Tag: 30daysofbiking

April 2nd – Something odd happened on the way home tonight. Spring came to me. 

I came back through Walsall – when I entered the railway system at Telford, it was dull and cold. When I emerged, blinking into the light on Platform 1 in Walsall, the sun was oddly warm on my back. It was still bitter, and the easterly that sapped my essence on the way home was worthy of any winter, but I could feel the warmth. Pulling my gloves on in the odd entrance tunnel to the orphan platform, I noted the sunlight shining in from outside. From the Black Cock Bridge in Walsall Wood, it could have been an evening in April.

At last. 

I was knackered, but spring is finally tapping on my window. Welcome back, old friend.

April 1st – These are impressive. I like alternative power, and I’m fascinated by it’s implementation. A couple of years ago I noticed the frames being erected for these solar panels, near the new railway bridge on the Fisherwick Road at Hademore, near Whittington. I think they may be designed to rotate, and comprise of 64 solar units apiece. I have no idea who operates them or why, but to me, they’re beautiful and fascinating. 

This, of course, used to be part of the ICI/Orica explosives depot, now Lyalvale Express, who manufacture shotgun cartridges. The empty sheds here were orphaned when the new road bisected the driveway. 

I’d love to know who these belong to and how much power they generate.

April 1st – Today is the second anniversary of starting this journal and project. It was 2 years ago that Renee Van Bar challenged me to do 30daysofbiking for a laugh. I just kept rolling ever since. Apart from the infamous two days laid low by a rogue pie over New Year 2012, I’ve cycled every day for those two years. Since 2012 was a leap year, that’s 729 days. That’s a lot of cycling, in all weathers and states of mind, I can tell you.

Today, a new 30daysofbiking starts. Naturally, I signed up…

Today, I took a ride out to Hints and Hopwas, returning via Lichfield and Burntwood. It was cold, and the easterly was still very sharp. But I ground on, and the originally very dark afternoon brightened. In the field near Rookery Wood, Hints, I noticed a first for me this spring: lambs. Not very old, but gorgeous and full of beans. They cheered me immensely.

April 30th – I was going to break up today’s images into groups, and then I thought better of it. Today’s theme was clearly late spring, early summer, and an utter contrast to the previous day. I left mid-morning for a short meeting in Telford with the sun on my back and wind in my face. The damp landscape hummed with life of all kinds. The rustling of new foliage, the splash of water draining away in roadside ditches, the song of finches and blackbirds, busy in the hedgerows. At Stafford Park in Telford, a line of cherry tress had me stunned, and closer to home at Little Aston and Stonnall, wildflowers brightened the verges, field margins and spinneys. The lanes were crisp and bright, the scent of oilseed rape had risen and everything smelt delightful. 
Are days like this better for the preceding bad ones, or do they always seem this good?

I’d appreciate ID help with the flowers, please, if anyone knows. 

April 29th – Chasewater was lovely in the damp twilight. The rain where I was had ceased, but there was still a shower ongoing on the northern shore, which hung in a damp cloud. To the west, he sky was bright and reflected off the surface of the pools and wet ground. The dam itself looked soft and distant through the wet air. The smell, too, was beautiful; the after-rain scent mingled with balsam and pollen. An oddly beautiful evening which was very, very unexpected.

April 29th – I held back all day, hoping to avoid the wind and rain. Sneaking out late, the rain stopped and the cloud fractured. I headed for Chasewater, and I noticed this damp mum and daughter in a field adjacent to the old Highfield House on Pool Road. The hardiness of horses never ceases to amaze me, and this frisky little foal was joyous. As Mike Hawes pointed out on his tumblr over the weekend, spring is really here now.

April 29th – Late evening, then rain ceased and the skies brightened, so I ventured out. In a damp, oddly-idiot strewn ride down the High Street, I realised that, due to relatively light traffic, I was recording the water features by Knaves Court and Morris Miner, and a good few of the serious potholes in-between – some of which have been there so long that they’ve evolved their own weather systems. It’d be really, really nice if we could get some of this stuff fixed for a change.

Apologies for the singing disc brake: I’m bedding in new pads.

April 28th – I headed up to Chasewater on my way to Burntwood, to check out the water level. Last week, the water was only lapping at the right hand side of the mound around the drain culvert – soon it will be submerged. I noticed the grass – encouraged by the earlier rain – now submerged. I have no figures, but would guess the water has risen by about half a meter. This is good, but don’t be fooled; for every centimetre the water rises, the area of the lake increases massively. The journey to 75% full will be a lot quicker than the one from 75%-100%. It is good to see, though…

April 28th – I see Mrs. Swan is still sitting on her nest at the canal bank at the back of Saddler Road, Brownhills. She must have eggs there, this has gone on too long for a dry run. One or other of the couple has been on that fantastic reed construction continuously for weeks now. I’m getting quite gripped by the suspense, now. Formerly, swans here have had very large clutches – one year, there was a mum with nine cygnets. I’m interested to see what happens now, and have started taking diversions down the canal just to check up. ho needs reality TV when you’ve got reality nature on your doorstep?

April 28th – I spotted this bird of prey hovering, almost totally still, over the heath by Anglesey Basin at Chasewater. He’s an interesting character. I know what species I think he is, but I’m unhappy about the details. Can any birders help? Many folk don’t realise that Brownhills is host to loads of species of birds of prey – from Owls to Buzzards to very occasionally, Kites.

This fellow was certainly an impressive sight. Sorry about the poor photos, it was nearly 7pm and the light was lousy.