July 9th – A bumper day for photos, although the weather was still wolfish and punitively gusty. At the north heath at Chasewater, the deer were browsing. Just the pair at first, then another six joined them to peer inquisitively at me. Now in their summer coats, they’ve lost the scruffiness of the moult and look healthy and well.
Still can’t believe these wonderful animals live on our doorsteps.
July 9th – Also being reclaimed by nature and teeming with flowers is the Victorian brick lined spillway at Chasewater, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. The flowers and plants – including heathers, mustards, spotted orchids and others – are gradually overcoming the masonry and are beautiful. But this is also industrial history.
Should it be cleared, even though it’s unused, to preserve it? Or just left to decay, beautifully? I can’t decide.
July 9th – On the canal near Ogley Junction, one of my favourite mad fishermen was stalking the bank, looking as eccentric and slightly dishevelled as ever.
I adore herons. This one seems unusually dark in colour, and was very bold, not moving on until I got very close. Is it possible a juvenile?
Wonderful birds, but probably not if you keep a fishpond…
July 8th – At the old Anglesey Wharf, near Chasewater, the wildflowers are currently gorgeous – feral poppies, cornflower and wild sweet peas bring welcome reds and purples to a riot of colours.
Those sweat peas grow every year around the former coal chute. That sole reclamation of industry and pollution by something so beautiful always makes me happy.
July 8th – Short morning at work on a very windy, wolf of a day – beautiful to look at, but a the very devil to ride on. A short run over to Lichfield in the late afternoon via Chasewater was rewarded with beautiful views of ripening oilseed rape and wheat in fields around hHome Farm at Sandhills.
A lovely afternoon but hard work on the bike!
July 7th – Terrible mobile phone photo, but can anyone identify this yellow flower growing by the canal at Clayhanger? it’s a fascinating little thing, seemingly one on it’s own. It reminds me of some king of lily.
Any ideas?
July 7th – Summer’s wheel continues to turn, despite the poor weather, and I was shocked today to note that the rowan berries on the trees by the cycleway in Pelsal were beginning to ripen.
One of the earlier berries of the summer, they add a lovely splash of orange colour to the maturing greenery of high summer.
With days now getting shorter, it really feels like the year is advancing fast now.
July 6th – Also in Sutton Park, this tiny young rabbit would have fitted on the palm of my hand. Tiny, but quite happy to tolerate me at a distance if I didn’t move suddenly or do anything daft.
Bunny positively posed for me, and seemed very young, but it looked healthy and well fed.
I was just getting a bit closer when the spell was broken by a passing dog…
July 6th – I had to pass through Sutton Park in the early evening, and as I cycled by Longmoor Pool, I was pleased to note it had a family of resident swans, with as far as I could tell, seven cygnets. The youngsters were asleep on the water, and only awoke when the parents showed interest in me. That did;t last long when they realised I had no food to offer them.
Something about the light seems to have made this look quite dramatic…
July 5th – One of my wildflower joys at the moment is the humble thistle. Not just for the vivd purple brush that forms the flower, but for the delightfully spiky and prehistoric looking buds this curious plant forms.
They may not be conventionally beautiful, but next time you pass a thistle, look closely. They’re amazing things.
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