May 8th – Bloody typical. A miserable bank holiday Monday, followed by a crestfallen return to work on a gorgeous, bright sunny spring day. I was heading to Telford, which means catching a train from New Street’s platform 4c, which I always think of as being Birmingham’s equivalent of platform nine and three quarters. There was something about the light today, the sun, the music I listened to on the way… it did feel very good to be out, even if I was going to work. Most peole seem to hate this station, and aspects of it are truly horrendous; but I also have a genuine affection for the old place. It feels like home, I guess.

MAy 7th – I spotted this bright yellow flower at the new pond in Clayhanger. It was growing in very wet, very sandy soil right on the waterline. It was a single, lone example, and I could see none similar. The colour really shouted out in an otherwise dull environment.

Anyone any ideas? It’s rather beautiful, particularly on such a dull, loveless day.

May 7th – The pools and ponds around Clayhanger and it’s commons are healthy again. They had been in a very poor state, particularly the one by the pedestrian bridge. It’s water level had been very low indeed since last summer. Since the recent rains, all have been topped up. It was typical rainy, dull and cold bank holiday weather when I came this way at lunchtime. On the new pool at Clayhanger, the waterfowl were enjoying the soft drizzle and honking loudly.

May 6th – A glorious but chilly ride over Cannock Chase and south Staffordshire. Find out more about my day in the post on my main blog. The peculiar arrangement od what looks like a bench with a ratchet sticking through is a sluice gate control on the canal at Rugeley. Took me a while to work out that most of the mechanism had been removed…

May 5th – one of the flattest, smoothest stretches of tarmac in the UK. Gorgeous, and lovely to ride, too (I rode the length of it the M6 Toll the night before it opened), mainly because few use this white-elephant toll motorway. Crossing it on Chase Road last night, I counted 4 cars in a ten minute period. At 8pm on a Saturday.

An utterly misguided project, making money hand over fist for it’s operators, who don’t want the cost of maintaining it, so have consequently priced it beyond use. Bizarre.

May 5th – Chasewater’s refilling has slowed up with the cessation in rain, but my, how it’s changing. All the land drains and streams are flowing well, with water also coming in from the new culvert in the railway causeway, under Turner’s Hill. The secondary outlet culvert is nearly submerged now, and sailing or windsurfing is clearly on the menu as new marker bouys have been laid around it to warn of the hazard. Grass growing on the formerly dry lake bed is now submerged, and looks like reed beds from afar. Many of the smaller pools are steadily linking together.

A fantastic thing to witness, for sure.

May 4th – Now, here’s a thing. I’ve cycled past this remaining fragment of wall lots lately, mainly to go and see if the swans had had hatched their eggs yet. It stands at the canal side between Catshill Junction and Anchor Bridge, and I think it’s the last evidence of the Iron Foundry that was here at the turn of the century. The foundry didn’t exist in my lifetime – there were industrial units here in the old buildings. I think one may have been a  non-ferrous casting shop. There was also a plant hire company and an accident repairs firm. These were all razed in the 1990’s and Chandlers Keep built – a close of new build housing, named after one of the last businesses here, a boat company. Oddly, this 3 meter section of engineering brick wall, with ancient graffiti declaring approval for Aston Villa, remains.

May 4th – The swan family from the new pool in Clayhanger, whose four hatchlings I noted earlier in the week, have somehow moved the 30-odd meters to the canal, and were up near Walsall Wood Bridge, just near the High Street, when I spotted them yesterday evening. Clearly growing and bright as buttons, the little grey and white cygnets were clearly being taught to forage by mum and dad, who seemed to be finding clumps of vegetation for them to sort through, although their offspring didn’t seem too interested. Swans typically live on algae, reed grasses and small bugs and tadpoles, so learning to forage is critical.

Further up the canal in Brownhills, Mrs. Swan is still sitting. She seemed unsettled yesterday. Hatching must be imminent, I’m sure…

May 3rd – The birdlife is engaging at the moment. Swallows and martins dipped over the water at Chasewater, and a couple of crested grebes slid past as I took photos from the dam. Meanwhile, down on the canal, Mrs. Swan still sits on her eggs. Today, she was being tended to by her partner. I found this interesting – he doesn’t normally seem to be in close proximity much. I wondered if it was a sign of hatching imminent. He swam over to me as I studied them, and hissed darkly. He’s going to be a whole bundle of fun if there’s cygnets around.