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. 

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

  

  ~?~

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.  

 

 ~?~

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.02.2026 Statins are okay!

 ~?~

  Friday 6th 31F/-0.5C [7.45] Overcast with new snow lying. 60F/15.6C in the room. 41F/5C in the greenhouse. New snow is sliding down the greenhouse roof. I haven't been outside yet. As it is still half light. The hedges are covered in sticky snow. The drive smoothed out by new snowfall. It was all but clear yesterday morning.

 7.45 Up at 7am after a very busy night servicing the fire bucket. Weird dreams and repeated disturbance is no fun at all. Yesterday's dizziness has reduced but not completely gone. My vision at the computer is back to slightly fuzzy again. I am feeling more positive. Even cheerful. It wont last.

 The right nosepiece, of the only pair of prescription, reading glasses I've bought in 40 years, has gone. Lovely! £200 wasted on complete tat! The screws in the earpieces are constantly loosening too. I wonder if I can find a screw and nosepiece. From one of the many supermarket pairs of glasses in the drawer? They lasted forever but slowly became scratched over time. 

 Most cost between £5 and £8 equivalent. They did not correct my astigmatism but I never noticed. The prescription glasses constantly lose the left lens as well. It usually falls out in my jacket pocket while I am driving. Or even on the ground when I am walking. Lovely! 

 I am determined to hydrate properly from now on. I started the day with small glass of water. Drunk in gulps rather than straight own. It was icy from the tap. Which is typical for winter here. With kilometres of plastic pipe subject to deep ground frost. I measured my milk addition to the dry, porridge oats. It was only about 3/4 of the small glass, if that. A bit disappointing. Now I need to measure the volume of the glass for reference. [150ml] 

 The small glass is easy to drink from. Without my feeling overwhelmed by ice cold water. To which end I shall seek out a glass coffee jug. To have on the coffee table beside the computer desk. So I can sip a known quantity of water throughout the day. I would prefer a covered, bulk container. In case a fly gets in. A rare occurrence but not unknown.

 Some good new on statins. Which I take for my heart plumbing. After having four stents fitted in a hurry. Statins are supposed to reduce fatty build up in the arteries. A study has found that side effects are often purely psychological. There were just as many complaints from those on on a placebo. Often strongly so. The Nocebo effect. 

 The opposite of placebo, but worse. Where the expectation of side effects forces the patient to stop taking the tablets. They really do feel the side effects. Sometimes as if they were intolerable! While taking a pill with no medicinal content whatsoever. Bad publicity and even the required warning notes in the manufacturer's packaging, put people off. 

 There are a number YouTube channels hosted by [claimed] US cardiac surgeons. Warning strongly against statin use. The latest study of 120,000 shows the risks are actually very low indeed. Suggesting increased statin prescriptions all around. They say that many lives could be saved by statins. Heart attacks being the major cause of death. Particularly for the elderly. As a fully rubber stamped, old fart I certainly qualify for that group. [Currently 79¾, not out.] 

 My own, vocal negativity against statins. Resulted in my doctor halving my daily tablet to 20mg from 40mg. Now I wonder if I should follow his advice and take the 40mpg. Further discussion will follow. Next time I see him. Meanwhile I will continue with the 20mg.

 8.15 I had better light the stove. The ash pan badly needs emptying. I was excused boots yesterday. So there was a considerable build up. Now I shall don my ankle wellies and check snow depths. On my way to the compost heap. I am going outside. I may be some time. 

 8.30 It took me only a couple of minutes. To wade through the new snow to the northern boundary of Chez Hovel's rolling acres. It was averaging 3-4" of lying snow on the parking area. Let's call it 75-100mm. I didn't even notice the wind today. I may even have a walk.

 The stove's ash bed was still hot with many red blobs. Which made life more difficult in clearing the ash in the firebox itself. I needed my special oven "stove" glove to handle the grate and wood burning plate. Both far too hot to touch with the Mk1 [non-AI, non-robotic] hand. 

 I usually use two sticks of kindling as manipulators but lost control of the plates in the depths of the ash. Finally, a few bits of dry kindling. A sprinkle of paraffin based, non-smelly, firelighter block and off it went. Now I just need to build up to a serious log. Which means bringing in more logs from the greenhouse. Work is never done for the hard pressed pensioner! "Nobody knows the troubles I've had, tra-la."

