28.02.2026 65 wet kilometers.

 ~?~

  Saturday 28th 46F/8C, Overcast and very misty. Showers or rain with light, southerly winds. 67F/19C in the room. 51F/11C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 6.50 after a fairly quiet night. I have a sharp stomach ache.

 I have almost decided to ride to Odense. Rain was forecast for all day yesterday but wasn't very obvious. I'll dress appropriately. The temperatures are milder. I have the clothing. Including a high visibility, cycling rain jacket. Which I have hardly worn. 

 I usually wear something a little less "obvious." Because I don't usually ride at night or in poor visibility any more. Rear pockets are vital to cycle wear. My other high vis, walking jacket is hopeless on the bike. The hip pockets badly impede my pedaling. 

 13.20 49F/9.4C. Back from my ride to IKEA in Odense. 65 very wet kilometers. I bought two, stainless steel,  baking pans. So I always have a spare. My GripGrab lobster mitts were already wet through on arrival there. My hands are wet and slightly cold now I am back at home. It rained harder than ever the nearer I reached home.

 I was comfortable in long thermal underwear, padded cycling shorts, a racing jersey and a jumper. My cycling shorts look wet. Despite wearing a pair of Patagonia waterproof trousers. Most of my jumper feels warm and dry thanks to the Endura rain jacket. Yet the mesh inside the jacket feels cold and wet. The lower front of the jumper is wet. The rain must be wicking up from the wet trousers inside the jacket.  

 The 3D printed carbon saddle started complaining at 50km/30miles but was better after shifting my position. There were very few cyclists about today. The traffic was very light too. 64F/18C in the room. I had better make some lunch. I didn't have anything while I was out. Which may explain why I felt so tired. 

 Not helped by the battery being almost flat. It dropped from fully charged 100% on leaving home. To 15% on my return. So I was unable to use Turbo mode. To climb the last few hills near home. Relying instead on unusually low gears in Sport mode. I could have swapped batteries but couldn't be bothered. Because I knew I'd reach home safely. 

 I was gone for three hours and my average speed was 21kph. I was seeing 28-30kph for most of the time. On the Bosch NYON screen on the way. Slower on my return. The wind was much more noticeable on the return journey. Hardly noticed on the outward leg. I stopped to change the mode on my hearing aids. To cut the high frequencies and reduce wind roar. My stomach hurt badly for most of the morning but relented after lunch. 

 16.50 A glimpse of sunshine. Very short lived!

 Dinner was Heinz beans on toast. 

  

  ~?~

27.02.2026 Here's one I made earlier.

 ~o~

  Friday 27th 46F/8C [10.00] Overcast with rain forecast. 67F/19C in the room. 51F/10.6C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 8.20 after a busy night. I got up at 6am and went back to bed. Then next thing I knew the morning was half over. The stove remains unlit. 

 I had planned to go to Odense. The main city on Fyn. It would have been a nice 60km ride in these milder temperatures but not in rain. There is a huge band of rain cloud coming from the SW. It is presently sliding past just north of us but looks as if it will sink further south as the day wears on. I can be fairly waterproof with the right clothing. It's just not as much fun as riding in dry conditions. Since I have a free choice I can choose not to ride. 

 It turned out that I didn't go anywhere. It was dark. Though not visibly raining. I was depressed and just watched YT videos all day.

 I only lit the stove when the room fell to 65F/18C. Bunging another log in at intervals after that. It soon reached a comfortable 70F/21C.

 I haven't been shopping. So I'll have to be creative with what is in the freezer drawers. Six days since I last had chips. I have salmon pasties. Well there we are then. Good fortune smiles upon the worthy. Or the lazy, in my case. 

 20.00 47F/8.3C. Would you be convinced if I posted a picture of another lot of chips with a pasty?  I was washing up while it cooked and have repeatedly failed the advanced parallel processing test. 73F/23C.

 ~o~

26.02.2026 Spudulike?

 ~?~

  Thursday 26th 42F/5.6C [8.00] Overcast and threatening to be misty all day. 64F/18C in the room. 47F/8.3C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 7.00 after a fairly quiet night. It took me ages to get to sleep. 

 Cooking class. I have missed the last two. I hope they still recognize me! 

 13.30 Returning from cooking class. Where I made a lot [2kg] of roast potatoes. They must have been popular because a large bowl of them were consumed by our eight attendees. I had left my phone behind so I have no photographic evidence. I had hastily put it on charge just before leaving home. Others made pork cutlets in a complex sauce. While other still made a tasty fruit salad with cream.

 I didn't light the stove until 14.30. Desite this the temperature has shot up from 64 to 72F. 18-22C. Outside temperature 47F/8.3C. Record temperatures are being set further south. With Mediterranean countries reporting unheard of records for February of 25C/77F. Sahara sand is being sent north on a tongue of warm air. Causing red sunrises for those favoured with sunshine. We have three days of rain forecast. Record rainfall has been plaguing countries around the world. 

 DAO, the replacement postal service for letters. After the Danish Post Office gave up letter deliveries. Has misdelivered my post to my nice neighbours. Who live 150 meters away. The gentleman very kindly brought the post along the drive. A national election has just been announced. With postal notification and voting forms in vast numbers potentially being misdelivered. Cue absolute chaos? 

 

  ~?~

25.02.2026 Log on, log off.

 ~?~

  Wednesday 25th 35F/1.7C. Heavily overcast, showers and 3C/37F this morning. Clearing and 6C/43F this afternoon. Moderate SSE winds. 65F/18C in the room. 45F/7C in the greenhouse. The snow is all but gone. Hanging on, only where it has been piled up or compressed. 

 The higher outside temperatures meant I had to turn down the thermostats on the oil-filled radiators in the kitchen and bathroom. Both were reaching 20C/68F. When all I need is for them to provide background heat. I don't spend enough time out there to warrant comfort temperatures. I boost the bathroom with a fan heater for shower times. Short lived and switched off as soon as it is no longer needed.

 Up at 6.30 after a fairly busy night. 

 I was hoping for a ride today. This afternoon might be a better choice. It could reach 8-10C locally. I had better check the battery charge. In case they need a boost. They lose range in winter. I need to get some isopropyl alcohol to clean the brake rotors. Both disk brakes are squeaking loudly now. 

 8.30 The stove has been lit. I'll have to fetch more logs in from outside. Talking of which: I could buy more beech logs now the drive and roads are clear.  

 9.20 Back from my walk in steady rain. My trousers are soaked. My [recycled] jacket dark with wetness. The chestnut logs are damp and refusing to burn!

