19.06.2025 When you're in a hole..

 ~o~

  Thursday 19th 52F/11C [6.00] Bright. Expected to be sunny all day.

 Up at 5.15 after an overactive night. 

 7-7.25 A short walk in a slightly chilly breeze. 

 I was planning on a minimum two hour drive to the other side of the island. To buy some specialist plumbing parts. For draining the greenhouse pond. Then I realised I had submersible pumps. Which would remove water just as efficiently via common hose pipe. So there is no excuse not to start digging. To sink the pond to a more attractive height/level. Unfortunately the tank dimension grow the deeper it goes. Due to the tapered sides.

 Several YT videos suggested pea gravel. On which to rest heavy water tanks. Such gravel is easily accessible. It will also deny the ants such easy excavation as in the present sand. On which I had laid the herringbone pattern of bricks with an angle grinder. All those years ago. 

 8.20 I have lifted most of the bricks where the tank will sit. Though the herringbone pattern is working against me. I cut hundreds of corners off to make them fit back then. I have no idea where the brick off-cuts went. They'd be quite handy now to fill in all the empty triangles. Or I could lay wood around the base of the tank to hide the gaps. 

 Logic suggests I push the container nearer the greenhouse front wall. Where I laid a pattern of normal brick bond. This will move me an easy brick's width away from the "teeth" in the foreground. It might still not be enough. The jagged edges to right and left will need local brick removal. The next step is to cut away the polythene and start digging. Which means barrowing soil away. 

 More rearrangement of the remaining contents of the greenhouse required. To make a clear path. I already shoved everything along to the east end. To allow the tank to be moved away from its intended resting place. 

 I had better keep going while the greenhouse temperature is tolerable. It will soon be roasting out there! Currently 67F/19C. I am already dripping with sweat. The end doors and skylights are open. The breeze is helping.

 9.30 Back in for a rest and morning coffee. Four barrows of clean sand have been trundled to the car park. Where it was dumped onto plywood. I have almost reached the bottom of the sand. With the excavation having reached 17cm in depth. Measured up to the straight edge bridging the hole. Whatever depth of pea gravel I choose to have under the tank. Must be added to the required depth of the hole to be dug.

 11.00 I am hot a tired and need a rest. Down to 30cm below floor level. Though it's not very even yet. I ran into my own hardcore under the sand. Which meant I had to use a garden fork to make any headway. I had better remove more bricks. To avoid damaging the container during trial fittings in the hole.

 13.00 Lunch. I had continued to dig in 90F/32C temperatures out in the greenhouse. The bottom of the excavation is slowly approaching level. Not helped by buried rocks and bricks. I removed another row of floor bricks on three sides. To ensure safe clearance with the sides of the hole. 

 I just hope I am strong enough to lift the tub back out of the hole afterwards. There won't  be room for levers. What if it jams? I had better lay some lengths of timber in the bottom of the hole. To simulate the correct depth.

 14.00 I am keeping my bouts of digging to short intervals. Because of the heat. The single layer of shade net seems to have almost no effect.

 15.00 Reached a satisfactory depth and level. Stacked some timber packing in the bottom. Ready for a trial fitting of the tub. Having a rest and taking some time to cool down. My t-shirt is glued to my bod.

 18.15 It is till 80F/27C out there in the greenhouse. The length proved to be the problem. It wasn't simply the geometry of the tub being tilted. The hole was far too short and the corners not clean cut right angles. Three more barrow loads and I was able to lower the tub into place. With cushions at both ends to protect the finish. 

 The tub isn't sitting quite as deep as I had originally planned. Largely due to the timber packing underneath. I feel it looks better than sitting nakedly on the brick floor. [Image below]

 Though losing a bit more of its depth might be beneficial to its appearance. It is a very large object to have indoors. Hiding it deeper in the floor costs nothing but a little more effort. 

 It looks slightly odd having the bottom of the tub below floor level when I look inside. The intention was to have the apparent depth the same as the floor. Once it is filled with water.  

 Manhandling the tub was no real problem. I just ensured the cushions were in place to protect the tub. Moving it was simply a matter of overcoming its inertia. It slides nicely on the cushions. 

 I had no difficulty lifting the tub back out of the hole. With more cushions hanging over the angular, brick edges for protection.   

 I keep getting electric shocks in my wrists and hands. Probably from overdoing it. I was getting shocks in bed last night. While trying to go to sleep.

 Dinner was poached, free range eggs on toast. The eggs were small. So I used up the last four. I'll have to go grocery shopping tomorrow. Having run out of most of my regular items.

 

 

  ~o~

18.06.2025 And there she was, gone again.

 ~o~

  Wednesday 18th 59F/15C [6.40] overcast. A cloudy morning should be followed by a sunny afternoon.

 Up at 6am after another quiet night.

 My guest is leaving today. After achieving amazing results with the display cabinets. She was also instrumental in helping me clear the greenhouse. I now have a collection to deliver to the recycling yard and charity shop.  

 7-7.25 I had a short walk. Breezy, overcast and an occasionally threatening sky. The birds were singing.

 12.00 Back from delivering my guest to the village bus stop. I shopped on the way home. 

 17.00 Back from the village. After delivering the recycling and charity stuff. A smart Tesla was parked next door. Checking the camera recording showed he came down my drive but soon reversed away. 

 21.30 Thanks to our efforts in clearing the greenhouse. I was able to easily slide the tub along the floor on the old cushions. Into the western corner of the greenhouse. It will be best not to push it too tightly into the corner. To allow easier access to the western sliding doors. Though the overlap is quite minimal. I had considered this aspect before ordering the tub.