 9.20 Logs in. Breathless again. Time for a walk! 

 9.55 64F/18C in the room. Back from a walk. The wind was intermittent. The undisturbed snow was about 4-6" deep on the drives. Which was quite hard work.  I became quite breathless until I reached the road. Which proved to have been scraped and probably salted. There remained a bed of hard pressed frozen slush in the traffic lanes. Which was quite slippery. The traffic was moving more slowly than usual. I crossed the road to avoid oncoming traffic. Then back to the usual side after they had passed. I didn't go far. Because I knew I had to manage the drives again. I stopped to chat briefly with my nice neighbour. Who was attending to his chickens, ponies and goats. 

 Once I was safely home again I used the squeegee on the long pole. To clear most of the snow off the greenhouse roof. To let more light in. The snow on the parking space proved too heavy. To be pushed aside with the gravel leveling rake. Pulling it wasn't much easier.  I have assorted snow shovels but that would be hard work too. The forecast is for slightly above freezing temperatures and even some rain or sleet. That might help.

 9.10 Time for morning coffee. Got to keep up the fluids. Another 200ml + 150ml glass of water. I found a glass coffee jug in the cupboard. My wife and I weren't really coffee drinkers. Usually just organic Arabic instant. The jug/pot will need to be washed and de-scaled before I can use it as my bulk water carrier. 

 13.00 Cup of tea with lunch. 200mls. Small amount of milk with a sliced banana. 

 17.00 64F/17.8C. Afternoon tea. 200mls. Glass of water 150mls. 

 Dinner was an organic fry up of sausages, brown mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and tweggs. 

 Followed by a small mug of coffee 150mls. Not good enough! 

 

  ~?~

5.02.2026 In the absence of hydration.

 ~?~

  Thursday 5th 28F/-2C [9.15]  Overcast but slightly less windy. 58F/14C in the room. Snow expected after lunch.

 Up at 8.10 after a typically disturbed night. Feeling dizzy and slightly nauseous. Struggling to see the computer screen clearly. My vision is really fuzzy. I am having to be careful while moving about.

 10.00 60F/ 15.6C. Stove lit. Just sitting with my eyes closed and hoping my breakfast stays down. 

 12.00 62F/16.7C. I dozed for an hour in an armchair. Which was uncomfortable. Then for another hour in bed. Until I had a strange dream. About receiving a phone call from an elderly builder in Danish. Who kept repeating hulmur! Which means "cavity walls." I don't have any. In order to reply I had to get up to put my hearing aids in. It was only then that I realised I had been dreaming. 

 I have a slightly upset stomach but haven't been sick. No idea what might have caused it. I am always so careful about hygiene and thoroughly cooking everything. Probably overcooking meat if truth be told.  It was lucky that I managed to light the stove with beech flakes and fire lighters. So I could relax and add logs as needed.

 16.30 62F/16.7C. I have spent the day sitting and watching YT videos. Still dizzy. I've had nothing to eat or drink until now. I am going to have a cup of tea and a digestive biscuit. A lack of fluids is considered poor behavior.

 It has ben snowing for some time. Very fine, like frozen rain. It is blowing off the shed roofs and traveling horizontally. I doubt there is more than a centimeter or two lying on the ground so far. The DMI shows the snow clouds at my location are clearing northwards. While reforming on the rear skirts. A wide, yet stable band of sleet lies over the most southern parts of Denmark. With more snow over Germany to the south. While TV2 shows our area as lying well within the range of a snowstorm. Due to the snowfall and high winds. The latter are expected to reduce overnight.

 Some trains, buses and public transport has been cancelled. In anticipation of heavy snowfall and icy roads. Some schools are closed too. Pictures of the frozen sea are appearing in the media. Including within Copenhagen. The ice on many lakes and ponds is now considered safe for public access. Thanks to increased thickness from continuous sub zero temperatures.  

 The large whale, which stranded and died on the cost of Denmark, at Albæk. Died due to a fishing net stuck in its throat. The poor thing had slowly starved to death! TV2 showed a specialist vet who carried out the autopsy. With his arms literally full of the 12kg of net. The video audio is in Danish.

https://tv2.dk/reel/2026-02-05-kaskelothval-doede-af-sult---fiskenet-blokerede-spiseroer-6388807084112  

The link simplified in English: TV2. The kaskelot [sperm] whale died of hunger. A discarded fishing net had blocked its throat.