 10.25 71F/22C. The stove has woken up while I was away. Back from the timber yard. With a trailer filled with beech logs. Now parked outside the greenhouse until I finish morning coffee. By which time it will hopefully have stopped raining. The payment App refused to pay for the logs. Not without my imagining a fictitious code number. Fortunately I had nearly enough cash. Once back home I could share my inside leg measurement and mother's maiden name with the app. Then pay off the balance. 

 11.00 73F/23C. The rain has stopped. I have barrowed about a quarter of the logs into the greenhouse. I need a rest before I start to stack them neatly. The cover is back on the trailer. To ensure they don't get any wetter.

 15.00 43F/6C. Heavily overcast. Half the trailer full of logs is now in the greenhouse. The car and trailer are put away in the carport. Showing skill well beyond your average. As I reversed in the confines of the parking space. The room thermometer seems stuck on 21C and refuses to move. 

 Dinner was poached eggs on toast. They were absolutely perfect. Michael Angelo would have painted them in a heartbeat. Guess who forgot to take a picture? No, not Michael Angelo! You'll have to make do with a picture of the last of the snow. Just pretend they are eggs.

 

  ~?~

24.02.2026 New stairwell curtain.

 ~?~

  Tuesday 24th. Overcast and misty. Most of the snow has gone.

  Up at 7am. 

  9.00 Visiting my friend. Now that I can get out. Without fighting ice and snow in the drive.

 13.00 Returning from my visit. My friend had advised me on improving and varying my cooking. I need to do more baking. Rather than endlessly frying my dinners. I shopped on the way home. 

 14.00 38F/3.3C.The stove is lit. 64F/18C in the room. I have just hung the heavy, insulated curtain over the originals I had fitted around the open stairwell. 

 The latest curtain came from the local charity shop and is perfectly sized. To go the whole way around in one drop. So no more gaps. Nor rearranging the curtains every single time opening the door wafts them apart. The tight fitting to the ceiling leaves no room for warm air flow. As might occur with a conventional curtain rail and hooks.

 I simply stapled this new curtain to the plasterboard ceiling tiles. Just as I had done with the previous curtains. Leaving these still hanging doubled the thickness. The new curtain is also lined. So effectively triples the thickness relative to the originals. While the air space between the curtains acts as further insulation. 

 The appearance is a matter of taste. I feel the darker, metallic grey has less impact on the eye. Than the original off-white curtain. This new curtain cost me the equivalent of about £7GBP. If it further improves the efficiency of the stove in warming the room. Then it will have been money well spent.

 The room temperature stuck at 71F/21C all afternoon. 73F/23C in the evening. Dinner was a fry-up of sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes and an egg. 

 

 ~?~

23.02.2026 Passive solar gain.

 ~?~

  Monday 23rd 37F/3C [06.30] Overcast with precipitation. The thaw is going slowly. There are a few dark patches on the snow where I have wandered. The parking area is still snow covered. A reasonably comfortable 66F/19C in the room.

 Up at 5.50. I was already awake when the recycling lorry lit up the room with its flashing orange lights at 5.30. I am not sure how he turned around on the tight area with snow piled so high. I saw the flashing later on the parallel drives on the back field. So he must have been making good progress. It's a lot of effort for so very few bins. With four houses empty. As they only pretend to repair them for years on end. That's 50% of the properties uninhabited in our tiny hamlet! 

 8.15 The stove is lit. I have brought in more logs and cleared snow from the area in front of the entrance door. I found the snow scraper and shovel. They were lost under a snow drift on the western lawn. Where I had hastily piled the stuff from the ground floor of the observatory prior to hasty demolition. Then the arrival of the workers to produce a practical parking area. Instead of a mud bath. Where tradesmen's vans got stuck! Which compaction and grave spreading work had run into weeks. Rather than the promised couple of days. 

 I am looking at ways to increase solar gain in winter, spring & autumn. Using the lean-to greenhouse for passive, solar gain. In conjunction with the south facing house wall. The energy you don't need to produce. To overcome heat loss, costs nothing. 

 Passive solar gain is free energy. Provided the existing conditions and structure allow. Without added extra expense. I built the greenhouse from two units decades ago. It is 22' wide x 8' deep and covers most of the southern facade. Only one kitchen window a short section of exterior wall is exposed to the elements.

 This was always the plan for the greenhouse. Sadly momentum was lost along the way. The front hedge was allowed to grow foolishly high. Simply to protect ourselves from the neighbours. Who would shoot pellets at the greenhouse with an air rifle. We used to collect the pellets from the greenhouse gutter as evidence. Should it ever be needed.   

 Since my wife died I have lowered and thinned the south facing, beech, front hedge. The nuisance neighbours are long gone. The row of towering conifers has also been felled or drastically trimmed. More could easily be done with very little effort.

 The problem with living so far north, at 55º, means that sun is very low in winter. I seem to remember it being at only 10-11º altitude above the horizon at noon. Which means that the greenhouse is usually shielded from the low, but still desirable winter sun, by the front hedge. The same hedge which provides some shelter from the wind. This hedge lies 3.5m from the glass front wall of the greenhouse. It's height sets the degree of incidence angle of the sun trying to reach the greenhouse floor. Or its back [house] wall.

 I deliberately laid house bricks as a floor in the greenhouse To store the sun's heat. Yet this heat sink has never felt the sun's winter warmth. Not until the sun's altitude was high later in the year and largely unwanted. Which meant multiple layers of commercial greenhouse, shade netting. Just to block the summer sun. To avoid temperatures in the greenhouse soaring to well over 100F! This shade netting is not ideal. It blocks light to the living room through the three, south facing windows.

 The southern wall is 9" [?] solid brick. So could well be used as heat storage. For passive heat transfer indoors. With the usual automatic and highly desirable, time lag. [See Trombe wall.] Provided the wall was exposed in winter but protected from the sun in summer. A coat of dark paint aids winter heat absorption but needs protection from the sun in summer. Blinds or shutters are required. Or white, lightweight tarpaulins can be hung or even drawn like curtains across the back wall. 

 This lightweight tarpaulin material is fairly innocuous cosmetically but ideal as an inexpensive sun blocker. It is thermally neutral. Meaning its surface doesn't get hot when exposed to the sun. It's downside is its sensitivity to UV degradation. However, it is amazingly cheap and readily available. Being used inside the greenhouse protects it from the wind. So it doesn't suffer from repetitive fluttering, stretching or mechanical stress. It is light enough to be easily hung from the greenhouse's own structure. Taking only moments to hang from hooks via the eyelets. The material is easily cut with scissors when needed.

