4.04.2026

 ~?~

 Saturday 4th 41F/5C [7.15] Heavily overcast but expected to clear to sunshine. A windy day. Slowly reducing from 15m/s gusts. Only to climb to 19m/s gusts tomorrow. As storm "Dave" crosses north of Denmark. Peaking at 8C/46F by late afternoon. I had better stay off the e-bike. 64F/18C in the room. 48F/9C in the greenhouse.

 A picture I took yesterday of a sand pit or quarry in what was a forest. Just imagine the vast volume of sand which has been removed. Note the tiny machines in the distance. These are not toys but large scale loaders and excavators. This gives a better sense of scale.

 Up at 6.30 after a very sleepless night. My wife died at home four years ago yesterday.

 I should stock up on groceries today for Easter Monday holiday. Which will also save me going out in the wind and rain tomorrow. 

 8.40 Some brightness in the east. Blue holes appearing. Time for a walk.  

 9.15. Back again. Fleeting glimpses of sunshine as the sky raced overhead. A strong, eye watering wind. Roaring in my hearing aids. Pushing twigs out of the hedges and onto the asphalt. A large, solitary deer ran away uphill. Across the prairie towards the forest on the summit. I saw only two coal tits foraging in the hedgerow today.  A male pheasant hung about near the chicken run. Quite a lot of traffic on the road.

 10.40 Just recharging my phone before I go shopping in the Morris. 

 12.00 Back from the shops. Three carrier bags full. There was one shower. Queues the length of the supermarkets with only two tills open. Every other customer buying lottery tickets. Which mens the checkout operator leaving the till. To mess about with another machine. Then come back with assorted cards and bits of paper to ring it up on the till. Then hand it all over. Minutes wasted every time.

 13.40 I am going to ride into the village to do more shopping. 

 

 ~?~ 

3.04.2026 🥳🎉 Happy 80th Birthday Dave! 🥳🎉

 ~?~

 Friday 3rd 38F/3C [8.00] Overcast but dry until later. The westerly wind steadily increasing throughout the day. 65F/18C in the room. 50F/10C in the greenhouse. 

 Up at 7.20 after a very untidy night. I was awake for at least an hour from 2-3am. Was going to get up at 6 and then it was suddenly well past seven. Lots of very silly dreams.

 The new railway bridge on the road to Grønnemose from Gelsted  With the loader bringing soil to build up the roadside embankment on the far side. This road is set to re-open at the end of April. It is already showing a remarkable change from my last visit. Where before there were huge drops on either side. Vast quantities of sand and a soil must have been brought to the site. 

 I must pull myself together and go for a ride today. Sitting on the computer is making my lower back pain worse.  

 Happy 80th Birthday to my brother Dave! It took you long enough! 😉

 9.40 40F/4.5C. Back from a half hour walk around the field spray tracks. It was cold. Made worse by the westerly wind. My hands were cold in the GripGrab gloves. I wore my heavier, pile lined, [recycled] fleece jacket and was glad for it. 

 A small group of tiny Coal tits arrived in the roadside hedgerow. They have surprisingly deep voices but seemed unaware. Or simply uninterested in my being at arm's length. As they foraged rapidly over the bare stems. I think there were four of them. Though it was difficult to keep track of all of them at the same time. They moved so quickly. 

 I'll have morning coffee and then see if I still want a ride. I'll have to dress warmly. It's not that easy to add enough layers under a close fitting rain jacket. 

 The new, High Speed railway route is in a cutting here. As it passes behind the Grønnemose industrial estate. Which is currently being transformed. With new buildings, car park resurfacing, landscaping and new businesses. Looking towards 25km distant Odense. From the new bridge on the road from Gelsted.

 10.50 Exit for a ride. Long, thermal, ski underwear vest, racing jersey, synthetic jumper, pile lined fleece jacket under a windproof, hi-vis  jacket. Long thermal leggings, DHB shorts under cargo trousers. GripGrab winter skull cap under my ABUS helmet. Sorel walking boots. GripGrab lobster mitts.