 20.00 63F/17C It is still snowing. I had another cup of tea. Still no appetite. I think I'll  have a coffee with added milk. Riveting stuff, eh? 

 22.00 63F/17.2C. Gurgle suggests 15 cups of fluids per day to maintain normal hydration. 15 x ~150 = 2250mls. That's about one cup per hour! Eek!

 Today's unpleasant symptoms exactly match one online description of dehydration on all listed points. Another Eek!

 My daily intake of tea and coffee amounts to 6 x 200 ml mugs spread throughout the day = 1200mls. It really doesn't vary. I am a creature of habit. That's almost half the recommended daily total of fluids!  

 It was suggested by my doctor that I drink at least 1.5 liters of water in addition to my daily beverages. I don't like drinking water. It is freezing cold at this time of year due to frost penetration of the rural ground. 

 I do drink milk on my morning porridge oats. Though I have never measured the volume. Perhaps I should? I have a drop of milk in two cups of coffee per day but that doesn't alter the total liquid volume. I don't have milk in my tea and haven't since childhood. I don't drink juices or sugar bombs. Nor take sugar in any of my drinks. 

 I ought to have a covered jug or container to refill a glass near the computer. This will ensure the chill is taken off and [hopefully] become more palatable. It will also measure the volume of water I consume. Leaving no doubt. Nor room for cheating! That should increase my daily exercise running back and forth to the bathroom.  A win-win situation.

 22.45 I may not sleep but I still feel unwell. So I am going to bed anyway.  

  

  ~?~

4.02.2026 Stocking up for the snowstorm!

 ~?~

  Wednesday 4th 28F/-2C [9.00] Heavily overcast after a clear night with a high moon. A grey, windy day with possible snow showers this afternoon. Blowing to 18m/s from the east. [~40mph] Snow is expected over the next three days. 59F/15C i the room. The stove wouldn't light from the warm bed of ash. The kindling glowed but no flames.

 Up at 7.50 after an odd night. Got up four times until 3am in bright moonlight and then slept for hours. I had better light the stove properly. 

 I need to shop in case I get snowed in.

 10.00 63F/17C in the room. Back from a 20 minute walk along the road. The wind was roaring and cutting my face into icy rashers. The hedge slasher had been along. Perfect timing, to ensure a lot of twigs are blown out onto the asphalt. On both sides of the road! The usual, wind blocking hedge was worthless today. The wind completely ignored it. I was being buffeted as I walked in both directions. No, not simultaneously. There are limits to my legendary abilities. 

 12.00 64F/17.8C in the room. Back from the village supermarket. Three bulging carrier bags full as I stocked up for the coming snowstorm. Up to 30cm could accumulate over several days. We were south of the threatened snowstorm but are now well within it. 

20.00 63F/17C. Still no new snow. Yet another day spent on YouTube and feeding the stove. Dinner was a salmon pasty, with organic peas, Fettuccine pasta and tinned organic tomatoes. I should have used a whole tin of tomatoes. Strained to reduce the water content. I washed up while it cooked. I have more to do.

 

  ~?~

3.02.2026 Democracy for sale! Dirt cheap!

 ~?~

  Tuesday 3rd 26F/-3.3C. Cloudy start becoming sunny later. Even more windy from the east. 10ms base. Gusting to 20m/s. 45mph! That's the equivalent of 6F/-14C with wind chill. 59F/15C in the room. 38F/3.3C in the greenhouse. 

 No thin logs or kindling to light the fire until I raid the trailer. Which is currently at the far end of the carport. Trapped behind the car. Without any lighting other than a hand held torch. I need a [much] better storage system! Or the motivation to empty the trailer before it becomes so critical. It is supposed to snow again tomorrow. So all the remaining firewood needs to be in the [lean-to] greenhouse! 

 Up at 6am after what felt like hours of wakefulness. My back hurts from yesterday's repeated struggles with the heavy mattress! 

 7.30 I sprinkled the still hot ashes in the stove. With the last of the small flakes, rubbish wood and bark in the bottoms of the log baskets. Then laid the smallest, but still oversized log on top. Five minutes later it ignited and the log is burning well! It needs maximum airflow to keep it going. I searched for more logs in the greenhouse and have enough for this morning. All larger than I would normally burn. 

