Well, here in Tipperary spring is not so much just around the corner as all around us now. Well, a lot of the time anyway. Much of the past fortnight has been quite bright and sunny – very good for the solar panels. All around us the land is waking up and we have early flowers, huge bumblebees, some lovely pale yellow butterflies and blossom – so much blossom. All of the fruit trees are now beginning to flower and the trees in the wood are coming on well too. The very early warm weather was bad for the daffodils however. They burst into life back in early February but the storms and frosts meant a lot of them didn’t flower at all. The aubretia, on the other hand, has really flourished in Betsy’s Garden and is in full bloom. The butterflies love it and we hope the bees will find it soom.
The sun dried out more of the fallen branches from the back of the wood and we were able to get down and do some cutting, producing a goodly amount of kindling and small logs for the stove. Although we have a path cut down to the back it is still a bit uneven and hauling the trolley laden with wood is difficult, especially with my fragile shoulders. Our mower is marketed as a Courier and we finally noticed a bracket at the back designed to fasten a small cart or something similar. Some decent rope and knots dredged up from my past in the Girl Guides and we fastened the trolley to it and drove (very slowly) up to the Majestic. We have plans to fashion a clip-on fastening between the two next week. Happy days!
It was all going splendidly until a few days ago when the skies clouded over, the wind swept in and there was a series of vicious icy squalls. Some of the gusts were very strong and sudden and I was in the kitchen when I saw the whole of the new polytunnel vanish. We rushed out into a mini hailstorm and caught it just before it flew over the orchard wall and into the field over the road. The wind was so strong it took both of us to hold onto the cover and separate it from the frame, thankfully with minimal damage. We thought the hailstones were a bit unwarranted however.
It is obvious we need a rethink, either a much firmer base or perhaps a heavier greenhouse. We thought the site was sheltered but it seems even concrete and gravel filled pots are not enough to thwart the bastard weather! We went to visit a greenhouse supplier yesterday but left very disappointed. One thing we need to do if we go that route is level the site and/or get a concrete slab for the footings. This means we need a builder and they are in rather short supply at present. Well, we will keep looking and see what we can do. In the meantime Jacqui has a cunning plan B to secure the polytunnel for the summer.
Speaking of the fragile shoulders, I had my first meeting with the new (private) physio last week. She was excellent, going through the MRI report and checking to see what I hoped to achieve. Well, no surgery that’s for sure. Apart from the long recover time there are unlikely to be many good outcomes as I’ve had repeated injuries and, let’s face it, my age tells against me now. Instead we began a series of exercises to improve flexibility and start to build some stamina. I’m trying to be conscientious and doing them all and manage it most days. Like all exercise regimes it is painful but I keep telling myself that means it’s working. I really need to get some strength back as at present I can’t drive the car very far and I need to do this soon.
I’ll be honest, I’m not really looking forard to the next week or so as we have a lot of medical things booked. They include a “six month checkup” for me – something I’ve not had before in Ireland (or the UK actually). I’m trying not to view this too gloomily but I know what will happen. My blood pressure will be sky high as they use the over-tight squeezing armband that really hurts, especially with these shoulders. Also it includes a blood test, something I dread for many reasons. When I got the call I began to cry just at the thought of it, not like me at all I assure you. Well, I’ll go along, be brave and refuse to wear the 24 hour blood pressure meter with firmness and politeness. Wish me luck.
Well, that’s all for this episode. Thank you for reading, have a good few weeks and I’ll be back just before Easter.
Jennie.