 We used it repeatedly for years on the ceiling of the greenhouse until it fell apart. To be endlessly replaced. It didn't work all that well. Because the sun's heat was already through the glass. The sunlight and heat needs to be blocked before it reaches the glass. Which means an external sun blocker needs to be weather and wind proof. Suitable, lightweight, solid materials for louvers and blinds are expensive and difficult to apply to an existing greenhouse. Since they really ought to be adjustable. To allow light blocking or free entry. Depending on the season and solar altitude. This is surprisingly difficult to achieve on a DIY basis. I have been thinking about it might be done for years. 

 The hoped for thermal storage of the 1500 liter fishpond. Has contributed almost nothing to the greenhouse. The temperature of the water lagged only slightly behind the overall trend in the greenhouse's air temperaure. The fish became torpid as the water temperature fell below 50F/10C. At which point I stopped feeding them. As advised by Gargle. It is currently 41F in the pond.

 9.30 Time for a walk. 

 10.00 Back from my walk. The drive is now about 40% watery ice and slush. The gravel feels soft underfoot. Which is typical of a thaw after a frost. It is more manageable to walk on. With a lower risk of slipping. The roads are damp but clear. The fields are much more patchy. As the snow is clearing. 

 On my return I dragged the empty recycling bin back to the house. Then reversed the Morris Minor back down the drive into the carport. After which I brought more logs indoors. They have surface wetness now. So need to dry out indoors near the stove. To avoid introducing water directly into the stove.

13.30 Lunch over. It is raining steadily. Which will help to clear more of the remaining snow. The dark patches on the gravel parking area are steadily expanding. 

 14.30 41F/5C! It all helps. 

 Dinner was cheese on toast with tomatoes. 

 

 

  ~?~

22.02.2026 Recalcitrant thaw.

 ~?~

  Sunday 22nd 35F/+1.7C [6.30] Overcast and raining all day. 66F/19C in the room.

 Up at 3.30. Dreams woke me up and then I lay there having memories of my wife. I had a coffee and sat on YT for hours. 

 6.30 70F/21C in the room. I have just been out to fetch more chestnut logs in the dark. The security camera lights came on. Which made the approach much easier. Still on snow. The rain hasn't cut through yet. Though the lights didn't help with the wood pile. I grabbed a few logs, entirely by feel alone, and retreated back indoors. 

 I had lit the stove some time ago but had only one log to burn. That problem is now solved. I will probably go back to bed. Now that the fire is burning safely for another hour. 

 9.30 37F/3C. Nearly got up at 8.00 and then it was 9.00. The rain has moved away. It will return later. Lots of dark patches on the snow. I will have a cup of tea and then go for a walk. 

 10.40 I survived the two way trip along the drive. Mostly water over ice and lethally slippery. I managed a stroll down the road and back. Grey, misty and drizzling very lightly. There was the merest hint of an easterly breeze. I reversed the car almost down to the house. Leaving it on bare gravel for traction. Enough room to squeeze past with a recycling bin. Last week's bin is still standing on the main drive untouched. The driver never attempted the snow covered drive. Then I collected another basket full of logs. Time for morning coffee.

 17.30 72F/22C all day outside. Misty with light drizzle. Dragged a recycling bin along the drive. Brought the last one back unemptied. Collected another basket of logs. 

 20.15 Dinner was organic sausage, organic frozen peas, organic mashed potato and Bisto gravy. I diluted the latter too much. It's very misty outside.

 

  ~?~

21.02.2026 The great thaw!

 ~?~

 

  Saturday 21st 36F/+2.2C. Overcast and misty. Invisibility beyond 200m. Possible early showers. Perhaps clearing to sunshine. The thaw begins! Still lots of snow lying. Though I can see dark patches on the drive. Room at 61F/16C. It was 68F/20C at bedtime. I have turned on the paraffin stove for a quick boost. I'll need to bring in more chestnut logs to light the wood stove.

 Up at 7.10 after a typical night. I have just organised my tablets into the dispenser for another week. I put 8 lots into the hospital dispensers. That way I always have a spare lot of tablets to take. When the daily/week's dispenser is empty. I am currently on seven tablets per day. Plus two multivitamins.

 9.45 62F/16.7C in the room. The paraffin fuel tank had emptied and turned off the stove automatically. Grey skies. Back from another walk down the road. The main drive was slightly blocked by drifting again. Watery and icy in many other places. The roads were clear. A fair bit of traffic. 

 A pair of Great tits came down from the roadside trees and hedges. To complain about the weather. A dead Redwing lay beside the snowy verge. There had been several moving about in the hedges recently. The car was moved into a clear gap and left there. I'll let the thaw do more before attempting to escape. No real pressure to go shopping. Though I could go for a ride. 

 10.00 I have lit the wood stove. It needs more logs. Two more baskets of logs brought in. The snow feels firmer and wetter. The melt water is pouring off the shed roof. I have made quite a dent in the layer of logs next to the shed wall. These were hopefully the driest. Thanks to the roof overhang. The bark appears damp for the first time. Possibly due to the thaw. 

 11.15 Presently 38F/3.3C. It is supposed to peak at 4.3C/40F just after lunch. A comfortable 67F/19C in the room. Wearing a fleece jacket over my jumper. The wood stove is just idling on one log. Still no sunshine. 50F/10C in the greenhouse. The brightness must be doing something. The distant fields are turning green!

 11.30 The dropper post on the e-bike has been getting unreliable. So I extended and cleaned the post, Before applying a smear of silicone grease. This lubricated the rubber seal of the housing. In which the inner pipe slides up and down. This has fixed the problem of sticking. I'll wait a little longer before going to the shops on the bike. This will give the ice on the drive a better chance to melt. 

 14.00 Getting ready to ride into the village. I have run out of rolls. Well, it's an excuse for a ride. I just need to reach the end of the drive with the e-bike.

 15.00 38F/3C. Back from the shops. 10km. There was a cold and strong crosswind on both legs. I managed to fill a carrier bag full to the brim. The roads were very wet as the ridge of snow produced by the snow ploughs melted onto the asphalt. The drive was a horrible mess of puddles, ice and snowdrifts. I had to walk, balance and push the loaded e-bike. The room is at 73F/23C! 

 19.45 Dinner was chicken, mushrooms and chips. 

 

  ~?~

20.02.2026 Cabin fever [Day113]

 ~?~

  Friday 20th 25F/-4C.  Overcast start to a promised sunny day. 64F/18C in the room. No oil heater and the last log went in at 22.00. 36F/2.2C in the greenhouse. Yesterday's sunshine lifted the indoor temperature to 75F/24C. That was with the wood stove going all day. I had turned off the oil heater early on. Intending to use it overnight. 

The big thaw starts tomorrow after an extended winter. Plus temperatures and rain may cause flooding and risk of damage to some homes. 

 Up at 6.45 after a busy night. 

