March 22nd – Still a nip in the air, but all along the canals of the Black Country, life is waking up, shaking off the taper of a long winter and getting on with nature’s imperative – and that included the waterfowl.
I notice lots of ducks, Canada geese and swans now closely paired for mating, busily courting each other and nest building.
A lovely sign that better days are on the way…
February 27th – It was still bitingly cold, but the predicted heavy snows missed us, instead teasing me with light flurries at the same time as bright sunshine. The contrast was beautiful.
In Victoria Park in Darlaston, hungry pigeons flocked to me when I stopped, but it was so beautiful. Thankfully the roads were not too icy, but the cold and wind were unpleasant.
Worth it for the beauty, though.
January 10th – For the first time this year, a pleasant, dry, almost tropical morning commute; sadly, it wasn’t to last and the journey home was cold and damp with a return to mist.
Cycling up the canal over Bentley Bridge my eye was caught by a flash of verdant green – a plant of some variety has clearly seeded into the rotting cavity of an old bench, and is growing well – truly life from death.
Crossing Kings Hill Park purely to catch the day, I tried the twin sisters and liked what I saw; The clock on St. Bart’s is in fine detail and all we need is some green on those trees.
I know it’s way too early, but come on spring!
November 2nd – Despite the gloom and cooling weather, there are still patches of colour to be found. On a dew-dampened canal towpath as dawn swelled over the Black Country, the clover still looks perfect in purple.
The dark, cold months are about finding joy where you can…
September 4th – A slightly better day weather-wise, although rain was never far away.
On the canal on the way to work, herons aplenty, my favourite urban bird. I liked how one was sheltering under the M6 motorway flyover, an interesting juxtaposition, and the adult fishing by Bentley Mill Aqueduct had a spectacularly well-defined chest pattern.
Like cats, I’ll never tire of seeing these guys.
August 24th – Very tired, I trundled into work along the canal and spotted this heron hunting from the reed margin at Bentley Bridge.
I still can’t quite believe that these shambling, slightly mad-looking birds frequent such an industrial, urban space – but there are so many and they look so healthy it’s wonderful. There must be clean water and plenty of fish to attract so many.
A joy the morning after a very long preceding night.
August 1st – Also ripening well are the rosehips, the seed fruit of the various types of wild and feral rose that grow so beautifully by the towpaths and edge lands all over urban Britain. Sweet and juicy, they are sought after by birds, mammals and foragers alike.
Less common and indeed, quite a find, is the odd, hairy wasp gall growing on the same bush. This is the wonderfully named robins pincushion gall, or sometimes just moss gall.
Like oak galls, this curious mutation forms from a leaf bud on the rose stem injected with eggs and a DNA corrupting chemical by a tiny wasp. The chemical causes the leaf bud to mutate into this odd growth instead, and at the heart of the woolly mass is a solid core, in which the eggs hatch, and the larvae eat their way out when ready.
the gall doesn’t harm the rose particularly and is just another fascinating example of the ingenuity of evolution, with host and parasite developing together for thousands of years.
August 1st – So, it’s August and we’re coasting steadily through high summer into autumn, as signified by a rash of sudden fruiting; the harvest has started and has been paused due to rains – but everywhere, blackberries are darkening, apples are swelling, berries are becoming plump and all manner of hips, haws and funny are maturing nicely.
On my way to work on a pleasant, sunny morning, I noticed the crimson red of hawthorn berries darkening in the hedgerows and thickets. Bitter and woody, these berries will last long enough to carry many songbirds through winter.
I just have no idea where this year has gone…
July 28th – A sunny morning, but dreadfully wet return from work made for an odd day. I’m increasingly aware now of summer and time marching on and this shows in the shift from flowering to fruiting.
The apples near the scrapyard at Bentley Bridge are looking wonderful again this year. Such a shame nobody can get close enough to pick them!
Looks like it’ll be another fruitful autumn…
July 27th – Pottering along the canal on the way to work through Bentley Bridge, I noticed this juvenile heron; I can’t tell if it’s the same one I spotted a few weeks ago, but it’s clearly hunting well.
Quite bold and determined I wouldn’t disturb it’s fishing activities, the bird kept an eye on me but didn’t flinch when I stopped to take a photo or two.
I love these mad looking birds and like the deer, I can’t believe we have them now; it’s a sight I marvel at as I’d never have seen these on the canals when I was a child. A real sign of environmental improvement.
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 