Bagged up

 Sunday's big news, which  I totally forgot to mention, was that we had our first fire of the autumn.  I had brought in a load of logs a few days previously, along with some kindling.  Sunday was grey and gloomy and we were having a lazy day, so I did the decent thing and added a little warmth to our afternoon.

The effect on the dogs was amazing. Dog #4 aka The Rat appeared from upstairs and immediately settled on the sofa at the end nearest the log burner. Whiffler took the other end and Hobson took up a place in the large dog bed, affectionately known as The Paddling Pool. We were unsure whether TB had any experience of a real fire in his previous home, and how he would react. His approach was to sprawl on the rug at a sensible distance, soaking up the warmth.

Now on to today.

First call of the morning was a visit to the local surgery for an appointment with a physiotherapist, to get some advice and guidance about my knee.* The session was reasonably informative, but I wasn't particularly taken with the therapist. He seemed to be in a rush and to want to get me out of the door as quickly as possible. I now have a set of exercises that I need to follow and to report back to him in a month or so, if there is no improvement.**

Back at home, I begged some assistance from 30%, and got the BMW and Guzzi tucked away on their vac bags for the winter.***  I am well aware how much condensation collected on the bikes last winter, so I not only used the provided moisture absorbing granules, but also added a disposable dehumidification device in each vac bag too.

Each of the bikes are now sat enclosed in a large, heavy duty bags, hopefully dry and dust free. They'll remain there for the next five or six months, until the weather warms again.

I then turned to the Enfield. It has sat ignored in the garage for far too long, and has suffered from this lack of attention. Rust is appearing on the steel work and the acres of polished chrome and aluminium are now dusty and tarnished. I made a start with the Autosol metal polish. It is going to take a fair amount of time, but the handlebars look much better already.

I just need to settle down and apply myself to the task.

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* it has, fortunately, finally started to improve.

** He was such a charmer, I think I'll try to avoid that encounter

** Phil The Postie delivered them this morning.

Will I keep to my word?

 I finally finished preparing the BMW and the Guzzi for their winter hibernation. They have been washed and polished and will be popped in to vac bags at some point in the next few days.

I am certain that a diligent inspection would find a smear of road grime here or there,* but I'm satisfied that they are clean enough.

I also made a tentative start on the Royal Enfield. I am embarrassed to say that she has been neglected since we moved here at the beginning of 2021, and her chrome and alloy is looking rather tarnished. My plan is to get her cleaned up and polished and then put her under cover for the winter. In the spring I propose to get her out, give her a service and attempt to get her running. I know TP would be pleased if I do. For some strange reason he has a strong affection for this primitive and crude machine.**

She should run, but there is a strong possibility that her carburettors will need to be cleaned, and a new battery attached.

As I said. "that can wait until the spring."

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* The underside of the mudguards is a case in point.

** I'm rather fond of it's eccentricities too.

Two in one ...

 ... or, perhaps, a case of rinse and repeat.

Friday and Saturday have both been very similar. Most of my time has been spent in the garage polishing motorcycles, with a break in the afternoon to walk the dogs across the fields.

One might wonder how it is possible to spend so much time cleaning bikes, particularly if you have never owned one, or see them as an instrument of the devil.*

So here we go; They are incredibly intricate pieces of machinery. Almost every component is one show. Nothing is concealed behind panels as it is on a car.** All of these intricate mechanicals seem to be a magnet for dirt and it takes an age to clean each and every crevice and groove. I am also a bit of a completer/finisher, so, once I've started, I do tend to keep going until I real the shiny end.

There is also the safety element. Giving a bike a damned good clean means that each and every external component is given a visual inspection. It is an opportunity to identify loose, damaged or missing components, and rectify, before a mishap occurs.

The other thing is that I am retired and can afford to take a week or so to get my little collection looking as good as possible.

So, there you have it. I've been bike cleaning, dog walking, and I did give Michelle a hand to set up a VPN on her phone and tablet on Saturday morning.

