June 27th – One of the most notable changes with the cleaning up of the local canals since my childhood has been the explosion in water lilies and other water flowers that were unimaginable on the waterways of 40 years ago. Where once the water was polluted, filthy and lifeless soup, it’s now clear, limpid and at this time of year, covered in the pinks, ivories and yellows of various lilies and flag irises. 

These flowers were near Clayhanger Bridge.

June 26th – Cutting across the common, there are plenty of flowers in bloom, and the bees are busy. Blues and purples seem the order of the day, with late forget-me-nots, purple comfrey vetch and others all showing well. 

Also rather lovely are the dandelions – not just those flowering, but those gone to seed, too – such lovely, natural engineering.

June 26th – Passing quickly through Brownhills to catch the Canalside Festival, I noted how lovely the planters were again this year for Brownhills in Bloom. The annual entry to a competition, the baskets and tubs are filled and planted by a mixture of traders, volunteers and folk from the Brownhills Town Centre Partnership.

They do cracking work and on behalf of Brownhills, I’d like to say thanks to everyone involved.

June 25th – Swans are inscrutable, they really are. On the Nine-Foot Pool at Chasewater, with the level still just about overflowing, a pair of birds sleep on the concrete spillway weir, seemingly oblivious to the natural plant detritus around them.

To me, the spot they doze in looks uncomfortable, chilly and precarious, but to them, it’s clearly just the right place to get some shut-eye.

Occasionally, I realise how much I don’t know about wildlife.

June 25th – Out late after a busy day working at home. It was a pleasant evening as I spun up to Chasewater along the canal from Ogley Junction.

I must say, that view of Hammerwich over the Warrenhouse still stuns me after all these years – and with the grass high in the meadow like a gently rippling sea, it’s even more beautiful.

Another lovely thing (though perhaps not if you grow veg!) is the burgeoning rabbit population along the canal and around Chasewater Dam. As you ride on a quiet afternoon, bunnies scuttle for cover from the towpath, nearby scrubs and gardens. They look healthy, and seem to be doing well, which is good news after myxomatosis wiped out the warren at the Chase Road Bridge a few years ago.

A nice afternoon’s bimble.

June 24th – A shellshocked day, really, and the nation was politically in turmoil following the EU Referendum result. A Prime Minister resigned. Disarray in the opposition. Uncertainty about the future.

In Tipton, dodging the rain on an errand, I spotted this. Sometimes the most British answers are the best ones.

A Cuppa Tay is always best.

June 23rd – By the new pond at Clayhanger, the pear tree I found last year seems to have a reasonable crop, but it’s under attack from something bruising or otherwise damaging the fruit.

I’ve not seen anything like this before; the pears grown here last year were small, but well formed and without blemishes. 

My grandfather used to say that a late frost catching the fruit blossom would ruin a crop. I wonder if this is what that looks like – after all, we did have a late and quite heavy frost this year?