July 4th – Also out, but altogether busier was this juvenile heron. A lovely bird, clearly maturing and in very good condition, although still small for an adult.
This is a healthy, native heron fishing in a waterlily-swathed canal in the shadow of a huge scrapyard in the heart of the industrial Black Country.
Tell me this place isn’t wonderful and surprising. I dare you.
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.
April 19th – A tired commute and weary day at work as a result of the exertions of the previous day, and I had the camera stuck on some poncey ‘artistic’ mode so all the photos came out unusable, except this one: Passing the former Boat pub at Bentley Bridge, Darlaston green, I noted it was finally razed.
The demolition has been long and protracted as contractors stripped carefully anything of worth from the decaying building.
Good to see such care taken to reclaim the materials, but the overwhelming feeling of sadness at the loss of a one popular pub remains.
A small, encapsulated tragedy and tale for our times.
January 11th – Another rare daylight commute, so again I took the canal into Darlaston. On my way I became aware of a series of yellow marker paint spots on the towpath, and it took me a little while to work them out.
The canal towpath here is to be resurfaced soon, and disturbed soil in places pointed up the fact that someone had been surveying. Markers near the bridges indicate a gas main runs alongside the canal here, and the spots indicate the position of the pipes. At the old arm crossover near Haniel, the pipes emerge and cross the disused inlet, and one can observe the spots follow it’s course.
This part of the towpath would benefit a little from resurfacing, but it’s nowhere near as bad as the stretches through Aldridge and Pelsall. The resurfacing policy is absolutely baffling.
January 9th – Later in the day, back in the Black Country, I had to be in Walsall for an appointment, and rode up the canal from Darlaston. It had been raining, and everything was quiet, but near Bentley Bridge by the old Anson Branch, I couldn’t resist crossing the canal bridge to give this cheeky beggar some of my pocket corn stash. One of the 2016 cygnets, he (or she, I can’t tell) is maturing well and in fine fettle.
I note the aggressive begging technique is coming along well too…
December 13th – On the canal near Bentley bridge, the gorse (or is it broom? I’m never sure) is coming into flower and bringing a splash of welcome colour ro a drab, damp landscape.
I love to see this flower – it carries me through winter and reminds me it won’t be long until spring flowers return. It also won’t be long now until the shortest day and once more, the opening out will commence again.
I can’t wait.
November 23rd -Noticed in light drizzle just by the far side of the canal, on the edgelands of a scrapyard near Bentley Bridge in Walsall: apples, so far out of human reach, they’re rotting off the tree – food only for birds, squirrels and foxes.
Dripping with winter rain, I guess they’ll stay until the next really heavy wind.
Sad to see. I wonder if they’re tasty at all?
October 31st – A beautiful day in Darlaston and on the canals of Walsall, with sun shining through a light mist, suffusing all with a soft golden light.
As I’ve noted, Darlaston wears autumn well, and Victoria Park, the mystic bridge and canals were all lovely today.
A welcome pick me up after yesterdays dull greyness.
October 21st – Riding to work along the canal in Walsall in the early morning, I noticed how green parts of the towpath margins still were – the bracken hasn’t yet turned at Bentley Bridge and the dead nettles are full in flower for the second burst this year.
This has been a peculiar autumn, with many things coming into bloom a second time before dying off. The weather really has been kind to us this year, but I can’t help feeling winter is going to be a shock to the system.
August 9th – Reader Susan Forster has challenged me to take a photo of wildlife every day for seven days.
The opportunities for animals are limited, obviously, but I’ll give it a go and start with the humble urban sparrow, one of my favourite birds. Sociable, gregarious and actually quite lovely if you look closely, these overlooked birds are a large part of our landscape, yet barely acknowledged as they’re so common.
This group were fussing around the steps of Bentley Bridge, preening, pecking for bugs and generally hanging out.
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