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* I'm not joking. I have encountered people that are absolutely appalled and literally terrified of them. They have been raised with a mindset that to sit on one will lead to imminent injury or death, and that they should be banned. I've ridden them for over forty years and have fallen off on a few occasions, mostly when riding off-road. I love them, but am well aware that I am incredibly vulnerable when riding them. Safe riding, good observation and keeping within one's limits are key survival skills.

** I accept that faired sports bikes do have panels, but they don't enclose the mechanicals in the same way as car bodywork. You still need to remove them and clean behind them.

In the zone

 Today's entry will not be lengthy.  I was busy for most of the day,* but my focus was on cleaning the bikes, and I can't make an interesting paragraph out of that. 

I have just about finished cleaning the BMW. I still need to give the front forks a wipe over, but I'm still waiting for the GT85 to be delivered.** I have, therefore, moved on to the Moto Guzzi, and can report that the front half is looking rather splendid. I am still uncertain how to clean up the brushed aluminium mudguards and other trim, but I'm sure I'll think of something.

I also gave the mudguard of the Enfield a tentative polish. The poor thing has been neglected for far too long and she will take a lot of work to get her looking sparkly again. 

I also ordered a couple of vac bags to, hopefully, keep the bikes dry and dust free over the winter.

I told you the aforementioned paragraphs were likely to be boring.

So that's it for Thursday. Friday will be just the same.

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* I was home alone, as 30% had gone in to Birmingham with the coven to see a performance of Moulin Rouge.

** I've never used it before, but, unsurprisingly, the manufacturers claim miraculous results for a wide variety of uses. Watch this space.

So what exactly does your guarantee cover?

 Matt, our kitchen fitter, arrived early this morning and spent a good couple of hours extracting and testing the new dishwasher. It still failed to operate, so 30% attempted to get support from the manufacturer.  The manufacturer advised that they were more than happy to book an Engineer in for a support visit, but advised that their engineer would not be able to dismantle or re-assemble the kitchen.

Let's just have a think about that. Neff are quite happy to sell an integrated dishwasher, and, allegedly, provide guarantees and warranty the device.  Now let's look at the term integrated". In this context it refers to a device that is built in to fitted kitchen. It is most definitely not stand-alone.  The dishwasher needs to be incorporated in to the kitchen so that it can be connected to water supply and waste pipes before you can use it.

How on earth can Neff dispatch an engineer to deal with a problem on an integrated dishwasher, if the aforementioned engineer is not able to extract the device, resolve the issue, and then return the kitchen to it's original state. It sounds to me like a) their warranty isn't worth anything, and b) they really don't give a shit about their customers.

In the end 30% contacted the retailer; John Lewis. John Lewis were far more helpful, and quite appalled at the response from Neff.  They advised that they would supply a brand new device and install it for a significantly reduced fee ... They are booked in for next Tuesday.

Whilst all of this was going on, I headed out to the garage and continued with my vacuuming and floor tile laying. I can now report that a 20' by 10' rectangle of flooring has been laid out and I can finally go back to polishing my bikes.

We managed a walk across the fields with the dogs in the late afternoon, before I headed off for a Tai Chi class. I really don't know what has got in to Kung Po Fran,* but it was one hell of a workout! Normally I come away from a Tai Chi class with a calm and relaxed aura. This evening I came home thinking, "This is gonna ache later!"

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* The class teacher

It was all going so well

Yesterday I mentioned my notion to insulate the garage floor with interlocking foam floor tiles.

This morning I made a start. The garage is mostly devoted to the storage of my bikes and the ride on lawn mower. Most of these items can be wheeled out of the way as I lay the tiles. but there is a small carpenters bench sat in the front corner of the garage.* It doesn't really belong in the garage, I just never got around to giving it a light refurb and finding a proper home for it.

This morning I manoeuvred it in to the carport and gave the top of it a good clean and a coat of wax polish. I paid particular attention to the wooden threads of the two vices that are built in to the structure of the bench. One of them was quite difficult to operate, and I hoped that a good clean followed by a coat of wax would improve matters.

