August 5th – Interesting to note the fruits doing well this year and those that aren’t. We seem to have bounteous quantities of blackberries, acorns and here, sycamore seeds. Beech also seems to be fairly prodigious.

Not doing so well at all are the horse chestnut, hazel and pear trees.

It’s curious how the years cycle. As my Grandad used to say ‘It’s always a good year for something’.

August 5th – An early evening drop into Stonnall to call on a mate on the way home from work took place under some remarkably threatening skies. There were a few spots, but rain didn’t catch me however, and I was reminded near Lynn of the spectacular panoramic beauty that occurs unexpectedly in the local countryside.

Harvest seems to have stalled for the moment, and crops still languish in the fields, adding a welcome golden hue to the landscape. Despite the weather, it really is high summer now.

August 4th – Bitterweet to see the rosehips now ripening well along the lanes and towpaths of the Black Country. They are beautiful in their shiny, vivid orange jackets, their sight brightens many a ride in late summer and autumn. But they also indicate the passage of time and season, and their appearance always makes me a little sad for a summer passing.

There’s plenty of time, though for summer to improve, and while there are still blooms alongside the hips, all is not lost yet.

August 4th – The bachelor boys – the mongrel domestic/mallard ducks that live on the canal in Walsall Wood –  are sadly down to two now from the original four. Probably lost to age or a fox, it’s always sad to see such close groups decrease in number, and their loss was in the summer, coincidentally at the same time as the local fox cubs would have been learning to hunt.

I spotted the two remaining ducks on the canal by the overflow at Clayhanger Bridge, loafing and preening. The two were relaxed and content in each other’s company and for all the world were like an old married couple.

It’s hard not to love the ducks, although mother nature seems to consider them very expendable.

August 3rd – The delights of a client’s bike shed again: this clearly quite expensive Giant mountain bike confounded me. I’m sure it’s a great ride, but the number and quality of joints in the aluminium frame are astounding. Look at the fabrication in the seat tube to accommodate the unusual rear suspension arrangement.  And the joints and design on the upper seat stays where they meet the pivot seem bizarre. And the tyre clearance on that crossmember is minimal.

I don’t know how designs like this come about. Aesthetically, to me, it’s hideous, and I can’t see any engineering or user advantages. 

Is this complication for the sake of it?

August 3rd – Telford on a quick visit midday, and a surprise: I noted evidence of recent exploratory drilling and a planning application to replace the dingy, 80s footbridge over the railway and adjacent main road with a new structure.

The bridge as it is is corroded and not ideal, but it’s a very large structure and it’ll be interesting to look at the plans for a replacement. 

One of the biggest problems with the structure is it’s greatest asset: being enclosed with a roof makes it an excellent sheltering point in bad weather, but makes it dingy, dystopian and unpleasant at night.

I also wonder what they’ll do with the overgrown vegetation that also make the footways here so grim at night.

The times seem to be changing. Let’s hope for the better.

August 2nd – Another summer soldier that looks superb in rain is the dog rose. Still flowering well and looking gorgeous, like the willow herb they line the paths, tracks, verges and edgelands of town and country, and I think few people really notice them.

Which is sad, because as these in Darlaston  show – growing outside a disused factory – they really are beautiful.

So many unsung heroes amongst the wayside flowers.

August 1st – A return home in steady drizzle that wasn’t as bad as expected. At Clayhanger, I noted the purple rose bay willowherb was flowering well and looking beautiful in the rain.

It won’t be long before this dweller of the wastelands and scrubs goes to seed, and the light, wind-borne seeds drift around on the breeze.

A beautiful plant on a wet afternoon.

August 1st – A mechanical mystery. Three month old Shimano hydraulic brake pads, which suddenly lost grip and appeared to be glazed or contaminated. The pads are the sintered metal type and are genuine manufacturer parts.

Sometimes, long periods of braking can ‘glaze’ pads. causing them to become highly polished and shiny, meaning they don’t work well. The common treatment for this is to file the surface of the pad and pop them back in. 

These I have degreased, cleaned, filed and even surface ground, but whatever I do they quickly glaze again. New pads of the same type were just fine.

Anyone got any idea what’s going on here? I’m wondering if overheating has caused the pad material to harden…