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. 

 

  ~?~