I am happy to report that the bench vices are now operational and it has found a new home in the corner of the workshop. At some point I will need to knock up a pair of doors for the cabinet.

With the garage now clear of non-essential items I was able to make a start on laying the tiles. Section by section I have vacuumed up the dust, and laid the tiles. I have no idea how resilient they will be, but it is certainly much more comfortable to stand on, and it looks very smart.**

We also had our favourite kitchen and bathroom fitters in residence today. They had been booked to fit the new dishwasher. The job took much longer than they expected, as much dismantling was needed to get the new unit in place. Early this evening we topped up the salt and rinse aid and started the inaugural wash.

The effing thing flashed up an error code and refuses to operate.  Calls to Neff and the fitter followed and the fitter will be back in the morning to check that the pipework hasn't been badly routed. An engineer visit is likely to follow if that doesn't sort it out.

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* I swapped a bottle of Irish Whiskey for it a couple of years ago from this chap.

** I think I will need to be very conscientious about using side stand pucks to prevent it being damaged.

Making myself comfortable

The motorcycle cleaning continues, and today the BMW was turned around to improve the illumination on the side yet to be polished.

At this point I will head off an a slight tangent. I'm sure it will all make sense in due course.  A few years ago The Neat & Today Piano Movers* provided me with a reasonably generous voucher for a nationwide auto accessories store.  The store didn't have anything I particularly needed, but whilst wandering around their store I noticed that they sold foam floor tiles. Having spent many hours lay on the floor cleaning the lower parts of a motorcycle, I saw the benefit of an insulated, slightly cushioned floor covering. The garage was measured and ten packs of floor tiles were purchased, and they have sat on a shelf ever since ... until couple of days ago.

I wasn't particularly enthused about sitting on a cold hard floor, so I grabbed one of the tiles to insulate and cushion my tender arse. It was a revelation. I was warm. It was relatively comfortable and it made cleaning the bike a much more pleasant task.

As I continued cleaning, I wondered why I hadn't laid down the tiles, and thought it might be a good idea. I had also thought of purchasing some motorcycle vacuum storage bags for use over the winter.** I had the vain hope that an insulated floor might warm the garage somewhat, and the slightly more realistic notion that foam floor tiling would make it less likely that the vac bags would be abraded or punctured by the concrete floor.

I suppose I had better get the bikes cleaned first, before I start stuffing them in to enormous polythene bags!

In other news, I heard from BMW Motorrad. Apparently the threaded hole, noticed at the weekend, is normal, and a vital component hasn't rattled loose ... phew! We also dealt with some recent correspondence from our Financial Advisor and I reminded myself that I really must submit my tax return.

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* my penultimate employer

** The garage does suffer from condensation the cold weather, and vac bags are brilliant for keeping a bike dry.  They are a complete and utter faff to use, and there is no way that one would take the bike out for a ride on a dry winter day. It is a case of tuck the bike away in autumn, and leave it there until the spring.

Should I be worried?

Sunday was another day featuring motorcycle polishing. I think you'll need to get used to reports of this activity, as it is likely to continue for many days, if not weeks. I want to put my bikes be as clean as possible when they are put to bed for the winter. It is then a delight to uncover a pristine machine on the first sunny day of spring.

While cleaning the BMW I noticed a threaded hole at the lower end of the rear shock absorber mount. The hole was surprisingly clean considering its location. I would have expected any hole so close to the road and the rear wheel to be quite dirty, even after cleaning. I was suspicious that some vital component had rattled loose, so I took a couple of photos and fired off a technical support enquiry email to the local BMW dealership. I really don't fancy riding a bike without some reassurance that it is complete and safe.  I hope they answer promptly.

In the afternoon we headed out across the fields for a short walk with the dogs. My knee finally seems to be improving. The pain is reduced and my sleep is less disturbed. At this rate I could be doing a circuit of the Three Miler before too long.

I also got around to putting the mouse guards on the hives this afternoon.  The bees have been so active in the recent mild weather that I was reluctant to impede their access to the hives. However, I am aware that mice will be seeking out prime nesting sites as the weather cools, and I don't want the little sods to set up home in any of my hives.

