22.03.2026 50 chilly km.

 ~?~

  Sunday 22nd 1F/-1 [6.45] An overnight frost. The sun is just rising over the hill to the east. The forecast is for a misty start with early cloud. Peaking at 10C/50F this afternoon. Sun from 10 o'clock. It seems nobody told the sun. 64F/18C in the room. It was 72F/22C last night. 36F/2C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 4.25. I woke at 4am for the first time to use the fire bucket. Only to descend into a spiral of negative memories. Sleep did not arrive to end the misery. So I got up to escape. Not with any irritation or remorse. It happens. So why torment myself further? Life presents a series of unfortunate events which alter one's path. Once I am upright the memories of those events can be set aside. Peace returns. 

 Overall I think my life has been a reasonable success. Despite the many hiccups along the away. I have created so many peculiar things. It would cover an A4 page if I listed them all by my own illegible hand. Fame was never my goal. Wealth might have been once but it always managed to swerve effortlessly around me. 

 In absence of abundance I was forced to make the things that I wanted. Each new project provided new skills and knowledge. Often involving new tools. Which could all be shuffled along to the next project. Usually with the need for more tools. More knowledge. More research. More reading. The steady, or unsteady accumulation of skills and flexibility in thinking. I am no artist and have the musical skills of woodlouse. My skills at math are so poor as to warrant mirth. Yet I get by. 

 I have been extraordinarily lucky in being able to find "stuff" throughout my long life. The basic building materals needed for the construction of the latest obsession. For I am certainly obsessive. Once the latest butterfly flutters into view. I blame my innate intelligence for much of my creativity. Curiosity has been my main driver. Being unable to turn my intelligence into anything resembling a career was almost beneficial. A computer without a memory is a pitiful thing. Though never to be pitied. 

 I have inbuilt resources and can call upon them when the plumbing needs fixing. Or many other practical needs around the house. Like a new roof. Or insulation, woodwork, drainage, plumbing, windows, doors and tiling. The enormous savings over the long decades have probably allowed me to find the funds for my endless projects. 

My late wife referred to me as a "butterfly." Because I would become so engrossed in a subject or construction. Only to completely lose interest once something was achieved to my own satisfaction. The countless books in my library are witness to my fleeting and flitting nature. I am a perfectionist in my drive to succeed with a project. Dismissive of my unwillingness to compromise. 

 YouTube keeps suggesting videos on "manifestation." The subtle control of one's personal universe by conscious power of will. Which makes me think. That my remarkable luck is often my simply having a positive attitude. Not deluded longing. Not a belief in some higher authority. No castle in the sky nonsense. Just a belief that what I need is simply waiting to be found.

 Take a recent example: I needed display cabinets for my late wife's glass collection. Suddenly they were "coming out of the woodwork." So to speak. Yes, it is true that I was deliberately searching for these cabinets in charity shops. Searching for inspiration in online furniture sales websites. 

 I have to ask: Was this all that it required? To have a need. Then to find so many cabinets, so quickly, at such very modest expense. All in the same period style by probably the same manufacturer. Yet I have no memory of these cabinets being available beforehand. None were ever for sale before I needed them. They are so distinctive that I am sure I would have noticed. 

 I wanted to find an affordable Morris Minor. Something to suit my slower pace at relatively low cost. So I could get rid of my aging Japanese car. Which we had owned for years and was reaching the end of its affordable life. Hey presto and abracadabra!  A chap in the nearest village was selling a nice Morris for an elderly owner. Less than a kilometer away. Then I needed specialist advice and expertise. A supplier of unique spares and skilled repair of these old vehicles. There is a specialist restorer within a short bike ride from Chez Hovel. 

 8.00 33F/+1C. It has misted over on the back fields while I was scribbling. Time for a walk.  

 8.30 36F/2C. Bright sunshine. Back again. I used the thick mist as a cover for a loop around the spray tracks on the fields. The overnight frost promised firm soil. My hands are freezing despite the gloves. Traffic very quiet. 

 The temperature doesn't climb much until lunch time. So an afternoon ride makes most sense. I should stay at home this morning and do something useful. 

 12.00 52F/11C. 67F/19C in the room. 95F/35C in the greenhouse. I have opened all the internal doors and windows to share the warmth. 

 13.00 Lunch. 68F/20C indoors. I have sorted the indoor containers into the recycling bin and dragged it along the drive. Made progress with dismantling a heavy old telescope mounting. For packing and dispatch. Watered all the indoor plants and retied the Monstera. 

 13.45 53F/12C. I am going to get ready for a ride. 

 16.55 51F/11C. 68F/20C in the room. I opened the greenhouse skylights before leaving. Currently 77F/25C out there. Returning from a rather chilly 50km/31 mile ride. I explored the still closed and newly opened roads on the new railway route. Took lots of pictures with my phone camera. I was getting saddle sore and tired from about 40km. So I used Turbo mode to help me get home. 

 A pair of storks flew low over the road just in front of me. Right out in the middle of nowhere. A tractor was ploughing. With a tail of hundreds of gulls. Several birds of prey wanted a free lunch too but were being attacked by the gulls. 

 Sunday dinner was chicken, mushrooms, peas, carrots and roast potatoes. Mostly in the baking tray. I boiled the peas in a pan. Bisto gravy to follow. After half an hour at 220C, with fan, in a pre-heated oven, I allowed the chicken to rest for five minutes. It was the most moist and tender I have ever tasted. 

 

 

  

  ~?~

21.03.2026 An icy 25km.

 ~?~

  Saturday 21st 38F/3C [7.30] Overcast and expected to remain cloudy. Peaking at only 6C/43F. Southerly winds. 17C in the room. 46F/8C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 7am after a quiet night with irritating dreams. I couldn't find my own house in a strange city. I was carrying a tablet but couldn't make it work. The usual drivel but ultra-realistic.

 I'll probably have a Saturday morning ride. Do some shopping. 