 The side of the tub nearest the glass wall should be insulated. To stop direct sunshine from heating the water in the tub in summer. And to reduce heat loss through the glass in winter. I shall not begin to excavate a hole for the tub yet. Not until I have fully considered all the implications of its intended position. 

 I want to install a drain hose and tap. [PVC Ball valve] To make partial water changes as simple and as easy as possible. A short length of hose can be attached and brought out through the open sliding door. Though only when required. The water can be allowed to run away under a hedge and large shrubs. 

 I shall ask an expert in ponds. About a suitable size of pipework, tap and hose for managing these partial water changes. The outlet will be about 30cm above the tub's floor level. To allow clearance for the floor. When the tub is sunk into the floor.

 Dinner was weird. I wanted to go with toast but found some chicken to use up in the fridge. So I fried the chicken and had it on toast. Not my best idea! It was very dry.

 

  ~o~

17.06.2025 Rub a dub tub.

 ~o~

  Tuesday 17th 57F/14C [6.30] Overcast but meant to be sunny all day. 

 Up at 5.45 after a quiet night. A nosebleed started just prior to having my shower. 

 We shall both be going to see my English friend this morning. 

 7.15 Sunshine. Time for a walk. 

 7.45 Back from a half hour walk. I have never heard so many birds singing. Most of them were warblers.

 8.10 I managed to get the enormous tub into the greenhouse by myself. By sliding it on scrap cushions on its long side. The tub is smooth all over. Both inside and out. Which makes moving it about far easier. Unlike the usual, one-sided GRP. Which is often extremely rough on the non-cosmetic side. While being highly polished on the visible side.

 Though not inexpensive, the 1500 liter/400 gallon, glassfibre container is very sturdy. It compares well with the price of preformed plastic, fish ponds. Moreover it doesn't have the ugly folds of ponds lined with rubber or plastic sheeting. It is self supporting. So does not need to be buried to resist outward water pressure. It has no materials which can break down. Like wood or UV sensitive plastics.

 The plan is to bury the container to a depth of around 20cm or about 8". This will involve the removal of an area of bricks and some soil from the greenhouse floor. The bottom of the newly excavated hole will be given a sand base. Well stamped down and carefully leveled. For the container to stand on. This degree of lowering into the floor will reduce the visual impact of the container. While the reduced apparent water depth [by about one third] will make it appear. As if the bottom of the pond is at floor level. While the true water depth will remain at 80cm. 

 I shall place a layer of small stones [pea gravel] on the bottom of the pond. To give the goldfish somewhere to forage. Which they currently do most of the time in their aquarium. I hate naked floors on ponds and aquaria. They are not only unnatural but must stress the fish. 

 I shall have a threaded bulkhead fitting for drainage. With a PVC valve and a short length of flexible hose. To carry the waste water out through the open greenhouse doors. Thereby avoiding the need for excavation for the plumbing. Or, worse, bailing the container. If it ever needs to be emptied in a hurry. 

 13.00 Back from an enjoyable drive through the countryside to visit my friend. Where the three of us had coffee and Danish pastries outside in the warm sunshine. With a pleasant, cooling breeze. Followed by a conducted tour of his amazing, old house and large gardens by our. Before returning home by a circuitous route. Which took in several villages, supermarkets and charity shops.   

 16.00 Back indoors to cool off. I have been trying to downsize the contents of the greenhouse. Which had hardly been touched for several years. My attempt to insert a spare trolley into the airing cupboard was not very successful. Though I did find several boxes of unused, ceramic tiles. They can go to a charity shop. A small victory in the endless war on hoarding. I kept the spares. For those I have already fixed within the hovel. 

 18.30 We have been having a blitz on the greenhouse clutter. With great success. I shall have to deliver most of it to the recycling yard tomorrow. The ants in the greenhouse floor were not pleased to be disturbed. 

 Dinner will be salad. With some of the nice neighbour's, free range eggs. With tuna and the usual salad items. Plus grated, extra mature, cheddar cheese. My guest showed how to cut everything small and mix it [literally all the salad ingredients] in a large bowl. A far better way of enjoying it all. Alas, she will be returning to the royal mews in the capital tomorrow. 

 

  ~o~

16.06.2025 It's all happening.

 ~o~

  Monday 16th 55F/12.8C [6.30] Overcast but sunshine promised.

 Up at 5.30 after quiet night.  

 8.10 Back from a short walk. The traffic had returned to normal. The wild roses and elders are in full flower. No sign of the deer hiding on the back field. Perhaps it was disturbed by the noisy building workers. 

 11.00 Back from a tootle in the Morris to another village. We visited a flea market and antique dealer. Unfortunately there was nothing to interest either of us into buying something. We looked into a large charity shop in the village on the way home.

 15.00 69F/21C. Back from a tootle to Middelfart to collect my fiberglass, greenhouse pond/industrial container. About an hour each way. It was sunny and windy and very warm in the car. Very pleasant blokes at the warehouse. Friendly and very helpful.   

 The two of us easily lifted the tub into the trailer on its side. Where it was laid on cushions for cosmetic protection. Then constrained with heavy duty, ratchet straps. No discernible problem driving home. I had feared a crosswind might have caused lift. I didn't notice anything unusual. Even while  traveling up to 80kph [50mph.] To avoid slowing the traffic.

 In my absence my guest had washed one hundred china cats. Then arranged them more tastefully in the corner display cabinet. Checking back to pictures of my wife's collection, in the single cabinet, suggested that most of them never saw the light of day. I am most grateful to my guest for her incredible patience. Her sorting and display skills were far more attractive and easier on the eye than my own. The image of the cats drying on the table does not include about 30, larger, china cats.