I can report that the lawns are now looking almost presentable after the long dry summer. However, there are a couple of holes where TB has decided to investigate an interesting smell beneath the turf. Now the lawns have greened up these holes stick out like the proverbial sore thumb, and it is time to attend to them while the grass is still growing.

I neatened up one of the holes with a spade to make a rectangular hole about three inches deep. I then watered the hole and wandered off to dig an identical shaped piece of turf from an overgrown area of one of the borders.  The new piece of turf was trod in to the hole and watered liberally. All being well, it should be indistinguishable from the rest of the lawn within a week, or so.

A booking

The motorcycle polishing continued on Saturday morning. Well, it did until just before eleven o'clock when I was chauffeured in to the village to join Bob & Jo for morning coffee.

It seems that Bob and Jo organise a monthly get together for village retirees in the Parish Education Centre.* Each month a guest speaker gives an informative talk or presentation, and tea and cake is consumed. They outlined the subjects of recent talks, and I must admit that I was tempted to join.

Now why had I been invited to coffee with Bob and Jo? About seven years ago I was asked to deliver a presentation on bees and beekeeping to the local Women's Institute.  It was a one-off request and I have never done one since.

However ... there is always a "however" ...  Mummy Sheila was at the original WI presentation and found it really interesting. She is also a member of Bob and Jo's monthly group, and happened to mention my beekeeping talk as a suitable subject for one of their meetings. 

To cut a long story somewhat shorter, I have been booked for April next year to give a repeat performance.

As for the rest of the day, I finished mowing the lawns,**and we were joined by Mr & Mrs Tweedy*** for dinner this evening. It seems that 30% had invited her parents over to see a performance by a local male voice choir. I sensibly declined an offer to join them, and was only required to provide a taxi service at each end of the evening.

As for today's auction lots, they were lovely, but the price was a little too high for us, especially when the commission is added in.  We are after an oak refectory table, and are certain another will come along eventually.

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* A rather pleasant facility adjacent to the church. I attend a weekly Tai Chi class there too.

** except for around the garage and the verges at the front

*** My in-laws, who bear an amazing similarity to Mr & Mrs Tweedy in Aardman animations Chicken Run film.

Quite a busy day

This morning I made a start on polishing the R1250R.

I say "made a start," as I soon found out how many components are now made of plastics rather than steel or aluminium. The surfaces also range from gloss paintwork to matt and satin black, hence a variety of alternative cleaning products will need to be added to those already in the garage.

At this point I have to say that I am delighted with the performance of my motorcycle air dryer. Previously* the bikes would have been left with annoying watermarks that needed to be polished away. The dryer has left the gloss surfaces beautifully mark free, and a delight to shine up with a coat of Autoglym super resin polish.

At lunchtime I popped up to the surgery to have a consultation with the GP about my knee. It has been a month since I injured it and any improvement has been slow.  The GP has booked me in for some physiotherapy and indicated that it may well take a while to recover. He has also indicated that a scan may be needed if there is no significant improvement after physio.

In the afternoon 30% and I headed over to Weston Subedge to get a quote for a pair of hardwood gates, posts and fittings. After much faffing around with suppliers of aluminium gates, we have decided that good old timber is going to be far more straightforward to install, and will definitely be in keeping with the style of the property.

On our way home we took a detour and popped in to Littleton Auctions to take a look at a couple of lots. One of these was a rather nice oak refectory table, and we are likely to be bidding on-line tomorrow.

After a short snooze on the sofa, I dragged the lawn mower from the shed and got the back lawn mowed before deciding that that was quite enough for Friday.

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* I would have left them to air dry, or given them an half-arsed wipe over with a damp chamois leather.  The hot air dryer is fantastic, as it pushes virtually every drop of water from all the nooks and crannies around the engine and bodywork.

I was going to mow the lawn

My plan for today was to mow the lawns.

Obviously I wouldn't be able to start until the grass had dried off a little, so I needed something to occupy my morning.