 Now it is light enough outside I can see the trees and hedges are all rocking in the wind. It is roaring around the greenhouse. Which is unfortunate. Because the eastern door is the one I need for emptying the trailer. The wind continues tomorrow as well. Only slightly reduced from today's unpleasantness but with the added burden of snow. I think the best thing to do is to use the wheelbarrow as usual. To dump loads of logs onto the greenhouse floor. Get as much in as possible without leaving the doors open. I can fill a basket with some flakes for kindling.

 08.30 Still only 59F/15C in the room. Job done. Three well filled wheelbarrows full of mixed logs into the greenhouse. One basket stuffed with beech flakes for kindling. Cold and rather breathless. I fetched the recycling bins from the end of the drive while was out there. Both had blown over after being emptied. 

 The temporary roof covering on the stripped, thatch house is coming apart. It is being ripped wide open by the wind. The house was abandoned again months ago. With tons of debris, bathroom fittings and rubble from the house piled untidily, outside the house on the drive. 

 No visit to my friend today. No walk either.

 The day passed peacefully on YouTube. Where I learned that a brutal, child rapist is still treating the world as his own, personal toy. Evil can only exist. When other, evil men do nothing. Or praise the perp. To ensure their own gravy trains do not derail. Democracy is just another currency in many parts of the world. To be bought and sold to the highest bidder. 

 19.30 64F/17.8C in the room. Dinner was my very first, cheese omelette. It was excellent!

  ~?~

2.02.2026 Bedding down!

 ~?~

  Monday 2nd 19F/-7C. Overcast, colder and windier. Gusting to 15m/s. 59F/5C in the room. 33F/0.6C in the greenhouse. 

 Up at 4am as my recycled bed collapsed! The slatted mattress support they supplied was too narrow for the frame. So I had to insert slats either side. To keep it central on the battens at the edges. Unfortunately this failed at intervals. I should have bought bigger battens and glued and screwed them into place. Unfortunately the risk of collapse seemed low at first. The bed has only collapsed under me once. That was while I was sitting on the edge of the mattress and getting dressed.

  Last night the thin slats had slipped through the gap. I could hear creaking and then the mattress dropped.  So our hero was left with a non functioning bed in the dark. In the middle of the night. I attempted repairs by the light of the table lamp. However, the sheer weight of the massive sprung mattress was too much for me. Access to the lifting loops was  all but impossible within the wooden frame. 

 In the end I had to drag the furniture away and drop the mattress onto the floor. Followed by the bedding. I spent the following two hours dreaming about possible fixes. Most of my ideas were too vague to have been conscious.  

 Up at 7.30 after hours of clock watching. Made worse by my newly sunken viewpoint. The mattress is now too close to the stove to risk lighting it. Not good after the coldest night so far. It is not supposed to climb above -4C/25F all day.  I will have to drag the mattress away and get some warmth into the place. 

 A journey to the builder's merchant is on the cards. To find suitable battens to make the bed safe. The original side battens are really rather mean. For such an expensive bed at Danish retail prices. The bed is 91cm wide inside the veneered chipboard sides. The slatted base is only 88.5. That's a 25mm or 1" difference. If the sides should bow under load, or over time. Then the slatted base can drop between the puny battens. And, did! There are no cross ties between the bed sides. My guess is that the slatted bases were mixed up somehow. Between donation and joining the other beds at the charity shop.

 8.40. It has dropped to 58F/14C in the room since I lit the stove. I have dragged the mattress away to a safe position. There are very few logs left indoors. Half a trailer full out in the carport. Another trip to the log merchant is vital. 

 9.00 60F/15.6C indoors. It is 51F/10.6C upstairs. This is following closure of the open stairwell with curtains. The sky is breaking up to blue and weak sunshine. I don't think I need a walk. I have already had enough exercise!

 9.50 The sun is bright now but it feels bitterly cold out in the wind. I brought in a 2m straight edge. To confirm the sides of the bed are bowed outwards. By at least 10mm each side. So there lies the catastrophic clearance. I don't have any battens long enough for the bed sides. [2m] So I shall have to go to the builder's merchant. I'll fit a cross piece too. To keep the sides from bowing. It's a nuisance. I was in the same village shopping yesterday. [Sunday closed] Now I'll have to make the same journey again.

 11.00 64F/17.8C. Back from the builder's merchant. Noisy wind shrieking in the car. Blinding sunshine dead ahead. The roads are weirdly white from all the salt. It is invisible when the asphalt is wet. Over £40 equivalent for a few meters of 15x40mm softwood batten.     