 Back at home I carefully dragged the tub off the trailer without difficulty. Then had my guest arrange and move an old blanket to protect the rim. As I maneuvered the tub across the gravel drive. Before letting it fall [temporarily] over the privet in front of the greenhouse. The huge tub was by no means too heavy [at around 50kg] to move easily. Ironically, its sheer size gave plenty of leverage and control. 

 It was an illusion that the tub would not pass through the greenhouse, double sliding doors. There should be a couple of centimeters clearance with the tub resting on its long side. I shall put down the old cushions to protect the rim from scuffing on the bricks and aluminium door frame.   

 Dinner was fish fingers, peas and chips. I had never needed to cook this meal for two. So I learned something from using two oven trays on two shelves with the oven fan going. The chips were less crunchy for being on the bottom shelf. While the fish fingers were slightly more crispy than usual. Due to their being in closer proximity to the grill. 

 My chips are often too crispy to allow themselves to be stabbed by a fork. Because I surround the fish fingers with chips on a single tray. Middle of the oven, fan on. A shorter heat might achieve the same results. A woodpecker arrived on an old garden tree as we ate. This plum tree has grown too big and too old. So is slowly dying. An ideal restaurant for a woodpecker.

 

  ~o~

15.06.2025 Bling, by any other light.

 ~o~

  Sunday 15th 59F/15C [8.00] Overcast with showers possible. Including thunder and cloudbursts. A high of 22C/71F after lunch. The wind has dropped.

 Up at 6.45 after a quiet night. Late to bed at 11.30. 

 8.25-45 A short walk. Very mild with a gentle breeze. 

 I have clipped the hedges along the drive. Mowed both sides and the middle of the drive. Then strimmed the edges. Before mowing the western lawn between the heaps of junk. Finally I raked the edges of the drive. To remove the hedge clippings and weeds.  

Meanwhile my guest is sorting out the glass in the kitchen cabinets. Giving them all a wash and polishing the glass doors and shelves. I had found a lot more Finnish glass upstairs. After she had arranged the first cabinet in the living room. Now six months ago. 

 We need to find space for my wife's glass and china collection of fruit and veg. To be housed in one of the kitchen display cabinets. So my rough and ready, original arrangement of the glass ornaments. Had to be thinned down to only one cabinet. Mostly by removing the white glass. Not all of which responds to the LED lights. Or where there were duplicates. 

 My initial picture has caught reflections of the light from the windows. So I shall take another from a different angle. Or wait until the daylight fades.  

 15.30 We have returned from a short outing to a local flea market. Where I delivered three, Cambridge Recorder thermographs and bought three, large, blue, glazed pots. For the plants outside the door. It is finally starting to rain as forecast. Heavily!

 7.40 Another satisfying meal. I fried chicken, brown mushrooms and yesterday's boiled potato excess. With oregano and peas. Helped down, yet again, by more, organic red wine. Eaten at the antique scrubbed pine table. With a clear view to the northern boundary. While perched on our bodger's elm chairs. The meal might [almost] have been improved by Bisto gravy but it proved unnecessary. The chicken was juicy perfection. Even if do I say it myself. 

 20.47 A very nervous, young male deer has just come down the drive and wandered around the gravel patch. Before finally going over the back to the north and the back fields.

 

 ~o~ 

14.06.2025 The Arrival.

 ~o~

  Saturday 14th 53F/11.7C. Bright. The last day of the formerly promised sunshine. It could reach 24C/75F this afternoon. Rain and showers overnight tonight and tomorrow afternoon. 

 Up at 4.45. I was already wide awake. I have a lot of tidying to do in readiness for my visitor. Who will be staying for a week. Hopefully she will be able to make another dent. In my lifetime collection of untidiness. Detachment from my belongings and those of my late wife, is the trick. 

 If only I had enough storage I could ignore the problem. Storage is the problem and always has been. I have collected more tools than many small businesses. Few of which will ever be used again. Too many tools. How to downsize which doesn't involve a skip? [Large rubbish container outside the door. As they drive me off in an expensive, chipboard box.] 

 These tools have saved me a fortune over a lifetime. As I learned to do most maintenance, repairs and replacement. Buying tools as I needed them. Do they still owe me anything? I constantly struggle with this problem. Do I give them away to charity? Sell them for a pittance? It was never possible to hold a flea market here due to poor access and a lack of parking. 

 How many takers would a small ad for 100 different pairs of pliers bring? 200 different screwdrivers? Dozens of spanners? A dozen woodworking planes? Would I find myself unable to repair the simplest items for want of any of them? This thought torments me every time I think I'll get rid of something. 

 The cost of hiring a tradesman is far beyond the true value of the work they do. One buys them a smart house, a van, a smart car, a second car, sports equipment, including a boat, family holidays, expensive clothes and toys for their kids. All the things I don't have and never did. 

 I see their vans with their logos on the side everywhere I go. Outside other people's houses in the week. Parked beside their homes at the weekends. I should have done an apprenticeship. Then I could have had all of these things. Instead of a hovel and a shed full of well used tools and all my untidy memories. The endless searches for just the right tool for the job. Or finding the tool I already owned. 

 7.00 Time for a walk? 

 7.40 Just a short walk. The traffic was very light but it is early. I was surrounded in birdsong. The warblers were in fine voice in the roadside trees. Blackbirds singing at intervals. The odd wren scolding the day.  

 Back to more tidying and a second batch of laundry. It is quite breezy again. The towels are flapping wildly on the rotary airer. I raked the parking space for a bit of exercise. The depth of granite chippings is much too variable. It is still far too early for morning coffee. 

 12.00 73F/22.8C. My third load of washing is bone dry after a quick tour on the outdoor rotary airer. I have never seen it going round until today. I have swept, mopped and vacuumed. Dusted polished and tidied. Sorted tubs of recently used tools into their correct trays. 😇

 14.00 I collected my guest from the village in the Morris. She had taken the train to Odense and then the bus to the village. We had a good natter to catch up since her last visit at Christmas.

