October 22nd – That’s more like it. I returned home from work after yet another wet morning commute on a bright, sunny afternoon. There was a great sunset over Little Aston, and after the recent rainy days I dawdled, loving it.
Ah, for the blessed sunlight.
October 20th – I went out in the rain. It was warm, but periodically very heavy. I headed for Chasewater, then to Hopwas Hays Wood to catch the autumn. As I crossed the old ranges, it began to rain quite heavily and my journey through the yellowing woodland was marked by the music created by water rattling off leaves. The track was muddy, and the downhills very fast; I’m still not used to the sudden drop after the gate.
This was a blast, but the mud and lack of grip made it quite challenging.
I have no idea where the dog that appears just before I enter the wood came from…
October 20th – There’s some really great fungi growing at the moment on Chasewater Dam, where the trees were removed. I have no idea what they are, and initially, they looked like piles of horse manure. It was only when I got closer I realised what they were. it has just stopped raining, and they glistened wonderfully.
Still can’t find any decent fly agaric this year.
October 18th – Autumn colour abounds along the canal banks, hedgerows and open spaces. The leaves are really falling now, the nights are drawing in and we won’t see a post-6pm sunset for a few months. Amongst the crimsons, golds and yellows of the season, a lone honeysuckle flower, defiantly awaiting the first frost.
It’s been a great summer, and like the Bullings Heath honeysuckle, I can’t quite accept it’s now passed.
October 18th – I’ve been in Darlaston all this week, and Kings Hill continues to pique my interest. As well as some great faded architecture, this characterful post-industrial borderland between Walsall and Sandwell contains a really great park. Recently refurbished Kings Hill Park – which I erroneously referred to as King George Park in an earlier post for some reason – is hilly, wooded and beautiful. There’s a wonderful new sculpture, and the whole place is wearing autumn beautifully. Emerging into Franchise Street, I admired the view of St. Matthews, Walsall over the rooftops. There are some fantastic old houses here.
Darlaston is full of surprises.
October 16th – Autumn is in full swing now. As I cycled down Green Lane from Shelfield to Bullings Heath, the golden hour pre-sunset sunlight caught the hedgerow and set it afire. It was so lovely, I had to stop and take a photo.
Maybe this autumn thing can work out after all…
October 15th – Victoria Park, Darlaston is an embarrassment of fungal riches at the moment. I spun through on a misty, wet morning where the only colour I’d seen was the red of brake lights, and noticed several brightly coloured types of fungi in the freshly mown grass. The orange curly one I’ve never seen the like of before, and I love the little yellow button. There was a plentiful supply of shaggy manes, too, which the grass cutters had clearly mown round when attending to the rest of the park. I liked that – a nice touch.
Such welcome colour on a dull morning commute.
October 13th – After the rain had passed. It’s been a grim weekend, really; the weather has been atrocious, and I’ve not got any miles in to speak of, but I also felt flat. I’ve been pretty low now for a few days, and I guess it’s the comedown after a good summer. I’m not feeling the cold, but I’m feeling the loss of light desperately. I’d made plans for a ride or two this weekend, and not even entertained the possibility that the weather might prevent it. I suppose I got out of the habit. That’s what a good summer does.
Today, I spent the day getting things done I’ve been meaning to for a while, writing and reading. The rain more or less cleared by 6pm, so I went for a silent spin around Clayhanger, the old railway line and the canal, before doubling back through Brownhills. Other than the odd passing vehicle I didn’t see a soul, and it was warm and peaceful. Everywhere was drenched, and the world felt oddly silenced, like it was tired, or just fed up of the rain and now glad it stopped.
I know how it feels. Autumn is always really, really tough for me, but this one is really getting me down. It’s like sand in my gears, I feel it eroding me.
October 11th – One of the odder fruits of autumn is beech mast. Beech nuts have a pleasant flavour if chewed, with a green, dark and astringent taste; they grow in a prickly, hard rough burr husk that falls from the tree after opening. Since a mature beech is of a considerable size, the mast litter under such a tree is often deep, and has a distinct crackle when you walk or ride over it.
There isn’t a hint of moisture in the husks, which are hard, and they put one in mind of something prehistoric, perhaps the scales of some long-extinct dinosaur.
This example, along with several others is growing along the Lichfield Road at Sandhills. They are lovely trees.
October 11th – I was in Telford for the day, and a commute that started in bright sunshine ended in steady rain at my destination. I noticed as I stood on the covered walkway waiting for the rain to pass that the northbound platform was lined with a tree with bright, orangey red berries, yet leaves a bit like those on a cherry tree. I have no idea what this is, and the birds don’t seem to be very interested, either.
It put me in mind of cotoneaster, but the leaves and berries are way too big.
Anyone help me out here, please?
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