Tag: Brownhills

August 13th – A bit better today, and I’m on the mend, and out and about earlier. Time I note for another periodic explanation…

This isn’t pollution at Catshill Junction, or anywhere else it’s happening. This time the scum film at wind traps and bends on the canal is caused by rose bay willow herb plants, which are currently going to seed and producing oodles of the white fluff. 

Just like the sallow earlier in the year, it looks horrid as the chaff and hairy detritus forms a film on the water – but it’ll soon be gone.

Another curious little marker of the passing seasons.

August 12th – As I rode along the dark canal towpath, my light kept picking out bright spots in the dark, and dark lumps. They were toads, out for the evening to catch supper and take the air. Toads of all ages from the old and grumpy-looking to the youngsters just in their prime.

Toads are wonderfully tolerant, and will be picked up quite happily (but they may well pee on you if alarmed). I’m fascinated by these little characters and finding them made my ride, I must say.

August 12th – The photography was better, but I wasn’t.

Still pretty rough, and not really any better, I got out a little earlier and bumbled off to Chasewater to catch the sunset. Getting used to a new camera can be odd and the Nikon seems to have interesting habits; it doesn’t seem to do sunsets quite the same as the Panasonic, which tended to redden them, where as this one tends to pull out the pink aspect more. It worked better than I thought it had from the picture preview.

From there, I scooted back to Brownhills as it got dark. Some shots from Clayhanger’s railway bridge using a gorillapod allowed me to experiment and found that aperture priority allowed me to get the hash, sharp light pattern I like. That was a real discovery.

I was a lovely evening, and although I felt dreadful, I’d learned something, so it wasn’t a bad trip, really. 

And then there were the toads…

August 11th – I’ll be perfectly honest, I’m not very well. I’ve been off colour since the weekend and I’ve only got out for short runs; today a quick loop of central Brownhills just to get some fresh air after dark.

Still, it gave me chance to experiment with the Nikon a little more – none of these shots used a tripod, but handheld night mode on the camera. They’re OK but I’m not sure about the indistinct fuzz it makes of lights. 

Need to experiment another day when I’m well I think. Here’s to better days.

July 24th – I came home from work through Brownhills over Anchor Bridge, avoiding the towpath mud from the hours of steady rain. It wasn’t unpleasant out, and was as enjoyable as summer rain could ever be, but as I pulled over onto the footpath to take a call, I looked over the parapet and was reminded of something that’s been troubling me for years.

There appears to be a storm drain from the Lindon Road draining directly into the canal below, hence the brown mud plume in the water. that runoff will contain oil and diesel, rubber and all manner of road surface pollutant nasties. Draining it straight into the canal doesn’t seem right to me.

It’s been like this for as long as I can remember. Surely that can’t be compliant with modern standards, can it?

July 18th – A mad day when I didn’t have much time for anything, and again, I was suffering with a dismal stomach. But in the late afternoon, the sun was warm and the wind wasn’t so bad, so I headed over to Burntwood to get some errands in. From there, I headed back over to Aldridge for some stuff I couldn’t get. In-between the two, the canal near Wharf Lane was limpid, dark green and beautiful.

Summer really is wonderful at the moment, and just the tonic for my wayward digestive system!

July 13th – I haven’t seen these guys for a while , and my goodness, they’ve grown! These are the Watermead swan family from Brownhills, and they came over to see if I had any food as I passed Clayhanger Bridge.

I was glad to see they still number five, and interesting to see the very beginnings of adult plumage forming on the growing cygnets.

Here’s to another successful year!

July 9th – I wasn’t particularly late back, but the golden hour seemed to settle in early, on a peaceful, mirror calm Catshill Junction. The new flats have balconies now, but still no sign of anything being done with the scrub and statue on the canal bank. 

On the towpath side, the buggers don’t seem to stop mowing at the moment – I’ve never known a year like it. It’s almost as if the moment an interesting flower pops up it must be cut down.

It never used to be like this. I’m convinced it’s just so the Canal and River Trust can look like they’re pro active whilst ignoring real infrastructure issues.