 Dinner was a cooperative affair of pork chops, mushrooms, peas and boiled potatoes. Aided and abetted by Bisto gravy. All washed down by an excellent, organic, red wine. Enjoyed at the dining table.

  ~o~

Friday 13th June 2025 What can possibly go wrong?

 ~o~

 

 Friday 13th 59F/15C [7.45] Bright but windy. The garden trees and hedges are rocking. All day sunshine is promised. 

 Up at 7am after a very quiet night. I got up only once at 3.30. Probably tired from the longer bike ride. I am aching in my back and shoulders, hands and wrists. 

 Sandholt Slot. With a huge farm to the left. Just out of the picture.

 The doctor has advised me to stop taking two of my tablets as no longer necessary. I should go for a walk to loosen up. Though I should get enough exercise from tidying up today.

 I am expecting a parcel. Though I have opted for a pickup point delivery in the village. To avoid clashes with bolshy drivers. 

 My visitor is arriving tomorrow. Where to start? The whole place is a tip! At least it isn't raining. So I can finally tidy the garden after the observatory demolition and gravel work. Where do I put it all?  The lawn has got away from me again!  

 Arreskov Slot. Another stately home with huge farm buildings.

 Three of the neighbour's hedges are leaning over the drive. Two are absent neighbours. A third is absent but doesn't have any hedges on their boundary. A fourth [present] is attacking another absent neighbour's hedge. Just to keep the main drive navigable. 

 The same absent neighbour is completing blocking the view down the road. At the dangerous exit from the drive on a sharp corner. By not trimming their roadside hedge.  

 The council hedge trimming tractor doesn't trim roadside hedges on private property. Presumably to avoid conflicts of interest with property owner's shrubs and trees. So must somebody innocent die, for private profit, on property investment? I hope you are taking notes. Because I shall be asking questions at the end. 

 Snap of screen showing CX810 video in sunshine. The image has been resized from the original 4k. [3840x2160] The blog format does not support huge images. So I routinely resize all my images to 1000 pixels.

 I drove into the village to shop and to pick up my parcel. The shopping is put away and I have installed my new CX810 Reolink security camera on the system.  

 12.30 I have been replacing the TP-Link camera at the front of the house. Connecting up the newly arrived Reolink camera with a 10m Cat7 cable. The quality improvement of the Reolink CX810 over the TP-Link Tapo CX325WB is night and day. The 4K picture on the CX810 is crisp and colourful. Without being washed out like the Tapo. A closer view makes person identification immediate at any reasonable distance. The CX810 does suffer from considerable field curvature. Not quite barrel distortion but very noticeable. Probably a result of the very fast, f/1.0 lens.

 The Tapo is so wide angle that everything in view is tiny. Which has its uses but not for my main security cameras. Which I can now view both, side by side on my PC. I never managed to make the Tapo work on the PC. I'll point the Tapo over the western lawn for even more coverage. Though visible only on my phone. 

My nice neighbours' ponies have arrived. They have plenty to eat. Unfortunately they have wandered over to the far side of their paddock. So can't pose for a first portrait. The 3rd image is the new Reolink CX810 which was triggered by the cat retreating down the drive. The ponies have moved nearer at centre right.

I have some hedge clipping to do if I want to see the junction with the main drive. Duly done.

 Dinner was fried chicken, mushrooms and chips.

 

  ~o~

12.06.2025 96km. And there it was, gone, again.

 ~o~

  Thursday 12th 47F/8.3C. Bright, with full sunshine promised.

 Up at 6.10. The rear camera was triggered by a Woodpigeon. 

 8.10  Back from my walk in warm sunshine and only a light breeze. 

 I think a ride would be nice. I know an excellent garden centre at around 40km. I'll take lunch and the spare battery. 

 10.20 Finally ready. Assos bibs and cream. Bare legs. No cargo trousers today. My cheap [recycled] cycling jacket over a racing jersey. The Scott flat soled shoes.

 15.50 96km. I rode to Ringe. To find the garden centre had been demolished and leveled. It was probably the best garden centre on Fyn as far as variety was concerned. I had lunch on a bench outside  a charity shop. Then followed the cycle path on the old railway track down to Korinth. A favourite route. Where, as usual, I saw only a very few people. 

 Then back across [hilly] country and home. I was fighting the wind for most of the day. My nose has been running constantly too. The image shows a family of swans on the lake at a stately home. I stopped to change to the spare battery here. 

 

Dinner was cheese on toast with tomatoes. 

 

  ~o~

11.06.2025 Coming through!

 ~o~

  Wednesday 11th 49F/9.4C [6.10] Brightening to a sunny day. Though rather breezy from the WNW.

 Up at 5.30. I was wide awake at 4.00 but managed to stay in bed. 

 The cameras caught a deer [at 5.10] and the neighbour's cat overnight. This may be the same deer which was grazing on the back field. Capturing the wildlife on screen was my hope. As long as they aren't two legged rats.

 I shall be visiting my English friend this morning. Going in the car because I have to be back for a much needed trim just after lunch. However tempting it might be for a ride. I had better play it safe. My regular hairdresser, of over two decades, has retired. 

 Seeing myself in 4K on a 32" UHD monitor. From all angles, on my shiny new, security camera system, was a major shock! There ought to be a safety warning on the box. I have duly downgraded my self-image. From "a decent head of hair." to "some remaining hair on head." A "comb over" would be a serious exaggeration of both quality and quantity! 🙄 

 Now I need to (cough) brush up my Danish hairdressing vocabulary. Just in case they ask how best to avert this latest image crisis. All hope of my becoming a vintage babe magnet is surely gone. 