 I have fetched one on my 1m clamps. To pull in the bowed sides of the bed. I have plenty of batten to make two crossbars. I need to decide how best to fix them. Without making dismantling the bed impossible or unnecessarily difficult. The side battens aren't stiff enough to pull the bed sides in.

12.30 66F/19C. Greenhouse at 57F/14C! No crossbars were necessary. The width of the new side battens. Is more than enough to ensure the slatted base could not escape. I used enough screws to hold the new, wider battens onto the originals. The mattress is now 15mm higher. Slightly more than half an inch. Which is meaningless.

 14.45 Constant sunshine. 69F/20.6C in the greenhouse. I let the stove go out.

 15.20 I had a timed nap. To catch up on missing sleep in the night. The bed feels very solid and quiet now. Which it never was in the past.

 Dinner was sausage, brown mushrooms and mashed potato. All organic. Plus Bisto gravy. Plate warmed to 100C. I was feeling inspired. It was excellent.

 

  ~?~

1st Februrary 2026 Don't tell anyone, but..

 ~?~

  Sunday 1st 20F/-7C. Overcast, cold and windy. Not expected to rise above -5C/23F all day. SE winds expected to gust to 13m/s all day. 60F/15.6C in the room. Greenhouse 31F/0C. The pond thermometer has stopped working. Probably a flat battery in the cold. It was showing 36F/2C yesterday.

 Got up at 7.50 after a difficult night. I felt I was awake from 1-3am. Staying in bed seemed like the best thing to do. I had dreampt I was searching for my wife. She was in the shed for some reason but had changed into somebody I didn't recognize. Nor would she talk to me. She just walked off behind the shed. Which upset me. When I finally got back to sleep I was having more, weird dreams. 

8.15 Stove lit. Brought in more logs from the greenhouse. I shall have to unload the trailer into the greenhouse soon. Which will make me breathless. My chest is still bunged up after my recent bout of Man cold/flu/Covid. I am getting breathless even on my walks. It seems like ages since I had a ride.

 9.30 64F/18C in the room. Back from my walk. Cold, but no worse than yesterday. I wore my Ventile jacket over the pile lined fleece. This was much more windproof than the Patagonia, down sweater. Worn over the same, fleece jacket. 

 I was going to make sausage rolls. Just for a change. However, the ready-made pastry, which my wife used to use. Was not always readily available. I was always having to ask the staff if they had the correct make. The variety most often seen in the supermarket freezers was sugar laden and tasted strongly of vanilla. Now I can't remember which was the correct one. It must be five years since I last bought it. I know I will be disappointed. If I buy the inferior crap. Which is obviously aimed at the low hanging fruit market.  

15.30  24F/-4.4C. 66F/19C in the room. Back from the shops in the next shopping village to the north. Catching up on shortages. From my last grocery shopping spree in the village. I can no longer trust some supermarkets to have stock of the most ordinary items. I bought some flaky pastry. Fingers crossed. A horribly cold wind in the car parks. 

 19.00 My first sausage rolls are in the oven. Nearly ready. I washed up while they cooked. And filled and dragged two recycling, wheelie bins along the drive. In the freezing cold and a headwind. My wife reminded me regularly that I couldn't multi-task. 

 I had nothing to go with sausage rolls. Google suggested chips and beans. I've had two days of baked beans already. They are supposed to be monitoring my blog. So they should have known better. 

 20.00 I have a confession. I had taken two slices of pastry out of the box. One half of the sausages made six pieces. Two slices made four wraps. I would have had to add another slice of pastry but I was too mean and impatient. Having already given the pastry half an hour to thaw. So I glued some short lengths of pastry strips together with beaten egg. A cosmetic failure but I shan't tell if you don't. 

 

  ~?~

31.01.2026 Feels like -8C.

 ~?~

  Saturday 31st 30F/-1C. Grey, windy from the SE and cold. 61F/16C in the room. Greenhouse at 40F/4.4C. The trees and hedges are moving. It could reach -7C/19F tonight.

 Up at 7.40 after a busy night and clock watching for hours.

 8.40. I had better light the stove. 

 10.10 30F/-1C. Room at 64F/17.8C. Stove going well. Back from a loop along the drives. The wind was like cold knives cutting my face. It was cold and strong enough to blow through my layers. The DMI say 15 m/s gusts. That's over 30mph. Feels like -8C/18F. 

 Thoughts of my usual Saturday ride to the next village have been abandoned. It would have meant riding straight into the wind. Adding further to the wind chill factor.