 10.00 30F/-1C. 66F/19C in the room. Back from my walk. It was blowing a fierce gale from the south. Roaring in the trees and even smoking the snow along the road. Filtered sunshine needs to get clear of the clouds. If it it is to warm the greenhouse. Little sign of any thaw so far. Overnight rain tonight should make a dent. 

 The heavily frosted Morris is still on the main drive. There are patches, just outside my gateposts, where it could be parked on bare ground. To give the vital traction needed to escape if needed.

 11.00 The last of yesterday's logs has burnt down. So I have fetched two more baskets from the stack outside. Completely breathless again. The wind is roaring but the snow is firm on my path to the stack. Relighting just needs enough air. To ignite new logs from the hot ash bed. Once burning well I just need to turn down the air supply. 

 All fairly obvious but novel with a new fuel supply and remote storage. It is proving to be easy to maintain 66F/19C in the room. The sun raised the kitchen to 68F/20C yesterday. Unfortunately it is much more cloudy today. 

 Mid afternoon: It tried to snow. This was forecast for later before turning to rain. 

 Dinner was mackerel in tomato sauce on toast. With halved cherry tomatoes. Plus a whole tin of Heinz tomato soup. I suspect there is a tomato theme running through this meal.

  

  ~?~

19.02.2026 Give me sunshine!

 ~?~

  Thursday 19th 20F/-7C [8.00] 65F/18C in the room. 0C/32F in the greenhouse. Overcast. A sunny day is promised after the early cloud clears. It will peak at just below freezing. A thaw is promised for Saturday. With plus temperatures and rain! Probably causing flooding where the snow is really deep. Mostly up in the north.

 Up at 7.30 after an even weirder night than usual! At 3.30 I couldn't remember if I had turned the lights off on the Morris. Which was parked on the main drive 100m away! It was far too misty to see the car from an upstairs window. So I quickly dressed and headed off up the drive in a 10F/-12C frost clutching a small LED torch. The car was completely frosted over. Thankfully I had taken the keys and could open the door to check the light switch really was off. A few stars were visible as I crunched my way back home again. 

 The oil heater had stopped working earlier that evening. Presumably from a lack of fuel. So I did my first refill at 03.30 from the full container. Kindly provided by my friend. With the tank safely reinstalled I switched it back on. After a pause I was rewarded by warmth. It was 63F in the room at the time but felt colder. This morning it is at 66F. Which is much more comfortable. 

 I am still trying to work out where I can turn the car around. While remaining on level ground. Or at least clear of snow. The car is currently facing east. After my trip to the shops. While the very dangerous exit to the road faces west. I will have to take a shovel and clear the exit. The Morris is rear wheel drive and can't get a grip on the hard packed snow and ice. Which left me dangling half in and half out of the exit yesterday. With traffic bearing down on me and my being completely unable to move! 

 I managed to rock the car in third gear until it finally found the asphalt with the rear tires. Which took over ten minutes of noisy wheel spinning! Something really must be done about this exit. It is not helped by the unchecked hedges of the abandoned restoration/building site. Which blocks the view to the left and approaching traffic. Right on a blind corner! Where traffic is usually cruising on autopilot at 50mph/80kph. While totally ignoring their braking distance. The council hedge slasher never touches the mixed and badly overgrown hedge. Presumably because it is considered private property. 

 09.30 I have delivered a bottle of wine to the neighbour. Who cleared the drives of snow with his digger. 

 Then took a steel shovel to the solid ice on the main drive's exit to the road. Now I am dripping with sweat. It took me at least ten minutes. Just to reach the asphalt over two narrow tracks. Where I could see where I struggled to pull out yesterday. 

 All the while the traffic was mimicking a Hollywood, presidential security convoy. Nose to tail, 50mph/80kph. Not a chance in hell. If the leading car should meet an obstruction. On the completely blind bend. Collective suicidal insanity!  

 10.10 27F/-3C. First sunshine. I have been sprinkling more salt on the drive. The small boxes of table salt don't go far. Nobody local has any stock of sacks of salt for winter. Called "vejsalt" or road salt in Danish.

 A mostly sunny day. Though not always a clear sky. It really helped to lift temperatures. I had turned off the paraffin stove. It reach 75F/24C in the room with just the wood stove going.

 I went up the drive at dusk to check on the Morris. Still frosted over. There is now a clear space in my section of drive where I could park. Then accelerate enough to get out again. The two boxes of salt were a complete waste of time. No sign of it having any affect at all. It was quite chilly. A fine crescent moon hung in the west. A few bright stars too.

 8.15 22F/-6C. 73F/23C in the room. Dinner was a fry up. Chicken, mushrooms, tweggs and fresh cherry tomatoes. I washed up while it cooked.

 

  ~?~

18.2.2026 I don't believe it!

 ~?~

 

Wednesday 18th 20/-7C [8.45]Overcast, sunshine promised, new overnight snow!?!?! The car is stuck in the drive and now plastered in new snow! 20F/15.6C in the room. I had set the borrowed Zibro oil heater to 16C to hold the room at a comfortable temperature but not hot. Reset to 18C and it is already 64F/18C. It must be the fan which raises the temperature so rapidly. It is rated at 3kw! Fuel consumption is still an unknown.

 Up at 8am after several false starts. 5, 6, 7 & 8? Must try harder!

 I need to bring in more logs for the stove. Currently getting through two baskets full from the stack outside. Then I have to explore the snow depth in the drive. My back is killing me! Probably all the snow digging.

 9.05 Still 64F/17.8C in the room. Stove lit with flakes and scraps of logs.  

 9.20 Two more baskets of logs are in. Totally breathless again. It looks like at least 5cm or 2" of new snow. My numerous, earlier footprints to the log stack were erased. 

 10.00 26F/-3C. The snow on the drive wasn't much. I tried for ages to move the car. Then placed a dirt cheap [discarded] car mat under the spinning back wheel. It started forward and I kept it in third gear to the top of the incline. The car is now parked on the level in the main drive. Noe I need to find somewhere to park it where it won't obstruct the drive. In case of a return to the empty properties. 

 10.30 After lighting the wood stove the temperature has shot up to 70F/20C! Whew? 

 11.00 Time to go shopping before my list runs out of paper. 

 12.30 31F/-1C. Back from the shops in bright sunshine. Nobody has any road salt. So I bought several boxes of cheap salt. Which I have spread one of on the drive. That was after putting away three bulging carrier bags of shopping. 

 Hopefully the sunshine and slightly warmer conditions will help to cut through the remaining snow. I left the car on the main drive safely on the level. Which meant carrying the heavy bags over 100m. Wot a hero! 😇

 Both my plywood snow scraper and aluminium snow shovel have vanished. 

