Monthly Archives: November 2019

Sloe, sloe, prick, scratch, sloe (ouch!)

I spent an hour or so this afternoon exploring the hedgerows and collecting sloes. It’s a job I’ve put off for a couple of weeks waiting for the rain to stop and the days to turn colder. It seems the … Continue reading

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In a “cloud sandwich”

I left the workshop whilst working on my Stevenson screen and looked across the valley to the east through the sycamore trees. Something wasn’t quite right, but it took me a little while to work out what. It was the … Continue reading

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DIY Stevenson screen #2

I had to wait a fair while for the paint to dry (and it isn’t really properly hardened off yet), but that wasn’t a major issue as I was also waiting for some stainless screws to arrive. Yesterday I finally … Continue reading

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1-wire weather sensors on Linux

Some time ago I had a 1-wire weather station and a number of other 1-wire weather-related sensors run from a Linux server. It wasn’t hugely reliable because the cable run was really a bit too long, but with a bit … Continue reading

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Apples, apples, everywhere…

And most of them will be drunk. I took advantage of the first sunny day for what seems like months a couple of weekends back to get out in the orchard and do something that’s been on my list of … Continue reading

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A DIY Stevenson screen

Now the observatory is up and running my mind has turned to wiring up my weather station kit again and getting it all working as I can now connect it all to the PC in the observatory and have some … Continue reading

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Adding the TSRED279 reducer/flattener to the Photoline 72

I’m very happy with my little Photoline 72, but with a camera sensor of any size it becomes obvious that the field is far from flat. So much so in fact that it’s sometimes difficult to get Deep Sky Stacker … Continue reading

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Landmark day for the barn conversion

A large dent in my wallet has arrived in the shape of these: Sadly they’re mostly covered up to stop them getting damaged by builders’ boots. Other than the central post, much of the wood to make them actually came … Continue reading

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Blobservatory Bitter is ready!

Back in August I posted about making my first batch of beer in some time as a celebration of getting the observatory into a usable state. After a little time to condition, here it is: First impressions? It’s quite drinkable. … Continue reading

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Mists and mellow fruitfulness

Over the last few weeks I’ve been out harvesting the bounty of the local hedgerows, in particular the blackberries which grow almost everywhere around us. I’ve picked pounds and pounds (or even kilos and kilos if you want to be … Continue reading

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