 18.30 Another day of watching YouTube. It was far too cold to ride anywhere. I have been keeping the stove well fed. Getting though lots of logs. Now it is time to make some dinner.

 Beans on toast. 

 It was supposed to drop to -7C overnight tonight. Instead of which we are offered a balmy -6C/21F instead. 

   

  ~?~

30.01.2026 Save the pros from amateurs!

 ~?~

  Friday 30th 30F/-1C [8.15] Another cold, windy day with snow showers and drifting. 62F/16.7C in the room. 39F/4C in the greenhouse. The stove was fed with two large logs and burned late into the night.

 8.15 Up at 7.30 after a fairly quiet night. I woke earlier and the clock kept jumping forwards. Stove lit.

 9.35 Back from my walk. Unpleasantly cold wind at times. Blackbirds squabbling over territory. Sparrows chattering. A few listless gulls out on the prairie. Still lots of snow lying.

I spent the day on YouTube. Even watching stand up comedians before dinner.

7.30 66F/19C. Dinner was an organic chop, organic mushrooms and Danish baked beans.  

 Three pieces of road news: The Fyn police have fined 1300 motorists in January alone. Mostly for mobile phone use behind the wheel. 

 There are now more electric cars than diesels on Danish roads. 

 Danish, professional racing cyclists are appealing for amateurs. To leave them well alone while they are out training. Many amateurs jump onto the star's back wheels but lack the professional's skills. Resulting in too many crashes and injuries. Which can seriously impact a training session, racing season or even an entire career. 

 What I find sickening is the amateur is often starting fresh. While the pro may already have covered a high mileage that day. Often riding hard on very long climbs in the southern European mountains. Where many racing teams go for the better weather and the challenges of the terrain. 

 Along with the clingy amateurs. Who think that holding a back wheel, for a mere couple of kilometres. Before exhaustion ends the chase. Is a sign of matching fitness with their heroes. Several top cyclists have crashed recently. When complete amateurs have run into them. When the pro braked for obstructions. Or animals dashing across the road.  

 

  ~?~

29.01.2026 Flat tire!

 ~?~

  Thursday 29th 28F/-2C [7.00] Cloudy and windy with risk of light snow showers. Temperature expected to fall to -4C/25F. Before settling at -1C all day. Gusting to 10m/s [22mph] from the NE. Room at 59F/15C. Greenhouse at 40F/4C. 

 7.00 Stove lit. I woke earlier but managed to stay in bed until 6.20. The lighter duvet was more comfortable. Without overheating.

 Cooking class today. I'll drive there. Still pitch black but the cameras show no new snow.

 9.00 I was just going to leave but I have a flat front tire! Which is a first for me. It has never happened before in well over half a century. The nearest tire outlet is 10 miles away. They have a two week waiting list for changing to winter tires. 

 I have a spare wheel in the boot. Which involves moving the trailer at the back of the carport. The car is in the carport and hemmed in with stuff. All the while surrounded in snow in an ice cold wind. I can drive it slowly forward to get enough room for using the jack. 

 Do I have a suitable jack? Not a silly question. I have assorted jacks but the Morris has a strange welded tube. Precisely where one might expect to jack the front end. An online check suggests the original Morris jack should be avoided. I'll start with the scissors jack I stored in the boot.

 Riding to the class on my e-bike is theoretically possible but would involve lots of hilly, minor roads. More like rural lanes. With the temperature below freezing it would not be a comfortable journey. Plus the risk of icy roads. Just to add to the difficulties. Grr! 

 9.30 65F/18.3C in the room. I'll have to change into my work clothes and get cracking. 

10.15 Everything I needed was in the car. Even a tommy bar and the correct socket for the wheel nuts. It didn't seem to take long but left me completely breathless. Now I have to ring around. To see who can mend the puncture. The spare tire is not the same as the rest. 

 12.45 Both petrol stations air pumps weren't working. The first was frozen apparently. Water in the system. Rather than air. The second had a worn out valve seal rubber. So it lost more air than it could push in. The staff came out and out and looked. Of course I was the only one complaining. Nobody else had any problem. 

 I bought some groceries while I was in the village. I'll have lunch and then try a rural tire service outlet. To have the puncture repaired.

