The New Normal...
The last ten days or so have, apart from the business with builders, run pretty much as is now normal in these strange times. We're spending a lot of time at home. The only outings we get are shopping trips, and usually only one of us does those unless a bit of a drive is called for.
Last Saturday was a bit of an exception. We had a large item to collect from near Avonmouth, so made a bit of an outing of it. On the way home we first stopped in Elberton for a bit of a wander. I ended up hunting a geocache, and we found the hollow sycamore that had been our primary target. Then we decided we should take a look at the river, and the nearest access was at Whale Wharf, so we went for a wander there. We did a little shopping in Thurnbury, and then diverted into a garden centre on the way home. That all took a while, and what little there was of the rest of the day ended up being a bit wiped out.
The hollow sycamore at Elberton.
A panoramic view across the Severn at low(-ish) tide from Whale Wharf.
On Sunday we had an NMC rehearsal. Though most of us were coming in via zoom, three members were in one place, and led the rehearsal. As they provided three parts, it made the rehearsal for those of us at remote locations a bit easier, as there were other voices to balance against or follow along with. It's not as good as a full in-person rehearsal, but better than the all-remote rehearsals we've been having up til now. While the "Rule Of Six" restriction is in place, we're not likely to do any better.
Work in the garden continues. It's never-ending, I guess. One of the large compost heaps got a turning during the last week and a bit. It took the best part of four days to complete the job, at least partly because it was not a task suited for the heat of the day, nor for that time of day when the midges are biting. However, the heap is now in a better state than it was, and there's room for more compostable material, which is just as well, as the leaves are showing signs of falling. I've not done much work on the next level of the tier of beds I've been building between the two main levels in the garden. I am making progress, but rather slowly.
There are a few radio-related things I generally do. On Monday evenings I sometimes listen to but more usually record a GB2CW morse practice broadcast. Wednesday evenings there's usually a radio club zoom meeting that lasts about an hour and a half. Thursday mornings I listen to a GB2CW morse practice broadcast, and usually call in after it. I finally finished re-locating my long-wire antenna so that its feed point was well away from the house, and it's much more usable that way, I've used it to catch a few SOTA activators, some nearby , others further afield. I pumped my mast up to its full height this evening so that I can get a bit more SOTA chasing done tomorrow. After that I'll probably put it back to half height, where it's usable but less at risk from high winds.
The weather's been mostly fine, which has been good for getting stuff done outside, though we have had a few days when the air has been a lot less clear than usual. There was even one day when we couldn't see as far as May Hill thanks to some sort of haziness in the air. We could use a little rain, though, both to clear the air a bit and to give the garden a watering.
The northern horizon from (almost) all-sky photos on four days in September 2020
Last Saturday was a bit of an exception. We had a large item to collect from near Avonmouth, so made a bit of an outing of it. On the way home we first stopped in Elberton for a bit of a wander. I ended up hunting a geocache, and we found the hollow sycamore that had been our primary target. Then we decided we should take a look at the river, and the nearest access was at Whale Wharf, so we went for a wander there. We did a little shopping in Thurnbury, and then diverted into a garden centre on the way home. That all took a while, and what little there was of the rest of the day ended up being a bit wiped out.
The hollow sycamore at Elberton.
A panoramic view across the Severn at low(-ish) tide from Whale Wharf.
On Sunday we had an NMC rehearsal. Though most of us were coming in via zoom, three members were in one place, and led the rehearsal. As they provided three parts, it made the rehearsal for those of us at remote locations a bit easier, as there were other voices to balance against or follow along with. It's not as good as a full in-person rehearsal, but better than the all-remote rehearsals we've been having up til now. While the "Rule Of Six" restriction is in place, we're not likely to do any better.
Work in the garden continues. It's never-ending, I guess. One of the large compost heaps got a turning during the last week and a bit. It took the best part of four days to complete the job, at least partly because it was not a task suited for the heat of the day, nor for that time of day when the midges are biting. However, the heap is now in a better state than it was, and there's room for more compostable material, which is just as well, as the leaves are showing signs of falling. I've not done much work on the next level of the tier of beds I've been building between the two main levels in the garden. I am making progress, but rather slowly.
There are a few radio-related things I generally do. On Monday evenings I sometimes listen to but more usually record a GB2CW morse practice broadcast. Wednesday evenings there's usually a radio club zoom meeting that lasts about an hour and a half. Thursday mornings I listen to a GB2CW morse practice broadcast, and usually call in after it. I finally finished re-locating my long-wire antenna so that its feed point was well away from the house, and it's much more usable that way, I've used it to catch a few SOTA activators, some nearby , others further afield. I pumped my mast up to its full height this evening so that I can get a bit more SOTA chasing done tomorrow. After that I'll probably put it back to half height, where it's usable but less at risk from high winds.
The weather's been mostly fine, which has been good for getting stuff done outside, though we have had a few days when the air has been a lot less clear than usual. There was even one day when we couldn't see as far as May Hill thanks to some sort of haziness in the air. We could use a little rain, though, both to clear the air a bit and to give the garden a watering.
The northern horizon from (almost) all-sky photos on four days in September 2020