Cuttings taken from this year's growth are used to multiply the willows many fold. |
Sunday, 5 February 2023
Whips and butts - My basket willow holt
Saturday, 13 March 2021
2021 Week 10 - Into Self-Isolation
It's been a strange week. The jet stream has strongly influenced the weather resulting in warmer temperatures but strong winds and rain. As they say, March came in like a lamb but has turned into a lion.
Early in the week I was busy coppicing the final willows, turning the compost and even getting the lawn mower out for the first time this year. I've begged, borrowed and stole a mountain of cardboard to go on paths and weedy beds but I had to hold back from laying it until the strong winds have passed.
Not Back To School
It was back to school week for England's children too, but not for me. I was self-isolating, still Zooming. For I finally had an important check-up at hospital in London. I have something called polyposis, which basically means that from my stomach onwards is a bit of a polyp forest. Although these adenomatous polyps are usually benign, they are not always, and I have enough growing to mean the statistics are not on my side. I already had some extensive re-plumbing when I turned 40, but I have enough of my digestive system left to still function fairly normally as long as we keep a close eye on things.
As a result I need regular check-ups but these came to a grinding halt when coronavirus made its nasty appearance. This has increased the worry for me during the pandemic, so the news that my check-ups were back on track was a great relief, though a worry in terms of what they might find too.
And so on Monday morning I took my Covid test, awaited collection by a courier and moved into a room downstairs. I am fortunate that our land provides a much more stimulating environment for self-isolation than is an option for many, but the weather put paid to getting much done outside. I caught up with seed sowing and gave all my tender seedlings lots of care, probably too much! Finally Thursday came and the drive down to hospital in London. It all felt a bit strange at hospital, much quieter than usual and I felt like I had my own personal health service. They needed to access my stomach and duodenum today and the only way to get there, unfortunately, is down my throat. I normally have a good dose of sedation but, as my consultant put it, I still put up a valiant fight! So this time I was having general anaesthetic for the first time since my big operation nearly fifteen years ago. This meant they could spend a good couple of hours poking around inside rather than the usual ten minutes or so.
The team at St Mark's are fantastic. However amazing they may be with colons, their apostrophes still need a little work! |
All I remember is feeling light-headed as they gave me sedation, then a stinging in my hand as the anaesthetic went in. Next thing a groggy John was being brought round by the recovery team. I quickly came to my senses and my consultant came to see me with the results. They take pictures of my insides which appear on the report I get. I won't show you, but they are fascinating. They removed a couple of the larger polyps from my duodenum and left little metallic pegs inside to stop the cauterised wounds from bleeding. I think these dissolve. I have to go back again in 6 months to have more removed, but the good news is that there's nothing they found to cause any undue alarm.
The worst news I got was that I had to go the rest of the day without eating!
Anyway, that's enough about my mutant body! Life goes on and you have to make the best of what you're dealt.
A Spring Clean Before Everything Springs Back Into Growth
So as I mentioned I've been coppicing the last of the willows and generally having a spring clean around the place. I leave the pollarded willows in the woodland for two years and cut back half of them each year. I chipped everything I cut from these and used it as mulch around the fruit trees in the orchard.
I think that's a good place to leave things for this week.
Next week, back to school properly.
Looking Back - Featured post
ONE THOUSAND BLOG POSTS IN PICTURES
Ten years and a thousand blog posts! Enjoy. Pictures in no particular order.