Tag: beautiful

July 11th – A day of rain, which wasn’t that unpleasant with waterproofs on. A potter to Wolverhampton on business was cut short by an issue back at Darlaston, so I hopped on the train from there to Coseley to catch some time.

The flowers – even in the rain – at this suburban station are beautiful, and very much made me recall South Wigston. This is an absolutely beautiful thing and cheered me up wonderfully on a dull afternoon.

My compliments to the people who clearly work so hard to maintain this little oasis of beauty.

July 10th – Nice to see the rowan, or mountain ash berries ripening well, adding a welcome splash of orange to hedgerows, verges and thickets.

A useful berry, it can be used to make jam or wine, and birds love it.

Can’t help feeling a tinge of sadness hough that this new arrival signals a notch further towards late summer and the fruiting season.

July 8th – A bit of a recovery ride I suppose took me out and around Lichfield late in the day. Noted hazelnuts in profusion near Darwin Park, but what really stole the day was the sunset. From the cobwebs eerily lit on the gorse to the sundog that shone to the south of the sun, it rendered everything it touched utterly beautiful, none less so that the oceans of ripening barley.

What a beautiful end to the day.

July 7th – I’ve been up the Wrekin before, but never on a bike. And it was a great, if tiring experience. The view is as stunning as ever, and the views of Telford, the Welsh Mountains and even the Malverns are commanding. Even the idle and closed power station in the gorge looked tiny.

The ride up (about 85% ridden, 15% pushed) was tough but not as hard as expected, despite rock and loose gravel making the way treacherous, and the descent was easy too (although scary in some parts and it ate a pair of brake pads).

Two things of note – it was chilly up there, and the crows seem very tame and will actively try to take your snacks while you’re eating them.

The many dogs up there seem to enjoy it too.

July 6th – This is terrific. Coming from Walsall down the Wednesbury Road and through Places, I happened to notice the tenement house over the road, with the absolute riot of flowers in borders, tubs and baskets.

All this in a part of Walsall often considered to be less than beautiful.

My compliments and thanks to the householder, a beautiful and wonderful thing – all crammed in to a very small space.  

This really brightened my morning.

July 4th – It was a day of cats. Cats everywhere. Strolling, taking the air. Sleeping, lounging, supervising, watching. These are just a selection of the lovely pusses I met out and about on my commute.

Stripes was lounging under a car in Birchills, and was annoyed because I caught him washing his bum, legs asplay. Ginger was snoozing, half asleep in the shrubs near Catshill Junction, and is a cat I’ve seen many times. The pair of flat out sleepers? The same pair of sleepyheads I saw last week in Scarborough Road, Pleck, presumably waiting for their staff to return home.

Presumably the lack of sun but general still warmth encouraged these lazybones out today. It was wonderful to meet them.

July 3rd – Also on the towpath near Darlaston, the poppies are beautiful at the moment, too. Another kind of urban pioneer, these too will grow just about anywhere, be it in a wayside patch or a fissure in some brickwork.

Riding urban backwaters at the moment – be they canals, tracks or inner city streets – is a real riot of natural colour.

July 1st – This is just wonderful. I spotted it a couple of weeks ago but I couldn’t stop to photograph it. Outside a recently well-renovated house on the A461, a new house sign lovingly and beautifully made in the image of the house.

Just look at the detail in that, the tiles on the roof. Its wonderful.

My compliments to the householder, and huge respect for the craft and skill of whoever created this wonderful curiosity.

July 1st – Out and about for a ride to Elford and Croxall, I spotted that the Himalayan balsam was now in flower in many places.

An absolutely beautiful flower, but it smells metallic and unpleasant, and is an invasive species brought here by the Victorians. It now densely populates riverbanks, brooks and any damp ground, growing to a meter or two high and shading out anything beneath it.

A real, but beautiful problem.

June 27th – Another grim, overcast day threatening rain but there is always brightness in a midsummer gloom – and here, it’s ragwort.

Another yellow weed that’s usually overlooked and indeed hated by horse owners, to whose animals it’s poisonous, this is actually a beautiful wayside flower that feeds bugs aplenty and keeps pollinators busy.

Many of what we would ordinarily class as weeds are very, very beautiful if we stop and look closely.