BrownhillsBob

September 12th – Walsall Council, in their infinite wisdom, have tar and chipped Green Lane in Walsall Wood. This treatment, now known as surface dressing, is evil for cyclists. For weeks, the surface of this road will be dogged by patches of loose chippings, ready to sweep my wheels from under me. I will suffer a pebble dashing as cars pass far to fast for the surface conditions and spit gravel at me. Shingle will gather in hollows and potholes, hiding them ready to catch the unwary cyclist.

It wouldn’t be so bad if a reasonable attempt had been made to fill all the surface defects before the new treatment was added. As it is, the road is now a mess, and much harder to ride on. The people behind this daft practice must be from the west, as the wise men came from the east…

September 12th – A day of fearsome winds, seemingly crafted on Satan’s back doorstep which tormented me all the way to Great Bridge. Fortunately, the wind honoured it’s bargain and blew me back up the canal through Moxley and Darlaston to Walsall, and it was in Moxley that I spotted something I never noticed before; right in the centre of this industrial, urban place, there’s a row of Hazel trees which are currently fruiting large hazelnuts. The squirrels are having a ball and discarded, nibbled shells litter the ground beneath. This is a truly remarkable thing – Moxley was once a very polluted place, and this is a sign of an improved environment. I’m still stunned, to be honest.

September 11th – I noticed a week or so ago that a gate had been erected at the Wharf Lane access to the canal bank in Newtown, Brownhills. I speculated then on how long it would be before it was damaged – not long, so it would seem. Passing it today, I noticed that the latch peg had been bent out to defeat the lock, and someone had refasten it with a cable tie. One may speculate that the lock was broken by anglers who often used to park there, but I couldn’t possibly comment…

September 11th – there was a very strong wind as I cycled around South Staffordshire late in the afternoon. The horse chestnut trees in the centre of Hammerwich village had been subject to attack by the leaf miner parasite, and the leaves were turning colour early and being stripped by the stiff wind. Everywhere I went there were reminders of the season – the scent of coal smoke, the scent of fresh ploughed earth, the crunch of beech mast under my wheels. Despite the expansion of recent years, Hammerwich still retains a lovely village atmosphere.

September 10th – It wasn’t going to last. What was a sunny, mellow afternoon became harsh, squally and very, very wet. Taking shelter under the eaves of Tesco in Brownhills, I reflected on the other side of our area – the urbanisation, the decay, the hardstanding and traffic. As I cycled home in the wet, traffic impatient and irritable, I couldn’t help but curse the insanely variable weather. This year is arse-about-face; this is April. In September.

Setember 10th – I believe in random acts of kindness. I also believe in random acts of guerrilla planting. Myself and people who know me, at this time of year, engage in collecting the seeds and fruits of deciduous trees and shrubs – acorns, sycamore seeds, beech nuts, sloes, haws and so on – then spread them randomly on thin hedgerows, scrubs and wasteland. I’ve spread patches of cowslip on Clayhanger common, scattered wildflower seeds down the Goscote Valley, and collectively we’ve populated canal banks, footpaths and barren places with tree saplings.

We support the trees, because, well, the trees they need support. Do. It. Now.

September 10th – A leisurely Saturday breakfast followed by a spin up to Chasewater saw me call in at Ryders Mere. At this point in the day it was sunny, warm, and we seemed to have far more sky than we normally do. Looking over the mere from the Pelsall side, it becomes clear just how green this area of Walsall is. Never underestimate this. Lots of people will tell you that we live in an ugly, urban sprawl – which partially, we do. But it’s punctuated by fantastic green spaces that are a joy to the heart. Get out and explore them.

9th September – getting to enjoy the autumn now. It’s still very warm, but the leaves are starting to fall and it’s getting to the point where I’m cautious cycling under horse chestnut trees. This regimented copse of deciduous trees is in The Parade, Brownhills looks wonderful, and It’ll get better yet. Maybe autumn isn’t so bad after all.

September 9th – on a late afternoon visit to Chasewater to check out the dam works, I was greeted by this small but rowdy group of pure white geese. Aggressive in the usual way, the honked and hissed at me for a while before returning to their previous activity of cropping the grass. I’m not sure what kind of geese they are – they look domestic, but are they snow geese perhaps?

September 8th – The main watercourse through Redditch, the River Arrow is highly variable in character, depending on the season and the weather. What can be, at the height of a wet winter, a raging angry torrent, is today little more than a limpid, sleepy brook. this summer has been so dry that even the rains of the last few days haven’t changed it’s state much. I don’t see many kingfishers here at the moment, which is unusual. I don’t think the Arrow is supporting much in the way of fish right now, limiting the feeding potential.
I’m sure the river will have plenty of opportunity to recover over the coming winter months.