#365daysofbiking An early delight

February 14th – Unexpectedly encountered on a Telford cycleway, this hedgerow blossom. It’s lovely, crazy white, and almost insubstantially thin, like apple blossom.

I have no idea what it is. the tree is certainly flowering before its leaves have grown.

Don’t think I’ve ever seen this before, but the tree isn’t alone in its flowery beauty; so it’s not just an aberration.

Speckled with water droplets from the quite thick mist, this was a beautiful and unexpected delight.

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June 1st – A grey day, largely but very humid. Storms were expected that never arrived, and the air of humid frustration was pervasive throughout the day.

Another blossom is out now, to add to the list – elderflower. So this weekend I shall be out with the sack, collecting some for a relative to make wine and cordial. Not too many though, as we need to remember the black-crimson fruit that will be used to make excellent wine in autumn.

A nice find on an unremarkable, draining day.

May 18th – I said last week, somewhat stupidly, that the blossom season was passing. That was completely and utterly wrong – it’s still in full swing.

Not with the brassy, brash cherries, apple and other fruit blossoms that entertained for an all too short period a few weeks back, but with the more subtle blossoms of humbler hedgerow soldiers – in this case hawthorn and rowan.

Both smell remarkable. Both creamy white, but very different. And both rarely deemed worthy of a mention, but criminally overlooked as they’re beautiful, especially close up.

May 17th – I first noticed this remarkable blossom in the car park just by the cycleway in Telford last week. I have no idea what it is and I think it’s probably some type of ornamental shrub, rather than something commonly wild.

The long white blossoms remind me a little of labernum, or an upside down horse chestnut.

Can any readers help please?

May 9th – Between the Black Cock and Clayhanger Bridges, not far from the new pond, an apple tree on the canal embankment is in bloom.

If smells absolutely beautiful and is a veritable riot of flowers.

I love how the dominant colour is pure white, but look closely and the buds and petal fringes are pink.

One of the most lovely sights of the season.

May 2nd – Further up the canal, at the new pond in Clayhanger, the pear blossom is very strong and fulsome this year – since we’re now hopefully too late for a frost, we might have a decent crop this year.

The canal itself is beautiful at the moment in shades of bright green – with the rare glimpse of blue sky and such gorgeous blossom it’s possible to convince yourself that this morning had to be the last of the bad weather and summer might finally be coming…

April 25th – One of the sadnesses of the season is how short lived the blossom is – it’s there, and gone in a blaze of colour, then shed petals and confetti, then… nothing. A more transient example of the season’s wheel you could not find.

At the moment, the blossom is just starting to end, but passing these two intertwined trees on the cycleway to Priorslee in Telford always fascinates me as it looks like one tree with two different colours of blossom.

I love how, even when fresh, the pink one looks like bright but tattered tissue paper.

Such a lovely, but all to quickly passing, time of year…

April 22nd – One of the loveliest things about this time of year is falling petals from trees in blossom.

Like nature’s own confetti, it celebrates the coming of warm days, sunshine and  light.

To see this delicate beauty, driving in swirls on the breeze, dappling grass and decorating you as you pass is a joy to the heart.

I just wish it wasn’t over so quickly!