October 8th – I was right about the rain and the fungi. On Clayhanger common in the morning, pleated ink caps, sometimes known as the Japanese parasol. These delicate, paper like caps only last a day, and 24 hours later, there will be no trace. They appear straight after heavy rain, their spores lying dormant until triggered by nature.
The fly agaric are also going for it. In Pleck on the canal bank, a nice crop which will surely proliferate now. Such lovely fairy-tale toadstools.
October 7th – I was right about the rain and fungus. At the weekend I bemoaned the lack of interesting fungi, particularly fly agaric, and suspected the dearth was due to the dry weather.
Cue the rains of the last couple of days, and hey presto! – A huge forest of glistening ink caps has popped up on Clayhanger Common, and the orange peel fungus I spotted a week ago has, after spending days dormant, opened out.
Rain may be an annoyance for me, but it has been needed for a few weeks.
October 7th – After the last couple of days of wet, grey commutes, one in a decent light was welcome. The light – particularly in the evening – is precious to me right now, as I know it will soon be gone and replaced by evening darkness.
As I shot down the canal near Clayhanger, the golden hour was particularly lovely. There was a cold edge to the wind, and the leaves are now falling well. This time now is on the edge, the cusp. Soon, it will be winter.
Not looking forward to it this year, if I’m honest.
October 6th – Traffic. Tell me when my red light turns green. I cycled home in rain mixed with sunshine, and it wasn’t a bad ride, really, but I’ve noticed in the last few weeks that the traditional winter grump is descending on the traffic, which in autumn always becomes tetchier and more aggressive.
Very few incidents usually, but in the last week a guy passed so close his wing mirror clipped my arm; I’ve been aggressively cut up; and had abuse shouted three times, including tonight. My cycling hasn’t changed, so it can only be the truculence that seems to come with shorter, darker days.
I hate this time of year on the roads.
October 6th – Also looking good in the autumn colour is church hill in Wednesbury, taken from Kings Hill Park.
This view of the twin sisters will only improve as the leaves turn further. You can’t not love this.
October 6th – A terribly grey morning, spotting with rain and I wasn’t sure I’d make it to work before the heavens opened, but… Victoria Park.
The greenspace at the centre of Darlaston looks beautiful at the moment, even on this greyest of days. Sometimes autumn is so beautiful, you can forgive it the darkness it leads you to.
October 4th – The fly agaric are a bit thin on the ground this year, probably due to the dry autumn. I only found two in my favourite spot on the canal, and they had both been nibbled.
I love these toadstools. I hope that if we do have rains this week that the grow in profusion like previous years. There’s something magical about them.
October 4th – A considerably different day, the sun was again shining and warm on my back. I had other stuff to do, so I spun up to Chasewater and back along route 5 over Engine Lane.
The canals and byways really have the autumn jacket on now, although there are still pockets of flowers around – and I’d be interested to know what the pink ones are.
October 1st – Nice to see the cotoneaster going bright orange-red now. This pea-sized berry is unpalatable to humans, but songbirds, particularly blackbirds, love the sugary berries, and having found a bush, the blackbird male will fight off any challengers who would raid his winter larder.
A lovely splash of colour in autumn’s otherwise yellowy palette.
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.
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