I have been wanting to clean my bikes for an age, but I know that, once I start, it will occupy me for several days. Despite being retired, it surprises me how challenging it can be to find time for those time consuming projects.

Anyway, I had all morning to myself, as 30% was away to a Coven coffee morning, so I unwound the hose and made a start on the R1250R.  As I became more and more involved in washing my bike, I became less and less keen on mowing the lawns.

To cut a long story short. I got the BMW washed and dried off with my new motorcycle dryer, and then did the same again to the Moto Guzzi Stornello.

I now have two grime free bikes and the next step will be to give them a damned good polish.*

As for the lawns ... they can wait.

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* That'll take a good few days.

Post Script: 

My day wasn't as stress free as one might assume. Half way through cleaning the BMW I heard the dogs barking at the gate. I wandered over to see what the fuss was about and saw a woman videoing the dogs. I jokingly said "no photos please," and ended up on the receiving end of a full blown Karen style rant about how dangerous TB was.

There was no way that I was prepared to be bullied and threatened by a complete stranger whilst stood on my own property, so I politely, but bloody firmly, pointed out that the dog was on my own property and was not harming her in anyway.

She then attempted to imply that I should have the dogs locked up as she had been attacked by a German Shepherd when she was a girl, and my dogs were scaring her.

She then wandered off down the road threatening to report me to the dog warden.

I returned to my bike cleaning and was quite upset by the incident.  About fifteen minutes later I saw her coming back up the lane. I was absolutely prepared for another argument, but she had come back in an attempt to make peace.

I said that I was sorry that she had had a bad experience with a dog, but that was nothing to do with me or TB. I also asked her to consider how she would feel if I had turned up at her house, started taking photos, and then tell her how she should behave there.

She took this well, and after explaining that TB was a rescue, and actually a very friendly dog, she asked if she might meet him. I went and called him from the house and put him on a lead. A successful introduction followed and she now feels able to walk past the house with less concern.

I am pleased that this was an amicable resolution, but she can fuck off and find another walk if she shouts and threatens me because of her fucking insecurities!

How Many!

When we visited the Malvern Autumn Show last month, one of our objectives was to purchase a quantity of daffodil bulbs to plant up in the orchard.

We didn't want anything fancy, as the orchard sward is far from manicured. We just wanted some bog standard daffodil bulbs to dot about and provide a bit of early spring colour next year.

30% advised that there were large bags of bulbs on sale at the local Nursery, so it was agreed that we would get them from there, rather than lug them around the Three Counties Show Ground.

About a week ago my dear wife turned up with the aforementioned bulbs and I noticed, not one, but two huge nets of daffodil bulbs. The labels didn't state the quantity, but my guess was that each bag held close to one hundred bulbs.  For the mathematically challenged, this meant that I needed to plant close to two hundred bulbs.

I do have a bulb planter. It looks like an over-sized apple corer, and is supposed to remove a plug of soil, so the bulb can be inserted to a depth of about five inches. The plug is then replaced ... job done. I did try it in the still dry orchard turf and rapidly decided that I would be suffering from a repetitive strain injury of some description if I used the bulb planter.  I can report that my next action was to hide it in the dark recesses of the potting shed, hopefully never to be found again.

My revised plan was to use a spade to cut around three edges of a small turf, around 1' square. I would then slide the spade under the turf to separate it from the ground. It could then be peeled back. I would be left with a patch of bare earth to plant four or five daffodil bulbs. The flap of earth could then be put back in place and gently firmed in with my boot.

So, for the past couple of days I have been using this method to plant the daffodil bulbs up in the orchard. Thirty five flaps of turf were peeled back, and approximately one hundred and sixty bulbs have been gently inserted in to Mother Earth.

After all of that effort, they had better look bloody amazing in the spring!

In other news, Grubby Jason and his crew turned up on Tuesday morning to kindly repair and repoint the brick edging of our patio.  The hot dry summer had caused the soil under the lawn to shrink back and this had disturbed the edging. I was pleasantly surprised that he was willing to sort out this problem, as most companies would have said, "what do you expect, it's been caused by the weather, not our workmanship." 

