The Heat is On, Frazzled Farmers, Water Well & My Best Friend

Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
27^th June 2026

The Heat is On

I obviously can’t write this week’s column without mentioning the weather. Although I can sum it up in two words ‘scorchio’ and ‘meltio’.  I recall writing back in February that despite the winter weather slowing me down, once the warmer weather arrived I would be unstoppable – until it got too hot. And then I would become stoppable again.  And I was right.

I used to absolutely revel in the sunshine but now I just wilt. I think it’s because we don’t get much of a run up to the extremes of weather now.  It’s all very well saying that all the British talk about is the weather, but it’s simply because its so worthy of discussion.

I saw this recently, which made me laugh. Although obviously not relevant for this week, it pretty much sums up a large part of the year.

Currently in Wales:  6 am – de ice the car.  1 pm – apply sunscreen.  8 pm – put the heating on.

Frazzled Farmers

I have really felt for the farmers this week, as they literally ‘make hay while the sun shines’.

My brother and I always help a neighbour haul and stack a couple of fields of small bales each year – a tradition kept on from when we were kids and did it with our dad.

It seems like it’s always done on the hottest day of the year and is hard work – and gets harder every year – but there is a real satisfaction in getting it done.

Whilst a lot of the process has become mechanised for a lot of farmers, there are some things that still have to be done by hand – like stacking the bales in the barn. As that’s my job, I used to get really nervous about it, as there is a knack to getting them to fit tightly and usefully.  Now I can manage to kick or ‘knee’ a bale into the tightest of corners, it’s one of my super powers.

Even when it’s not the hottest day of the year, I think it’s one of the hottest places on earth, in that barn.

Whilst I know some tractors have air-conditioning these days, if you have got a farmer or contractor working in a field next to you, do please offer them a cold drink. We were brought up doing this, but apparently it’s not that common these days.

Water Well

Watering vulnerable plants will be essential during these ‘unprecedented’ heatwaves or heat domes.  It is best done early in the morning or late in the evening to avoid evaporation or burning the leaves – and depending on the level of heat and size of container, or aspect of garden – it is often better to soak your plants once every couple of days than just give them a little water each day. And always aim the water at the base of the plants and surface of the compost to avoid scorching the top growth.

I would also recommend gardeners avoid the midday sun too.  I think Noel Coward’s famous poem should be extended to read, Mad dogs, Englishmen and gardeners go out in the midday sun …’

No matter what needs doing, there’s no job that is so important to risk making yourself ill.

And please, please realise you have to reconsider routines for dogs (and all animals) during these heatwaves.  Even if you think you will only be 5 minutes, that can be too long in a hot car for a dog, (and you could be delayed), and roads and paths retain the heat well into the evenings and can cause blistering on the dogs pads.  Just touch the road yourself with a bare hand and you will realise just how hot tarmac gets. Missing a trip in the car or forgoing a walk has never killed a dog. But heatstroke has.

My Best Friend

Yogi, my wing-dog is in well into her dotage now at 16 years and 7 months, and I have found a fan and cooling blankets invaluable for keeping her cool and comfortable in the cottage.  She won’t lie on a cooling mat, and hates her cooling dog coat, but loves lying on the cooling blankets – which are more like a thin throw or sheet. They’re very effective for humans too.  I’m not sure how they work, – something to do with Japanese Icy Cool fibres – but they keep beautifully cool without having to wet them or put them in the fridge or freezer.

Sadly Yogi has become quite stressed about going anywhere in the truck now – and has always detested a trip to the vets – so for her recent 6 monthly ‘wellbeing check’ I had Katie, aka Vet in a Van, out to the cottage to assess her last week. It’s the perfect alternative for a dog that gets stressed at the vets – whatever the weather.  For more details visit www.yourvetinavan.co.uk or call 01600 605006.

I have had a few health scares with Yogi of late. Whilst being in the Old Dog Arena is undoubtedly a huge privilege, it isn’t without its anguish too.  I consciously have to manage my fear about the inevitable and do my very best to ensure every day is still the best it can be for her.  She was diagnosed with Canine Kidney Disease two years ago, which led to a swift transition to appropriate dog food, care and lifestyle and which we have managed and kept adapting well.  I am now at the stage of cooking her fresh food every day to maintain her appetite, although she’s not at the stage of having a menu – or wine list – to choose from yet.

I have also ‘managed’ her arthritis, which is the outcome of two ruptured cruciate ligaments several years ago and I am convinced that hydrotherapy was the key to staving it off for a couple of years – thanks to Sue in Tredegar – details at www.fourseasonskennels.co.uk. Bernice and the staff at Riverside Vets have been great (having to be more patient with my neurosis, than Yogi’s dislike of the vets). Regular haircuts have kept her cool and feeling dandy, thanks to Clair in Talybont on Usk, and there is never any shortage of people continually asking after her and recalling various stories and memories of her prior to her retirement.

Whilst Katie (Vet in a Van) was very complimentary about Yogi’s muscle tone and definition, her appetite(!) and general health, she also very gently mentioned the apparent signs of a little ‘doggy dementia’ creeping in, and which I had noticed but was trying to ignore. Whilst Kate softened the delivery by making the phrase ‘doggy dementia’ sound quite cute and whilst I had chosen not to address the connotations, it is actually just heart-breaking to see and face up to.  Having Yogi’s CKD diagnosis moved life’s goal posts and initiated me being super vigilant for any necessary adaptations, checking she’s breathing during her deepest sleeps and trying to avoid catrasophising any little ailment or ‘off day’.  And that was two years ago.  It’s felt longer.

Grief isn’t just reserved for ‘following death’.  A sudden, unexpected death will crack your heart open with pain for sure, but ‘anticipatory grief’ just does it more slowly.  In all of her short (and dazzling) doggy life, Yogi will only cause me that heart-splintering kind of pain once, and my world as I know it will one day end without there being a damn thing I can do about it.

But until that day, it will continue to completely revolve around her – including a menu and wine list, if that’s what she wants.