July 20th – A day of maintenance, work interruptions and grim weather. I spun out mid afternoon into the wind for a run over to Burntwood on an errand.
As summer advances, the greens of the hedgerows and woodlands are darker and more weary, and the fields are now turning gold for harvest.
How quickly this year is passing. But the summer is still beautiful.
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July 19th – I was in Birmingham for the afternoon on a grey, wet afternoon. The riding wasn’t great but the city was as charming as ever.
On days like this you can really see the origins of the local saying ‘You’ve a face as long as Livery Street!’ – you’d never know it was cut in two by Great Charles Street Queensway and actually traversing the full street is quite a challenge.
I’m also amazed by the transition of the failed fountain ‘The floozy in the jacuzzi’ in Victoria Square into a beautiful flower bed. Civic fountains never seem to last long – Walsall’s and earlier Centenery Square water features are long dry, and this one continued to leak despite months of work to rectify it.
The lavender that grows there now, together with the other beautiful flowers are a credit to those that tend them and amazingly, the transition works beautifully.
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June 26th – Weeks of commuting in rain and grim weather are taking their toll on my brakes. Thinking I’d be in for a decent spell, I replaced the brake discs and pads on this bike in early spring.
Now it’s the end of June and they’re groovier than a 1970s Parisian jazz club.
The bikes are suffering: Corrosion, road grime, grit. This weather is eating my bikes.
A bit of sun and dryness isn’t too much to ask, is it?
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June 23rd – A tired, grumpy recovery day. I set out mid afternoon to find something to cheer me up – no easy task in the grey and drizzle that prevailed: Such a shock after the bright, warm summer of the day before.
At Norton Bog, I found what I was looking for: The brightness of summer flowers around the small pool by the bypass.
Several varieties of orchid, devils paintbrush and birdsfoot trefoil mingled and competed to be the most vivid.
A lovely display that did indeed perk me up no end.
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June 15th – On my return, I crisscrossed the Trent and Tame at sunset. The rivers were very swollen and had risen onto the floodplains at Walton and Croxall.
I was amused but not surprised to see the outdoor education centre at Whitemoor Lakes had it’s climbing and activity equipment in several feet of water – although the centre itself was safe up on the bund. I guess they’ll be doing more watersports than planned this week.
I never cease to be fascinated and impressed with the rivers in spate. Such quite, constant power, a forceful but elegant reminder that the weather and elements still rule us.
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June 14th – Feeling unwell but needing to go out, I slipped out late afternoon to pick something up from a friend in Barton. The heavens opened on my as I left and the rain was torrential. By the time I got to Lichfield I was soaked – I’d endured rain, hail, thunder and lightning…
But, at Lichfield, the weather cleared, the sun came out and I gently dried in the soft sun. It was actually gorgeous.
Cake, coffee, a completed mission at Barton, I enjoyed a spin back and the spectacle of flooded roads and swollen rivers.
A better than expected ride.
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June 14th – A dry commute to work (but sadly, not back) was a novelty. It was grey, and I never felt quite safe from the threatening skies but the blessed absence of rain was nice.
Victoria Park in Darlaston looks lush and green as one would expect in such a wet season. The mystic bridge I stood on to take photos from, however, was slippery with algae and lethal, so take care!
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June 13th – It was drier in the morning, with ha hint, just a hint of sun when I headed to Telford. My jacket hood was down for the first time in a week. I could see where I was going.
Could this be the end of the rain for a while?
Lulled into a false sense of security, a flash shower caught me on the way back to the station.
Thankfully, by the time the train got to Wolverhampton the rain had been left behind.
Just one blessed day without rain, please? It’s not too much to ask, is it?
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June 12th – I think that very soon I shall start growing webs between my toes. This rain is remarkable and without a break. It’s beginning to get to even me – there’s a permanent rainbow in our kitchen from drying waterproofs.
But still, nature does it’s thing: On a short errand out of work at Darlaston, my first spots of the lovely, thistle-like knapweed and cleavers, the sticky, velcro-like seeds that stick to anything furry – socks, dogs, cats.
Cleavers, or sweethearts are we called them, always now remind me of leprechaun testicles after a comment from Susan Marie Ward years ago.
I’ve given up hoping for an end to the rain and am just hoping I don’t drown…
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June 11th – The rain continued throughout Tuesday and everything was sodden. Squelching my way home I hit the canal back to Brownhills, again avoiding the mad wet-weather traffic, and met these guys near the Pelsall Road.
It’s nice to see the Watermead swan family – such attentive parents they hatched just 3 this year, but these cheeky little bandits who immediately came over for treats are healthy and full of beans.
I didn’t realise it was possible for swans to look so wet, but they did. I wonder what they think of this endless rain?
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