 Dinner was poached eggs on toast.  

 

  ~?~

17.02.2026 Still snowed in! [No more!]

 ~?~

  Tuesday 17th 25F/-4C. [10.30]  Overcast and snowing lightly.

 Up at 7.00 after a reasonable night. 

 9.30  I wasted half an hour trying to get the car up the gentle slope to the main drive. My 100m of snow clearing hadn't helped. Mostly wheelspin. Even in third gear. Once I finally reached the junction to the main drive I discovered it was drifted over. The tire tracks left by an occasional neighbour were gone. I managed to reverse back down to the house but no further. The car is stuck at the boundary. I was too exhausted to do any more digging.

10.30 It is snowing steadily. The car is already white. 62F/16.7C in the room. My English friend is now coming to visit me. Instead of my going to him. I have lit the stove, washed up, mopped the kitchen floor, brought in two baskets of logs and had a shower. 

 12.00 My visitor has arrived. Bringing cakes and an oil fan heater. The temperature immediately soared to 74F/23C and climbing! He is parked half way along the main drive because drifting has blocked it beyond that point. It must be 30cm deep over most of its length! We had to do some digging so he could turn around. It is exhausting to walk on it. At first there is some resistance but then my boots sink deep into the snow.

 The temperature outside won't get above freezing until Saturday. So the snow will hang around. I am going to ask the neighbour on the back field, with a JCB [digger] if he can clear the drive for us. 

 13.00 My friend has left. Time for some lunch. 

 My neighbour, at the rear, has promised to come around with his digger later to clear the drives. 

 And has! My nice neighbour came around for chat about setting up something permanent. For drive maintenance and snow clearance. We had a nice chat about everything under the sun. His English is excellent.

 Dinner was fish fingers, pasta and peas. I only discovered the lack of tinned tomatoes once committed. The larder needs attention.

 

  ~?~

16.02.2025 Mouth breather!

 ~?~

  Monday 16th 23F/-5C [7.45] Overcast and very windy. Sunshine forecast but it's still grey. Gusting to 13m/s possibly causing drifting. Serious drifting elsewhere has caused severe traffic problems. 57F/14C in the room. 1C/33F in the greenhouse. I must light the stove!

 Up at 7.30 after a fairly disastrous night. I woke at 1am with awful heartburn and nausea. Caused by my silly omelette I presume. I tried to go back to sleep but it kept getting worse. So I got up and had a glass of water with bicarbonate of soda. That did not help immediately. So I got up again, dressed and sat on the computer for a couple of hours. I was cold when I went back to bed. Eventually I gave up and dragged the heavy duvet over.  

 8.00 Stove lit and going well. I must fetch more chestnut logs. The drive looks unchanged from yesterday's efforts. My right wrist has been hurtig ever since. No doubt caused by the shovel digging repeatedly into a frozen lower layer.  

 8.50 I waded through the deep snow on the western lawn to reach the chestnut log stack. Bringing back a basket full had left me completely breathless again. I have to go right around to the back of the heap. Where there is easier access to mixed logs from 50-120mm diameter. 

 The heap was added to as I cut down other trees and saplings. Never intending to use the chestnut logs as a serious fuel. So I threw long branches on top. To become covered in snow. Just as I needed this vital resource. I haven't been able to get out in the car. Let alone drag a trailer to the road on lying snow. Once the snow has gone I can easily access the heap. To bring it into the greenhouse in bulk. Using the western end door of the greenhouse. 

 Having dismissed the chestnut as an inferior fuel to beech. I had discarded the notion of using it. Yet it turns out to be fine. It catches light and burns as readily as the dried beech. If not better. I even thought it might smell but haven't noticed anything. It has had nearly four years of natural drying. Though without serious covering. Just leaning up against the shed wall in an untidy mound. To make the heap all but invisible. 

 It is now proving to be vital to my survival. Though raising a red flag to long term, continuous heating. Particularly as my fitness can no longer be taken for granted. Every basket full makes me breathless. Though the exercise involved is valuable. It is certainly quite a workout. It doesn't keep the room warm at night. 

 I have been mulling over getting a heat pump for years. An air to air would be affordable to purchase. Even if the electricity bill would probably skyrocket. It wouldn't take advantage of the under floor heating hoses. Which I installed myself years ago. The cost of a wet system is complex and astronomical in installed price. The government would rather hand untold billions to vast, international companies. To erect windmills and fix energy prices. Than to reduce energy consumption at the consumer level. 

 I won't need a walk today. I have just cleared two tire paths to the car. To join up with the two paths I made yesterday as far as the junction. Then I improved the route to the chestnut logs. Absolutely breathless again. 
 

18.30 23F/-5C. I had to bring in another basket of chestnut logs. 64F/17.8C in the room. Dinner will be something on toast. Sardines!

  

 

  ~?~

15.02.2026 Manual snow clearing.

 ~?~

  Sunday 15th 23F/-5C. Overcast but another cold, sunny day is promised. 59F/ 15C in the room. 36F/2.2C in the heavily frosted greenhouse. I'll have to light the stove. Using chestnut logs. I am pre-drying them on top of the stove. It is clad in soapstone so isn't a fire risk. I didn't keep the stove alight overnight due to a lack of fuel.

 Up at 7.30 after a typical night. I woke from another dream about wandering another city I didn't know. Trying to find my way back. Presumably to my parked car. A familiar subject matter. Incredibly detailed. Even the "extras" in the dream had characters, relationships and moods. 

 It must all have been imagination and often completely illogical. Or completely at odds with reality. It seemed every place, surface and item had texture and meaning. I was even discussing tools I had just found with my late wife. They say that dreams are sifting through memories. Perhaps to sort, or to discard overfull memory banks. Where they no longer have value. 

 Perhaps these dreams are suggestive of dementia? I seem able to remember far more images of my childhood as time passes. Often just random glimpses in picture form. If this were true, then I must, quite literally, have remembered everything which has ever happened to me. Albeit at random in usually involuntary flashes of incredible detail. 

 Which is ironic given my appalling memory. Sitting in exams and not being able to remember the simplest of things. A whole lifetime of collecting hundreds of text books. Just to remember Pythagoras Theorem. I tried to write in my youth but couldn't remember my own character's names!

 Being sent to buy salmon and coming back with spam. With a completely blank memory of the sole purpose of my trip to the local shop. Until I started writing full lists. Otherwise I would stand in the shop or supermarket without a clue what I was supposed to buy. 

 More recently I can move freely through the village supermarket and pick items on my way purely by habit. Which probably explains my lack of imagination when it comes to diet. Even then I am often leaving my basket by the checkout. To fetch the vitally important item I had walked blindly past twice or three times. 

