night after dinner. The nitroglycerine spray quickly solved that. Suggesting my heart, or its plumbing, continues to be a problem. Particularly when I push myself too hard. Moving all those heavy blocks, branches and weeds yesterday obviously took its toll. Though I felt just a dull but uncomfortable pain in my left chest. There was no localization.
Meanwhile, my nice neighbours are having home charging for their cars. Or so it appears. A trench being dug to the carports. Electricians hovering by their white van. My understanding is that this needs a high power supply but I'm only guessing.
11.00 Still no container lorry. Sunshine and increasingly breezy. I was able to complete my UK pension Life Certificate over the phone. All my personal and bank details were required but it went smoothly. The Danish postal service has stopped their letter post. I am not even sure how their letter reached me. After almost a month for delivery. Denmark has always been at the forefront of online services. With most official communication via secure websites.
11.45 It has clouded over again. I have rinsed the OASE pond filter in a bucket of pond water. To avoid killing the beneficial bacteria in the sponges. Long overdue and they were filthy. Though the muck does provide an extra fine filter layer. It also exposes the bacteria to extra water flow. The water has been crystal clear until now. I used the dirty water to feed and water the dark leafed plants outside. The gunk is supposed to be perfect plant food.
Sometime between 13.00 and 13.30 the large skip disappeared from my drive. The remaining skip does not affect my access at all.
The light in the greenhouse and indoors is completely transformed. Despite the overcast. Ridding myself of the shade nets and wild plant growth has achieved amazing results. It could be brighter if I attacked the hedge. On the other side of the drive from the east end of the house. I need a rest first. If I am to tackle that next.
4.45 I had to go out and rescue the tools. It was raining.
Dinner was beans on toast.
~o~
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