 13.20 46F/7.8C. Back from a 39km ride. Two supermarkets were open in the next village. Staffed by retirees at the one I shopped in. I was never too warm. Despite all my layers. I stopped to admire a Panasonic heat pump on a cottage right beside the road and ended up chatting to the owners. They can heat three rooms of their home with one high level blower unit. Their cottage was very similar to mine in dimensions. 

 There were several crossings on the new railway. Where I paused to take new photographs. A large, front bucket loader was building up the new, roadside bank with soil. The driver seemed to be the only one working today. [Easter Good Friday] 

 The new road can be seen on the right leading up the slope to the new bridge. Now looking from the opposite side to the image at top right. Grønnemose behind me and looking towards more distant Gelsted. Which is several kilometers away.

 18.00 I have just had a chat with my brother. A keen e-biker and skilled bike mechanic. Who has opened my eyes to potential improvements to make my Trykit trike much more fun in old age. I had been building mental obstacles which may not exist in real life. 

 Conversion to straight handlebars need not be hugely expensive. I was getting lost in pull per click for gears and braking problems. I am using 2x11 Campag Ergo gears and brake levers. Which I won't need just for pottering to the shops. Fewer gears mean lower costs for cassettes and levers. I could even add a low cost, low power battery-electric, conversion kit. Interesting! 

 Dinner was beans on toast with tomato soup. 

 

  ~?~

2.04.2026 Activity nil.

 ~?~

  Thursday 2nd 41F/5C [7.50] Overcast with rain on the way. There might be some early brightness. SW wind gusting to 10m/s. 63F/7C in the room. 47F/83C in the greenhouse.

 Up at 7.15 after a disturbed night. 

 Somebody is supposed to be fixing the potholes in the main drive this morning. 

 Another day wasted on the computer watching YouTube videos. The overcast and miserable temperatures would have made a ride unpleasant. The shops are all closed until Saturday because of Easter.

 The stove was lit at 12.00. I was bored with being uncomfortable. 

 I walked along in the late afternoon in a cold wind and spitting rain. There was no sign of anyone having done any work on the drive. 

 Dinner was a chicken and mushroom fry-up with an egg on toast and baked beans. 

 I did the washing up at 10pm. 😇

 

 

  ~?~

1.04.2026 Three heavy parcels to go!

 ~?~

  Wednesday 1st 36F/2C [8.00] A cool, grey, misty morning clearing to sunshine around lunch time. The wind has dropped and rather lost its way. Mostly around the SW.

 Up at 7.00 after a dream filled night.

 After my wittering on about insane driving there was an analysis on the Danish news website. 2/3 of dangerous drivers are drunks in denial. An average of 1000 drivers per year are prosecuted under the stricter rules. Though the number is falling slowly. Confiscation of the vehicle is often involved. 

 I have had damage to three of my own cars by drunks. Twice in car parks and once where I was shunted from behind at a red traffic light. Two of them seemed to think that chewing TicTac mints immediately after "an accident" sobered them up. 

 Two admitted they were driving their wife's cars. Presumably unable to obtain insurance for their own vehicles. Perhaps after previous drunken driving episodes. Or quite possibly after being banned from driving. Then there are all the drug addicts in denial. 

 8.30 Time for a walk. 

 8.50 Back again. I looped around the neighbours' drives to get away from the road. The mist was invisibility beyond 200m. Poor visibility at 100m. Two cars passed showing no rear lights at all. Two just with running lights. The rest were showing fog lights. A large Audi saloon went past at very high speed. Showing no interest in the completely blind bend. Where our drive exits right on the apex. That's not skill at driving. It's severe mental illness. I presume a rear fog light is a paid for extra on luxury Audi saloons? 

 I have spent the morning outside packing a telescope mounting. To be sent back to England to another amateur astronomer. I had to break it down to three parcels in the end. I was over the 20kg limit. 

 I have just confirmed the 16th April as suitable for installation of my air to air heat pump. 

 13.30 Lunch over. Greenhouse at 93F/34C. Internal doors and windows open to spread the warmth. 67F/19C in the room. 

 16.30 I drove into the village to deliver three parcels to the village parcel office. I have been at it all day.

 Dinner was cheese on toast with half a tin of tomato soup. 

  

 

  ~?~