 Intelligence and creativity, without a functioning memory, is a torment. It often feels as if everything I do has to be reinvented from scratch. Every single time. I spend countless hours rehearsing what I'll do or say. Then completely forget everything in the meantime. Yet I am fairly good at remembering places. Though never by name. A lifetime of fascination/obsession with astronomy. Yet unable to reliably recognize more than three constellations. Or the dimensions of the members of the Solar System. It's no wonder I made observatories and telescopes instead. 

 9.00 It is brightening. Blue sky visible. The chestnut logs seem to be burning well. Even without the pre-heating. That's a relief! I can go for a walk now. No point in coming back to a cold stove and colder house!

 9.30 27F/-3C. Back from my walk. Just a loop of the neighbours' drives. Bright sunshine with a cold breeze. Still only 59F/15C in the room.

 10.30 I am going to try and clear a path along the drive. So the car can reach the main drive. Where the snow has been flattened by vehicles coming and going. Except for the junction. Where is all ploughed up by somebody reversing into my section of drive.

 10.50 29F/-2C. Bright sunshine. I  have made a track on one side. Just under 100m. Using a large plastic snow shovel. Taking the snow down to about 5cm from at least 15cm. The snow is crunchy and becomes stiffer the deeper I go. Now I am completely breathless. 

 I may be able to use another tool to reach the ground beneath the snow. A garden rake? That will warm the ground in the sunshine and help the snow to thaw. Despite the frost. My breathlessness has already passed. So I'll go out and work on the other side of the drive in a minute or two.

 11.40 A second path is cleared. The snow was even stiffer than the other side of the drive. I am not only breathless again but my wrist is hurting. It is also blowing a gale! My eyes are watering and it is freezing. The wind has gone more southerly. So it is blowing straight down the drive. 

 So I went to the other end and worked with my back to it. At least I didn't get hot. I'd like to clear more snow in the middle of the drive. If I have the strength. That would help to accelerate the thaw. It is very heavy work. With the snow lifting as slabs. Rather than powder. I need a rest before I do any more. The parking area is still covered to a depth of between 15 and 20cm. 

 At thetop of the page I have posted a picture of our hero. Busy tidying up the last of the second path along the drive. Captured by a security camera. I'm 79 you know! 😉

 I keep hearing sirens. I hope it isn't unfit people having strokes and heart attacks while clearing snow.

 18.15 25F/-4C. The snow has been sliding off the house roof and out over the greenhouse roof. A very noisy business! I cleared some snow from around the rear entrance to the house. There was a distinct double layer with the upper snow lifting in slabs. I can't make any progress on the under layer. Then I dragged a recycling bin along the drive. Made slightly easier by my earlier work in clearing. 

It is still blowing a gale and freezing cold out there. I brought in more chestnut logs. Several chances to get completely breathless. 

 I have sausages and eggs to use up for dinner. One of my silly omelettes? Why not? I made it exotic by adding cheese.

 The chestnut logs are burning well. 

 

  

  ~?~

14.02.2026 Visitors in the sunshine.

 ~?~

  Saturday 14th 21F/-6C [8.00] A cold but sunny day is promised. Peaking at -1C with lighter winds. Still waiting for the cloud to clear. Expected to drop to -10C/14F around 7am tomorrow morning.

 Up at 7.30 after a busy night. I was waking at 1-2 hour intervals and using the excuse to feed the stove. With some difficulty in catching the very large logs alight from the glow in the ash bed at times. Too much air and the log burnt too rapidly. Filling the room with bright, flickering light. Too little air and it just smoldered. 

 Despite everything I managed to maintain 60F/15.6C in the room overnight. The stove is going well after a new and last log went in before breakfast. I'll have to start searching for more fuel!  The snow has prevented me from fetching more logs from the vendor. There is a large stack of chestnut logs outside but it is not very accessible. The snow is deep from drifting just there. 

 8.30 It has reached 62F/16.7C ad I can feel the heat from the stove on the back of my neck. 

 9.00 22F/-5.6C. 63F/17C. Thinking about a walk but I would prefer some sunshine. 

 9.15 Finally some golden light on the trees and blue sky. 

 9.45 Back from my walk. Mostly in bright sunshine. The drive was even more difficult as the snow had frozen harder. I had to use my own footprints to make steady progress. The neighbour's drives had been partially scraped. Allowing me to detour. There were waves of drifting at intervals some 30cm/12" high. 

 My nice neighbours came around to check on me after lunch. Which was kind of them. Bringing their pretty little pony with them. And their cat. Which had followed them. Then complained that it wanted to go home again. I see the cat going back and forth almost every hour on my security cameras. It doesn't like the snow. So I haven't seen it for a while. 

 I brought some  of the chestnut logs in from under the shed roof overhang. They measure 20% moisture content. on average. I had hoped it would be lower. They had a little snow on them but I don't think that has affected the reading. I think they will dry out further if they are indoors near the stove. At a safe distance of course. 

 I could fill the circular rack. Which I haven't used for the beech logs. Due to their large size. It was a nuisance to keep filling the rack so often. So I just used the plastic baskets for storage. I'll mix the chestnut with the last of the beech logs.

 The snow is at least 8" deep over the western lawn. So I had to wade through it going both ways to reach the far side of the stack of logs. Where access to useful sizes is easiest. Returning with a heavy basket full of logs on the way back. Which made me a bit breathless. Though I soon recovered. 

 The first chestnut log went in behind the beech and is already burning well.

 I am making sausage rolls for dinner. Boiled potatoes and tomatoes. First I have to thaw out the pastry from the freezer.

 20.15 Frost: 11F/-12C. 66F/19C in the room. It is supposed to be colder later. Not this early.

 

  ~?~

13.02.2026 Friday 13th.

 ~?~

  Friday 13th 28F/-2C [7.30]  Overcast and breezy but expected to remain dry. 57F/14C in the room. 41F/5C in the greenhouse. I had better light the stove! The footprints and e-bike tire tracks have been smoothed over by new snow. Or drifting.   

 Up at 6.50 after a busy night at the fire bucket. The sky to the north was lit up all night. Presumably streetlamps reflecting off the snow. 

 7.40 Stove lit. Another ash pan full needs emptying. The greenhouse roof has refrozen. There is a risk of sunshine around lunch time. Which might lift the temperature in the greenhouse. Perhaps enough to clear its roof again. Though unlikely to contribute any extra warmth to the house.  

 9.15 Going for a walk. 

 8.40 59F/15C. And back again. The snow is about 20cm/8" deep over the parking space. More variable in the drive. It seems I lack the skill to manage a proper catwalk stride in a single width tire track. A small bird of prey flew over and complained about the weather. I found myself in agreement. 

