From Tiny Cones .....

One of the evergreen trees which was already growing in the garden when I moved here nearly 50 years ago is, I think, a Cypress.



While I was cutting the grass nearby I noticed how pretty the newest growth looks when you get close up. I tried to take a close up in situ but even the slightest breeze was wafting things about. I snipped off a small section and clamped it in a retort stand.



That way I could get the camera in close for a decent shot.

Not the Visitors I Am Waiting For

No sign of any bird activity in the camera nestbox since mid February.
Just the occasional bee and wasp

Off With the Old, On With the New

The roof on my large shed / workshop has been deteriorating for some time. I finally got round to having some quotes for putting it right. Yesterday it was finally achieved.

Off with the old, torn, rotting felt.




The two lads from B L S Roofing in Horncastle did a really professional job.
Removed rotten timber slats and replaced them with new.

On with the new, thicker, heat bonded felt.



The original felt was tacked on, the new is well and truly stuck down.
All the old material was taken away and everywhere left neat and tidy.

I can now stop worrying about the mains electric supply in there when the rains return.

The Watchers

A Blue Show

Among all the yellow dwarf narcissus I have several patches of blue:



Chionodoxa sardensis (lesser Glory of the Snow) bulbs

Seeing Red

The flowers on a nearby flowering currant bush:





A 7 spot ladybird - usual view



Underside

Tinkering Again

I decided to 3D print a name sign for my home.
It is taking a few trial test prints to check my CAD efforts are producing what I need.
The sign will be made with seven individual letters.

Just working on the first letter at the moment.
I started with a letter height of 120mm with three holes for screws.
That was bigger than needed really and took about 5 hours to print.



For a second test print I reduced the height to 100mm - much better.
Also at Adrian's suggestion I tried to make countersunk holes (middle red letter A)
Unfortunately I didn't get them centred over the holes and the slope was too sharp.

Back to TinkerCAD to try again.



The holes are made with thin cylinders.
The countersinking made with inverted cones and nicely aligned after much jiggling.

Saved and the file loaded in Cura



Reduced the infill to 8% and speeded up the extruder moves.

 

That brought the time down to 2h 45m
That print (in green above) looked much better.