Tag: 365daysofbiking

July 20th – It was a fast, damp ride home, and the light was terrible – thoroughly uninspiring. It was warm rain though, and quite pleasant once I stop resisting and accepted I was going to get wet. 

How nice, thought, to stand on a quiet canal, with no noise from people or traffic, and just listen to the music of raindrops on the water.

Even on the greyest days, they’re something to enjoy.

July 20th – A very dull day, and I was caught in the rain twice. Still, the rain was warm and the atmosphere hot and humid so it was quite pleasant when I was;t riding into it.

I notice in the last few weeks the buddleia has burst into flower. Known as the butterfly busy, the copious purple blooms are a boon for lepidoptera and other bugs, but due to the remarkable tenacity of the shrub, I’ll always view it as a the  harbinger of urban decay. Wherever there is dereliction, neglect or abandonment, Buddleia takes a hold, be it disused factories, rail lines or in issues in masonry. As it grows, it will pull brickwork apart and swamp all beneath it.

A remarkable plant.

July 19th – Another hectic day, and still not feeling exactly chipper, I spun again to Chasewater to catch a summer fair there,, and the speedboats. From there, I shot over to Wall to take a quick shufty at the Letocetum fun day – where the ancient Roman remains here were surrounded by re-enactors, stalls and activities. I wished I’d got there sooner; it looked like a fun, and very, very English summer event.

Wall is a gorgeous little place and the church overlooking the Roman site is just wonderfully historically prescient. The antiquity is free to visit and open all year round. Its well worth a visit.

July 19th – Oats are in fashion this year. After years of barely seeing any at all, this year all the best-dressed arable farms are wearing them.

I’m seeing them all over the place – the price, or subsidy for them must be high this year. They are a beautiful golden colour at the moment, and are painting the fields in shades of high summer.

These at Home Farm seem to be ready for harvest.

July 18th – Just by the factories that back on to the canal at Stubbers Green, the scent of firing bricks in the air, these delicate flowers on the canal embankment.

I believe they’re mallows – they’re fairly large, and very delicate, and rather beautiful. They make an interesting contrast with the tanks, pallets and piles of steelwork in the yard beneath them.

July 18th – A mad day when I didn’t have much time for anything, and again, I was suffering with a dismal stomach. But in the late afternoon, the sun was warm and the wind wasn’t so bad, so I headed over to Burntwood to get some errands in. From there, I headed back over to Aldridge for some stuff I couldn’t get. In-between the two, the canal near Wharf Lane was limpid, dark green and beautiful.

Summer really is wonderful at the moment, and just the tonic for my wayward digestive system!

July 17th – I had to pop down to Shenstone on my way home; on my return through the backlands I noticed something that had largely been passing me by of late; the crops in the fields are now ripening, and the harvest cannot be far away.

At Footherly, a field of nice, plump wheat is turning golden in the July warmth. The clean, milky-tasting grain will, if the weather continues to be reasonable, make great flour.

Nice to see.

July 17th – I found these unidentified, dainty little white flowers growing on a grass verge on an industrial estate in Tipton. I don’t know what they are, but they seem related to bugle, the purple-blue flower I featured here last week. I’ve not seen either in great number before this year, but something in the season has favoured them and these wonderful little flowers are profuse.

Can anyone identify it, please?

June 16th – I was taken to task on social media the other day for stating that Telford’s cycleways were alive with flowers and fruit; this observation was scoffed at, because it seemed inconceivable that on the byways and fringes of the new town, wildlife could flourish or be beautiful.

Well, it can; and the people who care for these fine tracks, paths and trails really should take a bow – they are a credit to them, their work and their town – a virtue shared, curiously, with Redditch.

There’s beauty in all sorts of places if one is open to find it.