I can also report that the dishwasher has died and a new one has been ordered.

Never ever do a good deed

30% had invited Dot 'n Dave over for lunch today.

As we were tidying the house, I finished a miscellaneous job and asked what I could do next. 30% mentioned that there were a couple of prescriptions that needed to be collected from the village surgery, and I accepted this side mission.

In the time to had taken me to change in to a clean pair of jeans, this trip to the local surgery had suddenly morphed into also filling a large bucket with mulched hedge clippings, and taking it, along with half a dozen eggs, to Mummy Sheila.

I filled a builders bucket with mulch, grabbed the eggs, loaded both in to the back of 30%'s car and headed down in to the village. The prescriptions were collected and, a few minutes later, I pulled up outside Mummy Sheila's house.

Imagine my surprise and delight when I opened the car's hatchback and discovered that the bucket had overturned and a several litres of mulch were now liberally scattered around the boot.

I muttered several expletives under my breath, scooped as much mulch as possible back in to the bucket and dumped it and the eggs outside Sheila's back door.

Back at home I spent a good while vacuuming the back of the car, and can now report it relatively free of mulch. 30% came out whilst I was vacuuming and asked if the bucket had overturned.* You will be amazed at the self-control I exhibited by answering with a simple, "yes."

So there you have it. How offering to pop down to the local surgery turned in to a free mulch delivery and car cleaning service. If you are going to do a good deed, make sure you know the full extent of the deed before offering.

Lunch with Dot 'n Dave was great fun. They are both about to head off to Tunisia for a holiday and they were on good form.  This was positive as Dave has recently made the very difficult decision to give up motorcycling.** I absolutely understand how he feels as I am aware, at the age of sixty one, that I probably have little more than a decade of riding left.

It may seem a little cynical but I did express an interest in his 50th anniversary VFR 800. Apparently the original owner had already asked for first refusal if Dave ever sold it, so it remains to be seen whether another Honda will be joining the CBR in the garage.

That was about it for Monday, although I will report that I spent a good while persuading our dishwasher to wash dishes. That does not bode well.

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* She does have a knack of asking redundant questions.

** He is nearly 80.

Does this look like a Tesco Store?

 30% headed out for a wicker weaving course this morning, leaving me home alone.

My reserve of bottled honey was running low, so I spent most of my day processing a couple of batches to keep my little road-side stall supplied.

Let's just ponder on that last sentence, particularly the words "road-side stall." What do those three little words conjure up in your mind?  A large out of town supermarket, with a huge car park, and associated petrol station and cafeteria?  No, road-side stall doesn't suggest that to me either. 

Let's ensure we are all on the same page. My road-side stall is a little wooden stand. It is about 2' high and has a flat surface about 18" by 12". On it is placed a clear, lidded, plastic box. The box usually contains four jars of honey plus an empty jar that has two pound coins in it ... change. There is also a little slate sign that indicates the product and the price.

It's very much a serve yourself, honesty box sort of arrangement. It is not part of a multinational grocery conglomerate that will cater for most of your nutritional needs.

So why on earth does it seem to attract a regular stream of people who ask whether I accept Apple Pay, or have a QR code that they can scan to pay so that they can "do contactless."?  My honey is four quid a jar and I even leave a couple of quid in the box so people only need to bring along a fiver or a tenner to make their purchase.

Today I had a chap turn up in a van and he was quite insistent that I allowed him to buy honey and pay without using cash.  I pointed out that it was cash only, and he responded by listing a list of alternative cashless payment methods. He then went on to ask if I offered a discount if he bought three jars.

I politely pointed out that I didn't offer a discount as my supply was limited, and that demand for my honey often exceeded what my three hives could produce. I eventually conceded to accept payment by Paypal, and gave him my email address. 

He decided to purchase a couple of jars for his mum, paid and showed me his phone screen to demonstrate that the payment had been made.

I wandered inside and my phone alerted me to an incoming email. It was Paypal informing me that the £8 had been received and that they had deducted 53p for using their electronic payment facility.

