Thank god Wednesday is my half day. Yesterday I was too tired to write or even read more than a couple of chapters and went to bed before 10pm. This morning I didn’t have to be up and at work as M had her Tai Chi class, but I didn’t even make it to breakfast and found my cereal outside my door. Rising at 11.00 I popped into Godshill to post some letters and met M for lunch.
I was feeling a bit of a failure and didn’t want to moan, but she was already understanding and said I only had to do a couple of hours work today, which fitted her plans as she had some guests over later, had to pop into town, and I really shouldn’t be up a ladder chopping things with no-one else on the farm for obvious safety reasons.
So I just chopped a tree down and finished. Which says it all. “Just chopped a tree down” indeed. Actually, it was half a tree at the end of the hedge. The tree had been left last year due to a nest being found and needed to be brought into line, so I had to climb up the ladder, cut through the foliage to the trunk and chop through it with a 1930′s machete-thing. Then, once the trunk fell (I let the wind do the last stage) I cleared the other branches to bring it level. And then cleared the branches away, which is harder work that it sounds.
Having spent most of the day, other than that two hours, lounging around listening to the radio I’m feeling pretty good right now, but it’s been aches all over the last 24 hours. Mainly in the shoulders and arms, thanks to the hedge work. As with the cycling, I’m using muscles I don’t usually use and they’re moaning about it. In time they’ll get better I’m sure, but it’s taking time.
I think, hope, this midweek has been a turning point as I build up my recovery time. I’ve had 10 days of a steady level of work after which is probably the longest I’ve had in a while. The prospect of it continuing is rather daunting, but it has to. Push forward, relax back, push forward. That’s the pattern methinks. Or I could be talking shite.