 9.15 Walkies. 

 9.45 39F/4C. Back again. Cold and grey. Hands cold in gloves. The skylarks are still singing overhead. It was funny watching a wagtail standing on top of a chimney turbine. Pecking away at it for some reason. One wonders if it would do the same when it is spinning? I stopped to chat to two ponies by the fence. It was more of a monologue than a conversation. They seemed attentive. 

 11.10 Going for a ride. 

 13.00 Back from a 25km ride to the next village over. Going well but the headwind was icy in both directions. The split mitts helped. I shopped on the way home. It remained grey all day. 

 8.00 40F/4.4C. The room has reached 70F/21C with the stove lit. I'll let it ie down now. Dinner was sausage on fresh rolls. I still had half a sausage to use up but wanted to avoid just another full fry up.  I cut them in half after frying for 15 minutes. Then gave them another five minutes. Finger food.

 

  ~?~

20.03.2026 Hi-viz introvert and verge crawling.

 ~?~

  Friday 20th 34F/1C. [7.30] Overcast with thick mist. Expected to clear to sunshine by 11am.  63F/17C in the room. 42F/5.6C in the greenhouse. 

 Up at 7am after a quiet night. Woke at 6am but decided it was too early. Suddenly it was daylight. No ill effects from yesterday's ride.

 It seems my timing was completely awry on wanting a heat pump. Stump's private war for oil profits for his keepers. Not to mention saving his Russian bosom buddy's war effort. Has many Danes crippled by rising oil and gas prices. Suddenly everyone wants a heat pump! The latest pool of taxpayer funding makes a system change seem almost cheap. Getting rid of their old central heating system is a condition of the grant. I had better buy some more logs! Before those too are driven up in price. I can't afford to burn the last of the [recycled] furniture. Or I'll have nowhere to sit.

 I had better wear my hi-viz [recycled] jacket on my walk this morning. Yesterday I mentioned that am now walking on the rough verges when I can. Having watched another AI YT video. About sending vital, survival signals down to the ancient bod. Walking on the road is no longer good enough. 

 I remember talking about this on the blog years ago. Walking on rough tracks forces the feet and legs to constantly adapt to changing terrain. Not to mention the brain-hips and aging balance systems. Which keeps them all in better shape than walking on smooth, flat surfaces. 

 There is another survival gain from avoiding the asphalt. Commuters on autopilot don't stand such a good chance of hitting me. Try as they might. The main downside of verge crawling. Is the increased risk of tripping. Perhaps falling under the wheels of a passing lorry. Or even injuring myself enough to leave me stranded beside the road. 

 I could be nibbled by stray cats before anybody calls for an ambulance. It's no easy feat being empathetic. Not when it is illegal to stop on double white lines. Or to use one's mobile phone while driving. Especially when you and everybody else in the queue to nowhere. Are always ten minutes late for work.

 8.15 It is definitely brightening up out there. I am running out of excuses to sit here wittering on.  Though I still can't see my neighbours bringing up the rear. 

 8.40-9.00 Morning walk. It continued to brighten without a clear sun. I looped around the drives. The mist is slow to clear. 

 11.40 Full sunshine. I have been using a tall, tripod ladder, chain hoist and slings to lower an old telescope mounting from its massive steel pier. The pier was so embedded in the undergrowth that I needed the car and a long rope to pull it free. I welded the pier together myself. The mounting was placed on top while I was still at work. So at least 18 years ago. 

 12.00 My vision just went funny! Sparkling and misty. I hope it wasn't a minor stroke from my exertions! 

 14.00  52F/11C. Full sunshine. It was 100F/38C in the greenhouse. So I opened the door and all four windows to share the warmth indoors. The temperature has risen from 64 to 70F/18-21C. The greenhouse has dropped to 95F/35C. The effect of the openness to the greenhouse is odd. It feels cooler indoors. As if there is a draught. Yet there is little or no indication of any wind. Standing in the greenhouse it feels hot. Because I am being directly heated by the sunshine passing through the glass. 

 The lean-to greenhouse is a Halls Silverline. Approximately 22' wide by 8' deep and 8' high. Consisting of two lean-to greenhouses placed end to end. Connected in the middle with a doubled, joining profile. Which I believe is long discontinued. I dispensed with the gable ends at the centre. To provide an uninterrupted interior. 

 Single glazed in long panes of 4mm glass. In a sturdy, bare aluminium frame, greenhouse style. With curved clear plastic "shoulders" all along the front. Which are a nuisance. The plastic scratches, degrades and cracks over time and is expensive to replace. I would much prefer a sharp angle at the eaves covered only in glass. 

 Beggars can't be choosers. I started with a secondhand greenhouse from the next village. Then added a discounted model from the dealer in Odense. In a perfect world I would have provided a concrete foundation strip. I chose to use green oak. Which has rotted away several times over the years.

 For two decades the interior was covered inside with white material for shade. Which was really pointless. Once inside the glass the sun's heat is intolerable. So I have been covering the roof outside with two layers of commercial grower's shade net over the last few summers. This makes it cooler and more comfortable to be out there. Mostly from not having direct sunshine beating down. The shade nets do darken the indoors. Particularly when the sky is overcast.

 14.25 The room has risen to 72F/22C. The greenhouse down to 94F/34C. I have now opened all the internal doors in the halls ans bathroom to spread the warmth. My very own "earthship!" But without the desert.

 Dinner was giant sausage rolls, mushrooms and beans. I was experimenting with the pastry. Trying to match the format size with the rather large sausage. Not with a great deal of success. Non-organic sausage, discounted. I shan't bother again.

 

  ~?~

19.03.2026 A cold 54km ride.

 ~?~

  Thursday 36F/2C [7.40]  A cool, sunny start but expected to cloud over later. Expected to reach almost 11C/52F after lunch. 63F/17C in the room. The stove was never lit yesterday. Thanks to the continuous sunshine and opening the adjoining doors and windows to the greenhouse. Though it does feel a bit chilly in here this morning. It is presently 41F/5C in the greenhouse. The sun doesn't reach the greenhouse for a while yet. Due to the absent neighbours' trees.

