July 16th – In Telford, I noticed that following the dry summer, the rowan berries were ripening well, but not large; they look dry, rough and on the verge of shrivelling.
It’ll be interesting to see if other fruits are similarly affected.
It’s a long time since we had a dry summer like this.
July 15th – It was a gorgeous, mellow golden hour that caught the dry grass, hedgerows and crops safely afire. I was interested to see the sun rays from behind the clouds as I laboured back up over Barracks Lane. They put one in mind of a child’s drawing of the sun. I’ve never seen that before.
We’re having some remarkable weather lately.
July 15th – An evening spin out after a day doing bike maintenance. It was warm and sunny and I did a lazy loop around Shenstone with the Nikon P900. It was a little too hazy but the Cathedral and Little Aston church came out well.
Sad to see so much building waste – clearly all from the same source – flytipped around Bullmoor and other local lanes. It has been reported.
July 14th – Another long ride in the afternoon up to the Cloud Trail past Cloud Quarry and into Derby City Centre. The route was pretty much the same as the week before, but more relaxed. It was a gorgeous day, and it was interesting to see the blasting progress in the quarry from the week before – and also, the bees pollinating teasels clinging the to the cliff edge near the viewpoint.
Derby remains a beautiful city with much history – but I also enjoyed the canal at Stretton, which in the still evening with darkness coming on was serene and beautiful.
Another great ride in a continuing, brilliant summer.
July 14th – S sadly hastily snapped picture, but something I do love to see: a young grey heron, on the canal in Brownhills near Anchor Bridge, contentedly fishing, just caught with a fish in it’s bill.
The bird was about half adults size, and I was lucky to see it. So many about at the moment, but hard to get them actually actively hunting.
A great start to a long ride.
July 13th – I’m sad to see the huge horse chestnut trees on Stafford Park in Telford are suffering for the first time I think with leaf miner parasites.
These tiny larva destroy the leaves of the host tree from within, and although leaving the host pretty much unharmed, they bring on an ‘early autumn’ but causing the leaves to become blotchy and brown.
It looks worse than it is, but it’s a sad end to the season for many a beautiful tree.
Hopefully the current wave of these insects will pass soon.
July 13th – In Telford for the morning, I crossed the footbridge over the motorway to Priorslee and noticed that despite the dry spell, the embankments, a real haven for local wildlife were still very green and alive with wildflowers.
It always interests me how the motorways of the UK – undoubtedly polluting and hostile to the environment – have formed green ribbons of land that protect so much wildlife and provide an undisturbed haven.
Of course, this is one of the quieter UK motorways.
July 12th – One indicator of an advancing summer I always have mixed feelings about is buddleia. This purple-flowering, profuse shrub, sometimes known as the butterfly bush is great for bugs and bees and lepidoptera of all kinds – but the one issue I have is it’s the shrub of urban decay.
This versatile plant will grow anywhere it can find – gutters, chimneys, soot-filled fissures in brickwork, and once it takes hold it will destroy masonry as it grows. It’s the sign of dereliction in summer, growing old disused rail lines, factory yards and edgelands of all types.
A fascinating, but destructive plant.
July 12th – I was pleased to note that one little purple flower has returned this year to the verge outside the place where I work – Self Heal. It grows low in grass and often misses the mowers. It has a very unusual flower head configuration featuring absolutely tiny but gorgeous violet blooms.
The plant, given it’s name as you might expect, is known for it’s medicinal properties, and brings a splash of colour to lawns and verges throughout middle to late summer.
July 11th – I haven’t seen much of Old Sam, the King of kings Hill lately. He had taken to sleeping on the grass in in the gardens around the old folks flats where he lives, but the gardeners came one day with their mowers and blowers and I only saw him a couple of times after that.
I needn’t have worried. He’s found a shadier spot, just out of my normal sight for the really hot days.
I notice someone had given him a bowl of water, and he was concentrating on washing, and despite my calls and invitations for strokes he studiously ignored me and got on with the important business of fur maintenance.
I adore this crotchety old lad.
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