September 2014                                                                                    Back to August

This is a picture of the old shed taken in April. It is about to fall down, having been gnawed almost all the way round by rats.

This is the same view taken in August after we had cleared away the shed and cut back the hedge and trees around it

Monday 1st

14 to 17 to 10°C. 4.79kWh 1.2kW max. Cloudy with a few brighter periods in the afternoon.

Spent most of the afternoon trying to dig up some stumps from the ground just in front of the site for the new shed

Tuesday 2nd

6 to 20 to 12°C. 8.99kWh 1.9kW max. A very clear night (you could see the Milky Way which is unusual these days with all the light pollution from towns on the horizon all the way round) followed by a sunny morning with some cloud over midday but then cleared again in the afternoon; the sun felt quite hot for the time of year.

Another time consuming task digging out and laying concrete blocks for the shed base. There is a lot of rubble from previous buildings on the site and also some more tree roots to remove. Did about a third of the base but this was the hardest part, I hope.

Wednesday 3rd

11 to 22 to 17°C. 4.31kWh 800W max. Overcast warm and humid; typical Autumn anticyclone.

Didn't get much done today. Pat went for tests at the hospital in Shrewsbury and kept her there till 3pm when I fetched her back. So it was after 4pm before we got back. The angiogram showed she has a blockage in one of the smaller coronary arteries which will need a stent and she will need to go to Stoke to have this done.

Thursday 4th

12 to 21 to 12°C. 6.55kWh 1.8kW max. Broken cloud with a few brighter spells around midday.

Feeling unwell so didn't do much today.

Friday 5th

12 to 22 to 14°C. 4.41kWh 1.1kW max. Overcast, still and humid.

Still not very well but managed to help Pat pick the Russet apples. She also picked the green grapes in the greenhouse. We have already eaten the black ones last week. Quite a good crop. Nothing like you get in warmer countries but, like everything you grow yourself, they seem to taste much better.

Saturday 6th

13 to 17 to 9°C. 3.35kWh 800W max. Overcast with a chilly breeze making it feel autumnal.

A very frustrating day. Went for a bike ride in the morning and ended up with a puncture, despite having Slime tubes which are supposed to be 'self-healing'. I must admit this is the first pucnture I have had for over 10 months so they do seem to work. There is also a lot of hedge cutting going on at the moment and, despite me carrying the bike when I see thorns on the road, the tyres must pick up quite a a few sharp ones. I blew up the tyre and it seemed to stay up, which proves the 'Slime' was working but then it went down again and this time I couldn't blow it up. I was half way through the ride so more than 4 miles away and it took me the best part of an hour to push it back by which time it was lunchtime. After lunch I inspected the tube, hoping I could repair it. The Slime had squirted through the hole and made the outside of the tube very greasy and it took me ages to get it clean enough to stick on a patch. Blew it up and it went down again. More inspection found two more holes which were close together so only needed one patch. The same thing happened again and again; a total of seven holes and four patches to fix them. They didn't stick very well and eventually I gave up, having wasted most of the afternoon.

So, do I go back to ordinary tubes which puncture every 10 days or so at this time of year but are easy to patch, or do I get some more Slime tubes which last longer and are very difficult to patch once they do puncture?

Sundday 7th

6 to 20 to 7°C. 8.61kWh 1.8kW max. Mainly sunny apart from 2 hours in the late morning but still with that cold northerly breeze.

Started to build the new shed, starting with the base rails. I need to make sure the concrete blocks supporting them are level and even before starting on the rest of the frame. I remember from the last time I built one of these how important this is. Then it is just like building a huge Meccano set which I find quite enjoyable. The instructions say it should take two men two days to build. I am only one man and can only find about 3 hours a day so it might take me more like a week. At least the weather is settled and hopefully the wind will drop or move to more from the south.

Monday 8th

4 to 20 to 9°C. 10.41kWh 2.0kW max. Cold clear night followed by a very sunny day with less breeze so felt warmer despite the almost frosty start.

Continued to build the main frame of the shed.

Tuesday 9th

5 to 19 to 11°C. 9.45kWh 1.8kW max. Clear night with misty start but soon cleared to another sunny day with very little breeze.

Finished the main frame and started to fix the wall panels

Wednesday 10th

9 to 22 to 12°C. 9.45kWh 1.7kW max. Feeling warmer with thin cloud and very little breeze.

Finished fixing the wall panels on the shed while Pat continued to gather the remaining potatoes from the poly bags for storage before it rains again.

Thursday 11th

9 to 20 to 10°C. 8.02kWh 1.9kW max. Another settled mainly sunny day.

Took Pat to have a lump removed from her forehead at a skin clinic in Shrewsbury. It was not as difficult as they thought as they managed to find enough loose skin to stitch it together without needin a skin graft from elsewhere on her body. Unfortunately when we stopped to refuel the car something in the air set my a

asthma off and I wasn't well enough to do much though I did manage to start one of the gable ends on the shed.

Friday 12th

7 to 20 to 12°C. 3.69kWh 800W max. Clear overnight with a very bright almost full moon but came misty after dawn and stayed cloudy all day.