 Looking like toys in the depths of a deep cutting.

 Up at 6.25 after another busy night. I must discover some self-discipline. Stop having a milky coffee every night after dinner. 

 Further to yesterday's meander into buying new doors. I have discovered they have a showroom in Odense. The only major city on Fyn and about 30km away. With petrol prices playing Follow The Stump I may just cycle over there. Though it is much colder than I would have liked. 

 I haven't discovered any parking places nearby. I'd better have a look at the online maps. Before making any silly decisions. Right. There is limited, on-street parking nearby. Providing it isn't already taken up. The showroom opens at 10.00.

 The true scale of the articulated Volvo tipper truck in the previous image. There were lots of these working along the stretch I visited today. I think this was an A30G.

 8.25. Time for a walk. 

 8.55 45F/7C Back from my walk. I had a quick chat with my nice neighbour as he left for work. His flock of chickens is expanding. I walked on the verge as much as possible today. Though I was hampered by all the deep tractor tracks. Presumably the drivers were pulling over to let following traffic pass. A vast crop sprayer was trundling across the prairie in the distance. It was just warm enough to take my hands out of my jacket pockets at times. I hadn't bothered with gloves.  

 9.40 Off we jolly well go.  

 12.00  53F/12C. And back again. I chatted for an hour with the window salesman/advisor. His excellent command of English was very useful. As he shared his knowledge of his products in response to all my questions. 

 Concrete work for a cutting and a bridge support. 

 I passed another site. Where the new HS railway line crosses the motorway. At a major junction with the main road. On the western approach to Odense. Great mountains of soil and sand. Were matched by great chasms. With pale concrete castings visible below the road for bridges and cuttings. 

 Unfortunately there was nowhere to stop to take pictures. I might use it as a goal for a ride after lunch. The sun has gone in and today's temperature has already peaked.

 16.20 Back from a 54km ride. I captured lots of images of the new railway. Mostly beyond Skallebølle and around Blommenslyst. A driver drove at high speed onto the motorway against a red light. Just as I was pulling away. The light had changed several seconds earlier. 

 It was cold and grey. With an irritating wind on the return leg via Tommerup St. My hands and toes were getting progressively colder.  

 Laying soil for leveling the new track bed. A giant CAT D7 bulldozer spreads the dumped soil. While a road roller compacts it. Volvo tipper trucks ply constantly back and forth. A white, off-road, box shaped tanker [?] is busy too. One of several. I could see white in the distance but have no idea what they were spreading. Not for dust I don't think. It looked too damp and muddy for that.

 I found a new cycle path beside the road. Between Tommerup St. and Skalbjerg. Which I hadn't heard about. Nor discovered until now. It was laid in smooth asphalt on the verge but rose and fell with the level of the fields. Rather than the road beside it. I was at least three meters lower than the traffic at times. It stopped abruptly in Skalbjerg. Though there were small red flags in front gardens on the opposite side of the road. A possible extension towards Vissenbjerg? Where there have been cycle paths up and down the big hill for decades.

 17.25 49F/9C. 62F/17C in the room. It has just started to rain. I have lit the stove.  

 I don't need any dinner tonight. I've had breakfast, lunch and two bread rolls today. Hours after I usually do.

 

  ~?~

18.03.2026 Two doors.

 ~?~

  Wednesday 18th 38F/3.3C. Bright with all day sunshine promised. 64F/18C in the room. 42F/5.6C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 6am after a busy night. 

 9.15 leaving to visit my English friend. 

 12.30 Back from my visit. It is sunny but does not feel particularly warm in the wind. Gusting to 10m/s from the south. I took a picture of  some flowers in his spacious greenhouse. Where we enjoyed coffee and Danish pastries in the sunshine. 

 13.00 53F/11.7C. 65F/18C indoors. 98F/37C in the greenhouse. I'll open the doors out to the greenhouse. To borrow some of that heat. I have also opened the living room windows covered by the greenhouse. To try to speed up heat flow to the indoors. I also gathered the open stairwell curtains and tied them with a cord. To hopefully obtain a chimney effect.

 I have decided to order two new doors for the north facing facade. A panel front door with diamond shaped square window near the top. To provide a smarter, far better insulated and much beter sealed entrance door. With a bit of extra light for the hall. Plus a triple glazed, terrasse door. To allow greater freedom for bringing things in and out of the living room. 

 It was an awful struggle to get the furniture in when we first moved here. The removal chap handed the heavy, three seater settee/sofa up to me. While I was standing on the 1st floor balcony in the gable end! Once safely upstairs it then had to be lowered down the narrow 55º stairs. That was 30 years ago. When I was still strong and fit at 50.

 Similarly, the home helps and district nurses couldn't get the hospital bed indoors. When it was needed for my wife's final days here. The bed had to be dismantled just to get it in. 

 Getting Her coffin out ten days later was similarly difficult for the funeral directors. Very undignified! I couldn't bare to watch as they struggled mightily! 

 The narrow entrance hall forces a sharp bend from the living room out to what is the main entrance door. Which does not allow much freedom for anything longer than a few feet. 

 The new doors will help to lift the presently hideous appearance of Chez Hovel. Though how much it will improve the value is debatable. It might help the place to sell after I am gone. Every little helps.

 The current window is a lanceolate topped, single glazed, pine antique. It was there when we bought the place. With the firm intention of getting rid of it at some point. It has some historical value and arguably some character. The old pine will probably last another century. 

 I shall have to do some demolition work to fit the new, full height, glazed door in its place. The area above and below the present window was bricked and blocked up to close the gaps. The floor level indoors is a bit higher than the black painted, ground bar. The ugly, lightweight building blocks badly need repainting. After decades of knocks from gardening tools being leaned up against it. Cream was my wife's choice. After much discussion. Only the back of the house was ever painted. I left the white front alone. With the lean-to greenhouse hiding most of it. The gable ends are still patchy white.

