October 26th – I popped up to Shire Oak Park on the way back, which was also looking good in its autumnal jacket. It was looking less green, but it was pleasant and tidy as it usually is.
On my return to Brownhills a splash of colour caught my eye on a verge on the Chester Road; beautiful vivid red rosebuds, and by Anchor Bridge the ink caps were growing well.
Autumn is a bit of a curate’s egg sometimes.
October 25th – The Parade, Brownhills. Just by Holland Park.
This place is beautiful. Don’t ever let anyone tell you different.
October 21st – I was lamenting a couple of days ago that the fungus had been poor this year – it hasn’t up on the canal bank near Wharf Lane; I never noticed before, but in a short space, tucked in with the heather and gorse are lots of toadstools.
Mostly, fly agaric, I passed these spotty red wonders a couple of days ago and never noticed.
I’d love to know what the shiny brown one is…
October 21st – A dreadful wind and threatening rain menaced me on the way to work, but fortuitously, it also blew me back. I left after the rain had stopped, and found conditions challenging. As I rode, I noted a developing sunset I couldn’t ignore, so I hopped on the canal to Chasewater, hoping to catch it.
Sadly, by the time I got there, the gathering dark had swallowed it up – but it was an interesting ride.
October 19th- a busy, fraught and not terribly productive day, I spun out past teatime into a dark, deserted and somnambulant town. I had the little tripod, and I welcomed the darkness back into my life.
I spun up the High Street, over Anchor Bridge, and back down the canal, and didn’t see a soul; there was life on the narrowboats, as the chimneys were gently smoking, yet there were no other signs of life at all.
I love the new LED floodlights on Silver Court – and Anchor Bridge will always be a muse.
Time to embrace the blackness again…
October 18th – Certainly seeing that family with five cygnets about a lot. They were tooling around the canal, grazing and generally patrolling. I saw them several times during the day, but by mid afternoon, they were loafing and preening in one of the canalside back gardens near Humphries House.
I don’t know why, but these gorgeous, grumpy and truculent birds have me captivated.
October 16th – The patch of grass near Anchor Bridge in Brownhills is not something I ever pay much attention to, if I’m honest; it just exists, and it never occurred to me until recently how odd it is that it has never been built upon.
It remains unspoiled, mowed regularly by the council, and separates the canal from the Lindon Road. There are a good few deciduous trees here and in Autumn, they’re beautiful.
An odd little patch of beauty in an otherwise unremarkable urban landscape.
October 15th – I returned to Brownhills late in the afternoon when it was again pouring with rain. This wasn’t everyday, lacklustre drizzle; this was dense, heavy rain that squeezed in through any not-quite-close zip or gap, and rendered me soaked.
Once again, I found myself taking a breather on a bridge, just listening to the music – a rattling percussion, accompanied be geese honking happily.
Brownhills, you ain’t no looker; but that’s OK neither am I. But I do love you. Even on the horrid days like these.
October 13th – It rained heavily all the way home, and with a driving headwind it really wasn’t a pleasant journey at all. I hopped on the canal in Walsall Wood to escape the mad traffic, and stopped at Catshill Junction to have a breather as I often do. It was quiet, except for the music of rain falling on water. There was not a soul around, and even the houses in Chandlers Keep looked deserted.
I was wet, cold and tired, but you couldn’t hate it like this. This was a moment of unexpected peace in a very grim day.
I got back on my bike, and rode home.
October 12th – It was a beautiful misty morning, and there was nothing for it but to head off for a ride. I couldn’t go far, so settled for a spin around Chasewater. It was gorgeous. From the mist lifting from the canal to the cobwebs on the bridge rail, everything was precious. But the sun was warm, and soon, a tipping point was reached: the mist disappeared in about 10 minutes, to reveal a beautiful sunny autumn day.
Good to see the valves finally closed, too: Chasewater has been quite low of late and it would be good to see it fill up a little.
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