 6.40 Sunshine. Time for a walk.

 7.12. And back again. Not in the mood to walk far. The wind was already irritating. Down the road then looped around the drives. NO sign of the deer but there is plenty of cover. The neighbours have the tradesmen in. Not sure what they are doing. The white clothing suggests painters. Two vans. At least four young men. 

 12.30 Back from my visit. I shopped in the village on my way home.  I'll have lunch then drive back to the hairdressers.

 17.20 After the haircut I took a trip to the city. [Odense]  I managed to find most of the things I needed. I bought some fish pond baskets to support the smaller plants I bought yesterday. This will lift them. To achieve more visible status until they grow larger. 

 I bought some aquarium plants too but need to sterilize them first. Perhaps even quarantine them for a couple of weeks. I have never done that in my life before and have been keeping fish and plants for well over half a century.

 Dinner was a salmon pasty. With pasta, peas and tinned tomatoes.  

  

  ~o~

10.06.2025 Salix Integra 'Flamingo'.

 

  Tuesday 10th 53F/11.7C. Overcast and raining steadily. A long, wet day is forecast. Windy from the south. Nothing recorded by the cameras overnight. Except for moths attracted by the LED lights. 

 A pair of magpies were foraging on the gravel yesterday evening. They aren't popular with the little birds. Magpies have a reputation as nest robbers. 

 Up at 6am after a fair night. I shall be visiting my English friend. Going in the car due to the rain. Now canceled until tomorrow due to his B&B commitments. 

 12.10 Back from the village after doing some grocery shopping. I also made an appointment for a trim tomorrow. In the last of the original, Danish hairdressers. While I was in the village I had a good look around the garden centre in the pouring rain. I was sorely tempted by a golden Hedera [ivy] but it was rather too small for my intended location. I'll look around on my travels for a larger example. 

 Then I found and came back with a very pretty willow. Salix Integra 'Flamingo'. [Hakuro nishiki?] For 100kr or only £11 equivalent. Quite a bargain for so much vegetation. This willow is very winter hardy and tolerates many different soil types. It doesn't like drying out but will even survive temporary flooding. It can be easily propagated from cuttings and pruned early in the year. To improve the shape if needed. It grows quite rapidly to 2-3m high.  It is a bushy willow with pink leading shoots in May-June. Starting as variegated leaves with cream leading shoots early on before becoming pink.

 I was warned by the staff that the colour might fade in too much shade. It will be against a north facing wall under a roof overhang. Close to the entrance door. So early sunshine for several months and in a fairly open situation. If the colour begins to fade I can easily move it out into the sunshine. 

The plastic pot is root bound. So I will be able to re-pot into a larger, traditional pot. Of which I have two in different sizes. I shall probably use the medium size to avoid root saturation. Until the root ball can expand into its larger premises. I shall gently tease the roots out to help them find the new soil. 

 The inverted log basket has slightly raised moldings on the bottom. Which will prevent the pot's drainage hole from becoming sealed. The basket lifts the bush [?] up to a more comfortable height for admiration and increased stature. While providing greater stability on the gravel. 

 The damaged background paint does it no real favours. 20+ years of having pots, garden furniture and assorted stands pushed up against it.

 After lunch I drove to a couple of garden centers. The gorgeous black elder in the garden [top image] had given me an idea. It had rained hard all the time I was searching their stock and is still raining. I returned with four, deep red/black plants. These will provide the missing contrast with the Salix. Each of the plants has the potential to reach 2m or over 6' in a few years. No doubt my initial arrangement could easily be improved. 

That's an antique, single glazed, lanceolate window on the right. It was already fitted when we bought Chez Hovel.

 Dinner was baked beans on toast and bread roll. 

 9.30 I had to light the stove. It was getting too uncomfortable at 64F/17.8C. It won't take long to warm the room with only a few scraps of firewood.  

 

  ~o~

9.06.2025 46km for these?

 ~o~

   Monday 9th 47F/8.3C [6.30] A sunny day [apparently] once the sun clears the present cloud. Rather spoilt by a gusty westerly wind. A modest 15C/59F is on offer. 

 A bit of a ride? All the shops are shut for another bank holiday. Netto supermarkets are open. No real need for a target though. I could head north and pretend it's not a headwind. Even though it will be. Visit a garden centre? Renew the battle with nature?

 Up at 6am after a busy night tending the fire bucket. I was dreaming about making foundations for the carport. There are twenty four, concrete, carport foundation anchors waiting to be reused. Though they need adapting to the square feet of the carport legs. Would it be too much to hope for some galvanized steel plate in the scrap yard? Square with a central round hole. Is that too much to ask for?

The rear camera picked up a gorgeous magpie at dusk last night and two cats overnight. A tabby arrived from the still heavily littered, west lawn. Deposited its prey exactly centre stage on the gravel. Then tucked into its tasty snack. Why the cats keep coming back to my gravel patch is a mystery. Habit? The granite chippings are obviously uncomfortable. Judging from the way they walk as if on hot coals. 

 An interesting aside is that my hearing aids are wirelessly picking up the sounds on the security cameras. Warblers, a wren, a chaffinch and a blackbird are currently performing. It's not the sound from the monitor. I tried muting the speaker. The cameras are connected directly with network cables. So there should be no wireless transmission. Strangely detached sound quality but it soon ceased.

 It's creeping towards 7.00. There was no real news this morning. Except for a rather sweet portrait of St. Greta. Captured on a boat off the coast of Israel. I should be thinking about a walk. No rural view is complete without its token tramp. Even one with a carefully trimmed beard.