 I presume this old window was once a real door in the long history of the hovel. Which dates back to the 1700s and was once a tiny, thatched, double hipped cottage. It was still like that in the 1950s. With a small porch to the main, south facing, entrance door. And another door directly into the living room facing east. Now converted to another window. 

 The last owner before us expanded the place and did it up [very badly!] I spent years doing the place up and making repairs myself. Once it became our new home. Though it was never really good enough. 

 I finally placed the order for both doors. After hours of re-measuring and deciding on the finer details. Some at extra expense. The living room rose to 75F/24C in the sunshine. Though it has cooled off to 71F now. After I closed all the doors and windows. 

 Dinner was cheese on toast with halved cherry tomatoes. 

  ~?~

17.03.2026 Air-air heat pump Pt.2

 ~?~  

 Tuesday 17th 36F/2.2C [6.45] Light overcast with a tobacco filter in the east. 66F/19C in the room. 57F/14C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 4am. Wide awake. No visit to my friend today. 

 Watching videos on heat pumps. Moving furniture to make room for low level and floor standing indoor units. My original idea avoided sitting in "the wind" but directed the heat to the open stairwell. That would leave the main sitting area in the cold. 

 While a low level unit could blow warm air along the floor from the wall near the TV. Towards the computer desk, TV chair and the bed. Where it would rise by convection to form and circular air flow.

 A long time owner of a heat pump said that high level units struggle to match the heat required. Due to stratification. While his low mounted unit kept an entire upstairs room arrangement warm. Consisting of a living room, office, bedrooms and bathroom. Good to know.

 My original drawing is horribly out of scale. This end of the L-shaped room is far more roomy than it appears. So I have now redrawn the east wall to better match reality. Still not to scale!

 The outside heat pump unit coincides with where I keep the three, recycling, wheelie bins. Not a problem. Plenty of room. I have discovered that the heat pump's mains plug must be earthed. The nearest sockets indoors are close but not earthed. They date from a period where Denmark did not have earthed sockets and plugs. 

 However, the plastic water supply pipe lies close to this wall. The storm of '99 brought down a telegraph pole with TV aerials mounted. This broke the buried water pipe at its base and it had to be rejoined. So hammering an earth rod in just there might be risky. I might have to dig down to expose the pipe's exact position. An earth rod would be far simpler and probably cheaper than indoor rewiring back to the consumer unit. Which in on the other side of the house.

 9.30 Sunshine. I drove into the village to shop. Having run out of essentials. I'll ride in again later. When the pharmacy is open.

 12.00 Back from the chemist. I have to have an annual checkup at the doctors. Twice, next month. MOT and service. 

 Dinner was chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes and chips. 

  

 

  ~?~

16.03.2026 Heat pump?

 ~?~

  Monday 16th 37F/3C. Heavy overcast. A wet morning clearing to sunshine. 61F/16C in the room.43F/6C in the greenhouse. I am using the new wireless digital thermometers for monitoring the greenhouse. Both are reading identically to 0.1F. My old digital thermometer, with a sensor on a lead, is reading high at 47F. The sensor is trapped against the house wall by a shade card. Not to be trusted. 

 The wireless sensors are separated and resting in the open. On a slatted wooden table in the shade of large plant pots. Not under them! I am hoping this will overcome solar heating of the sensors and their immediate surroundings. Which was a constant battle out there last summer. I tried all sorts of shading but was always limited by the length of the sensor leads. The two thermometers were showing wildly different measurements. As much as 30F! As the sun heated the southern brick wall. 

 9.45 Up at 8.22 after a ridiculously busy night attending the fire bucket. I was going to get up several times but went back to sleep each time. I have lit the stove. 60F is not warm enough!

 I lit the stove and the room quickly rose to 70F. That consumed only four logs. The sunshine after lunch maintained both the room and greenhouse at 70F/21C. I had already let the stove go out mid morning.

 No walk with it raining steadily. 

 Another day on YouTube. Researching heat pumps again. I have been considering having one for years. Air to Air of course. I can't afford a wet system. Even though that could utilize the underfloor heating pipes in the kitchen and bathroom. Starting at £10,000 equivalent and needing a plethora of pipes and umpteen tanks. The Danish taxpayer will subsidize a wet unit to the tune of about £3k. The UK offers £7500 handouts for a wet system! 

 The main problem is deciding where to place the indoor "blower" unit. It doesn't want to be blowing directly at the TV seating area. I would much prefer it on the far end of the long leg of the L-shaped lounge. This would minimize any draughts. While avoiding blowing warm air directly up the open stairs. 

 The online advice is to place it on the short wall wall blowing towards the long leg. This would be above my bed and the windows. Which is the worst position for blowing onto the computer desk and TV watching chair. The far end of the long leg has a low ceiling height and a door. Making positioning anything there a real struggle. It also requires lengthy plumbing pipes. Since there is no suitable outside wall for the exterior unit. 

 So, I have placed a red box with a question mark at top right on my rough drawing for the outside unit. With the indoor unit on the short wall between the window and the corner. The dining table is probably far enough away not to cause storm tossed hairstyles. 

 A heat pump would free me from the ever increasing burden of collecting firewood for the stove. Then double handling it from the trailer into the greenhouse. Then stacking it in the greenhouse from the wheelbarrow. Then bringing in heavy baskets full to the living room for a day's burning. It seems more logical to do this in loads. To avoid repeatedly opening the greenhouse door when it is cold out there. The small front hall out to the greenhouse is often feels as chilly as a walk-in fridge. 

 It is fortunate there are two doors to treat the small hall as an air lock. Between the living room, hall and kitchen. I fold back the kitchen door in summer to free up the foot traffic flow. The living room door opens back against the airing cupboard doors.

 18.30 Time to make dinner. Still 68F/20C in the room. 

 I have sent emails to five heat pump installers to hear their responses. There is no old heating system to remove so it should be a quick job. 

