February has been a month of extreme up here at the north of the Hebridean islands, the first half was very, very stormy, we had 2 storms with winds over 90mph, the second storm had gusts of 125mph around the Butt of Lewis which is were I am on Lewis, there were waves at the lighthouse almost as high as the lighthouse and the lighthouse is on the cliff so the waves are high just to reach the top of the cliff, I heard the waves were nearly 80 feet high.
My telephone wire to the house was nearly blown off, it was coming off the house end, I was not concerned about loss of phone and internet but that if it broke away from the house and was still attached to the telephone pole by the road then about 60foot of wire would be lashing wildly across the road. When I phoned to report it I was told if it got attached to a passing car it would break easily. Openreach who look after wires outside the home were just amazing, a man arrived within 30mins to make it safe, he must have lived near by and been phoned at home as it takes 45 mins just to drive from town in normal weather and this was not normal, next day the weather was a bit better and 2 men turned up, replaced the cable from the house to the pole and replaced the wire into my house, excellent service.
As I could not doing anything in the garden during all this I decided to check through the seeds I have been buying to see if any could be sown, peas, cauliflower and pepper seeds were said to be sown inside in February, the peas are already growing I’m amazed.
The second half of February has been the extreme opposite of the first half, with calm days, a slight breeze, some sunshine and very frosty mornings. The temperatures in the afternoons most days have been good enough to garden, not warm enough to do any transplanting but warm work such as removing turf, digging, etc.
The area that has benefited most from this is the fruit and berry garden, I have finally got the second bed almost ready for planting. I am so relived as I have 5 autumn fruiting raspberry plants heeled in and had started to worry where was I going to put them, now I can sleep better as their home is nearly ready.
2 photos side by side to show most of the F&B garden, the bed on the left is the first bed with the gooseberries, the path was only half done to the red bricks so it’s finally finish, the bricks and stones are on the edges of the cardboard under to twigs just in case the wind wants to move it, the new bed was a quarter done with 5 raspberries planted last autumn, the line of sand dots is where I popped in some onions that didn’t get planted in autumn. The bed needs some more soil/compost as it slopes down to the right, the area of mud to the right of the bed is the up turned turfs I dug off and it will be the path so now any stones found when digging will be put here. The far right is where the wild raspberries are, they were so over grown with grass and had not been cut for a few years I decided to cut them all down and will clear as much grass as I can, there is white sidalcea and buttercups that grow, I’m going to add some red campion and foxgloves, keeping it wildish.
I started going to art club again, I had not been for a couple of years, I’m glad I have started doing some art again, my son gave me a Chinese painting kit Christmas 2011 and I have finally started to use it, so far I’m just trying out the techniques following the demonstrations in the book, this Monday I tried the butterfly and tiger lilies.
Thanks to Helen for hosting end of month view, if you would like to see more EoMV posts please click through to Helen’s blog.
©Copyright 2013 Frances Caple. All rights reserved. Content created by Frances Caple for Island Threads.
Hi Frances, those waves sound amazing, the kind of thing most of us only ever read about. Glad you got someone out so quickly to deal with the phone line, could have been much worse I suppose. You have managed to do a lot given the lousy weather! The F&B area is really taking shape now, you will have lots of lovely fruit this year. I am, as ever, in awe of anyone who can paint and keep the colours looking like colours rather than brown sludge…
thanks Janet, I have got the work done this week and some of last week since the weather has calmed down, it’s misty rain today, hardly any wind and about 6C so almost perfect weather for planting (for the plants that is) I might go out this afternoon, Frances
winter is due to hang on for a while yet Frances but I see you’ve braved the cold clear weather for the sake of your fruit. Looks like quite a toil too and these EOM views must help you keep on track with your plans. (You seem to know exactly how and where you want things).