 7.40 Down the road to the junction. Return via the neighbours' loop. The wind was surprisingly strong and cold already. 

 From across the back field I saw a deer grazing. It was just outside my extended back yard. It was not moving about. So may well have been lying down. The tall, marshy grass concealed much of the detail. Simultaneously hiding me from its own alarm system. I should have had my DSLR and a telephoto lens with me. Though I haven't taken it out. Not since I no longer had anyone to share my pictures over morning coffee.

 Meanwhile the wanderer himself looked in better shape this morning. No back pain, upright, shoulders back. Arms swinging like a string puppet. My wife used to remark on my floppy arms. When she saw me walking down the drive from the front dormer. I was never aware of this severe handicap. Except when she reminded me.

 "Fluffy" the long haired, Alsatian guard dog barked at me. I scolded it gently. It was probably just bored. The chickens were in their usual tight huddle. I always tease them about holding so many committee meetings. They just give me the cold stare. Still no horses. I was promised horses. The last time I spoke to the nice neighbour. I shall just have to be more patient.

 It's not even 8.30 yet. Though it is trying to brighten up. Is it still far too early for coffee and a marmalade roll? Or should I prepare my bike first? That would kill some time. At the speed I work at. 

 09.35-12.20. A 46 km ride. A long way to go for some bread rolls. There were other stops too of course. Lots of cyclists out training. Singly, in pairs or in groups. Traffic very light. I traveled for miles without seeing another soul. The wind was roaring or whistling in my hearing aids. It gave a heightened sense of adventure. I could have been riding fast but wasn't very. A few descents at 40-45kph with a tail wind. An enjoyable ride. I chose my hilly route carefully. Lots of birds of prey. 

 I chatted to an elderly gentleman at the garden centre. He was interested in my bike. Made some interesting points and asked intelligent questions. I saw a number of e-bike riders too. Mostly elderly. 

 During the afternoon I experimented with parking the car beside the carport roof. Just to get a feel for the size when it is in the carport. I then raked the granite gravel to even it out. I have a wooden asphalt rake without teeth. It has a long and narrow, reinforced blade of beech wood. With a 2m long handle. Ideal for leveling because it doesn't dig into softer surfaces.

 Dinner was fish fingers, peas and mashed potato. 

 

 ~o~

8.06.2025 Peel me a carport.

 ~o~

  Sunday 8th 52F/11C [6.50] Overcast. A very wet day is forecast starting about 8am. A huge mass of rain is showing on the radar. Approaching from the SW. So any walk will have to be soon. 

 Up at 5.45 after a long and wakeful night. No idea why. I changed the bedclothes yesterday. Should I check under the mattress for a dried pea?

 My rear camera picked up a tabby cat's overnight perambulations. It keeps crisscrossing the gravel of the parking space and wandering up and down the drive. The image on the rear camera CX810 was reduced to near monochrome during the darkest hours [hour?] It never gets really dark at this time of year at 55N. It's LED lights were active for most of the time. The view appeared as if it were broad daylight by 3.30am. The front camera C325WB did not record anything in the drive.

 7.00 Just time for that walk!

 7.40 And back again. At least 4 lapwings standing on the front field. Along with a hare. All several hundred meters away. Somebody had forgotten to switch on the traffic this morning. It took over 15 minutes before the first car passed. Only six cars altogether by the time I returned. It is a Sunday on a bank holiday. So hardly a surprise I suppose. 

 It took just as long to walk off my bad back. The difference in my appearance on my return was remarkable. I was standing and walking upright. After being in considerable pain as I left. 

Given the forecast I don't fancy a ride. Not even with waterproof cycling clothing. It's just not the same as a warm and sunny day. Which leaves me wondering how to avoid wasting another day on YT. I could run the new cables to the cameras. Though it isn't really necessary. They are performing well enough without. I could tidy up but can't find the will.

 I spent half an hour peeling off the outer protective film from the carport roofing sheets. Then wasted half an hour watching the decrepit old fart hunched over. Doing the same thing on TV. I have never been able to see myself from afar until now. It ought to be compulsory viewing. Mirrors are an incredibly poor substitute for video. 

 I could easily pass for my father but seem much older in my posture. Which I am, but only by a few short years. He died four years younger than I am now. I had no idea this was how the world sees me. Every, single day. My hair is awful since the local hairdresser retired. My beard is untidy too. My clothes are shabby as hell! Crumpled and full of holes. What a mess! 

 10.45 It is raining now. Rain appears as sparklies on the monitor against darker backgrounds. YouTube has been offering me ten minute videos on how to cure my bad posture. I don't have the patience to watch ten minutes of padding. Just to satisfy the bløødy algorithm! 

 Dinner was badly poached eggs on toast. I saw a YT video where the chef sieved the egg whites. One of my eggs broke. The other was fine. I shan't bother to sieve them again! 

 Beard trimmed and shaved around the edges. Well, I have to start somewhere. 

 

  ~o~

7.06.2025 Technomagic.

 ~o~

  Saturday 7th 55F/12.8C [8.15] Bright sunny intervals this morning. Rain after lunch. Wind much lighter.

 Up at 6.45. A very quiet night. Woken only once at 3.30. Already too late to test the night time performance of my new security camera. It was already twilight and it looked like bright daylight on the monitor. The same tabby cat did two tours at intervals. In the morning I woke up and went straight back to sleep. The clock shot forwards.

 8.25 I am going for a walk. 

 8.50 Back again. A quiet Saturday morning. The Lapwings were calling and flying in circles. The vegetation was moist, overgrown and lush. With a few fallen twigs from yesterday's gales. The clouds provided drama as they scudded their shadows across the fields.