 I should have gone shopping. The last two slices of bread to toast. Four day old beans. 😋

   

  ~?~

15.03.2026 33km.

 ~?~

  Sunday 15th 38F/3C [8.30] Overcast with a threat of sunshine later. When it might reach 8C/46F. 62F/16.7C in the room. 49F/9.4C in the greenhouse.  The two new digital thermometers are showing different temperatures for In/Out. Even though their wireless sensors are alongside the main display. A difference of half a degree is disappointing. The odd thing that both readings are identical between the pair.

 Up at 8am after clock watching at 6am. A repeat of yesterday. I have a painful lower back and don't know why. I don't remember doing anything silly. Except for going off-road in the forest. Where I was using Turbo mode to overcome the foolishly steep inclines. Hardly a valid excuse for "excused boots." 

 9.40 Walkies! 

 10.05 Back again. It was cold. My back took longer to walk off than usual. More worrying was my breathlessness. I was literally panting from just walking along the flat section of the road. The thought of climbing back up the incline after my turning point did not fill me with confidence. So I took out my nitro bottle and sprayed the underside of my tongue. 

I can never tell whether the instant relief is psychosomatic. The bottle is not supposed to be kept in a warm place and should be replaced at intervals as it loses efficiency. Nevertheless, my breathlessness was immediately gone. As I continued back up the gentle slope. 

 The problem is knowing that the nitro's effect is to rapidly open up my heart's plumbing system. Not the main blood flow but the supply which keeps the heart muscles working and healthy. That the nitro was even needed suggests the plumbing is becoming clogged again. Why else would I be breathless and panting just from walking? Just as I am when I have to lift a basket of firewood.

 I have no problem cycling thanks to the motor assistance. So that is hardly a test of fitness. I have another appointment for an ultrasound check of my heart at the end of next month. I think I may need to see the doctor before then. 

 11.30 A brightening though without clear sunshine. Smal patches of blue sky are visible.

 13.45 Going for a ride. 

 15.30 46F/7.8C. Back from a 33km ride to monitor the progress on the new railway line. I left home with 68% battery charge and had to use Tour mode to compensate on the way home. I was right down to 5km range at 17% charge according to the NYON computer. Well into the orange "battery warning" band. It usually cuts power at 12%. Presumably to protect the battery.

 I had seen the opposite end of the closed road the other day. Today I could see the cutting and bridgework from the other side. The road is supposed to repopen at the end of next month [April.] The top image is looking west towards Ejby and Middelfart. The next image is looking east towards Grønnemose and distant Odense. The third a view of the various toys in the machine park. 

 It was mostly sunny but hardly warm today. Much more windy than yesterday. Far stronger than the DMI forecast. Which made progress even harder on the main roads. Where I was overtaken by far too many sociopathic fuckwits for one ride. They were too retarded to read the road ahead and adjust their speed accordingly. Far too many brushed past at high speed. Well within one meter in many cases. Instead of easing off. As the only visible car approached from the opposite direction. 

 No ill effects from this morning's breathlessness. Having to use Tour mode on the climbs did occasionally find me short of breath. Though only briefly while I was actually climbing. I soon recovered afterwards. I was never in any distress.  

 The thermometers proved to be far better than first impressions. I placed the outdoor sensors out in the greenhouse. In different places but at the same height and in the shade. They soon settled to within 0.1C. Which is impressive. Despite being made by two different manufacturers for two different retailers.

 Dinner was a chicken and mushroom curry. The rice is a year out of date. 

 

  ~?~

 

14.03.2026 An icy 16km.

 ~?~

  Saturday 14th 39F/4C [8.40] Overcast, overnight rain moving away. Light SW winds. 62F/17C in the room. 49F/9.4C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 8.00 after earlier clock watching. I have the bike battery charging. In preparation for a ride. 

 I need AAA batteries for the new, digital, wireless thermometers. The magnet hooks didn't work as hoped. The screw hooks didn't fit the thermometer bodies. I need short, CSK head screws with the same thread as the hooks. My vast screw assortment, built up over decades, does not include anything useful so far. 

 9.00 Time for a walk. I fixed the thermometer mounting problem by using rawlplugs and screws in the back wall. There were lots of empty holes left from earlier cladding.

 9.20 Back again. Cool and grey. Saturday traffic light.

 The new fish don't like the bright LED lights. So I have inverted and lit only one strip to provide some more gentle, reflected light. They are now busy grazing on the build up of hair algae. Exactly as I had hoped. 

 11.00 Going for a ride. 

 12.00 41F/5C. Back from a ride to the village. Returning via the forest and then via the main forestry track. Where I met a dozen or more young lunatics on racing bikes going the other way. Cycle-cross? Gravel? I have no idea. They were really moving on a rutted, muddy and stony track! 16km. I'd have gone further but it felt horribly cold! 

 The fish were far more colourful later. Than they appear in the image above. I presume they were stressed by being caught and then their long journey home from the city.

 Dinner was a sausage, mushrooms and eggs on toast fry-up. 

  

  ~?~

13.03.2026 Ten hooks, two thermometers and three fish.

 ~?~

  Friday 13th 45F/7C [8.30] Overcast and windy with rain on the way. 61F/16C in the room. 51F/10.6C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 6.30 after a quiet night. 

 8.40  On my way to a haircut. 

 9.30 Back from the hairdressers. A different young lady today. An excellent hairdresser. 

 What a horrible morning! Gales, cold and rain combined. The latter is supposed to ease up according to the DMI. Peaking a a miserable 6C/43F at lunch time.

 10.50 Back from the next village. I had run out of beech kindling. So I fetched a sack full of softwood kindling. Not helped by all the district heating work. Which meant closed roads and finding through routes. Not helped by serial road closures after forced detours. 

 I ended up carrying the 10kg sack over 50 meters to the car. Which made me very breathless! I would normally buy 3 sacks and load them straight into the car or trailer. Often with the enthusiastic help of the staff or trainees at the sheltered workshop. 