And people wonder why I only accept cash!

Chilly!

The wettest parts of storm Amy seem to have blown across the midlands during the night, and Saturday was dry, but chilly and very windy.

This morning I headed over to the Cotswold Shooting Ground for a morning of clay shooting with Bubbles and Ben.  The wind made even the simplest targets tricky and I finished up with a score of 41/80. I could crow that I had beaten Bubbles on this occasion, but he was shooting his side by side. If he had been using his over and under he would have wiped the floor with me.

The afternoon included a trip up to the local GP's Practice for our flu jabs. This was very efficient, and we spent more time chatting to an acquaintance outside, than we did registering and baring our arms for the injection.

We then headed over to Mummy Sheila's for a chat and a coffee, before heading home via the Nursery, where we picked up a bag of seed compost.*

Although Saturday was dry, the weather never warmed and we both decided that it was definitely and indoors sort of day. We read, we snoozed, and hoped for better weather tomorrow.

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* 30% has taken some Coleus cuttings. They have rooted in water, and now need to be potted up. The big question is; can she keep them alive through the winter?

Head in a book

Storm Amy was blowing in, and the day was wet and windy.

Both of us were disinclined to go out, unless it was absolutely necessary. As a result I spent most of the day with my head in a book, although I did drive over to Bromsgrove in the early afternoon.

This was a case of killing two birds with one stone, as I needed to pick up a couple of bags of layers pellets from the Feed Store and also needed to get my air rifle re-charged at a nearby gun shop.*

So that was it for Friday, head down in a book, but I am now able to take pot shots at vermin too!

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* When TP was house/dog sitting last weekend, he decided to shoot at a few targets up in the orchard. He was unaware that the air rifle has a pressure gauge, and continued shooting until he had emptied the rifle's cylinder.  He was also unaware that, once the rifle is totally empty, it is impossible to recharge it with the provided stirrup pump. It needs to be taken to a gun shop, where they recharge it from a 250 Bar cylinder!

Waving her off

I briefly mentioned the visitation from my in-laws in yesterday's Journal entry, but covered little else. If I am truly honest it was a very lazy day. We lunched with Mr & Mrs Tweedy and caught up with each others' news. After their departure, 30% and both retired for a monumental nap. I can report that I did manage to wake in time for my Tai Chi session .... but only just!

Today was a day of random little jobs.

At eight o'clock sharp my phone alerted me to the fact that my local motorcycle workshop was coming to collect my CBR 600 today. This came as a bit of a shock, as I was convinced that the bike was being picked up tomorrow.

I hadn't got a clue what time to expect them, so I whizzed outside and extracted the Honda from the garage. I left her sat on the drive, awaiting their arrival, while I carried on with my day.

As I've already mentioned, it was a day of random little jobs. I pumped up the 5 Series tyres, and then wandered in to the workshop where I used a hot air gun and rag to remove the wax and propolis deposits from my syrup feeders. These were given a final wash and left in the sun to dry.

Lunchtime came and went, and there was still no sign of Arden Motorcycles' van.  I gave them a call to ascertain their ETA, and it seems that their computerised reminder had disappeared in to the ether. This wasn't a problem, as my call jogged their memory and they headed straight over.

The CBR was wheeled in to the back of the van and I was left wondering how long it would be before I saw her again. I hope it's not too long. I hope the bill isn't too huge, and I hope the weather is decent when I go to collect her.

In the afternoon we walked the dogs across the fields and then tidied ourselves for the Italian Night at the Redditch Catering College Restaurant.  We had a lovely evening and some rather good food. As is usual, the portions were enormous and we really do need to scale back our consumption of the antipasto.

If ever proof were needed

Last year I made reference to The Black Cow of Doom, a sinister beast whose appearance foretells dread happenings.

Well, this morning I woke, dressed and wandered downstairs. The sun had risen and I made a start on my early morning chores. I picked up the honey box and wandered out to place it on my stall in the lane. As I walked out of the gate I heard a loud lowing from the field across the lane. I looked up and saw her silhouette against the horizon.

