February 7th – It had been a hard, long day. For the third time this week, I hit the canal back into Brownhills, but not before I’d stopped to reflect at Jockey Meadows in Walsall Wood. The heath there is sodden, and the meadow is still in winter clothing, but the daffodils here too are sprouting. No sign of snowdrops, though, which was sad.

The canal overflow is working to high capacity at Clayhanger Common, and I was interested to note the trash screen was clear of debris – either someone is cleaning it out or the canal isn’t that polluted these days. Think it’s probably the latter.

I paused on Catshill Junction bridge to look over to the wasteland where Bayley House once stood. One of the two high rise blocks demolished here just shy of a decade ago, permission has finally been granted for a new canalside development here.

Things change – the seasons, the weather, the skyline. But sometimes, the constancy of just loving where you are is enough after a tough day. Standing there in the weak February sun this afternoon, I really felt that attachment deeply. 

I absorbed the space, the sun, the smell of the damp earth, the canal.

I got back on my bike, and rode home.