 11.00 Stove lit. It is only a chilly 60F/15.6C in the room. 

 18.40  Back from the city. Where I bought a pack of ten magnetic hooks, two digital thermometers, with wireless, outdoor sensors and three Shubunkin fish. A blue, white and red form of goldfish. Sometimes with a long, flowing tail. I wanted them for the tank in the room. So I would have somebody to talk to when I came home. I usually say: "Only me." It usually falls on deaf ears. [Mine] When there is nobody else there.

 Dinner was chips, baked beans and two day old sausage rolls.

  

 

  ~?~

12.03.2026 Pancake tossing for beginners.

 ~?~

  Thursday 12th 38F/3.3C [7.45]  Brightness. Early cloud clearing to sunshine. 63F/17C in the room. 47F/8.3C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 5am with a stomach ache. I discovered one of the domes from my hearing aids was stuck in my ear canal. A fruitless search for tweezers lead to the discovery. That a common machine crew was an efficient tool. For removal of the offending object. I then made an early breakfast and fired up the computer. So I could watch YouTube videos. Until it was time for my shower. I cheated and had a timed nap of half an hour.

 It is cooking class today and I still have an hour to kill before I leave. A rather breezy day is forecast. So I shall drive there. Rather than take my e-bike. No walk, but the garden Hazels are resplendent in their catkin finery. Which are catching the early light.

 14.30  Back from cooking class. Where I made pancakes and learned to turn them over [toss them] in the frying pan. I cheated and practiced over a stainless steel table.

 I have made an appointment for a haircut for tomorrow morning. Having already trimmed my beard. Badly. The distance combs on my  recycled electric razor are all broken. They have each cracked across the band which clips onto the razor head. To set the length of beard hair to be cut.

 No need for any dinner. Having eaten well at lunch time. I made do with a coffee and a biscuit. 

 

  ~?~

 

11.03.2026 Slow snow and racing lambs.

 ~?~

  Wednesday 11th 44F/6.7C [7.10] Overcast, rain with a pause around lunch time. 62F/16.7C in the room. 51F/10.6C in the greenhouse. I only managed 66F/19C in the room last night. The stove was reluctant to burn without lots of air. I guessed it might be damp logs mixed in with the dry. They have been stacked in the greenhouse for a while. 

 Up at 6.30 after a busy night. I shall be visiting my English friend today. 

 12.50  Returning from my visit. Snow still clinging on in some roadside ditches in the shade. Snowdrops, Crocuses and racing lambs suggest that spring is here.

 An afternoon spent, not wasted, dozing over YouTube videos.

 I paused my viewing to wash up the backlog. Which had demanded my attention for several days.

 Dinner was sausage rolls and broccoli. I divided up the sausage to make eight smaller rolls and put four in the 'fridge. 

 

  ~?~

10.03.2026 Indolence and sloth.

 ~?~

  Tuesday 10th 36F/2C [8.50]  Overcast and very misty. I can't see my neighbours houses. The mist is expected to last all day. It has already caused accidents amongst the unwary or the uncaring. How many were/are showing rear fog lights? Many modern cars do not show rear lights automatically. Engaging one's brain and switching them on manually is far too much trouble for many. That would involve mental exercise. Rain tonight and tomorrow. 61F/16C in the room. The stove was never lit yesterday. It reached 70F/21C in the afternoon thanks entirely to sunshine.

 Up at 7.20 after a difficult night. Was I awake for several hours from 1-4am? Or was only I dreaming I was awake? 

 The room needs spring cleaning after yesterday's major parcel packing event. Polystyrene beads will need a vacuum. I shan't be visiting my English friend until tomorrow. He is helping a neighbour today.

 9.00 I'll go for a walk in a little while. Hi-viz jacket I think. 

 10.00 38F/3C. Mist thinning slightly. Back from my walk. 3035 steps so far. My hands were cold in the GripGrab gloves.  Precisely as predicted: Not one tradesman's van, of half a dozen, had any rear lights showing. Let alone rear fog lights. Half the passing cars had no rear lights lit and only sidelights at the front. The solitary bus showed no rear fog lights. A vast lorry had only small, rear lights. Your road safety is in these safe hands? Dugh!

 A day wasted on YT. I can now answer questions on South America's ancient ritual sites. And on the ice age in 536. Which went on to kill 50% of the population in some countries and brought down four empires. Due to mass starvation and later the plague. Volcanic eruptions in Iceland were to blame.

 Dinner was cheese on toast with halved, cherry tomatoes. 

 ~?~

9.03.2026 My kingdom for a mattress!

 ~?~

  Monday 9th 39F/4C [7.30] A bright start once the sun rises. All day sunshine forecast. 67F/19.4C in the room. 47F/8.3C in the greenhouse. The stove lifted the room to 72F/22C last night.

 Up at 7am after a quiet night. No obvious ill effects from yesterday's rides. 

 8.15 time for a walk. I should have just missed the worst of the local rush hour. Most of which will be electric vehicles these days. Denmark has a very high take-up of EVs. I wish they would solve the tyre roar problem. Both electric motors and modern IC engines are so quiet that tyre noise totally dominates. Particularly in the larger vehicles. The larger tire volumes produce a wider noise spectrum. A deeper and louder roar! 

 8.50 43F/ 6C. Back again. Slightly too cold on my bare hands. There were several Greenfinches wheezing within 50 meters of Chez Hovel. A solitary starling performed at the top of a neighbour's tree. The traffic wasn't too bad.  

 After morning coffee I went out in the car in search of camping mattresses. I needed some resistant padding for items in a parcel. Three charity shops later I still hadn't found any. 

 Back for lunch and then I drove into Assens. Still no mattresses at the charity shops. Then I found some at a big shed DIY outlet for small change. 

 Back home to complete the packing of my parcels. At 18.00 I took all three to the local parcel office in the village. I have sold my most valuable, favourite and heaviest clock to a fellow enthusiast in Germany. For a very modest sum. Though a huge relief to have parted with it before I popped my clogs.

