Tag: 365daysofbiking

#365daysofbiking Pink light:

September 27th – Coming home in the almost dark again, the light over Clayhanger Bridge and the canal was very pink, and very beautiful.

It’s a constant source of amazement to me that the onset of the night can be so damned beautiful.

#365daysofbiking Going it alone:

September 27th – On the canal near Walsall town centre, I was accosted, as one often is, but loud, bullying, aggressive beggars, of the kind that inhabit most urban canals.

In this case, it was a pair of cygnets. On their own without mum and dad, they were enjoying the sun and harassing any passing human for food. When I declined for the seemingly perfectly valid reason that I had none to offer, they swam off, complaining noisily.

Nice to see them in rude health and taking after their parents.

#365daysofbiking Going down:

September 26th – Crossing Cathshill Junction and heading up to Anchor Bridge, I caught it on the cusp of day and night, and realised that soon, I would be doing this once more in darkness.

I don’t know where summer went this year; it seems barely days since I was riding the roaches, eating ice-cream at Blithfield or riding in short sleeves around North Warwickshire.

Time passes so fast these days. It was a good summer – I doubt I’ll ever see one with such consistently fine weather again.

#365daysofbiking Bugging me:

September 26th – The unexpectedly fine, warm weather has been bringing out some great examples of bugs looking for a last yahoo or somewhere to hibernate until spring. 

On my way to work, this lovely shield bug decided to drop in and say hi.

What a great little creature it is!

#365daysofbiking The dying of the light:

September 25th – Darkness has begun to impinge on my evening commute. Often finding I need lights nearing home, the golden hour is quickly shifting back towards 5pm. Soon the clocks will dog back, and the darkness will again be upon me. I hate that.

The harvest moon this year has been wonderful, though, so actually coming home in the dark had a reward – particularly with the thin cloud haunting the view.

Winter is coming.

#365daysofbiking Sweet thing:

September 25th – Again returning through Stonnall, I stopped to take a look are the venerable, reliably productive sweet chestnut that is always so beautiful on the corner of Main Street.

Always laden with nuts in their prickly, fur lined husks the tree is healthy and always fruits well; but sadly the climate in the UK isn’t favourable for producing sweet chestnuts, so the kernels are always small and thin.

They’re still beautiful, though.

#365daysofbiking Squaring the circle:

September 24th – Returning via Shenstone from an afternoon trip into Birmingham, I noted that the recent days, having been sunny and comparatively warm, were bringing out the joy of Autumn, and I was feeling more positive.

At Footherley Lane the old bridge was beautiful as the sun went down.

Soon these trees will be golden, then bare once more, but it’;s all part of the circle and the circle must be round.

And as long as there will be some fair weather, I think I’ll survive.

#365daysofbiking How do you like those apples?

September 24th – Interesting to see this year the large crop of healthy, plump fruit, which has turned my understanding on its head: I always thought that in hot, dry summers fruit harvests suffered.

This autumn, the hedgerows, commons and woods are populated by trees laden with fruit – from hazelnuts to apples, beech nuts to pears, it’s been a fine harvest.

These apples growing by the canal at Darlaston actually look delicious, but sadly, well out of passing reach…

#365daysofbiking Better than expected:

September 23rd: On the canal on the way to Chasewater, I stopped to admire the view. It was a lovely autumn day and the colours of the dying back vegetation in the golden hour were gorgeous.

This is a lovely stretch of canal, particularly at this time of year for obvious reasons, and it gives great views of the Anchor Pub and Bridge.

Considering the weather forecast today was awful, it didn’t turn out too bad in the end.