Marty

Brrrr..... I'm just glad you said in your barn, and not outside it.

Happy Saturday, everybody! We had a slight fall of snow overnight. Not a great deal - around 1.5 inches (4 cm) - but enough to make the world look magical when I first looked out of my bedroom window (before deciding to get back into bed for a couple of hours). It's slowly melting, but the temperature's not managing to rise above 2°C/36°F so I doubt it will be all gone before nightfall. There's also more snow forecast before dark, and overnight, although only small accumulations are predicted. With icy snow on the ground, and the few branches that remain to be cleared from above the sheds having snow on them, I decided not to risk continuing working on that job today. Firstly, the ladder may slip on the ice. And secondly, I might get snow cascading off the branches into my face and/or down my neck. Once the central heating has warmed the house, I intend spending an hour or so sanding down more of the wainscoting around the front door. The Met Office are suggesting that this current wintry spell should come to an end on Tuesday, with a return to "milder and wetter conditions". I hope so, if only because I am hoping the roads will be safe again for me to risk the 15 mile (24 km) drive to deliver the birthday boy his cake. The last few miles of that drive can be really treacherous in wintry conditions.

Hi, bro!

Greetings, Mr Drew!

Just at the moment? Touché, Val!

Anyway... It's way past my bedtime here... Goodnight, all!

True, Albert. And I've even thought about buying a second-hand campervan. But I'll still miss being able to trek in remote areas, and wild camping overnight, without having to worry about having to return to where I parked at the start of the day.

Gosh! It's after 1:00am here! Time for my cocoa.

Well, the main reason I like it is because of the history that it invokes. I actually know someone who was reared in this old house. She's around the same age as me, and the sister of the person I purchased it from. She's a member of the same camera club as me (and actually also doing this 52/52 challenge - but she's not restricted herself to B&W). Next time the club meets properly, instead of via Zoom, I might ask her about the old pump. I might even ask her what the old cottage and the two old sheds were originally used for...

I think you've said that a number of times now, Val.

I'm beginning to think my camping days may be over... I find it difficult these days to get dressed in the confines of a tent. Although I'm still reasonably fit, especially for a man of my advanced years (there, I admitted it, Albert! ), I have to accept that my body isn't quite as supple as it was just a mere five or six years ago. I actually gave my super light bivi tent, which cost me over €150 four years ago, to a young friend at the end of last year as both a Christmas and a birthday present. He was delighted, as it was exactly the model that he was planning to buy for himself. He's the older brother of one of my two young male strippers. I've known him since he was a toddler, used to babysit him years ago, and it's been a delight to watch him grow and mature. It's actually his 22nd birthday next Tuesday, and I intend baking him a chocolate Victoria Sandwich cake. The family is part of my 'social bubble' - but I haven't visited them (or anyone else for that matter) since his mother's birthday right at the beginning of this month. I'm looking forward to Tuesday as a result.

You're more than welcome! Both of you. Here's to many more years of happiness!

With less than half an hour to go before the midnight (my time) deadline, I have finally uploaded my week 42 of 52 contribution of my Black & White challenge: It shows an old hand cranked pump, which pumped water from what I assume was a spring well to a storage tank that used to be on the roof of the extension on the back of my house. That's the same extension that the new back door I used a few weeks ago in this challenge was fitted to. The pipe from the top of it still extends upwards and then bends over and finishes above the extension. The pump handle still works, but the seals in the pump itself have perished. Some time in the future I may get a diviner in to check if the spring well is still there. If so, I might even get the seals replaced and use the pump for watering the garden. And, if the water tests drinkable, I could even get a new tank put on the roof of the extension, and use it as a backup for the mains water in the house.

I was more than just a bit, tuckered, bro! The previous day had taken a lot out of me. And there was another 12 mile walk to the next campsite. Admittedly all downhill. But I was that tired that one of the guides threw me up onto the back of a horse for the last mile...

Interesting titbit of information... (Which may interest the likes of @Timothy M. and @Drew Espinosa) Yesterday was the 21st day of the 21st year of the 21st century. [Edited because I originally thought today was the 21st]

An honor I could do without. Aw, come on now, Page! Show at least a modicum of compassion! The poor wee scrote's going to be heartbroken when he reads that.

I'm afraid I've no photographs of my work on the two sheds from today. But don't panic! I do have photos from the past week to use for my monochrome challenge. I just need to look through them all first, and choose one to edit. Again, I didn't get as much done outside today as I would have liked. Partly because of periodic rain showers, and partly because the temperature hardly rose above freezing all day, which necessitated frequent trips back inside to try and get some feeling back in my cold hands (yes, I was wearing gloves). The main news is that most of the top half of the left hand gable wall of the sheds has now collapsed. When I was finally coming inside for the evening my hands were too cold to operate my camera phone, so I'll try and take a photo or two in the morning

Just don't get that creative that you break it.

Great news on the dental front, Val! Hopefully you'll get the mask fitting properly. If not, maybe try searching for YouTube videos showing how they should be fitted. I often find instructional videos online that I didn't expect would be there at all. ❤️

Congratulations to the pair of you!

Here's a couple of photos from that Inca Trail trek I went on back in 2015. This first one shows yours truly stood at the highest point of the trek, a mountain pass called Salkantay Pass, which is 4,630 metres (15,190 feet) above sea level: This next one shows the view from that pass of Salkantay Mountain itself, which rises to 6,271 metres (20,574 feet) above sea level. And, no, we didn't actually climb to the top of that mountain! But we had camped the night before under its shadow at 3,800 metres (12,467 feet). That was a cold night's camp. The small stream that we camped beside would apparently freeze overnight every night, and only thaw out again as the day progressed. That meant we had to collect water before we went to bed, so we could make hot drinks in the morning. We saw (and heard) several spectacular avalanches from the campsite. We were far enough away from the mountain slopes to not be in any danger from them, however. Who knows? Perhaps at some later date I might delight you with some of my photographs from Machu Picchu itself...

Greetings, and good night, Mr B! Sweet dreams.

Only coffee, constable. (hic!)

Black and White Fridays? OMC!!! It's Friday already?? Happy Friday, Gary! (and everyone else )

How are you doing that? There's only five seasons... and the sixth one is going to be the final season. Are you watching a different Expanse than me? Maybe Albert's watching the version made by Jupiter TV...