BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking

On a bike, riding somewhere. Every day, rain or shine.

Posts tagged ‘berries’

#365daysofbiking Respecting the elders

Tuesday, September 29th 2020 – Out and about the leaves may be starting to turn but there are still plenty of fruits, berries and seeds about. Crab apples and conkers litter the ground and edges of roads; acorns crunch as you ride past oak trees overhanging canal towpaths; one often startles birds picking at the last, dripping blackberries clinging on to wayside thickets.

The black and glistening favourite of home wine-makers, the elderberries, did not seem to have a good season this year with small, sparse fruit with only the odd profuse bush. But some still cling on, mainly to feed the birds.

As usual, there are still plenty in Victoria Park, Darlaston. For some reason the local winemakers generally leave these for the birds.

Seeing these handsome berries is bittersweet, like the fruit itself, for they signify the end of summer.

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#365daysofbiking Berry colourful

Friday, September 18th 2020 – One of the joys of late summer/autumn fruiting is pyrocanthus, colloquially known as firethorn.

This colourful member of the apple family – it’s fruit are not really berries but pomes, i.e. apples – is insipid to humans with mildly poisonous seeds within, but very valuable for wild birds as a long lasting food source into the cold months.

For bystanders, though, if means beautifully vivid boughs laden with glistening fruit in shades from nearly white to deep, deep read, a real autumn treat.

These bushes near Darlaston entertain me every year.

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#365daysofbiking Archbishop of the hedgerow

December 20th – In Telford where I’d nipped for one last task before Christmas, the weather was mild and fairly dry, but it did feel Christmassy and my mood was lifted by the abundance of holly on the Hortonwood cycleways and hedgerows.

Holly is such a beautiful evergreen and the veritable archbishop of the hedgerow, it’s easy to see why the pagans loved it as a symbol of midwinter regeneration.

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#365daysofbiking Orange aid

November 27th – In Telford again, more berries, but unlike the holly ones on Monday, these laden boughs of cotoneaster will be very much appreciated by the songbird population.

Cotoneaster are really appreciated by blackbirds who will defend a discovered bush for weeks if need be. The berries are bitter, but laden with sugar and a read aid to the birds over a cold winter.

If the adage about heavy crops of fruit meaning we’re due a cold spell is true, looks like we’re in for. a bad one this year…

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#365daysofbiking A prickly observation

November 25th – Some things that are seasonal are always a shock when you find them, as they remind you of a year passing. Snowdrops and acolytes after Christmas, the first daffodil, the first berries and galls, etc.

One that always catches me up short is holly berries.

That’s Christmas – it is after all, a great element of Yule symbolism. But they do appear a ways before Christmas and tend to be around long after. I don’t know why, but holly berries never seem that attractive to birds.

These, spotted on a wet Monday morning on the cycleway near Ryecroft Cemetery quite took me by surprise – but then, it’s only a month to go…

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#365daysofbiking Laurel and hardly

October 29th – Also on the Priorslee cycleway in Telford, a new hazard that caught me by surprise – but thankfully, didn’t have me off the bike, but it was close!

These slimy, goopy squished berries are I think, laurel. They are falling from a tree next to the cycleway, and are gradually being crushed by the feet of walkers and wheels of cyclists into a greasy pulp.

Its really fiendishly slippery on narrow tyres, and seems water resistant too – heavy rains seem to have made it worse rather than washing it away!

Take care, folks.

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#365daysofbiking Berry well red

September 4th – Also in the bright berry department, this bright red example grows in similar urban situations as the firethorn, but has much more spread, larger berries in smaller clumps more evenly spaced.

I was surprised to find that it’s actually a type of cotoneaster – plant that I’m used to having tiny leaves and berries.

It’s certainly very beautiful and the birds are already clearly digging in…

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#365daysofbiking A spreading fire…


September 4th – The firethorn berries seem late this year.

Curiously bright and profuse, pyrocanthus is a relative of the crab apple, and is a favourite in urban borders for the striking colours of the berries – from yellow to bright, vivid red.

Beloved by songbirds, they bring a welcome splash of colour to town centre planters, industrial estates, edgelands and gardens all through late summer and early autumn.

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#365daysofbiking A rose by any other name

August 20th -Whilst in Wednesbury, I took a look at Brunswick Park, which is a lovely spot. Whilst there, I spotted these red berries. The shrub was clearly under attack from some pest or other, but the fruit looked gorgeous, and a bit familiar.

Turns out it’s guelder rose, which isn’t really a rose at all, but the white flowers are very familiar to me. The berries are very mildly toxic, but jam can be made from them. They are very bitter.

A beautiful, bright red reminder that autumn is just around the corner.

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