Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
9th November 2019
Late Leaf Fall
Earlier this year, an arborist friend predicted an extended autumn foliage display was on the cards, following a particularly wet summer. He was right. Leaf fall, which makes walking in the woods fun and working in the garden harder, is a lot later this year.
Andrew Smith, director at Westonbirt Arboretum, who is always hoping for spectacular autumn colours, said, ‘This spring was very dry, resulting in thirsty trees and slower sugar production. The wet summer was just what they needed to help them turn things around to give us a superb display.”
Autumn is a busy time for Westonbirt and although tricky to predict when the colour will be at it’s best, a lot of the trees are only just turning, which coincided nicely with the half-term break this year.
Maple trees are always the first to turn, and most of them, and the magnificently coloured Parthenocissus (Virginia Creeper) have shed their vibrant leaves already, standing amid glorious red and gold carpets. However, beech and oak trees will take considerably longer, leading to a “second autumn” going well into this month.
Of course, windy conditions will soon persuade any late leaves to part company with their host. AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyler Roys said, “We’re predicting November to January to be the height of windstorm season. With late-autumn foliage predicted, storms could bring a premature end to the displays.”
Knowing my luck we’ll have gales in the few days between me writing this column and you reading it and there won’t be a leaf left on a tree!
Places to visit for autumn colour include, of course, the National Botanic Garden of Wales, Aberglasney, and Dyffryn Gardens, but do call first to see if the leaves are still on the trees or on the ground, and remember even if they’re on the ground you can still have a great walk and cup of coffee afterwards.
And if you want to enjoy autumn colour a bit closer to home, in your own garden, consider the old favourites like Acers, Liquidambar, Amelanchier and Enkianthus, or simply go to a garden centre to see what is in ‘all it’s glory’ and buy it!
Walking in Water
Each year about this time, I start looking back over the year and picking out the highlights. This year, without a shadow of a doubt, the highlight is Yogi’s remarkable recovery in hydrotherapy.
In April she ruptured a cruciate ligament and was ‘off work and walks’. She wasn’t even able or allowed to jump up on the couch, and was carried up and down the numerous flights of steep steps outside at the cottage. She started to get depressed and to go from having her by my side in work all day to her being ‘housebound’ made me quite depressed as well.
However, eight long and stressful weeks later, she was much more mobile, in better spirits and we were enjoying short walks.
And then she chased a squirrel and ruptured the cruciate ligament on her other leg. It has been a ‘summer of discontented dog’ for sure. As her first leg was already weak and not fully healed she was obviously finding the second rupture much harder to deal with.
After a lot of research I found hydrotherapy was highly recommended and, lo and behold, there was a hydro-therapist in Tredegar. And that was the turning point in our summer. I haven’t got enough room in my column to wax lyrical about the marvellous and miraculous progress that Yogi has made under the expert eye of Sue at Four Seasons Hydrotherapy, suffice to say it has been a life (style) saver for both me and Yogi.
Hydrotherapy is beneficial for the treatment of osteoarthritis, orthopaedic conditions, neurological conditions, muscle, ligament and other soft tissue injuries, as well as helping with general convalescence, weight loss and fitness. And talking of fitness, a friend of mine who is a personal trainer, took their dog to Sue and now describes her as an absolute ‘legend’. She will hate me printing that, but it is too accurate a description to omit.
I was sceptical that walking ‘on a treadmill in a big fish tank of warm water’ (as my brother helpfully described it) would benefit Yogi at all. And even more so when her first session lasted just over a minute as that was all she could manage. Then Sue assessed her and pointed out that Yogi also had issues with her shoulders as she was ‘front-loading’ to compensate for her weak back legs. I was devastated, it all seemed to be such bad news for my four-legged best friend, but I put my faith and trust in Sue.
Three months later Yogi is up to the full 20 minutes of therapy and is strong and healthy. We have renamed Thursday ‘Sue Day’ as Yogi adores her trips to see Sue and to ‘walk in water’. As the winter takes it’s toll on my joints, I will probably be tempted to see if Sue will book me in too.
Yogi and I are now enjoying short walks again (on the lead, to avoid squirrel chasing) and have both regained our sanity. During a recent splash through some puddles on the mountain, I’m sure I heard Yogi say, “Dew, the water is much warmer in Tredegar.”
More details from Sue at www.fourseasonskennels.co.uk or call 07789071738.
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