 The parcels weighed 6, 12 and 20 kg! I used tons of polystyrene and sponge to protect the contents. The clock was heavy but equally fragile. The pendulum was 11kg all concentrated at one end. Which was a very difficult wrapping job. Hence the sponge mattress. Double layers and wrapped tightly to death with gaffatape. I reinforced the fixed rod with battens. Similarly taped to the whole and each other.

 Home for dinner. A chop, mushrooms and egg on toast fry-up. Followed by a wholemeal roll and apple juice.

 

  

  ~?~

8.03.2026 New railway route updated.

 ~?~

  Sunday 8th 43F/6C [8.00] Overcast, showers possible. Clearing after lunch with risk of sunshine. 63F/17C in the room. The stove went out early last night.

 Up at 7.15 after a rather busy night. 

 One of many pylons taken down and replaced with new. Photo-bombed by my Moustache e-bike. Saddle lowered on 5" dropper post for easy mounting/dismounting. 

 I was hoping for another ride. To see how the new railway line is progressing. There is a deep cutting and a new bridge on the main road. All tied up with the existing motorway. The bridge was still under construction last time I was there. 

 I need shopping. So that would get me away from the car. Which makes sense if I want to stop close to the roadworks. On the bike I can just pull up wherever I like. I can shop in another village on my way back home. I'll probably have to wear the waterproof trousers. Putting them on beside the road is a bit of a pain.  

 The view through the new bridge to the existing motorway bridge beyond. On what is only a tiny lane but a vital route for those who live in scattered farms and tiny villages. Note how high the bridge is to match the required level of the adjoining embankment. Yet even here I have climbed a long and quite steep hill to reach this point. This only helps to underline the difficulty of providing a level railway bed over the undulating landscape of Fyn. The central island of Denmark's three landmasses. 

 9.45 44F/6.7C. 57F/14C in the greenhouse. Back from a half hour walk. Slightly chilly on my hands. The sun was visible but almost obscured by cloud. Better than dark grey! No interesting birds to speak of today. Not even a gull out on the fields. Just Chaffinches and sparrows doing what they do. I waved to a gorgeous, pale grey horse. It nodded back. 

 Here the intended track bed runs in a deep cutting beneath the main N/S road. The motorway is raised at this point behind the noise screens on the right.

  I have had a bike battery on charge since getting up. It should be ready soon. I am unlikely to deplete it where I am going but like to have a reserve. It gives me the freedom to use Turbo mode when needed.

 One of the few remaining, closed roads on the new railway track. It is due to open in only a week! The original road was straight and level. It looks as if there will be an incline approaching the new bridge. With the track running between the twin concrete castings. 

 13.25 Back from a 38km ride. The weather stayed cool but dry. With the sun struggling to pierce the clouds. I took pictures at six building sites on the new railway line. Including one of many high voltage pylons were being replaced along the route. Elsewhere two roads are still closed as major earthworks continue. To obtain a level route for the railway. Involving many deep cuttings, new bridges and raised embankments.  

This image shows another new bridge still under construction. Railway over, main road under. The road has currently been relaid. To loop around the new bridge. It will eventually pass straight under it. Again the motorway is behind the grey, noise screens in the background. Train and motorway will be closely parallel and level at this point. Every new bridge is cast in concrete at very odd angles! Presumably this avoids changing the original roads too much. Which would add enormously to the costs.

 The nearby industrial estate, beside the new railway and existing motorway, has extensive new work being carried out. This was once a very run down area but it is now being revived. With new builds and at least two drive-in-drive-by takeaways. Easy access to the motorway must have helped. A car spares business has just built an enormous building here.

 15.00 53F/11.7C. Quite bright but still heavily veiled sunshine. I need to ride into the village. The previous supermarket branch had none of the chicken I usually buy. 

 15.33 Returning from another 10km ride to the local shops. It is over 50F/10C but still feels cold. The sun was trying to come out but never succeeded. I was surprised to see yet more snow. Cowering under north facing banks and in the shadows of woods.

 Dinner was an organic pork chop, mushrooms, organic carrots and organic roast potatoes. With Bisto gravy. Baked in the oven for 25 minutes at 200C pre-warmed and with fan. I added oregano and paprika basil to the chop as an experiment. 

 The potatoes were just beginning to brown on the corners but were not fully cooked through. Nor were the carrots. I still prefer a plain chop. While the added seasoning was interesting it hid the flavour of the chop. The aroma is hovering in the kitchen even now.

  ~?~

7.03.2026 Another 25km.

 ~?~

  Saturday 7th 42F/5.6C [9.00] Overcast and expected to remain cloudy. Rain possible this afternoon. 63F/17C in the room. 52F/11C in the greenhouse. 

 A quiet night leading to dozing and clock watching. One minute it was 6am and then next it was nearly 8.00. The fish start dashing about in their pond as soon as they hear me making breakfast. Which is at odds with their torpor while it was cold. 

 I fancy my Saturday ride to the next village. Only about 24km round trip. There is a charity shop open today. Though I have no idea why I keep going there. I am trying to downsize. Not add to the burden! 

 10.10 Back from my walk. Cool and grey though I needed no gloves. There was a a brief brightening from behind the clouds. A few, occasionally noisy gulls out on the prairie. I'll have morning coffee and then go for a ride. 

 13.00 Back from a 25km ride to the shops. Grey and damp. It felt cool but not cold. It rained quite hard for the first ten minutes but stopped by the time I reached the nearest village. By which time my trousers were dark with wet. Puddles forming in the folds of my Endura jacket. I continued and soon dried out. Winds light. Turbines standing still. 

 17.00 48F/9C. I lit the stove mid afternoon. The lack of sunshine did not provide any free warmth indoors. It was only 63F/17C indoors but felt colder. Already 70F/21C.

 Dinner was mackerel in tomato sauce on toast with halved tomatoes. 