Most of the passing cars were electric. Many of them were decidedly chubby. With deep grills and hatchbacks. Not quite people carriers but not 4x4 SUVs either. The ID4 and Ioniq are typical of this class. Huge wheels and voluminous build. No doubt designed for comfort. Where the unfit occupants can easily enter and alight without climbing or sinking. Not one Tesla this morning. They usually dominate the commuter scene on this road in surprising numbers. It is Saturday and I am walking much later than usual. So one can't read much into this personal observation. 

 For anybody who is interested the Reolink CX810 camera and matching PoE switch leave nothing to be desired. Plug and play from the off. All the information you could wish for in the menus. Without overwhelming detail and endless error notices. In comparison the TP-Link C325WB is an amateur, unfinished product and unfinished project. One I might well return to the dealer. Even at a financial loss. Life is much too short to be doing the manufacturer's development work for them. 

 I will probably buy another CX10 to go at the front of the house. If only I didn't have to deal with a nonchalant online dealer and dictatorial delivery driver. It took the dealer several days for them to actually send the item. Despite bragging about their speed of dispatch from claimed stock. 

 Then the delivery company and their Bolshy driver[s?] provided the shite on the cake. Costing me another two days of anxiety [waiting at home] before receipt. Isn't there some kind of contract with the customer involved? When a delivery is accepted by a transport company and confirmed with the customer on Tracking and email? It seems not. In a highly competitive sector, with online customer reviews, they obviously don't give a crap!

9.45 I ought to go for a ride. Village charity shops or into town? Is there anything I desperately need in town?

 12.00 Back from a ride to the shops in the next village to the south east. About 13km each way. Gone for two hours. Headwind going. Crosswind coming back. Mostly sunshine. Increasingly breezy. I wore the Scott flat shoes without noticing them. There is no greater praise. 

 Both cameras recorded my movements outside the house. Both front and back. I "Restored" the camera in the Reolink app to access the Reolink camera on my phone. Now working fine. Both cameras now send me instant notification videos of myself trespassing. I still can't get past the hurdles that TP-Link put in the way of adding a camera to the PC App. It seems I am not alone.  

 I need to find a way to straighten up. My back is constantly bent. A cross between an old fart and a chimpanzee! No chance of becoming a babe magnet like this! 

I'll have an early lunch and then drive into town. 

15.50 Returning from town. Where I bought a couple of 10m Cat 7 network cables at a discount DIY store. Somebody was in the drive earlier.  I was alerted on my phone. Nothing to worry about. It was my neighbours' boy. 

 Dinner was a fry up with chips. Chicken and brown mushrooms. There was a lot of chicken because I bought it from a different shop. My regular supermarket had run out. There was enough for four meals but I couldn't spread it over so many days.

 

 ~o~

 

6.06.2025 Unfit for purpose?

 ~o~

  Friday 6th 55F/12.8C. Overcast with lots of rain promised for this morning. Lighter rain after lunch but very windy later. With SW gusts to 20m/s.[45mph] I had better weigh down my carport roof!  

 Up at 5.15. I had another of those strange episodes of extreme dizziness last night. An hour [?] sitting on the toilet while my vision rotated. Not vomiting but definite nausea. Which makes me question whether this is food poisoning. I was incapable of walking but eventually wobbled to bed, collapsed and slept through. I had left all the lights on. So the goldfish were probably quite cross. Or partying!

 I believe I am being bullied for giving my parcel carrier/driver a bad review after their last fiasco. Delivery to a pickup point. When I had paid handsomely for home delivery. And, I stayed in all day of course. I bet their deluded driver thinks his employer actually pays his wages. 

 He may well have been passed on from Norway Post after they went bust. No longer sustainable costs after letter mail numbers collapsed. They were absorbed by a private parcel company. They brag that their prices are the lowest. Yet they are far higher than the two main competitors. GLS and PostNord. The latter has given up letter delivery.

 My parcel was still showing as "out for delivery" on their tracking website after dark. It only changed after I chose delivery at a pickup point on their website. I had paid 79 Kroner [£9 equivalent] for a parcel weighing 2.4kg with delivery within Denmark. 

 No doubt I will get an auto-generated email asking for another of my glowing reviews after a suitable cooling off period. I'll wait until I have the parcel in my hands before responding. BTW: What is "unfit for purpose" in Danish? 

 11.00 Returned from the village with groceries and my parcel. It had arrived at 10.15 at the pickup point.  

 13.30 Brief sunshine. Fiercely gusty wind reducing slowly. Lunch over. I have been experimenting with my new security camera. 

 I need two. One for the long approach drive and the other for the parking area. The latest camera is a PoE Reolink CX810 4K with night colour vision. The latter has yet to be confirmed. Opinions vary widely on low light, colour quality depending on ambient light levels. It is not meant to be Night Vision.

At first I struggled to find a suitably long network cable in my vast collection of very mixed knitting going back decades. This is a 10 meter Cat6. What luck! I have it plugged into a Reolink PoE Switch and thence to my router. It really was plug and play. Unlike my Tapo camera which I have yet to see in action on my 4K PC screen. I must rely on my phone screen for that one.

 The image was captured from a live video and resized for blog consumption. With the camera merely resting on a chair outside. Which explains why the picture is a couple of degrees out of level and from a rather low viewpoint.

 I have the camera installed on the wall now.  The image with the cat is resized from 4K to 1000 pixels. 

  Dinner was sardines on toast with halved tomatoes. No picture.

     

 

  ~o~

 

 

5.06.2025 Carport progress.

 ~o~

  Thursday 5th 51F/10.6C. [6.30] Overcast. A grey morning followed by 30 hours of rain.

 Up at 5.30 after a night of drifting. The trick seems to be not to worry about being awake. I was planning how I would make a new entrance door. The last one I made from recycled floorboards, many years ago, is now riddled with woodworm.

  6.45 I am expecting a parcel. Which means I have locked myself into being at home all day. Instead of being sensible and collecting the parcel from the pickup point in the village. Delivery times are from 8-16.00. So I should go for an early walk.