Oh my Christ, it was the Black Cow of Doom!

A shudder ran down my spine, as I suddenly remembered that 30% had arranged for Mr & Mrs Tweedy to  join us for lunch today.

If ever proof was needed that the most sinister of bovines foretold dread, this was it.  

My day was going brilliantly, then the BCoD appears and reminds me that my mother-in-law is coming for lunch. Suddenly my day is not going so well.

If you need further evidence, I checked on my Durham Early spring cabbage later in the day, and they are now growing beautifully.  Clearly the BCoD foretells the demise of caterpillars too.

Never underestimate the power of this beast.

Bits 'n pieces

I think that the bees have taken down all of the syrup that they will need, so I headed up to the orchard and removed the feeders from the hives. They were dumped in the carport, and will be put through a dishwasher cycle at some point in the next couple of days, before being put away in the store room.

My plan for today was to mow the lawns at the front of the house, but they needed a few hours of sun, to dry off the dew, before that could happen.

I therefore called Whiffler down from his bed and finished his clip. He now sports the early stages of a Miami clip, and looks quite smart. 

I do have one comment about clipping the old boy.  Whilst being clipped he stands there quite patiently and tends to look quite hunched and tired,* but as soon as I had finished he was jumping around and wanting to play with me. He is an old dog,** but he can still be quite boisterous, just in smaller doses nowadays.

The afternoon started with a trip to Screwfix to pick up a replacement airline. I had noticed a split in mine a couple of days ago, and the 5 Series tyres could do with a few more psi.  I then dragged the mower from the shed and tidied up the front lawn.

With the lawns tidy ish, I headed to the workshop to install the appropriate fittings on the new airline. Unfortunately I was a little heavy handed and managed to split the nut on end of the line. Fortunately Screwfix had another line in stock, and I headed out to pick up the replacement.

I can now report that I have a rather nice new airline hanging by the compressor in the carport and the BMW's tyres still need pumping up.

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* Which basically reinforced my decision to retire him from being a model at the Grooming School

** He's eleven now.

Learn something new every day

My plan for today was to make a start on the lawns. However, at this time of year they need a good couple of hours for the dew to dry off, before they can be mowed.

This meant that I had the morning free to find other things to entertain me. 

The clippers were found and Dog #4, aka The Rat, was summoned from her bed. The next hour was spent giving her an approximation of a Lamb Clip. She looks a lot better, but I am undecided whether to leave her like that, make it a Miami Clip, or shave the whole damned lot off ... Watch this space.

Since I had the clippers out, I also tidied up Whiffler's face and rear end.  He is due for a complete clip, but that was enough for this morning.

The afternoon saw me getting my step count up, with the mower around the lawns at the back of the house. They look much tidier, but two factors made me leave the front lawns until tomorrow.

Firstly my knee is still quite tender, and I am trying to avoid overdoing any exercise. Secondly, after about an hour of mowing, the mower's self propel mechanism failed. I finished the job by pushing the mower around and then consulted the internet to find out likely reasons for the failure.

The cognoscenti on YouTube suggested that the drive belt was likely to have slipped off, and provided a detailed video showing how to put the belt back on.  This all seemed quite straightforward, and, at this point, I should mention that it was a twenty four minute video, of which I watched about four minutes in total.

I soon had the mower upturned on the drive, and deployed my trusty socket set to remove the blade. The plastic cover was removed next and it was apparent that the drive belt had indeed slipped off. I soon had the belt back on the pulley wheel and the mower reassembled.

I now have to ask why the hell someone produced a twenty four minute video of a job that took a first timer less than twenty minutes to complete? I dropped the bloody woodruff key twice, once in to the guts of the mower, and it still only took me twenty minutes!

Usually I am quite a patient person,* but there was no way I was going to watch a tedious chap prattle on for nearly half an hour, when the salient information I needed was divulged in a fraction of that time.

Perhaps I am a lawn mower savant?

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* Please ignore 30% scoffing in the background.