September 25th – A tough day relieved hugely by a great ride over the Chase, just shrugging on it’s autumn jacket. The deciduous trees starting to turn, the heaths, woods and trails were beautiful, seasonal and peaceful.
Some days, you just need this kind of peace to recharge your batteries. A fine ride.
September 24th – Written on a canalside wall in Birchills.
‘Speak the truth even if your voice shakes’
Great advice. Wonder what inspired it?
September 24th – For the first time this week, a really decent day with lots of sunshine, but the cold is creeping in – it barely crept over 16 degrees all day.
The birds on the local canals didn’t mind, though – the Walsall swan family were, as usual, hustling for treats, but the herons – a twtchy young gun in the morning and a more relaxed, slightly mad looking elder hand in the evening – were stubbornly self-sufficient, as ever.
I love to see these guys. They fair made my day.
September 23rd – And there are other autumnal riches, too. These glistening ink caps are growing on a recently cleared area of towpath on the canal at Clayhanger.
I love how the damage to the cap reveals the gill structure of the fungus. Another couple of days and these will have decayed to black slime.
Fungi are fascinating.
September 23rd – I find autumn fills me with conflict. On the one hand, it’s the end of summer, the coming of darkness and the cold. On the other hand, it renders places like my beloved Darlaston utterly beautiful.
This is just a hint of the riches to come. It’s not all bad. Not by a long shot.
September 22nd – The cat population of the UK doesn’t seem very pleased with me lately. After being scorned by the posh pusses of Lower Stonnall yesterday, today this black and white fellow glared at me from wasteland in Leamore.
A lovely cat though: love the three spots on the nose and white tail-tip.
I remember when cats used to stop for a bit of fuss. Not at the moment, it seems…
September 22nd – I note from the GPS that the sunset is advancing by a few minutes every day, which has started to place the golden hour squarely over my commute. Yesterday, needing some peace and quiet and separation from a tough day at work, I hit the canals on the way back, and Walsall, Birchills and Goscote rewarded me with tranquility and beautiful light.
For those that do nothing but criticise Walsall, open your eyes: this is on your doorstep.
September 21st – I was being watched from a driveway in Lower Stonnall. An apparently elderly but gorgeous tortoiseshell was regarding me with some disdain, while her mate, a gorgeous and large blue-grey chap was taking care of security.
They didn’t like my sort. I wasn’t welcome. Mr. Grey yowled at me. I bid him good afternoon, and left them in contemplative silence.
September 21st – In the last few days, Autumn has kicked in and the leaves have started to turn. In a short journey through the backlanes of Stonnall, it was evident that the season was now irrefutably on her throne now and had her pot of gold pain at the ready.
Sad, but beautiful. No stopping the season’s wheel from turning, I guess.
September 20th – The conkers have just started to fall, and I found these beauties in Lichfield. Like any British male, I have the conker acquisition instinct, and can’t pass one of these shiny nuts without popping it in my pocket.
This year I’m collecting them not just for guerrilla planting, but for a special cause. They seem in abundant supply, too, with a bumper crop.
They really bring out the kid in me.
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