p.s. a beautiful gift and the brushwork must be very therapeutic when the storm winds blow outside
thanks Laura, the removing of turf and digging are warming work, I also wear several layers, I look like a rolly polly ;o)
with the F&B garden I planned it nearly 2 years ago, (on squared paper) and had hoped to get this work done last winter, I am running a year behind but at least it’s almost done now, the rain has stopped so I am hoping to get some more done this afternoon.
art club is good therapy, the day of the 80ft. wave was an art club day but I decided to stay home that day, I am finding this painting relaxing and having a good natter (blether as the locals say) with like minded people is very good, it’s lovely how many artists like gardening too. Frances
You had it much worse than my Mum with the wind and waves, Frances – glad you (and your telephone line and your garden) survived! It must be so good to get out again after being so restricted for the first part of the month – at least I managed to get out most days and do maybe half an hour even when it was bitterly cold. Will you be cropping your wild raspberries? My very first soft fruit memory is of wild raspberries….
yes Cathy it is good to get out now, long may it last, I think the reason we had the 125mph gusts is because the wind comes along the coast then as it reaches the top (north) of the island it speeds up as it goes round the corner, you have it much colder than us, I do short bursts when the weather is cold too.
I never eat the wild raspberries they belong to the birds, there won’t be any this year though as I have cut all the stems down, they flower and fruit on last years stems, what a lovely memory, Frances
That weather sounds incredible. I’m glad you’re OK, sounds like you could have been washed away. The wind has been strong here too; lifting the swinging seat and throwing it onto the drive just where the car is often parked so a lucky escape. Christina
thanks Christina, your wind sounds very strong to lift a swing seat! how lucky your car was not there that would have been awful, do you get winds funneling through the mountains like the mistral (sp) in southern France? Frances
The break from the wind must be a delight. After a month of blizzards we are finally getting a break and not a minute too soon. It wears after awhile. Perfect time to start looking at seeds, your peas are quite big already.
Marguerite you have had worse than us with all the snow, I hope you get some good weather soon, the peas are growing too fast! they were on a sunny windowsill to germinate, yesterday I moved them to the side porch which is much cooler so I hope that will slow them down, Frances
Your weather makes ours sound quite tame and I always feel guilty of complaining. I was thinking of sorting through the seeds this weekend as I am itching to get sowing.
Thanks for joining in again this month
Helen don’t feel guilty, we do not get as cold as the mainland, in the 14 winters I have spent on the islands I have never known a winter as cold as when I lived in Surrey or even when I lived in Bath, it just gets very windy here. I was thinking now it’s March I’ll have to see what else I can sow, have fun. Frances
Frances, that is seriously high waves. Although these storms can create terrible destruction they can be exciting to watch and hear from a place of safety. The big January storm of 1953 when I was seven years old has been embedded in my mind. I dont know what my mother had been thinking of but she let my older brother and myself go to the cinema to see Bud Abbot and Lou Costello in Jack and the beanstock. We were lucky to get away unharmed, chimneys and slates were falling off roofs, I saw a woman lifted of her feet completely, landing in the middle of the road. On the way to school on Monday morning the damage was unbelievable, house roofs were caved in, but unfortunately the school was still standing.
Alistair, I’m glad you and your brother came through the storm unscathed and love the amusing way you ended the story, I think the reason there is not such high damage here is that due to the reocurance of these storms buildings are built to generally withstand the storms and you learn never to leave anything that could blow away without anchor, I sometimes smile when reading garden blogs at the things people leave outside and they stay there! Frances
My goodness those are some scary storms. I am glad it has calmed down. And I am glad to see you are painting…just lovely.
thanks Donna, long may the calm last …….. I hope your getting warmer, Frances
Such extreme weather, glad that there wasn’t much lasting damage, and you have had some time in the garden since. Love your painting.
thanks Sara, it’s been nice to get out, Frances
Those winds sound frightening. Your artwork is lovely, a nice hobby for when the weather keeps you indoors! Your raspberry bed is looking good; you have done a lot of work! I hope you have a wonderful spring, free of extreme weather and full of good gardening days.
thanks Deb, Frances