Still not very well so didn't do much today.

Saturday 13th

11 to 19 to 15°C. 4.96kWh 1.1kW max. Overcast with a few brighter intervals.

Finished the gable ends and started adding the ridge and roofing bars 

Sunday 14th

8 to 19 to 12°C. 5.34kWh 1.4kW max. Thin cloud and breezy with a few glimpses of the sun.

Despite the wind managed to finish the ridge and roofing bars and fitted these with Pat's help. Then started to fix the roofing panels.

Monday 15th

8 to 18 to 14°C. 3.11kWh 1.1kW max. Overcast and humid with some short showers of light rain from time to time.

Nearly finished fitting the roof panels. Next is the door and floor but I may need to break off as there are some urgent jobs to do elsewhere in the garden.

Tuesday 16th

13 to 20 to 15°C. 6.25kWh 1.6kW max. Very misty start and didn't clear till late morning to a brighter afternoon with thin cloud and a few glimpses of the sun.

Started to transplant the winter flowers intp pots starting with the pansies. Was interrupted half way through the afternoon by an urgent query about my software and took over an hour and a half trying to sort it before being asked 'Do you think it might be because we changed our PC yesterday?' Sometimes it is like getting blood out of a stone getting all the information I need to answer their query.  Grrr!!

Wednesday 17th

14 to 22 to 12°C. 6.74kWh 1.6kW max. Very similar weather to yesterday.

Finished transplanting the pansies, including using some of them to replace the impatiens at the front of the bed which have died back following the recent colder nights.

Thursday 18th

11 to 20 to 14°C. 3.64kWh 900W max. Misty start and stayed cloudy till the afternoon when there were a few glimpses of the sun.

Continued transplanting the winter flowering plants, including the rest of the pansies and some of the dianthus.

Friday 19th

15 to 17 to 15°C. 903Wh 200W max. A very dull day with some light drizzle from time to time.

Saturday 20th

15 to 19 to 13°C. 2.74kWH 800W max. Very light drizzle most of the night and into the morning when it was again overcast. Came a little brighter around midday but then started to rain in the middle of the afternoon, but not very heavily, clearing after dark.

Despite the damp managed to finish the exterior of the shed.

Sunday 21st

7 to 18 to 7°C. 7.97kWh 1.8kW max. Sunny morning, becoming cloudy again in the afternoon.

Not very well today so didn't do much, finishing potting on the dianthus.

Monday 22nd

3 to 19 to 8°C. 7.11kWh 1.7kW max. Cold overnight, finally finishing off the rest of the impatiens. Misty by dawn but then cleared to a sunny morning and afternoon.

Picked the rest of the apples, Queen Cox and Limelight and the pears, Conference and Comice. Also picked the Bramley apples; not a lot so none to give away this year.

Started to pot on the chrysanthemums. I have no idea which is which as the birds, as usual, have pulled all the labels out of the pots. So, also as usual, I will have to wait till they flower to try and work them out.

Tuesday 23rd

6 to 17 to 11°C.  5.2kWh 1.4kW max. Clear night with a misty morning and broken cloud till mid-afternoon when it clouded over and started to rain around 6pm. Only light rain; 1.8mm by 11pm.

Wednesday 24th

9 to 16 to 9°C. 5.71kWh 1.8kW max. Light rain most of the night followed by sunny intervals and a cold NW wind.

Autumn has suddenly arrived. The leaves on the poplar, cherries and maples are turning red and brown and ash tree leaves are scattered all over the garden.

Thursday 25th

6 to 20 to 17°C. 4.71kWh 1.7kW max. Bright cold start but clouded over to a warm and humid afternoon with a few spots of drizzle.

Friday 26th

14 to 20 to 7°C. 4.81kWh 1.9kW max. Clear night followed by misty start then sunny intervals till around lunchtime when there was some light rain and then a cooler cloudy afternoon, clearing again after dusk.

Saturday 27th

3 to 18 to 12°C. 2.88kWh 600W max. Clear night, feeling quite cold by dawn. Then misty and overcast but feeling quite warm in the still humid air.

Nearly finished potting on the chrysanthemums.

Went for our annual flu vaccination this afternoon, Better organised than last year so didn't have to queue up along with scores of other people all exuding chemicals from their clothes, skin and hair, so hopefully I won't end up with asthma in the middle of the night.

Sunday 28th

12 to 21 to 11°C. 7.29kWh 1.7kW max. A much better day with hazy sunshine and a few cloudier periods in the afternoon. Cleared again in the evening.

Finished the chrysanthemums and nearly finished potting on the primroses as well.

Monday 29th

12 to 20 to 13°C. 1.99kWh 500W max. Overcast, warm and humid with a few spots of drizzle.

Tuesday 30th

11 to 19 to 15°C. 7.19kWh 1.5kW max. Mainly sunny morning and afternoon but clouded over in the evening with a few spots of rain.

Finally finished potting everything on finishing with the strawberries which will stay in the polytunnel for an early crop.