October 28th – Autumn seems to be lasting forever this year. The wind was still punishing, but it was a lovely warm commute with sunny spells. I took to the canal to get get to Darlaston, and hopped off at Bentley Bridge. The canal looked lovely in the morning brightness, and Darlaston Green could have made a postcard.
I’m normally down in the dumps at this time of year when the clocks go back, but it hasn’t really seemed to trouble me this year – perhaps because the weather is so good.
October 26th – I went out in the morning in a heavy wind to run some errands. British Summer Time had ended the night before, and I guess I was avoiding the evening darkness, too.
I passed Jockey Meadows on the Walsall Wood/Shelfield border and noticed the water meadow was still very green. The cows here during the summer have done a great job, and the pasture looks in good condition.
It won’t be long now before even this spot becomes brown with autumn.
October 25th – The Parade, Brownhills. Just by Holland Park.
This place is beautiful. Don’t ever let anyone tell you different.
October 24th – I was in Redditch, which is quite a rarity for me these days. It wasn’t a great day weather-wise, either, and the rain caught me on the way back – taking shelter in the bakery at the top of Unicorn Hill, I realised I had to go for my train. I got soaked.
Like Telford, it’s easy to take the mickey out of Redditch, but it’s really rather beautiful, and at no time does it show more than autumn. From the neat order of Church Green, to the timber frame houses of Ipsley, the grey heron on Arrow Lake and the peaceful solitude of the cycleway, this isn’t a bad place.
It’s even better when the sun’s out…
October 23 – A little further on up the canal, the vegetation is changing colour, but is still remarkably green. The canal here is peaceful, and a little urban oasis where herons fish and ducks potter in the rushes. The roving bridge here was to allow access to the Anson Branch – a lost, truncated waterway whose last job was mainly to supply water to Reedswood power station, itself long demolished.
The fate of the Anson Branch was sealed by the M6, which cut it short, but the bridge is still in use to access the road from the other side.
October 21st – I was lamenting a couple of days ago that the fungus had been poor this year – it hasn’t up on the canal bank near Wharf Lane; I never noticed before, but in a short space, tucked in with the heather and gorse are lots of toadstools.
Mostly, fly agaric, I passed these spotty red wonders a couple of days ago and never noticed.
I’d love to know what the shiny brown one is…
October 18th – In Pelsall to meet a pal for lunch, I spotted the beautiful planters by the common that were still blooming beautifully. It’s only a week until the clocks go back, and yet such colourful flowers are still with us.
Beautiful and surprising, too. Well done Pelsall.
October 17th – I came back from Shenstone just as darkness was falling, and spotted by chance another bountiful crop of autumn. Isolated in the hedgerow at Footherley, a large, impressive and perfect group of mature glistening ink caps. These are toxic, and shouldn’t be touched, but the temptation to is huge. I love their pure white stalks and brown-black, sing caps.
I don’t think the fungi have been so good this year, maybe due to the dry weather – these are rare gems.
October 17th – The morning commute was damp, and a little drizzly, but it brightened up as I neared work. On the way, I noted the assortment of hips, haws and berries, glistening with raindrops. For the hedgerow fruits, it’s been a bountiful year, and the birds certainly have plenty in the larder right now.
A fine autumn; best I can remember for many a year.
October 16th – The patch of grass near Anchor Bridge in Brownhills is not something I ever pay much attention to, if I’m honest; it just exists, and it never occurred to me until recently how odd it is that it has never been built upon.
It remains unspoiled, mowed regularly by the council, and separates the canal from the Lindon Road. There are a good few deciduous trees here and in Autumn, they’re beautiful.
An odd little patch of beauty in an otherwise unremarkable urban landscape.
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