20C, cloudy, but more torrents are a coming.
Filled it up this afternoon. The rim is not exactly level, so I will have to hide the edges with plants. It needs to stand for a few weeks now before introducing water-plants. That gives enough time to tinker with the edges of the waterproof liner. It’s probably too late for the spawning season.
21°C, close & warm, storms brewing.
Nearly two months of dry, now the lightening.
It has been a bad day for amphibians. He was only crossing to get to a stream, I tried to help. On the ride to work, he was flopping in the other lane. I grasped the brakes and put the bike down, turned and waited for the traffic to clear. the first few straddled him, then I looked left to check it was clear & looked back. Now he was lying on his back, all limp & lifeless. Damn, bad start to the day. I grieved quietly for him all day. I really wanted to save him.
Large globe raindrops now tap on glass and crackle in growing puddles. I shall go and listen.
Alternative Voting system has been rejected by voters tonight. Why, was it too complex? Did so few do the maths? I’ve waited 20 years to see some semblance of democracy appear in British politics: it seems that this nation will get the politicians it deserves. Don’t forget that Britain’s favourite newspaper is the Daily Mail.
More sun, even more wind. 15°C 
16°C, clear blue
The hole is finally dug, shaped, measured and levelled. It has liner underlay and awaits the liner itself now. By the time that was all done, I was too tired to start the delicate work of placing the liner in measured amounts and adding water, in measured amounts. Actually, there isn’t that much water about right now. We’ve only had a few days rain in the last month and none is forecast. Can I use tap water?
13°C, westerly nearly made me late for work.
Last day of March, tomorrow is shorts’ weather: 19°C. And it’s D-day here. More on that purge another time. Drowning in work this week- tomorrow’s report deadline will whoosh by after 5pm. These enigmatic comments will be explained in the near future.
Singing trees can be found sometimes even at night; the voices of birds are worth stopping for. Some birds sing slowly enough to listen to. Small passerines are just too damned fast to follow by ear. Is it blackbirds that sing late into the night? He stands high in a still-bare tree, singing dis-connected melodies, shaping charming but penetrating phrases at a pace we can follow.
15C, light cloud & a little rain. No wind.
The pond is half dug. I can only find 1 hour after school each day to do it- shame it isn’t done by now. Anyway, there is a use for those wretched slabs- they are now side walls awaiting the pond liner for water proofing. Today I dug out a pair of narrow troughs to anchor the edges of the slabs. There is a strange grey gravelly layer, perhaps some old tarmac from the immediate post war time that these houses were built. At this rate, the pond could be done by the weekend. Except for one thing- marking & reports. Damn.
14°C, clear & rather nice.
Woke early, planted a few heathers before going to work. Odd that because I felt ill in the night- heart thumping and fitful sleep.Trying to place the wireframe cloche was no good this morning, a problem caused by another slab beneath the surface. Last year’s incredible slab crop came flooding back in my memory.
This evening, I got half a dozen barrow loads of soil out of the pond hole, another day like this could see it dug. It’s probably quite deep now, I’d know if I’d finished digging before dark.
Busy boy.
In addition to the License agreement, here are some notes of guidance to lodgers on living in a harmonious household:
Further solutions to problems:
-1 to +9°C, no clouds. 20 mi commute.
That new saddle is good, probably the most comfortable I have yet had. I tend to do my longest rides on the summer racing bike, so it will probably end up swapped with the other Bontrager saddle on there.
It’s wide and quite flat on top apart from a dip in the middle which is supposed to improve the blood circulation in your gentleman-vegetables.
Sun rose at 06.35 this morning, it came up a peculiar egg shape, but clearly felt better after gaining some height. the frost was hard, but did it feel less cold after some time with milder weather- I don’t know.
the old saddle reveals how it slices through clothes- this plastic edge is both sharp and ragged:
3~7C Sun. 49 miles in West Lancs.
It was like cgi, the other night. Bessie, the old dog, was lying asleep uncovered. She wakes shivering some mornings so I pulled out the fleecy blanket that I nicked form an airline. Maybe it was the acrylic, maybe her own dog-fur, but it all light up. A momentary pure white but faint glow light her up.
Micycle 