 It was quite entertaining. The elderly tire fitter was delighted to have a Morris Minor there. We chatted away for ages while he worked. The tire had an inner tube and this had a tiny hole. He was a club motorcyclist and so we chatted about those too. He fixed the puncture and then I could drive home. With the wheel in the boot.

 19.30 67F/19C. As I had missed the cooking class I had to make dinner. An organic chop, boiled potatoes, peas and Bisto gravy

  

  ~?~

28.01.2026 Chicken butties?

 ~?~

  Wednesday 28th 30F/-1C [5.30] Continuing cloudy, cold and windy. 62F in the room. 41F in the greenhouse.

 Up at 5.30. I was hot and wide awake. I am going back to the lighter duvet. Or will try the third.

 7.00 Stove lit. 

 9.20 Back from a 20 minute walk around the drive loop. About a centimeter  of new snow. Some of which was wind driven. To fill in footprints and tire tracks. The NE wind was unpleasantly strong in exposed places.

 18.00 Another day browsing or on YT. I wanted to go out on the e-bike but the snow, cold and dark skies put me off. I have been feeding the stove all day and it has crept up to 65F/18C in the room. 

 20.00 29F/-2C. 66F/19C. Dinner was fried chicken on rolls. I had to use up the chicken and the rolls too. I gave the chicken 20 minutes at a modest heat. It worked much better than toast.

 

  ~?~

27.01.2026 Not our cameras?

 ~?~

  Tuesday 27th 30F/-1C. Overcast with light snow showers possible. 58F/14C in the room.  41F/5C  in the greenhouse.

 7.45 I have been tidying and cleaning around the stove before the sweep arrives. Who is here on time. Presently standing on the roof and brushing the chimney. It was interesting how the magnetic door closure. Slowly moves the stove backwards. Each cushioned closure of the heavy door adds its own impact. Perhaps I should place something non flammable behind the stove. To stop it's slow crawl.

 8.10 The sweep has just left. No problems and very little soot or ash. All thanks to the modern stove and clean fuel. I have now lit the stove. To warm the place up before leaving to visit my friend. I now have a new reserve of wood flakes to use as kindling. Which saves buying sacks of the stuff at the sheltered workshop.

 I was going to check the traffic cameras for road conditions. It seems the cameras are still working but public access to their website and the cameras has been blocked! These were presumably installed at taxpayer expense. As is the government controlled website. 

 Do we still fund the cameras and their maintenance from our taxpayers' contributions? Their excuse? They can sell the camera video to private businesses? But deny the Danish taxpayer all of the benefits of actually seeing real road conditions at a glance? Does not compute!  

 I drove over to see my friend. Had a pleasant chat over Danish pastries and coffee by his wood stove. Drove home via another charity shop. Looking for thicker curtains but without luck.

 Dinner was a salmon pasty, chips and peas.

 

  ~?~

26.01.2026 No new snow.

 ~?~

  Monday 26th 30F/-1C [8.30] Overcast with snow promised. They are calling it a snowstorm because of the NE wind. Expected to gust to 15m/s. Over 30mph.Which is very likely to cause drifting or driven snow. Up to 20cm is possible in total. Currently no new snow lying. The trees and hedges are moving.

 Just under 58F/14C in the room. So the curtains around the open stairwell had a more limited effect last night. It was 2C colder outside overnight than the previous night. The stove was going well at bedtime at 11pm. I have enough logs for today. I could get some briquettes from the supermarket to last a couple more days.

 The snow is not supposed to arrive here until lunch time. I can fetch a trailer full of logs before the snow arrives. The small amount of snow on the drives shouldn't hinder me too much.

 Up at 7.50 after a fairly quiet night. The sweep will be coming early tomorrow morning. If he can get through the snow! 

 10.00 Back with a trailer full of logs. The roads were fine. Now I just need to get them into the greenhouse. 

 10.40 28F/-2C. 59F/15C in the room. Half of the logs are dumped in the greenhouse. I can stack them neatly after I recover. The remainder in the trailer is safely covered and in the carport. Along with the car. A huge relief to have enough logs again.

 It is horrible out there! My eyes and nose were streaming constantly in the cold wind. The fitted trailer tarpaulin blew away until I had it fixed down. No new snow yet. Though it seems to be limited to a southern strip of the island. Morning coffee and then I'll drive into the village. To stock up with essentials. In case I am snowed in. Nobody clears the drives and I am no longer fit or strong enough to do it myself.

