27°C, milky start.
I feel loss- the dog’s favourite field hat been cut. The grasses have turned to seed and well. But those spectacular thistles are wiped out too, just as they reached flowering. Shame, because I enjoyed their magnificent growth this year. Yesterday, they were taller than me. Now, all gone. I feel the loss.
Maybe sentimental I know, maybe they had to be cut to reduce the fire risk. It’s all dry and yellow here in this heat-wave.
24°C, deep blue,
Heatwave day 2: Saturday, added the crown to my Hifi in the living room.
A co-incidence that the second lodger moved out today; the same day that I finished organising the room changes in this house. The last step was to crown my Hifi with the record player. I now have magic in my living room, CD is nice but doesn’t do the shivers down my neck that LP does with ease.
A very fine day.
14C, heavy showers, windy.
Clearing the room for the second lodger. There is a decade’s worth of stuff in there. The back of the cupboards have revealed trinkets from the early 90s. This that old are interesting even when it’s just a receipt. I remember the first time I decorated that room, there was newspaper used to line a panel that what published in 1958.
A chunk of my life is laid out in this house.
The biggest job was, though, to move the telephone point. I want it next to the computer and router, not in a lodger’s room. That took five hours and it’s still not quite done.
Anyway, a trip to the dump will clear the clutter.
22°C, foggy yet morning, now blazing.
Last year I was delighted to find a swarm of honey bees in the eaves. This year, we have bumble-bees living in the house. They are orange-tails, nesting in nearly the same place. It prompts a question- how do I go about repairing that part of the roof. The insects have not caused any damage, its just wear and tear to the facia and soffits. The standard way to repair them is to fit uPVC boards. What I want is a repair that does not prevent interesting wildlife getting on with their lives.
16°C, fog, very damp.
Ikea- lights are more and more LEDs. I picked up two of these for the kitchen. They are spot-lights to illuminate the cooler and the sink. This is very mundane and domestic, but I am very impressed. View are brighter than the 40W equivalents that they replace. There is little of the flicker that affects compact fluorescent atlas that I so dislike. There are possibly good dough to read by and only use 8 watts.
Rated at 400lm, which is a unit I have to get used to. It’s bright enough with a warmish colour that tints towards sink at the edges.
14C, lighter wind.
I need a holiday. With a week off, this empty feeling should recede. A week is not enough to get everything done- domestic re-arrangements, hiking, visiting, (not least) marking.
Anyway, I have been to a wedding. Of society’s demands, this is my least favourite. No, I hate weddings, please don’t make me go to another.
12C, light cloud.
He moved in tonight but has come with food poisoning. It’s probably the sea-food. Hope he survives the night.
Powis Castle- my favourite artemesia plants did not make it through last winter. A few sheltered plots near here didn’t kill them off. So, I need to think carefully about where to put these new ones.
Artemesia Absintheum is a real favourite of mine soIl was not happy to see these plants flounder. At this time of year, view have the strongest scent. On that theme, I bought a fennel to go with it. The hope is that it will grow into a full sized shrub.
6°C, cold bright start.
Lodgers: is there something in the lodger-landlord relationship that resembles a parent-child one?
“I see you have helped yourself to my laundry tablets, would you replace them in the next few days. They are not actually part of the deal.”
In fairness, this lad doesn’t depend on my shopping and then put empty boxes and bottles back in my cupboard. There must be something that turns an otherwise adult male into a teenager though. It’s like a pet dog that behaves like a puppy when they want food.
16, sunny.
Today’s rubbish from the binge drinkers. Why did you need a glow-in-the-dark condom on a bright sunny day?
12°C, getting warmer.
Not my favourite choice this weekend, you can guess what I want to do. What I have to do is all domestic. For each of the last few years, Mayday has seen me camped in Wales, in between mountains. This year, I am moving stuff around in the house to, potentially, make space for a second lodger.
There will be discoveries, long lost possessions from my life, and from others who have gone.
Whitebeam unfurling leaves in early May.
Micycle 