October 12th – It was a beautiful misty morning, and there was nothing for it but to head off for a ride. I couldn’t go far, so settled for a spin around Chasewater. It was gorgeous. From the mist lifting from the canal to the cobwebs on the bridge rail, everything was precious. But the sun was warm, and soon, a tipping point was reached: the mist disappeared in about 10 minutes, to reveal a beautiful sunny autumn day.

Good to see the valves finally closed, too: Chasewater has been quite low of late and it would be good to see it fill up a little.

October 11th – There’s a type of littering prevalent at the moment that’s really annoying me. It consists of collecting the rubbish in your vehicle neatly in a carrier bag, then when full, tying it in a knot and just chucking it out of the window at your first opportunity.

If you do this you are a moron with no respect for others, and are beneath contempt.

I see bags of this rubbish blighting lanes and dual carriageways; urban backstreets and country verges. This was in Little Wyrley.

There’s something very selfish about a mentality that keeps their vehicle tidy, but can’t be bothered to do the same for the wider environment. Just how hard is it to wait until you’re home and popping it in the dustbin?

Scum. Nothing more, nothing less. Filthy, littering scum.

October 11th – Still not feeling great, to be honest. Still sleepy and tired, I headed out at lunchtime to get something to eat, and do a little shopping. I needed to pop up to the Orbital in Cannock, so went via Pelsall, and up the Cannock Extension Canal.

It was a lovely autumn afternoon.

I particularly liked the boat with the unintentionally smiling face near the boatyard, and the golden hour as I returned through Pelsall was gorgeous.

If you’re out an about on a bike this weekend, do watch out for the twin hazards though: it’s hedge-flailing season and the roads are dotted with thorns, and following the inclement weather, many are coated in slippery mud. Beware, folks – both can wreck a good ride.

October 10th – As I cycled down Green Lane past Jockey Meadows, my sight was snagged by something luminous. I pulled on the anchors and doubled back. An inversion was occurring over the water meadow, and it was beautiful.

An inversion occurs when a layer of colder air in contact with the ground is trapped by warmer air above it, when normally, the reverse occurs. This traps mist in a low blanket in the cooler layer.

A full-on inversion is a sight to behold; mist streams off the surface of any water and clings low to the ground. I’ve not seen a good one for a long while, and this was minor, and seemed localised. But it gave a wonderfully haunting aura to a familiar spot.

Hopefully, we may get more soon, and this is the warmup act…

October 10th – I came home drained, and tired. But at least it was dry, and the wind seemed to be behind me. I pushed through Walsall as the sun was setting, and caught this lovely skyline in The Butts. Great chimeys, and excellent queen pots.

Looking to my right, I noticed the Arabic (or possibly Urdu) script high on the gable end of the house close by. I like that a lot. Curious.

October 9th – I came back through Walsall and had to make a call in Chuckery. Just as I came over the brow of the hill on the Sutton Road, I caught sight of the moon.

We don’t seem to get normal, plain old moons any more. Every one lately has to be a ‘supermoon’, a ‘blood moon’ or some other silliness. Still, as long as folk look up and see our sole astronomical satellite, I guess it’s all good.

A handheld, spur of the moment shot with a small, consumer camera. Inbetween me, and that big old moon? Just static, and silence. Sobering, and impressive to think about.

October 9th – I was in Birmingham for an evening meeting. It was dark and beautiful on my return. Cathedral Square and a very quiet station made for some interesting night shots – remarkably, without a tripod. Really pleased with the night performance of this little camera, so much better than previous models. 

The oncoming darkness doesn’t seem so bad this year yet. I’m sort of warming to it…

October 8th – As dusk fell, the sky cleared, and heading into Brownhills on this quiet, damp evening it was actually quite beautiful. It’s been a month or two since I last saw the canal look like this… I also noted that these were probably the last days of my commuting home in the light.

Everything must pass.

October 8th – The weather has really turned this week. From the warm, dry Indian summer it’s changed into a wet, squally October. Very, very heavy periods of rain throughout the day interspersed with sunshine made it a great day for rainbow hunters, but not for drivers, as many local roads were flooded.

Here at Green Lane, on the Walsall Wood – Shelfield border, the usual standing flood near the cottage. It’s not deep, but riding this on a bike needs careful observation not to be passed by a vehicle and splashed or worse.

Coupled with all this it seems very cold (although it isn’t, it’s just a shock). 

Oh hello winter. I wondered where you’d got to…

October 7th – Autumn is still merrily and beautifully doing it’s thing, although at somewhat different rates. 

In Wednesbury, the gorgeously shimmering red-brown willows I spotted last week have been joined by beautiful ochre-orage beech trees (At least, I think they’re beeches). The contrast and effect are stunning, even on a grey, damp morning.

On my return, Jockey Meadows is still quite green; fitting really, as this was the last place I noticed to green up in spring. The cows have long ago moved on from this water meadow, but they cut back the scrub considerably, and the effect is still lush and verdant, all under a wonderfully dramatic sky.

Beauty, even on dull, miserable days.