October 24th – Passed through Aldridge as night fell. i’d been running an errand, and had to get shopping in. The sky was clear, and if I’d been in a place with a decent view, I think the sunset was pretty good.
It felt cold, though, that onset of winter kind of cold. I could see my breath form clouds of missed, and the air felt hard, brittle and clear.
Appropriate, really, that British Summer Time ends tonight, and the darkness that haunts me returns.
Ah well, bring it on…
October 22nd – A great dawn in fine weather with a much appreciated tail wind was a real joy to ride in, and a marked difference from the day before when I got soaked in persistent, heavy rain.
At Mill Grren, I stopped to watch the sun rise over Hill Hook and towards Tamworth. A massive, red-smeared sky opened out minute by minute, and was truly captivating.
Mornings like this make me much more comfortable with autumn, for sure.
October 20th – Passing through Mill Green at dawn the countryside was magical. Very slightly misty, with high cloud, nonetheless the top of Sutton transmission mast was obscured.
Usually, I’m running too late to take pictures in the morning, but I see some beautiful sights. Now winter is coming I must allow extra time so I can share more of these wonderful views here.
October 18th – I felt much better today, and had an errand to run to find a bunch of conkers for a good pal. Sadly I didn’t escape until late on a grey afternoon, so didn’t have time to take photos. Later on, the errand done, my pace slowed and I found myself returning from Aldridge, and I noted the marina at the back of Brickyard Road was busy now, presumably with boats overwintering.
It looks like a nice mooring with secure, modern facilities – and there are some nice boats there. I’d quite fancy a narrowboat to live on were it not for the cold and continual running costs.
October 1st – Although the wonderful Indian summer continues, each day seems to be getting noticeably colder now. Mid afternoon in the sun, it was warm on my back, like April; but move around and autumn chilled the air. It’s making for some divine golden hours, though, and the scenery around the canals is gorgeous now. Trees are turning, and soon everywhere will be golden.
Autumn is OK once you accept it.
August 21st – I had stuff to do in Aldridge on the way home, and Northgate was solid with traffic, so I cut down past the back of the Vigo landfill to hop on the canal at Brickyard Road. I noticed that the final work seems to be going on with sealing this immense refuse tip. It was capped with a top layer of marl a while ago, and landfill gas is still being abstracted and used to power a large generating set, supplying power to the national grid; but amongst the bulkheads and snaking pipes, a plastic membrane has been laid and it’s being covered in topsoil, prior to final landscaping.
The membrane prevents rainwater from getting through the cap and soaking through the refuse, where it would be extracted and disposed of as a toxic brew called leachate, which is an ongoing, expensive operation.
Reducing leachate production also lowers the future chances of groundwater pollution.
Landfill is quite a high-tech operation these days, if carried out properly.
August 16th – I spotted him near the Marina at Northwood Bridge in Aldridge. Clearly en repose, hunting seemed to be done for the day and this elderly heron was content to let me take photos without being disturbed.
There’s definitely an Eddie Cochran thing going on there. You don’t see much of that sort of thing in the local avian community, to be honest.
August 16th – Feeling better, I pottered off to Aldridge to do some shopping on Sunday afternoon. On the canal near Northwood Bridge, an unusual sight; a dense, thick patch of what looks like miniature buddleia, but is in fact wild mint.
It smells gorgeous, and the bees are loving it. I never knew mint had such gorgeous flowers.
Meanwhile, near Clayhanger, another reminder of Autumn: Haws ripening well. They look plum and will see many songbirds though winter, with luck.
August 1st – Also spotted in Aldridge, this loyal old dog waiting for his master outside a cafe. He was peaceful, and just lay there contentedly, secure in the knowledge that the boss would be back soon.
Such patience in those sad old eyes.
August 1st – It’s a while since I’ve been able to photograph a heron locally. This chap, on the canal at Aldridge behind RMD showed beautifully for me as I took a quick afternoon trip out to get some shopping in. I got within 20 metres as the bird strolled along the bank, watching the water for fish. He’s clearly a youngster and didn’t have much fear; he only flew away when someone came in the other direction.
I love herons. So nice to see them continuing to thrive on the local waterways.
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