 The traffic was light. The road only messy where roadside hedges were lacking. There are massive icicles hanging from the shed. Where I failed to replace the gutter after shortening the overhanging roof. Another roundtoit.

 11.00 The room just broke the 60F/15.6C barrier. 

 19.30 25F/-4C. 62F/16.7C in the room. Dinner was fish fingers and chips. 

  ~?~

12.02.2026 Snowstorm?

 ~?~

  Thursday 12th 31F/-1 [8.30] Heavily overcast, breezy and snowing lightly. A snow storm is forecast for 24 hours from the early hours of this morning. 59F/15C in the room. Stove lit.

 Up at 7.10 after lying awake, dreaming and clock watching. I was trying to decide whether I should go to cooking class. With the police warning against unnecessary travel. I can't get the car out through the existing snow from a week ago.  

 Had the trike been road ready and I was at least five years younger and much less wise. Perhaps. I rode though blizzards and traveled hundreds of kilometers over lying snow in the past. 

 Ironically the trike would have been the best bet of my various means of transort. Had I been fit enough. Amazing stability with countless tens of thousands of miles of riding experience. Two wheel drive to climb hills on snow and black ice on narrow 23mm HP slicks. Happy days! 

 These old images [from 2010] show shopping expeditions to the local village. Going the wrong long way through the forest by the very hilly route. Just for the sheer fun of it. I think the second picture was taken in -8C/18F temperatures. Both pictures show my old Higgins 'Ultralite.' Which I recently donated to a keen tricyclist over here in Denmark. Though I haven't seen any pictures on Facebook of it in use.

 Could I ride to the cooking class on my e-bike? As I do sometimes in warmer weather. I decided that walking 20km home on uncleared roads. Pushing my bike through slippery snow. Would not be very sensible. One fall on hidden ice and I could lose my independence.

 Living out in the sticks does not provide a useful bus service between random and widely spaced villages. [20km apart.] Assuming there was a normal bus service today. There are bus stops nearby but connecting the dots on the map is the problem.

 9.15 Time for a walk. I'll wear one of my day-glo, hi-viz jackets as a nod to the traffic. To make myself a clearer target. 

 9.45 Back again. A large, tipper truck with snow blade went past. Clearing the road on the opposite side. The hard packed snow was quite slippery on my uncleared side. I moved well back on the verge with each approaching vehicle. To avoid sudden changes of direction. Fortunately the traffic was much lighter than yesterday. 

 These two pictures are from this morning. Looking both ways along the snow covered road. 

 The same truck returned on the other side. Just as I reached the drive on my way home. There were the usual problems of drifting where there were no roadside hedges. Even after scraping the road conditions were completely against my riding my e-bike. Perhaps I should fit an electric motor to my Trykit trike? 

 10.00 While accumulation looks modest so far. It is reaching levels where it is spontaneously sliding, in slabs, off the lean-to, greenhouse roof. Which has quite a gentle slope and was clear earlier this morning. This saves me going out to use my squeegee on a long pole. To get more light indoors. While large quantities of snow are blowing repeatedly off the north side of the house roof. This is falling past a northern widow. Something I have never observed before. 

 11.30 32F/0C outside. The greenhouse is at 44F/6.7C. The snow is not only sliding off the greenhouse but dripping rapidly from the overhanging slabs. Which seems illogical given the outside temperature. There seems to be a hiatus in the snowfall. Which has hardly been impressive so for.  

 14.30 Still snowing lightly but dripping heavily from the overhanging snow on the greenhouse. The weather maps show solid snowfall over our area. With a large area of sleet to our south.

 It continued to snow lightly but is still accumulating.

  Dinner was a chop, mushrooms, peas, carrots, mashed potato and Bisto gravy.

 

  ~?~

11.02.2026 Cabin fever continued.

 ~?~

  Wednesday 11th 1F/-1C [8.15] Overcast with easterly winds and local wintry showers. 60F/15.6C in the room.

 Up at 7.20 after earlier clock watching. 

 8.50 Stove lit. 

 Tomorrow's snow storm is now centered in an E-W band on my location. Earlier forecasts placed it further north.  It will snow from early morning on Thursday to the same time on Friday morning. With easterly gales leading to drifting. Thursday morning should have been cooking class. Which I missed last time due to a flat tire. Even if I can reach the road through the snow on the drive. The roads may be in poor condition. By the time I head home again after lunch. 

 While I could cycle, the same problems arise. Avoiding the narrow and very hilly lanes of my usual route. Involves mostly high speed main roads. With no protection from cycle lanes or cycle paths over much of the distance. 

 The main road route is 21km. About 13 miles. The main roads are much more likely to be cleared and salted. Than the delightful, rural lanes I enjoy on sunny, summer mornings. The chances of any cycle lanes being cleared is even lower. Since it requires specialist, small and slow moving machines. 

 10.25 Returned from my walk. The usual resistance to forward motion on the crunchy snow on the drive. It is too heavy for me to shovel away over a 100m length. It will probably be joined by more snow tomorrow. 

 Meanwhile the road was clear and just damp. With lots of traffic. I stepped onto the snow vovered verge as most vehicles approached. A few waved their appreciation. A bird of prey was calling as I arrived back at home. Not so breathless today. Perhaps yesterday's ride cleared something.

 Dinner was an organic chop, mushrooms, an organic egg on toast and Heinz baked beans. 

 

  ~?~

10.02.2026 11km ride.

 ~?~

  Tuesday 10th 32F/0C [7.45] Heavy overcast and risk of local snow showers. 61F/16C in the room. I shall have to fetch the last of the logs from the trailer.

 Up at 7am after another busy night. The fire bucket is heavier each morning following increased water consumption. The weird and illogical dreams are just as realistic.  

 8.50 I have been struggling to bring in the last of the logs from the trailer. The snow is very resistant to wheelbarrow trundling. Particularly when loaded. I brought in all the beech flakes and waste wood as well. The snow in the drive near the greenhouse must be over 6" deep. 15cm. As much as 8" in places. 20cm. I am completely breathless. My chest is as bunged up now. As it was during my recent bout of cold/flu/Covid. Now I can finally light the stove.

 11.00 64F/18C. Once the stove was going well I checked the chestnut log. After 24 hours indoors the moisture content had vanished. It caught light instantly and is burning well. Probably being consumed much quicker than the usual beech logs. This means I need not panic about my rapidly reducing reserve of logs. I can bring in some of the huge pile of chestnut logs. 

 11.15 I can go for a walk now that I have recovered from fetching and stacking logs. I didn't get tired. Just breathless. 

