#365daysofbiking – Not dead yet:
September 23rd – I said the other day that there were not many flowers about at the moment, and I hold my hands up: I wasn’t looking hard enough.
Coming into a second flush of flowering now, the dead nettles on Clayhanger Common are having one last yahoo before winter.
Absolutely gorgeous as only they could be. Such a cheering sight.
#365daysofbiking Repellent magnetism:
September 22nd – There’s a current fad happening on local canals at the moment that’s really bloody irritating.
Magnet fishing.
Well, perhaps not the activity itself, but the end result. Chancers get hold of very strong magnets on the likes of eBay and then tie them to a line and dredge them along the canals to see what metal they pull out.
I guess they’re looking for interesting stuff, but nobody’s going to pull out gold coins, only ferrous stuff, obviously although I’m not sure the anglers have twigged that yet.
The problem comes when they pull out worthless junk: They just leave it on the towpath for some other poor sod to deal with, where it blocks access and really makes the canals look messy.
To my mind, these people are, at the very least, littering and should be prosecuted if caught.
Thankfully, selfless and dedicated volunteers in collection boats – here seen passing through Tipton – are working to clear up the mess left by these irresponsible, greedy scavengers.
#365daysofbiking Warm rain and what lies beneath:
September 22nd – Thanks to a reminder from the most excellent Stymaster, I got to attend the Tipton Canal and Community Festival, all be it on a really wet, rainy dray. The weather notwithstanding, I had an excellent time, as can be seen on my main blog here.
Having ridden to Tipton from home in the rain, I decided to carry on down the canal into Birmingham following the old mainline into Birmingham.
This time of year, the Galton Cutting is gorgeous, and it’ll be even better when the leaves really start to turn.
The huge maze of scaffold under the M5 viaduct at Oldbury is hugely impressive from underneath, too. I wonder how many delayed, queueing motorists above know the complexity of what lies underneath them?
#365daysofbiking Duck tales:
September 21st – The humble mallard duck doesn’t get much love, but I’ve always held that, like magpies, if you study them in any more than the most cursory fashion, they’re absolutely beautiful. The iridescent, shimmering greens of the males are lovely enough, but also the females are very much more than drab brown; if you study them, they have the most gorgeous blue and white flashes on their wings.
But better than appearance is their personality and social behaviour – here on the overflow in Brownhills near Silver Street, the ducks were in parliament doing what ducks do – sat in running water, dozing, chattering and generally being the best ducks they can ever be.
Such contented creatures.
#365daysofbiking Ample shroom:
September 21st – The fungi are appearing thick and fast now, with the damper, cooler weather as is normal for autumn. Spotted near Clayhanger when homeward bound, this shaggy ink cap was a decent, large specimen and had there been more than one, might have been decent eating.
Used to see loads of these when I was a kid, but in recent years they appear to be rarer, which is a shame. They’re nice lightly fried.
#365daysofbiking Welcome to The Suck:
September 20th – It started with a bang: The Suck, the gradually darkening, menacing and psychologically hard commuting journeys from now until Christmas began today with a twilight, torrential rain soaked journey from Darlaston to home.
Drenched in spray, nearly left hooked twice, perpetually on guard for bad driving this was the worst journey I’ve had in years.
At one point I just stopped and took refuge in a bus shelter to calm down. The sheer hard work of concentrating and being aware enough to survive in this conditions is a gargantuan effort.
But I made it home, and as I once again get used to this, it’ll be less of a trial.
Winter sucks you down.
#365daysofbiking Humongous:
September 19th – A real find on the enclosed football pitch next to the old Smith’s Flour Mill in Walsall, next to the central Ring Road – quite the largest giant puffball I’ve ever seen.
This prize specimen looks a little old to eat and was beyond reach anyway through the fence, but I did giggle at the idea of it being kicked accidentally, mistaken for a football.
What a whopper!
#365daysofbiking Portal:
September 18th – Still surviving and developing is the fascinating green tunnel over the desire-path behind the canal overflow at Clayhanger. Now completely overgrown and just the right size for an adult to squeeze through, it’s a fascinating product of what I suspect is a regular dog walking route.
I hope this continues to be used – it’s such a lovely, happenstance thing
#365daysofbiking Sparser:
September 18th – The flowers are getting sparser now, and soon the only real blooms will be the gorse, and the odd winter stragglers. On the grass verge outside work, the birdsfoot trefoil – egg and bacon – is still going strong, and you can see well how it found its name: the seed heads look like bird’s feet.
#365daysofbiking A bitter pear:
September 17th – The pear tree in Clayhanger has had a good season, against my expectations.
I had thought the crop this year would be poor due to the dry summer and ravenous birds, but it’s been heavy and the fruit are large and softer than the usual small, bitter offerings. And mercifully free of bird-pecks.
But oh my goodness they’re sharp!
A lovely thing to see.
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 