August 18th – Chasewater is great at the moment. I passed through in the early afternoon, on a warm but windy Sunday; the lake was busy, and people were out, taking the air, cycling, walking dogs, playing football or frisby with their kids. So nice to see it busy and beautiful again.

I see the herd of cattle has expanded – as well as the lads munching away on the north heath, we now have a bovine maintenance crew on the spillway heath, between the Nine-Foot, Anglesey Basin and the Toll Road boundary. Like cows do, they were exploring the field boundaries and watching passers by nosily. They’re a great asset to Chasewater and it’s good to see them.

Meanwhile, on the embankment track between Jeffrey’s Swag and Slurry Pool, someone has been measuring. That’s a surveyor’s datum block (the stud is the datum) and presumably that’s some kind of measurement bore. Wonder what they’re looking at?

August 17th – A spin through a damp Brownhills wasn’t feeling terribly picturesque, but as I sped down the cycle route that follows the old railway line from the canal to Engine Lane, I noticed how green and lush the vegetation was, how perfect the track, the light.

Even dull days can be beautiful in their own way.

August 17th – In the way that sometimes things just happen in Brownhills without notice, rhyme or reason, a bench has appeared at the top of Pier Street in Brownhills. There is no logic to the positioning, and indeed, it’s quite awkward. Nobody would want to sit here, facing the side of a shop.

The bench is tatty and has clearly been transplanted from elsewhere. But where? And why? By whom? What on earth were they thinking?

August 16th – Also at Hopwas on the canal, a beautiful flower garden at a canal side bungalow. The house is gorgeous, and if only I were rich… but the flowerbeds were a riot of colour; unusual for this point in the season when the brightest blooms start to fade. I just had to skid to a halt and take a picture. Sadly, it doesn’t do justice to the stunning display.

August 16th – I know I keep banging on about this, but I’ve never seen such a fine and large crop of bramble fruits as this year. Here, on the farm track beside the canal at Tamhorn, near Hopwas, the fruit was heavy on the bushes, and smelled divine. 

My Grandfather used to say that bountiful crops indicated a harsh winter to come. I’m not so sure of that, but the birds and squirrels will have a ball.

August 15th – There’s a story here, I’m sure of it. This house is on the A460 Uxbridge Street, just next to the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Hednesford. Looking up by chance, I noticed it bore the plaque ‘Forge Street’, whose junction with Uxbridge Street  is about 50 metres to the south. Underneath the word ‘Street’, another word seems to have been chiselled out. Why would a house bear a street name to a thoroughfare it’s not standing on, and why would part of the inscription be so wrong as to require removal?

Any ideas welcome.

August 15th – It’s amazing how much Chasewater has recovered in such a short time – in 18 months it’s gone from being barely more than an overgrown puddle to a full reservoir, with a recovering, rich biodiversity. I noticed a week or so ago what I thought was red algae on the western shoreline, but it actually turns out, on closer inspection, to be what I think is persicaria amphibia, or water knotweed. I think this is an introduced species, and may well be invasive, I’m not sure. However, it’s very pretty with delicate pink flowers that float in beautiful clumps.

Any knowledge or correction welcome.

August 14th – Once a crop is harvested – in this case, wheat – there’s no time to hang around. The straw has been baled, and the ground is prepared for the next cycle of planting.

As I passed this field at Stonnall, I noted that it’s been subject to some process – many harrowing or scarifying – that has broken the stubble, but without ploughing. I’ve not seen this before, and am intrigued. Sadly, I was  running short of time and couldn’t hang around to see the machinery performing the operation come back over the hill.

Anyone any ideas?