Tag: 365daysofbiking

#365daysofbiking Stars on earth:

October 27th – A grey, very very low day where things again went horribly wrong. I’m not having much luck with weekends at the moment.

Riding back from a fools errand in Walsall Wood, on the canal between Catshill Junction and the Silver Street Bridge, I noticed that the colony of earthstar fungus that I thought last winter’s cold weather had killed off completely has actually survived with some decent examples.

Hopefully some decent weather might help the group recover and re-spore successfully to give them some better years in future.

A rare bright spot in a very grim, down day.

#365daysofbiking Catching the leaves:

October 26th – Heading to Hortonwood from Telford Station on the cycleway, I crossed the motorway bridge to Priorslee and my attention was caught by the sunlight catching the turning leaves.

Motorways are not beautiful but they do have a particular charm, especially in autumn when their embankments, generally undisturbed havens for wildlife, become especially beautiful.

#365daysofbiking Stars on earth:

October 25th – The Darlaston earthstar fungus colony continues to fascinate me. These relatively rare, alien looking fungi are growing under a thicket on an anonymous, ordinary industrial estate near where I work.

Every day, a new star opens. 

I wasn’t sure what bud or genesis they had, but today I found out that they start as a very well camouflaged ‘ball’, which splits into the ‘petals’ of the star.

They really are strange, fascinating things.

#365daysofbiking Frustration:

October 25th – There was a beautiful sunset as I left work. I saw it through the frosted skylights at work; they’d got a lovely pink colour which signified something interesting was happening.

The trouble is with where I work, there aren’t many decent spots to get the sunset from.

Getting on a turn of speed, I managed to make old favourite the Kings Hill cellphone mast, still trading data with the ether against a glorious sky, and over the ruins of James Bridge Copper Works at Alumwell.

It’s always annoying to see a good sunset yet not be somewhere with a decent view of it…

#365daysofbiking Falling in love:

October 24th – It’s hard not to love the Black Country right now. The canals are beautiful, the leaves are turning and there’s a slightly soft quality to the light which is truly gorgeous.

I’m hating the dark nights and mornings as usual, but when you catch the daylight it really is rather lovely.

#365daysofbiking Dusk:

October 23rd – The return of the dark is a welcome chance to experiment with night photography once more.

These shots of the churches of Wednesbury – the twin sisters – from Kings Hill Park were a hurried experiment with the Cannon G1X which is a camera I’m learning to love.

These are way too grainy, and I obviously need to up my game. But I love the clarity and colour.

More practice required.

#365daysofbiking Inconceivable:

October 23rd – Darlaston on a sunny day. Heart of the north Black Country, architecture, memory, history and nature.

How could you not adore this place?

It feels like my second home.

As I gradually reboot from feeling lost, places like this help me feel it’s worth the while again.

#365daysofbiking Little gems:

October 21st – One of the best things about Cannock Chase in autumn is the fungi, and today there was a huge selection.

I never found the one thing I wanted to see – orange peel fungus – but I saw lots of great other types from polypores to boleta.

It’s always worth stopping and looking at that unusual flash of colour in Autumn.

#365daysofbiking Rebooting:

October 21st – The only way to rectify a downer like I was on was to hit Cannock Chase. I set out on a sunny afternoon but the weather quickly turned grey and drizzly – but it really didn’t; matter a bit. Heading from Rainbow Hioll, over Birches Valley, Penkridge Bank, Pepper Slade, to the Katyn Memorial, then Freda’s Grave, I returned down Sherbrook Valley and back through Hednesford.

It wasn’t the most photogenic day, but it picked me up and I found plenty of interesting fungi and drank in the autumn.

Just what I needed.