September 30th – Sadly, my morning photos came out terrible today, so just the couple. But they show something lovely – I’m assuming this bright climbing plant growing on the hedgerow near the Black Cock Bridge is Virginia Creeper. Unassuming most of the year, in the last couple of weeks it’s come alive; and in these gorgeous Indian summer golden hours it glows in the evening cool.
The whole place looked splendid as I passed. It’s gorgeous.
September 29th – But still, there’s colour. There aren’t many places along the canal from Walsall Wood to Brownhills to catch a good sunset; sadly the best spots are obscured by hedges and trees. But as I passed the new pond at Clayhanger, the sun had smeared it’s last rays of the day over the clouds and vapour trails and made the evening precious.
September 29th – Jockey Meadows and the surrounding farmland are shrugging on their Autumn jacket now; the colours are moving from greens and golds to taupe and dark brown. The crops have been harvested, and I expect soon these fields will be ploughed.
This is the sadness of the time of year for me; not yet 7pm, and getting dark; the colours of summer to the colours of cold, and hibernation.
And so the seasons tick on. I can feel the darkness creeping in…
September 28th – Quite a find for me, and only the second time I’ve ever seen it in the wild: orange peel fungus, seemingly growing well on Clayhanger Common, near where I saw the glistening ink caps last week.
This ascomycete is not particularly rare, and mycologists may scoff at my enthusiasm for it, but this delicate ad small fungi is hard to spot. I’m pleased I found it.
September 27th – I caught a classic, sunny and misty autumn morning just as the mist was burning off. I had to nip to Burntwood on an errand and I took the canal to Chasewater. It was magical and gorgeous.
The spiderwebs on the gorse were captivating and there also seems to be a burgeoning crop of puffballs this year.
Could this be the last good weekend of the year, or are there more to come?
September 26th – I enjoyed the Chase so much the day before, I went back to try a different route, down the Sherbrook Valley, and through the Shugborough estate, returning home via Hixon, Newton and Rugeley.
It was warmer, but the light and colour were just as fine as 24 hours previously. The leaves and bracken seem to be turning very quickly now.
By the way: a discovery. The ice cream van at Milford does Blackjack flavour sundaes. That’s the old penny chew flavour. They are delicious.
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 – 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.
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