 11.45 Back from my walk. The drive is still hard work. While the road is clear and just damp. The verges covered in firm snow. Yet again I was breathless. From just plodding along. A few short years ago I read that becoming breathless was desirable while walking. So I tried to walk fast enough to become breathless. I had to trot before that happened. Walking wasn't hard enough. Even on the hills.

 A new forecast claims a snow storm will now affect the whole country. The weather system is moving south. Bringing snow with it. Snow from early morning on Thursday. So it doesn't look like the cooking class is likely.

 13.20 Getting ready to ride into the village. To restock the larder. It will probably take some time to get rid of the next batch of snow. 

 That was odd. The chestnut log long outlived the beech log. Which went in at the same time.  

 14.30 Back from the village supermarket. Two bulging carriers bags full. Riding on the drive was difficult. Resistance and self steering of the broad tires on the stiff snow. 

 The roads were fine. The cycle lanes filled by the snow ploughs clearing the roads. A number of homeowners in the village hadn't cleared their pavements. As is required by law. They may be old farts.

 The supermarket cycle parking area and rack had not been cleared. The dropper saddle post is misbehaving. It may be the extended cold affecting the gas cylinder. My hands were cold. Even in the skiing gloves. I was not breathless at all during the ride. Which is at odds with my earlier walk and log transportation.

 The Thursday snow storm may change. They aren't showing any precipitation on the charts. So there is still hope. [Not really!]

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

 

  ~?~

9.02.2026 A log by any other name.

 ~?~

  Monday 9th 30F/-1C [7.30] It looks like a dusting of new snow. Or hoar frost. The hedges are thickly coated in white. Overcast, with possible light wintry showers. Though mostly dry. Hovering around freezing. Modest east to SE winds. 62F/16.7C in the room. 40F/4C in the greenhouse. Coldest winter in 15 years. 

 Up at 6.50 after an odd night. A normal number of visits to the fire bucket but greater quantities. As expected from drinking numerous glasses of water during the day. This is the whole idea. To flush out the plumbing.

 7.30 It is already becoming lighter in the mornings.  Despite the heavy overcast.

 8.20 Stove lit. Last of the logs brought in from the greenhouse. Plenty for today. There are a few more in the trailer. 

 Even if the roads are clear. I doubt I can get out with the car and trailer for another load of logs. Not with this much snow on the drive. There is the possibility of more snow on Thursday. Though it could turn wet. Thursday is another cooking class. I missed the last one due to a flat tire.

 I have just been across the yard. To empty the ash pan. There is at least four inches. Or 10cm of snow on the ground. I checked and there are just enough logs for a couple of days in the trailer. Perhaps I should bring in some chestnut logs to dry. 

 I just tried this. The one I brought in came from under the shed roof overhang. It measured 20% humidity all over. While subjectively weighing half that of a beech log. I have set the chestnut log aside. To see how quickly it dries indoors. 20% will burn but is on the damp side.

 9.30 Back from my walk. The road was slushy. I went to the back of the verge with each passing vehicle. To give them room to drive safely without a detour and to avoid being sprayed. The wind was cold where there were no hedges. The snow on the drive had stiffened. Which made walking on it even more difficult.

 Another day of encouraging cabin fever on YouTube. 

 Dinner was chicken curry. I had no mushrooms. So I added some oversized raisins. I am fairly sure that Ben's curry sauce used to contain sultanas.  

  ~?~

8.02.2026 Beware of tiny elephants!

 ~?~

  Sunday 8th 30F/-1C [7.30] Heavily overcast. The snow is still there. Light showers of snow, sleet or rain. Easterly wind gusting to 10m/s. 61F/16C in the room.

 Up at 4.50 after a quiet night but then lying awake for hours. I finally lit the stove at 7.30.

 YouTube keeps showing me two minute adverts for Tai Chi. Are they trying to drive me away? They know my inside leg measurement and probably what I think on most subjects. They also know my age and health conditions. Intimately! 

 I know this because they keep sending me spam for anything I merely mention in passing. Some things I merely think about. Without ever putting pen to virtual paper. They should also know, by now, that I will never buy anything which steals my precious time on this Earth. By telling me about some commercial product or service. Not without my previous, written permission. I also value advertising and advertisers at the same level, or below that, of rapists and scammers. So, is this strange advert choice predatory behaviour by the idiot AI? 

 Brought in another basket of logs from the greenhouse. 

 10.00 I can see a woodpecker attacking the huge willow tree in the corner of the garden. I am going for a walk. 

 10.30 64F/17.8C. Back again. There was about a centimeter of new snow. Which had caused slush on the roads. Where they were clear but only wet yesterday. Lots of pheasant tracks and several birds exploding into the shrubbery. As I passed their hiding spots behind the hedges. The squawk like mad as they fly away!

 A strange set of prints going to the post box. I am settling on a small elephant. Nothing else fits. A small camel would be less likely. Only five footprints and they weren't going anywhere. I suppose it could have been a baby mammoth. Given the weather conditions.

 13.00 Lunch over. I am already on my 5th glass of water. Having no difficulty in drinking the water. Once it is no longer freezing cold from the tap. 

 I had chicken. So I made Sunday dinner. With mushrooms, peas, carrots, mashed potato and Bisto gravy. 

 I think I am on at least my 7th glass of water. Just over a liter. In addition to my tea and coffee intake. Now I just need to keep it up. Or rather down.

 

  ~?~

7.02.2026 Light rain and a slight thaw.

 ~?~

  Saturday 7th 32F/0C. Overcast. No new snow. Possible snow showers or sleet during the day. Icy roads. Hovering around freezing point. 60F/15.6C in the room. 42F/5.6C in the greenhouse. 

 Up at 7.45 after a fairly quiet night and some later clock watching. 

 8.30 Stove lit. 

8.55 61F/16C. It's snowing! Big flakes. 

 The snowfall was short lived. 

 12.00 65F/18.3C. Just back from a late, short walk. The snow was dripping from the shed roof. My earlier footprints looked dark as I returned. I scraped some snow away from the stretch between the door and the drive. To make a cleaner path. 

 The snow was no longer light and fluffy but much wetter and heavier. My clothes were wet from light rain on my return. My glasses were wet too. Hopefully this thaw will clear the snow more quickly. 

 20.30 67F/19C. Another afternoon on YouTube, forums and elsewhere. Dinner was sausage rolls, Heinz sugar loaded and tasteless, baked beans and chips. I haven't developed a strategy for economical use of sausage and prepacked plates of pastry. The beans were excessive. There was no room on the plate and no real need. I regret having bought so many tins of the damned things.

 I have been keeping a glass of water nearby. Now on my 4th today. I much prefer it without the icy chill.  

 

 ~?~