Tag: Brownhills

#365daysofbiking The lateness of the hour

August 30th – Yet another late night. Catshill junction provided another good opportunity to find out how to get the best out of the Canon G5X mark II.

I’m beginning to like it but still not confident that what I capture is what I want.

I loved the effect of the garden lights and LED street lighting. That really has made urban night photography a different game.

In this late hour it’s hard to explain just how dark these scenes actually were.

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#365daysofbiking Winter haunts

August 29th – Working late this week, not getting time out to myself, but it does allow me to try a new camera on some old favourites.

I’m working with a Canon G5X mark II at the moment, which is astonishingly good in daylight. I’m having trouble mastering it in low light though, so what better place to try it than my old haunt and winter muse of Clayhanger Bridge at night?

Not too bad but need more practice. I’ll surely get plenty of that in the oncoming months…

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#365daysofbiking Rainy days and…

August 28th – A grim day at work when nothing worked, and a wet journey home.

Today was not a good day. But the weather and rain were warm, and the wind favourable.

Squelching on the Canal up to the High Street it felt very much like autumn. Although I always dread the season, I always give in and adore it in the end.

But the thought of the dark nights does so get me down.

Still, it’s not been a bad summer.

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#365daysofbiking Slider rule

August 27th – Oh gosh, a local celebrity. On the half-shell.

This yellow belly slider turtle has been living in the canal for years – I’ve seen a few of them in my time; there was one at Chasewater for years and several on the Black Country canals.

They are all discarded pets that are now illegal; they are normally southern US residents but survive fine in our climate, but won’t breed.

I’ve had fleeting glimpses of this one before near Clayhanger, but today, I caught it enjoying the sun at the edge of the canal.

It’s large, healthy, and apparently content. And boy, can it move fast: One whiff of danger and it retreated back to the water at top speed.

A fascinating curiosity.

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#365daysofbiking Arc of a diver

August 27th – The local cygnets are doing well, and are now the size of their parents.

I’m fascinated how they have their own personalities. This one is always dawdling being it’s family group, diving enthusiastically for green treats at the bottom of the canal.

So enthusiastic, it’s often wearing a wreath of reeds around it’s neck.

Ah well, no time for finesse when it comes to the grub…

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#365daysofbiking Opportunism

August 24th – It would appear that herons will eat not only fish and amphibians, but small rodents too.

Home Farm at Sandhills were getting their wheat in – watched carefully by an undaunted heron, who was clearly hoping for something squeaky and furry for tea.

I never knew herons did this, but apparently it’s fairly common. Remarkable birds.

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#365daysofbiking Sweet thing

August 23rd – Also showing late are blackberries, but in large numbers to the delight of forages making wine or puddings.

This year the fruit seem particularly sweet and after all these years I still can’t resist plucking the odd one and having a taste.

Always above dog height though, remember…

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#365daysofbiking Happy families

August 19th – On the way home from a tiring, enervating day, I met these bandits by Clayhanger Bridge.

The family of five I think are the ones that hatched up by Newtown on the canal to Chasewater, and they’re cheeky, bold and in good health. The youngsters are adult sized now and their pecks – even playful ones – come sharp and hard.

Once they realised I had no treats to give and pecking my shoes made no impact, they happily pottered off back to browsing the weed under the watchful eye of mum.

Further towards Catshill, I saw the family of four who I think hatched in Walsall Wood. That means that with the watermead two, six swans locally have raised 11 offspring this year. Not too bad going, I think.

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#365daysofbiking Filthy scum

August 17th – This needs no explanation: A bag of dog waste, collected by a dog ‘lover’ to look responsible, tossed into the hedge on a canal bank near Clayhanger when nobody is watching. It will now remain here, out of reach, a monument to your lazy disrespect until the wind dislodges it.

This is a filthy, disrespectful and nasty habit.

Those doing this are scum. No more, no less.

Don’t just pick up after emptying your dog, dispose of it’s waste properly. You bought the animal, you are responsible for the shit it extrudes.

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#365daysofbiking A good crop

August 17th – With my fascination with galls, it’s easy to overlook the fruiting of the oaks as it should be, and I’m happy to report this year that the crop of acorns – even though it’s been hit very heavily by knopper gall wasps – is plump and profuse.

The heathy acorns I’ll later gather to spread in hedgerows and on edge lands as is my tradition look better this year than they have for years. I guess a warm but wet season was good for them, if not so much for me.

I always have a dilemma here though: I can collect acorns solely from trees unaffected by knoppers, and assume they have so resistance, but in spreading solely those am I harming the wasp ecology? I suppose I should just spread any acorns I find, but it’s an interesting conundrum…

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