June 12th – Just found this from a few weeks ago.
Riding out of the Galton Valley canal cutting in one go up on to Galton Bridge. Real time, no stopping.
For a tubby old bloke, I still have me moments.
Music ‘Forest Dance’ by Jethro Tull.
June 11th – I was riding through Brownhills. He was singing his little heart out on a rooftop, seemingly just for me.
If you’ve got a song to sing, sing out!
June 11th – Trying out yet another little camera. I’ve been using the Nikon for a week or so, and have to say I like it very much. The picture quality is excellent, and most of the features are brilliant. I’m on the verge of buying one, but I have concerns: the camera seems a bit fragile compared to the Panasonic, and the user interface is very inflexible. It’s also got some odd autofocus behaviour. But I’m certainly giving the Nikon some thought.
For the next week or so, I have custody of a Sony HX90 – same 30x optical zoom as the Panasonic and Nikon, smaller than both. It feels solid and dense. Initial impressions are the pictures are a little dark, but I’m not sure yet. It’s way more flexible than the Nikon, and the user interface knocks the Panasonic and Nikon into a cocked hat.
As I commuted to and from work on a bright sunny summers day,the photos didn’t seem too bad. It’ll be interesting to see how it pans out.
My thanks to the trusting fool who’s lending me this kit. A real gent. Cheers.
June 10th – A little further on, on the south side of the Black Cock Bridge, one of my favourite local bits of wilding is coming into flower – the huge, rambling honeysuckle growing from the paddock up the bank to the railings.
As usual, it’s divine, and bigger than the year before.
This is a beautiful spot and the shrub itself is charming and smells delightful. A real sign of a nascent summer.
June 10th – Passing Goblins Wood (or Coppice Woods, for the hip modern kids out there), I noted how beautiful they looked. This mostly deciduous, well managed woodland is very old and suspect the only local remnant of the traditional English oak and holly copses that once dotted the area.
These woods, and the trees therein have seen many seasons, and every summer they look superb. Long may they remain (and they are protected by law now, too.)
June 9th – Further up the canal at Bentley Bridge, another yellow wonder of the season: the water lilies are just coming out. These yellow ones are first, then later come the pink-wihite variety.
These seem good for bugs, and add an interesting shock of colour to the waterways. Seeing them is always the sign of an advancing season.
June 9th – So many great wildflowers at the moment, but the one I always adore is birds foot trefoil, or egg and bacon. Here growing at the canalside in Pleck, such a beautiful, bright yellow on a dull morning.
A joy to the heart.
Vipers Bugloss.
Thanks to all the people who identified it: Greedy Gardener, Mad Old Baggage, Susan Marie Ward, Fatuous Sunbeam.
You lot are all ace and will be mentioned in dispatches.
June 8th – Spotted on the roadside on the northern slope of the Black Cock Bridge in Walsall Wood, a remarkable and profuse purple-blue flower.
About two feet tall, it’s a riot of colour. I’ve never noticed it before. Anyone know what it is?
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