April 9th – A run on the canal through Pleck and Bentley Bridge to check on the nesting swan couple at the former Anson Arm. I needn’t have worried. She was fast asleep in comfort and he was on patrol, threatening to peck my feet on the opposite bank.
This pair usually have small clutches. When the long wait is over, it’ll be interesting to watch them develop this year, as ever.
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February 26th – Reedmace, bullrush or cat tails as they are variously known have a fascinating mechanism for deploying their seeds.
This time of year, if you can find one, just rub the head and it will explode into a huge ball of fluff – wind borne seeds.
Setting them off is compulsive and fun, but you do get covered in the stuff…
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January 7th – I rode in to work from Walsall along the canal for the first time in a few weeks – it wasn’t;t a bad ride, though I forgot how grey it can be on a dull, overcast winter day.
Nice to see Canal and River Trust litter picking crews out at the birch ills end, and hopefully they can clear some of the mess left by the magnet fishers – what a pain in the backside they are.
At Bently Bridge the view was trying to be green, but it’s heart wasn’t;t in it, sadly. Maybe some sun tomorrow…
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#365daysofbiking Fruitless endeavours:
December 3rd – Spotted in the rain from the canal at Bentley Bridge: Ripe, delicious-looking eating apples rotting off the branches of the tree that fruited them, which is on a piece of edge land between two factory yards on the far side of the canal, both sites derelict.
The tree and the ground out stands on appears unreachable to all except maybe those in a canoe or boat.
Which is a shame, as I bet the crop is lovely.
#365daysofbiking Falling in love:
October 24th – It’s hard not to love the Black Country right now. The canals are beautiful, the leaves are turning and there’s a slightly soft quality to the light which is truly gorgeous.
I’m hating the dark nights and mornings as usual, but when you catch the daylight it really is rather lovely.
#365daysofbiking The united colours of autumn:
October 3rd – After the rain of the night before, the morning commute was warm, dry and almost humid. I made the very best of it by riding the canal the long way, and wasn’t disappointed – the autumn colours are very beautiful this year, and the canals and wooded areas of Darlaston are absolutely gorgeous.
There are some upsides to the time of year after all.
#365daysofbiking Canal dreams
August 28th – Back to work and still grey, but feeling better. On the canal at Darlaston the greenery is still uplifting, and we may get an Indian summer after all. Perhaps.
The water lilies are still showing well too, which is always a lovely thing to see. Still can’t quite get over the fact that we have them here.
July 18th – Gradually in the last week, the days have been becoming just a little cooler, and just a little bit more overcast.
I’m not sure if this is a trend, or just a dip inn an otherwise wonderful summer.
Despite the greyness, the canal at Bentley Bridge still looked superb. I love the summer.
April 23rd – Spotted on the canal near Bentley Bridge, what I though was beech leaves in emerald perfection are actually hornbeam I believe (Thanks to reader John for the tipoff).
Either way, their fresh-sprouted perfection is immaculate and beautiful.
April 10th – This looks like some pretty revolting flotsam and jetsam, but it’s actually an important and encouraging sign of spring.
These knobbly, odd looking root growths are the rhizomes of the water lilies so common here on the local canals in high summer, and this is the first stage of their… seasonal deployment.
When the season ends, water lilies decay, and the stalk and root mass they grow from sinks to the canal bottom where the excess growth rots off and the stalks over winter in the mud where the water stays warmer, fragmenting as they do so.
When the waters warm in spring, renewed cell growth in the fragmented stocks gives buoyancy once more and they rise to the surface, moving freely in the wind currents and boat wash.
In time, new growth will sprout and they anchor, growing the familiar leaves and flowers we know so well.
It’s a wonderful, and very successful natural mechanism, and a sign of an oncoming summer…
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