April 29th – Also nice to see the return of cats to my world. Largely absent in winter, these indolent, sleepy, warmth loving characters don’t bother so much in winter, but come spring and a young feline’s fancy turns to… Well, lounging in the long grass, hunting things and generally monitoring the human activity of their neighbourhoods.
This urbane and smart black and white puss was on the far bank behind Humphries House and was quite interested in my activities.
Looks like a lovely puss! Someone loves that one very much.
April 29th – And, despite a downturn in the weather, nature still keeps me going day to day, and it’s particularly splendid right now.
On an afternoon exercise ride, I didn’t stray too far due to stomach cramps, but stood on the Pier Street bridge, one of my favourite views now has a gorgeous bright green jacket on.
The canalside trees, now so tall they can obscure the view to Humphries House are looking bright and fresh, as are the woodlands dotted over Clayhanger Common where the different species, leaf types and shapes make for a wonderful tapestry.
And on the water below? Blossom petals drifting lazily of the water surface.
It might not be much, but after those dark days and wet winter, it looks wonderful to me.
April 28th – Almost bang on schedule, the may blossom – Hawthorn – is coming out along the lanes, towpaths and hedges of the area.
This outwardly white blossom which was bad luck according to my grandmother if brought into the house, is actually quite colourful if you look at the small flowers closely.
It’s one of those that is really beautiful, but few ever look at closely. A boost for bugs and bees too, who adore the blossom.
It never looks better then when bejewelled with rain and catching the light.
April 28th – The welcome warm, dry spell ended with a crash with a very cold-feeling day and seemingly endless rain. But it is still only April.
On a sodden evening exercise ride, I rolled and splashed up the towpath – mercifully quiet – and noted the very beginnings of a surface-air inversion, with barely perceptible rolls of mist sweeping along the canal. Sadly the wind was a little to strong for it to persist.
I suppose the water was probably warmer than the air by a tad.
It is lovely though to see the green return though, even on such a grey, wet day.
April 26th – With the sudden burst of lockdown shaming, finger wagging and the boom of the morally prurient social media shamers, it’s really easy to miss small little things at this time that are actually encouraging acts of community between, mainly it has to be said, children.
Painted rainbows and teddies in windows, garden displays and other curiosities created during long, isolated lockdown days are treats and ways of communicating the shared confinement without breaking the rules, and they put a huge smile on the faces of kids out for their daily exercise, parents and me, too.
There’s been a really fun trend to revive chalked games on pavements and paths for other kids to find and participate in. More than just the old fashioned hopscotch (although most incorporate it, almost as a tribute), these courses are linear with a start and end, incorporating line following, instructions to hop or jump or do some movement, reciting games, spins, pebble target throws and races.
They are a shared happiness, but shared from a distance – the separation being time. They are an utterly joyous thing and this one, on the Spot Path over Clayhanger Common, was a brilliant one.
Sadly I think it’ll probably be erased by the oncoming rains, but I hope that won’t deter the creation of a replacement.
Well done to the creators of these, and my best wishes. Life will be normal soon and we’ll all look back on these days, and smile when we think of how we all loved the chalked games…
April 26th – Second attempt to sort the noisy bottom bracket appears to have worked. It’s true what they say, you’re never alone with a square taper chainset…
On a test run, I encountered this female mallard. Not a happy bird, it had settled on Coopers Bridge and was defying me to pass.
Unusual for mallards, as whilst fearsomely vicious to other ducks, and occasionally their own clutches, they are generally affable to anything else.
There was a bit of a Mexican standoff. Then she clearly remembered she was a duck, and flapped and honked her way back to the water, leaving the confused cyclist wondering what that was all about…
April 25th – In recent days I recorded the the female flowering of the sallow trees in Walsall Wood. At the Old Cement Works Bridge in Brownhills, the catkins are starting to go to seed.
The spines of the flower heads split and curl away, releasing the downy, silken fluff inside, each one attached to a tiny seed, easily carried long distances on the wind or any moving thing.
A fascinating and beautiful mechanism that will see the area around these trees soon coated in fluffy down.
April 25th – Saturday morning, again shockingly quiet despite protests of ‘too many people ignoring the lockdown’ on social media. Brownhills and the countryside around it simmered gently in the warm sun.
Things are greening over nicely now. The azolla bloom on the canal is gradually decreasing and everything looked magnificent.
I need to record and cherish these times, for they will, I think, get me through future bad ones. These times when you can enjoy the peace of the old cement works bridge or the view over Home Farm and not hear traffic, not see people but just drink in the warmth, the season and the song of birds and the buzz of bees.
Nature is regardless of human woes and that’s a good reason to keep taking the next steps.
April 24th – It was a pleasant evening so I hopped off the canal near Aldridge and did a loop over Lazy Hill and back into Brownhills over Shire Oak.
People keep saying things are getting busier. Sorry, I can’t see it.
This is 6:30pm on a Friday on one of the main arterial routes in the area. I had to wait ages for a car to come the other way and change the lights for me. I barely saw a soul in a seven mile ride. I saw more wild animals than people.
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