 7.15 And back again. Just a walk down the road. Followed by the now familiar loop around the neighbours' shared drives. A lapwing was standing about on the front field again. It treated me to a quick loop and its plaintive cry. Landing afterwards, at such a speed into a vertical descent. That I had to admire its remarkable flying skills and suspension. 

 Meanwhile a blackbird lay dead on the road. They have a silly habit of diving low in front of fast moving vehicles. Often when there is no need to cross the road. Add this to their losses to several nasty diseases. Meanwhile, my security camera offers precise timing of my comings and goings. 

 9.00 Sunshine, but the wind is picking up again. I'd better check if carrying the carport roofing. Is likely to put me in the next county. Or the sea. 

 12.20 Back indoors for a rest and lunch. With the weather still dry [so far] I proceeded with the carport roof. This required a bridge to work from. Since it is not safe to walk on the twin-wall, polycarbonate sheeting. The central screws were impossible to reach from the sides. 

 I am struggling with the geometry of the roof. One can safely assume the roof sheeting is square and the sides parallel. The metalwork certainly isn't. I have loosened all the fixing bolts [again] in order to tilt the roof spars upright. Six spars and 15 holes to drill in each. [90] 

 I am using a rechargeable screwdriver to set all the fixing screws. A manual screwdriver couldn't supply sufficient torque.

 2.10 It has started raining as promised. Just as I finished applying the roofing sheets. Every spar was a problem. Leaning one way or another. I was using spacers to push them apart appropriately. I haven't peeled the protective film yet. The red labels show which side is up [towards the sun] To block UVs from damaging a sheltering car's paintwork.

 16.45 The rain was short lived. Still no parcel. It is lucky I was able to amuse myself with the carport. Now it needs to be lifted by 2.10m to fit the legs. 

17.45 Still no parcel. I discovered a 10mm spark plug socket fitted the bolts on the carport. The much greater length, than a standard socket, allowed me to re-tighten the spar bolts. After the roofing sheets were blocking the way. So it is all safely tightened up again.

 19.30  Parcel still not delivered. Still showing as out for delivery on track and trace. Dinner was a simple salad.

 

  ~o~

4.06.2025 YT Research.

 ~o~

  Wednesday 4th 60F/15.6C [8.10] A mixed day of showers and southwesterly winds.

 Up at 7.30 after dozing off again at 5.30. 

 11.45 I have had hundreds of false alarms on the security camera. From the shade net flapping on the greenhouse. The wind has been gusting hard for several days now. So I have weighed the net down with a small, water filled bottle.

 I have spent the entire day on YouTube. Researching security cameras and their myriad connections. 

 Dinner was chicken, brown organic mushrooms and pasta. With strained, tinned tomatoes. There weren't enough tomatoes and straining the juice/water made the useful quantity available even less.

 

 

  ~o~

3.06.2025 The ghost of the Morris.

 ~o~

  Tuesday 3rd 44F/6.7C. Bright.

 Up at 5.30 after an awful night. My nose is streaming like hay fever. 

 The Tapo camera kept turning on its LED lights. So I would turn them off in the phone app. Every time I woke to use the fire bucket. There were no warnings [notifications] overnight from the camera app. Not even a cat apparently. 

 A check of the app showed that the camera's lights will come on at a low level. To maintain optimum security. By capturing colour video at low light levels. Supplementary lighting could be provided by a sensor light. Preferably not in the field of view of the camera. 

 Online opinions are varied as to the efficacy and morality. Of warning potential trespassers of video surveillance. Versus capturing their likeness by stealth. Better a perp goes elsewhere methinks. Rather than paying me a visit. This seems the most appropriate response. Much as one locks ones doors to avoid nasty surprises. Without a thought for those who are foolish enough not to care about security.

 My English friend is driving over to Chez Hovel to inspect the new parking space. I have a bit of tidying and cleaning to do. So it was lucky I was up early.  

 8.00 A pause in my spring cleaning to try adjusting the camera. It's wide angle of view captures more of the adjacent wall than I would like. Made worse by severe fish-eye lens distortion. I have little choice in the matter because the camera is staring down on the drive. I could block the wall with a privacy zone but wonder if this will confuse the camera software. 

 Unfortunately [again] the software doesn't allow a 90º rotation of the image. For all those hundreds of millions of security camera owners. Who want to monitor the gap between adjacent buildings. Where, no doubt, the majority of burglars approach a property. To avoid the obvious cameras on the front and rear of the house. 

 As most cameras provide only landscape views. Most of the image is utterly worthless. Being wasted in monitoring solid, impenetrable, house walls. So a choice of 90º image rotation would allow the camera to be rotated to match. Instantly providing excellent coverage of a long or narrow gap. Often avoiding privacy concerns. Where two houses exist cheek by jowl.

 9.15 I have finished sweeping, mopping, vacuuming and showering.  

 12.15 My friend has just left. Lots of good ideas about security cameras and cabling. From his years of experience with them. We chatted about lifting the carport too. 

 Interestingly [?] the car had left a white rectangle on the granite chippings. The reason was simply its protection from yesterday's cleansing cloudburst. So that the white dust adhering to the chippings was left untouched. Eventually the chippings will be darker and have far more character. They should also become less blinding in sunshine. 

 Later I moved the camera from the north to the south side of the roof. This allows me to see around the corner. Formed by an ever-expanding tree. I can now see to the T-junction with the main drive. 

 I have spent hours watching every relevant video on YouTube about security cameras, their use and their accessories. So that I can become a fast track expert. OCD on steroids. I have questions! 

 Dinner was a salmon pasty, peas and boiled potatoes.  

 

 ~o~