Tag: Brownhills

May 3rd – Curiosity got the better of me, so on the way home from work I cycled over to Chasewater to see how the water levels were going. There’s been a quite marked rise since Sunday, as runoff and the streams and creeks that supply the reservoir catch up with the recent weather. I feel the most interesting stage of the gradual refilling will come inn about a metre’s time, when the pool at the foot of the pier rejoins the main lake. However, that will require far more water, and far more bad weather. I’m currently getting webbed feet as it is…

April 29th – I held back all day, hoping to avoid the wind and rain. Sneaking out late, the rain stopped and the cloud fractured. I headed for Chasewater, and I noticed this damp mum and daughter in a field adjacent to the old Highfield House on Pool Road. The hardiness of horses never ceases to amaze me, and this frisky little foal was joyous. As Mike Hawes pointed out on his tumblr over the weekend, spring is really here now.

April 29th – Late evening, then rain ceased and the skies brightened, so I ventured out. In a damp, oddly-idiot strewn ride down the High Street, I realised that, due to relatively light traffic, I was recording the water features by Knaves Court and Morris Miner, and a good few of the serious potholes in-between – some of which have been there so long that they’ve evolved their own weather systems. It’d be really, really nice if we could get some of this stuff fixed for a change.

Apologies for the singing disc brake: I’m bedding in new pads.

April 28th – I headed up to Chasewater on my way to Burntwood, to check out the water level. Last week, the water was only lapping at the right hand side of the mound around the drain culvert – soon it will be submerged. I noticed the grass – encouraged by the earlier rain – now submerged. I have no figures, but would guess the water has risen by about half a meter. This is good, but don’t be fooled; for every centimetre the water rises, the area of the lake increases massively. The journey to 75% full will be a lot quicker than the one from 75%-100%. It is good to see, though…

April 28th – I see Mrs. Swan is still sitting on her nest at the canal bank at the back of Saddler Road, Brownhills. She must have eggs there, this has gone on too long for a dry run. One or other of the couple has been on that fantastic reed construction continuously for weeks now. I’m getting quite gripped by the suspense, now. Formerly, swans here have had very large clutches – one year, there was a mum with nine cygnets. I’m interested to see what happens now, and have started taking diversions down the canal just to check up. ho needs reality TV when you’ve got reality nature on your doorstep?

April 28th – I spotted this bird of prey hovering, almost totally still, over the heath by Anglesey Basin at Chasewater. He’s an interesting character. I know what species I think he is, but I’m unhappy about the details. Can any birders help? Many folk don’t realise that Brownhills is host to loads of species of birds of prey – from Owls to Buzzards to very occasionally, Kites.

This fellow was certainly an impressive sight. Sorry about the poor photos, it was nearly 7pm and the light was lousy.

April 27th – Prompted by what, I don’t know, but during the day several people reported that they’d seen a gully cleaner on the Lichfield Road at Sandhills. Since I’d been complaining about the state of the drains here for ages, I thought I’d check out the situation. Sure enough, about 60% of the drains are now flowing freely, with one flowing in reverse (clearly a blockage in the intermediate culvert). The worst ones were left untouched, as I guess they need the solid silt removing by some other means. The road had much less surface water, although it still wasn’t great, it was much better. There appeared, however, to be an issue with the other drains in the verge, which was contributing to the surface water considerably. All in all, not a bad result but it would be nice to see them all cleaned and back to functionality.

April 27th – Returning from work, I was caught in yet another rainstorm. I had to go to Brownhills, and it was grim. Traffic was backed up, the wind was gusting and I was sodden and sullen. As I came from Lichfield along Barracks Lane, though, a sight of summer caught my eye; anonymous, usually unnoticed, a gateway. Today, even in the pouring rain, it was green, verdant. Purple flowers speckled the long grass, bursting out around it. I marvelled at it for a least ten minutes. I’m beginning to think I may have a screw loose.

April 25th – Everywhere you look, nature is getting it on. Trees are bursting into flower and leaf, and spring blooms punctuate the hedgerows and verges. Dripping with life, nature is really going for it now, the greens almost fluorescent in their intensity. The Horse Chestnut trees were barely alive a few days ago, now they are adorned with soft, fresh foliage and sharp stabs of blossom. Cherry and apple blossom dust gardens with pink and white. Lets hope the weather dries out a little and the bees can get to work.

April 22nd – When I got to Chasewater, it was raining heavily. I didn’t care, but it made photography difficult, even with the Gorillapod. I took a few halfhearted shots – the lake looked brilliant, but any attempt to point the camera in that direction resulted in a wet lens. Water level seemed up a bit, too. I cycled back via the parade. At the M6 Toll bridge, I passed two paramedics, parked up awaiting their next call. They looked at me as though I was mad. Perhaps I am, lads, perhaps I am…