  

  ~?~

6.03.2026 Just whittling away.

 ~?~

  Friday 6th 40F/4.4C [8.50] Bright start to another sunny day. 63F/17C in the room. 49F/9.4C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 7.20 after another busy night. I am learning to minimize the waterworks distractions and quickly go back to sleep. I certainly get plenty of practice. When I do wake for any other reason I just relax until I doze off again. No more spiraling into sad memories and getting up at 3am! A lack of deep sleep is very bad news for overall health. So I do everything possible to reduce its effects. Bright moonlight can both help and hinder.  

 I'll have a walk first and then have a ride into the village.

 Both completed. Constant sunshine. 

 I have spent most of the day packaging an item I have sold from my lifetime collection. The fruits of each of my obsessions is slowly being whittled away. Nobody will have a clue what anything is worth once I am gone. 

 I have wrung every last ounce of pleasure from ownership over the long decades. It is time for somebody else to enjoy these things. Before it is too late. Otherwise it will probably all end up in a skip.

 Dinner was mince and chips. It was fine. I must invest in some onions next time. I washed up while it cooked.

  ~?~

5.03.2026 A tame kestrel!

 ~?~

  Thursday 5th 38F/3C [8.40] Another overnight frost. Already sunny. Expected to remain so. Reaching 10C/50F after lunch. 61F/16C in the room. 45F/7C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 7.50 after waking repeatedly during the night and morning.  

 10.10 Back from my walk in bright sunshine. I was suddenly made aware of the arrival of spring. By the birds singing and calling in the hedgerows.

 A male Kestrel was perched in a tree on my right. It dived down to the field and then back up to a tree on the left side of the road. We stared at each other for about five minutes. Myself through my binoculars. It, with its remarkable vision. It must have been hungry to be so tame. We were barely 20 meters apart. So I left it to its own devices. I became aware of the first skylarks only a couple of days ago. They usually pop up singly but now they are everywhere.

 15.45 I have spent most of the day trying to capture the sun through my [correctly filtered] telescope. Using the camera in my mobile phone. Not with a great deal of success. I need to set up in the front garden with full computer control. A bird of prey was calling from somewhere behind the garden trees.

 I wasn't going to light the stove. 64F/8C all day. It soon shot up to 66F/19C and climbing. I'll let it burn down before it becomes too hot.

 Dinner was poached eggs on toast. Past their Best by date. So I used up all three. I nearly forgot to take a picture!

 

  ~?~

4.3.2026 Cold 55km ride

  ~?~

  Wednesday 4th 32F/0C [7.00] Overcast and very misty. My neighbours to the north are invisible at 150m. 64F/18C in the room. 45F/7C in the greenhouse. It should brighten to another sunny day and 9C/48F later. Modest NW winds.

 Up at 6.20 after a quiet night. 

 I hope to have a ride later. 

 8.30 Returning from my walk. I chose the worst time to leave for commuter traffic. Nose to tail. Hurtling out of the mist. I took to the neighbour's drives to escape. A simple loop and back home. I could just make out my garden trees as darker fuzzy outlines from the drives. I'll wait for a clearing before I dare to venture forth on the e-bike. 

 13.50 45F/7C. Back from a 55km ride. Cold and misty but clearing. With sunny periods, becoming sunny. My hands were soon aching blocks of ice in the GripGrab lobster mitts. I changed to the skiing gloves and was comfortable after that. I was saddle sore at intervals. Despite wearing an old pair of DHB padded shorts.

 I explored one of the remaining road blocks on the route of the new railway line. Which runs parallel with and close to the existing motorway. The top picture is looking west. The next is looking east from the same point.

A harrier was flapping and calling over the front field as I arrived home. It was trying to soar but there wasn't enough wind.

 I drove into the village to shop. To ensure I had something for dinner.

 I made sausage rolls using organic mince and ready-made pastry. The texture was okay after 20 minutes in the oven at 180C but the mince was too bland. No seasoning! The Broccoli was just right. I need sausage meat or to do some cooking homework.

 

   ~?~

3.03.2026 Tired of tires.

 ~?~

  Tuesday 3rd 41F/5C [8.00] A bright start. With white, fluffy clouds against a blue sky. It could reach 10C/50F later. 65F/18C in the room. 50F/10C in the greenhouse. The fish are already awake.

 Up at 7.25 after an odd night. I was never sure if I was awake or asleep. My chest feels wet and bunged up.

 I am expecting a phone call from a car tire outlet. Which I visited yesterday. They said they'd try to find an all year tire for the Morris. To save swapping back and forth between winter and summer tires. Finding affordable wheels to hold a set of tires is much harder. The 4" PCD isn't matched. The nearest steel wheels are 100mm PCD. Which are considered very unsafe. Due to the loads this places on the fixing studs/nuts. 

 There is an added complication of the narrowness of the rims requiring inner tubes. The 5.5" width leaves no room for the usual tubeless retention bands. The current tires are 165/70x14 summer tires with inner tubes. Which had very poor grip on snow and ice.  I have contacted Blockley tires. A vintage and veteran tire specialist in the UK. There are Danish stockists but none of them lists the 145R[80]14 .

 13.00 Constant sunshine. Returning from visiting my English friend. A Hawfinch joined the usual birds at his feeding station. 

 15.00 I have collected my restock of Bisto from Amazon.de [Germany.]  Good dates too.

 I also collected some prescription tablets. All done electronically. No pieces of paper. Just presented my health insurance [ID card] at the chemist.  They can tell if I am running low on anything. If I need a prescription renewal at the surgery. No appointment taking up the doctor's valuable time. One of the receptionists will use my ID card to confirm I need a renewal. The message goes off via the internet to the chemist. Updating my prescription history and status. 

 Dinner had to involve the second chicken breast. I had only eggs as backup. So I fried the chicken and an egg and made open rolls. I deliberately turned the egg to stiffen it. To avoid runny yolk getting everywhere. It was all, far easier to eat than I might have feared.  

  

  ~?~