Lynne Allbutt

My Week

Believe it or not we have been working outdoors (though I admit to a part-time presence).   Beds and borders have been cleared of last year’s herbaceous growth,  climbers have been tied in, fence panels have been repaired, hands have been cwtched into armpits and noses have run constantly.
My brother’s tea froze before he could get the top back on the flask, tools left on the ground have frozen to it and vehicles have had to be defrosted to leave site.  It’s been cold. 
My Sealskin socks have continued to be fabulous though my addiction to the woodburner in the evening has resulted in a couple of chilblains and I have yet to find a heavy duty moisturiser that will stop my lips and nose from fraying.  Not very glamorous admittedly but I’m still not looking for an office job.

Barking at Angels

Uncontrollable tears have been falling with the autumn leaves this week. Tippy my four legged companion and confidant of 13 years passed away.  She had been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in the summer;  small but swift adaptations were made as part of a concerted effort to continue enjoying our outdoor life together.  A hacksaw, a carpet needle and some twine was instrumental in altering a child carrying rucksack so I could carry her to the top of our favourite mountains and even the wheelbarrow became a Tippy Taxi so she could maintain her ‘foreman duties’ in work and continue to take the rubbish to the end of the lane with me.  A little Canine Aerosol Chamber was bought from the States so she could benefit from a steroid inhaler and many social and public commitments cancelled in favour of spending precious time together.  We became totally inseparable as we squeezed the most out of the last few weeks together; I don’t know who became more dependent on who.
And finally, despite trying to make her comfortable by cwtching her up on the sofa, she made a typically independent effort to go out into the garden where she died in my arms in her favourite flowerbed.  Determined, in charge and with me to the very end, the void she has left is unbearable.  I miss her so very, very much.
The pain is so loud and the house so quiet;  the fingers of grief grip tightly and without regard as the enormity of never seeing her again slowly sinks in.
The tears and leaves continue to fall and as I look to the sky with heartfelt gratitude for my most wonderful, cherished and spirited companion, I‘m sure I can hear her barking at Angels.

Taken from Lynne Allbutt's column Green Scene for the Western Mail (Media Wales) 31.10.09 

Juicy Fruit - for free!

I’m still harvesting loads of veggies from the veg garden, as Bill (Tidy) commented, it’s all working as a ‘currency’ as well as a form of recycling – I had a wonderful veg quiche returned to me from a neighbour who had been in receipt of the raw ingredients.
I have also turned Tippy walks into blackberrying missions and have a freezer full of the delicious, and free, fruit.   The irony is that the biggest, juiciest blackberries were picked from the bottom of the garden - and I think I’ve managed to convince Hubby that’s why I left them there.   
I even picked a small bag of whinberries (whimberries) on the Sugar Loaf.  It brought back wonderful memories of similar expeditions with Nan.  She used to laugh as she reminded us not to pick the ‘sheep’s whinberries’ – they do look very alike!  A member of the blueberry family, whinberries are considered to be a Super food.  And the great thing is, not only are they good for you to eat but it does you good getting out in the fresh air to harvest them.  Blueberries are very happy to be grown in tubs and pots though remember they like very acidic conditions and will therefore need to be planted in ericaceous compost.  Adding a little composted bark or sawdust will keep the compost free draining but moisture retentive.

from Lynne Allbutt's Green Scene column in the Western Mail 12.09.09

Best Foot Forward - stress fracture frustration

Finishing the HSBC Cardiff 10K on Sunday.  Ran with a stress fracture - very painful now and not looking good for rest of Run-athon.

Any advice and/or miracle cures welcome ... will be swimming and cycling now to keep up fitness and hoping foot heals quickly.

My Week

My veggies are loving the rain but the herbaceous plants and roses are looking quite bedraggled.  I always think it’s better to pick the flowers for indoor use than let them turn to mush in the borders so at least we’ve had some lovely colour and scents indoors this week.   Adding a few stems of mint to an arrangement adds a lovely fresh smell too.  The herb bed is looking like a jungle so I have also been cutting them by the handful to stop them going to seed and getting straggly.  Lemon balm and mint make great tea and thyme and rosemary are great when added en mass to roasted veg (out of the garden of course) and BBQ’s.  I’m still foraging too and have been using young dandelion leaves and wood sorrel in salads. I’m trying to find time to make elderflower cordial and champagne but it seems that the rain has spoilt a lot of the flowers.
I have sown more carrots in the raised bed that had the early potatoes in.  I hate to see any unused space in the veggie patch and there’s plenty of time in these good growing conditions for the carrots to come.  Carrot fly is also less of a threat later on in the season.  The second sowing of peas is coming on well (for pea shoots) and I’m ridiculously smug about my amazing crop of mange tout, with the feeling of success tasting almost as sweet as the pods themselves.
I’m still not sure what my tomatoes have in store.  I removed most of the leaves as advised by an American website which said most people in the UK grow tomato leaves rather than tomatoes (as I did last year) and suggested by removing most of the leaves then the energy goes into producing  tomatoes.  I think my plants are still a little embarrassed by their nudity and are thinking twice about producing anything.

From Lynne Allbutt's Green Scene Column in the Western Mail (Media Wales)

Dog Tired

Shock horror.  For the first time in my life I have had an allergic skin reaction to a plant.   This is technically known as phytodermatitis; however, as it was during the really hot weather, it then becomes ‘phytophotodermatitis’ – a skin irritant that is exacerbated by sunlight.  Hogweed is the most common culprit of this rash-causing condition but there wasn’t any in the area.  We were planting Jungle-type plants like Rheum, Gunnera and Macleaya so it must have been one of those hairy leaved blighters.  I’ll be wearing long sleeves next time.
And Tippy has also been plagued by plant life this week too.  A high pollen count as the fields around the cottage are being cut for hay, has made her lung condition worse (hence her being in a rucksack for a mountain hike) and she has been wheezing like an old woman.  Remember that animals are also susceptible to climatic and environmental conditions from allergies to insect bites - a neighbours pigs even suffered from sun stroke last week !

Photo by www.wayneputterill.com

em:wayne@putterill.com

Lynne Allbutt with Tippy the terrier-ist on their hike as seen in Western Mail 04.07.09