 Back from the shops. I bought some thick wool socks because it said "Wool" on the cardboard sleeve. After I came home I discovered that "Wool" meant only 30%! The rest is micro-plastic waste.  

 14.10 63F/17C. Still no snow. The snowfall area is sliding westwards just south of my location. It is supposed to head slowly northwards later.

 7.45 30F/-1C. 66F/19C in the room. No new snow yet. Just  a dusting on the car inside the carport. The radar shows the snow clouds sliding to the SW but evaporating before they reach me. Dinner was one of my ugly omelettes. The sausage was cut into small pieces and slowly fried.  The mushrooms added after a while. Then the whipped eggs poured over the cooked contents of the frying pan. It was fine. I washed up while it cooked. I suppose that make me a domestic robot. Just better looking.

 

  ~?~

25.01.2026 More thermal pottering.

 ~?~

  Sunday 25th 31F/-1C [5.15] Overcast. About 1cm of overnight snow. Possible snow showers. A snowstorm warning has been released! Up to 20cm over the next 48 hours with strong NE winds. 

 62.6F/17C in the room.  Has the curtain stair enclosure reduced heat loss to the upstairs? It would seem so. The last two mornings were 3F cooler with the same outside temperature. Perhaps the room will cool further by normal breakfast time.

 I got up at 5am after being awake for two hours. I was too hot under the heavier duvet! 🙄

7.15 The room sank to just under 62F/16.7C before I lit the stove. That is still a 3F reduction in heat loss compared to the rather chilly, 59F of the last two mornings. The curtains I used to close off the open stairwell were really quite thin. Multiple thicknesses might reduce heat loss further. Still at very low cost and effort for this first experiment. 

 Appearance is obviously important in the longer term. Not that I get many visitors but for my own visual benefit. I don't want a huge eyesore in the room!

 This new thermal image [top right] is interesting. This is before the stove has warmed the room at all. In fact it has only just been lit. There is almost no stratification on the stair curtains. While the massive chimney is still holding heat from last night. [Just out of view to the left] Though the heat has spread to the adjoining, brick wall.

 The cold glass of the door to the entrance hall, on the right of the image, could usefully be insulated. The entrance door itself is solid pine board. Poorly insulated and draught sealed. It has had white frost on the inside surface in cold winters! I have long planned to replace it. With a properly insulated door faced with grooved plywood. Probably home made. An air lock porch has also been long planned but never progressed. 

 The second image shows the chimney [65cm square]  before the stove has properly warmed up. It is clear that it stores a lot of heat and releases it steadily to the room. Thermal mass at its best. Since it costs nothing. The stove surroundings are ceramic tiles and these also get warm to thanks to the stove. So a very large area radiates heat into the room. Once it has stored the heat coming from the stove. 

 It is not exactly free heat. Because the stove's output is partially stored. Instead of heating the room directly. The benefit is, of course, a much longer heating period for the same input of wood. The same is true for the very expensive soapstone cladding on the stove itself. Intended to prolong the benefits of the stove long after it has gone out. It can often feel warm in the morning. 

 Much is made of mass stoves or mass ovens efficiency. Where a small burn can provide heat for days. The cost is twofold. A literally massive structure in the room. Somebody knowledgeable has to build it. 

 The third image shows the area around the stove is already warming the surrounding walls. With the stove cladding yet to take up the heat.

 The chimney upstairs radiates heat to the attic. Though I was never really aware of it. Even though our bedheads were right beside it for three decades. I only discovered all of this after I invested in the Topdon thermal camera. A plug in attachment for mobile phones. It cost about £200 equivalent. Competitors are now available.

 The advantage of these infra red sensitive cameras is that one can see at a glance where heat is being lost. They can also be used to check for electrical faults and poor building standards. Images are easily captured as they are stored on the phone. So a permanent record exists.

 9.10 I couldn't stay awake. So I had a half hour nap. Very fine snow is falling. This doesn't help my need for more logs! I have more than enough for today. I have brought in all the remaining logs in the greenhouse.

 16.00 31F/-0.6C. 65F/18.3C in the room. I can't be certain but it felt cooler. When I went upstairs to hang up some laundry. 

I have taken the recycling bin along the drive. The snow made it far easier than usual. To see where I was going in the dark. 

 20.00 32F/0C. 67F/19.4C! This is ridiculous! I am sitting here and sweating in a T-shirt! 

 Dinner was cheese on toast. I was a bit mean with the grated cheese.

 

  ~?~