October 11th – Again returning as darkness fell, I caught sight of the Walsall skyline from North Street Bridge, and gave it a shot in a different mode.
The TZ90 is streets ahead of the TZ80 for night shots – and it needed to be; the last decent poor light performance from this range of camera was two generations back in the TZ70. This seems a lot better.
And Walsall, with the modernist buildings of the risibly named Gigaport, was a good subject.
September 21st – Returning home after a long day through north Walsall I caught a gorgeous, soft golden hour.
We are in the season of great sunsets and tonight, this was just a warm up for better to come.
There are positive aspects to autumn, you just have to be open to them.
August 18th – The tidy little calico cat who sleeps with her tongue out was hanging around in The Butts, Walsall on my way to work: she was watching the world pass by from the pavement, tucked in nice and tidy.
I stopped to say hello, and she didn’t move, but didn’t invite fuss, either; we had a brief chat but she wasn’t interested in my company, clearly.
A lovely little puss someone loves very much.
August 9th – The day ended much better than it started. Still feeling sad, but the rain had stopped, the sun had come out and all around me things were trying to make me smile.
The chocolate lab enjoying the wind flapping his ears in traffic in Walsall town centre; the kitten dozing on the bins in The Butts; the coos actually came to see me at Jockey Meadows and a chance encounter with normally snooty eyebrow cat at Catshill Junction all made me feel a bit better.
When stuff’s bad and life feels grim, sometimes the best thing to do is keep riding and enjoy the small things life shows you.
August 4th – Spotted on the way home, again in the cat metropolis that is The Butts in Walsall, this shy (presumed) siamese. It wasn’t feeling the love at all and certainly couldn’t make an exit fast enough, but what a lovely puss. Shame it didn’t fancy an ear tickle.
Someone is very proud of that gorgeous cat. Never seen this one before.
July 25th – The great feline sleep out continues, this time again in Scarborough Road, Pleck. This puss clearly wasn’t enjoying the scrutiny as it dozed on a shady garden path.
I’m unclear why Scarborough Road is so densely populated with cats – like The Butts, in summer it’s a rare journey where passing through either, I don’t meet one, yet other places where I’d expect to similarly find them – Shelfield, Darlaston – there never seem to be any around.
A curious mystery.
July 24th – Despite the change in the weather, the feline population of North Walsall continues it’s current predilection for sleeping outdoors.
This pair of sleepyheads, clearly related, were dozing in a small front yard in The Butts, enjoying the air.
I loved that the black one never once stirred, and the tortie has fallen asleep with it’s tongue out and is regarding me warily through just the one eye.
Oh, for the life of a cat…
July 21st – I was stuck behind a very slow-moving car in The Butts, Walsall, when I happened to look to my left, and I noticed I was being monitored from atop a tall garden wall.
This young, stripy cat – what beautiful markings it has – meowed at me and clearly wasn’t to be a new friend. I was intrigues by his sharp features and think there must be some rex or siamese in him somewhere.
After telling me off extensively, one last glare then he jumped down into the garden that lay over the wall. I could still hear him yowling as I rode away.
A charming, if unwelcoming fellow.
July 18th – Today, the older cats of Scarborough Road and north Walsall were not apparently pleased to see me. I haven’t seen either of these characters before – but the lounging black and white clearly had no time for me and my nosiness, while the black-brown bigtop bruiser was watching me carefully.
It’s reassuring to see neighbourhood watch duties taken so seriously – at least, while the weather is so agreeable.
February 27th – When I was a youth, exploring the local lanes and byways on my treasured Peugeot racer, I rarely, if ever saw birds of prey. I might hear the odd owl, or spot a kestrel or two, but raptors were rare things indeed.
Over the interceding 35 years, the rabbit population has recovered, and the buzzards and other large hunters have steadily been gaining traction. I now regularly see buzzards wheeling over the Black Country, often being mobbed by crows and magpies. Kestrels hover over motorway embankments, gimlet eye peeled for anything small and squeaky. Peregrines hunt pigeon in central Birmingham, Walsall and Lichfield. Patches of plucked feathers attest to the feeding of sparrow hawks.
It therefore gave me reason to smile that this fine bird was perching in a thicket near Wall Butts at Muckley Corner. A splendid bird in fine condition, and showing well that not all of our progression in conservation is wasted.
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 