Living in Ireland which is famous (or infamous) for its rain I never expected to greet even the tiniest of showers with enthusiasm. Today I’m looking out of my study window and smiling at the clouds hopefully. Like all of you we’ve had days of scorching weather, sunshine that has become relentless and nights too hot to allow much rest. Temperatures dropped a little this week but despite some recent overcast days there’s been very little actual rain. There are strong winds, so loud they sound like vehicles driving past the house at present and these we could all do without, cooling as they may be.
The heat has forced us into a new routine as we try to preserve all we’ve worked for this past year. Despite continuing pain in her knees Jacqui managed to plant out all the seedlings she has nurtured in the polytunnel. The tomatoes, kindly donated by my cousin Jennie, are flourishing and all staked out in their pots. We knew we would need to water them as they stay inside but we didn’t expect the demands of the plants and the wood as this heat wave progressed. Fortunately we have a private well so if the hose pipe ban extends into our area we can still water the salad crops. We are careful in our use even so and our private water meters show only minimal increases in our use.
After I uncovered our new cob trees, Rosie and the Turk, I knew I had to water them to give them any chance of surviving. We don’t have a hose that will reach them – or most of the trees actually – so I am filling a watering can and carrying it through the undergrowth each evening. This is not easy as the ground is uneven and tall grasses, bindweed and brambles spring up every day to trip me up. I’ve now managed to beat down a narrow track across part of the ground, a bigger version of the animal trails, and slog along it and across to other tiny trees when I locate them.
At present this takes about half an hour every evening and it very tiring but still it is wonderful when I locate another “lost” tree. One of the good things about the heat is it is slowly killing of the bindweed. In a part of the wood we wanted left untouched there were two of our little trees – no idea why they were put there. A couple of days ago I uncovered one, scarcely more than a dead twig but with one tiny shoot and fresh green leaves. I cleared around it and water each day. Hopefully I will wear another “Jennie track” in a week or so, unless we do actually get some decent rain.
I keep looking for the other trees but the whole area (also the wrong place) was overgrown when they were planted so I have little hope. One tree, an Alder, was planted right at the side of the path and I’ve been looking after that, clearing and watering each day. I’m still looking out for the other seven – they were in there somewhere. I found the other new tree as I had put white and red tape around the stem. I forgot bindweed has white flowers but the red letters alerted me as I clipped the weed away. When it dies down a bit more I will start moving into that area. Wish me luck!
The other horrible thing about the heat is the emergence of flies, especially horse flies. These cluster in the wood and seem to have taken a liking to me as I’ve had several very nasty bites. Whilst my “almost broken” fingers are recovering now I have a horse fly bite on the knuckle of my little finger now. This has become very swollen and is stupidly painful. It’s back to one finger typing for me as now only one finger is usable on the whole hand!
In our battle against the flies, especially the bluebottles that swarm into the house at the slightest opportunity, we ordered a new screen for the back door. Jacqui found a much heavier and more efficient one and yesterday we managed to get it up. The instructions were a bit confusing (when are they not) and we were much amused by the multi-lingual leaflet. Who ever knew the Italian for Velcro was “Adesivo Magico”? Once it was in place I set off around the house with the trusty zapper, hunting down the intruders. Speaking of intruders, we kept the lights on at night for the last fortnight and had no more bats. Last night was the first for three weeks without them but it, too, was blissfully bat free.
Finally some good news on the health front. At her last eye appointment Jacqui’s scans came back clear. Not only does this mean she doesn’t need the extremely painful injections at the moment, it also means she is now down for her much needed cataract surgery. We were assured this would be within three months. At last, after over two years wait. Apparently when we had to move from the Limerick unit her place on the list was lost and she had to begin over again.
Well, that’s all from me for now. Thank you for reading, keep cool and I hope to see you in a couple of weeks.
Jennie.
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© Jennie Finch 2026