Return to the slow country

26°C, hot & sunny


It’s not ironic that I have a cold on the hottest weekend of the summer so far. It’s merely a coincidence. there are always advantages to this kind of thing- maybe my Achilles tendon can recover fully with a few days off the bike. Dosed up with cold remedy I have been able to dig out another slab, plant some wild-flowers (don’t worry, I bought them, they’re legit). Comfrey and a few others.
I thought I had got all of those slabs, but there are a few left. I will route them all out in the end.
Those recycled compost bags are so cheap that it’s no problem to use them until my own compost heap is ready.

This is the Pyracanthus, the slabs were to stop Rosie digging, but she’s not interested in digging any more.So they’re gone.


Here is my newest Artemesian.

Tendinitis

13°C, showers soon


Mild Achilles-tendinitis has been niggling for the past few weeks. It’s very mild but stubbornly persistent, no treatment yet, but I may use ibuprofen before I ride today.


Rode: only did 35 miles and feel rather tired. Something’s not right. The rain didn’t come, had to hose the garden instead.

Staring emptiness

11°C, grey but dry.


Woke puzzled: why feel all this staring emptiness?
Later it became apparent that I merely have a cold. Back to the slow kind of country then for me.
Two astounding plants
..
Angelica (above) & Artemesia Ludovicia, below

They’re shooting up like something from jack-in-the-beanstalk, flashing out massive paddle like leaves as they go. They make me smile these two.
What will they do next (don’t tell me, I await the surprise)?

Midge

7°C, NW wind, getting colder


Red-nose; thanks midge, I even dreamed that I had to pull the sting out after you’d bitten me. My hand is swollen and now the end of my nose. The bright red colour is the best bit. Put me in a darkened room and it’d look like a motor-bike’s brake-light.is on.

This one tastes of Christmas

5°C, northerly, clear


Here is a fine chocolate, there is as much variety in the taste of plain chocolate as there is in Whisky. This one is certainly a single malt: however the Bournville I had in work today wasn’t even an unbranded blend; not sure that stuff even deserves the name ‘chocolate’ to be blunt.
This bar came as a surprise when driving home yesterday- it tastes of Christmas. Each block leaves a cherry-rich soft night-time after-taste. This is the peaty island malt of the chocolate world. Divine and Green & Blacks, you are up against some competition here. I bet many overlook this princely prize with its own-brand name and low price; don’t make that mistake- there are treasures of some depth to experience in this bar.

Now, steal yourself; off you to go the local Co-op to buy some.

Acephalgic migraine

7°C, light winds, Sun. C=62 miles


"real ear-bashing".: Funniest news story of the weekend. Mr Smith, what were the films called? I bet you are looking back on the story and wondering if it was really worthwhile for a hand-shandy.
A Migraine: could this be one, Cycling towards home today in the blazing sunshine- I could see a shimmering lightshow, nice but this one was in my eyes. It was rather like christmas decorations flickering at double speed, or maybe like my eyes recovering from an accidental glance at the sun. I’ve had this at work once or twice; parts of my vision can’t resolve printed words if I am reading. Each time it seems to clear up after half an hour or so. A disturbing event; I was about an hour from home when it started, so I rode faster and faster in case it it became prohibitively bad. I rode fast so I’d be home before the worst happened and I couldn’t see to ride safely.
Incidentally, I have had a dull headache for the last few days. A connection seems possible.

Wanted: new teeth

6°C. Dry, fresh with a light breeze, sun too.


Teeth: I need new ones. Mine are all broken and worn down. The edges of the breaks are quite sharp, you can feel it if you push your tongue against the shattered edges.
iPodding: I have* a pile of 24 CDs to convert in iTunes. It’s going so fast I can’t stop, half way now, can I last* the whole course before spinning out?.
That should say " iHave " and can " iLast "

Getting colder, I may have to switch on the heating tomorrow.

Paucity

20°C, foggy then clear.

Notice the paucity of entries here lately. Blame Flickr, there is more going on there.
Actually there is there is more to it than that. Just about everyone at work is complaining of tiredness, we have a kind of collective jetlag feeling. It’s put down to the new term, and change of routine plus change of season. One curiious suggestion was to do with airt pressure, I’d considered humidity before- but pressure seems more eosoteric. Unfortunately my weather station gadget records pressure trends, but doesn’t give a reading in millibars.
 

Summer cold

24.5°C ( yesterday). Clear & sunny.


Got a summer cold, a very achey snotty affair this one. I have to sleep frequently, and would take a day off school if it weren’t the weekend.