March 1st – A dreadful day with high winds and rain.
Coming home at dusk, I just caught the remainder of a sunset over the canal at Walsall Wood.
Sometimes, even the horrible days have a decent sunset.
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February 26th – Reedmace, bullrush or cat tails as they are variously known have a fascinating mechanism for deploying their seeds.
This time of year, if you can find one, just rub the head and it will explode into a huge ball of fluff – wind borne seeds.
Setting them off is compulsive and fun, but you do get covered in the stuff…
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February 26th -Arnold and Flossie, the Bentley Bridge swans have definitely got the spring imperative, and appear to be building a news. Well, she is. He was patrolling on guard – but Flossie was very busy weaving reads into her pile and testing it for fit.
This will be fun to watch over the coming weeks.
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February 24th – The good weather continues, and so does the need to be out in it.
I’ve barely been to Middleton hall this winter, so it was time to rectify that – so a journey out via Stonnall and Carroway Head was a delight – then up past Kingsbury to Picadilly and the mining memorial, then Wood End, Dordon, Polesworth, Alvecote and home through Tamworth and Weeford.
I’ve seen this weather described in the last few days as a ‘fool’s spring’ – I may be a fool but this has been absolutely glorious.
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February 22nd – Returning from work a little earlier than usual and in daylight, I spotted this splendid calico cat taking a drink from the canal near Humphries House.
One of the best things about spring is the re-emergence of the feline population, usually all cosy indoors in the cold.
I hope I meet this one again – it seems quite a character!
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February 16th – A miserable day spent fixing things and not feeling well. I finally went for a ride after dark, and soon felt a bit better: The bike was riding better than it had done all winter thanks to my afternoon’s work and I think I solved a niggling, recurring issue. As I sped along the canal, I decided to have a go at some long exposure photos at various places along the way and at Chasewater.
What you can’t tell here is that Chasewater was far from quiet: There seemed to be a very large gull roost making a huge amount of noise. It was fascinating.
These images didn’t turn out too badly.
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February 15th – The sun and mild weather at the moment are most welcome. Heading off on the scenic route to Lichfield for a meeting I crossed Ogley Junction footbridge and the shadows made me think of the great designer Peter Saville.
I love the effect of architectural shadows.
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February 13th – A ride into work on a pleasant, sunny and mild morning saw me take to the canal from Walsall to Darlaston, mainly to check on swan couple Arnold and Flossie, who had enchanted me last week.
They’re still around, still very much a couple and were just loafing, grazing the canal bottom and green shoots of reedmace. They seem in rude health and only looked cross when they realised I had no treats for them.
Looking on carefully was an enemy they may need to watch out for if they hatch a brood: Grey herons won’t bother a grown swan, but they will take hatchlings. They’ll need to be vigilant.
And so, slowly, the spring sets up it’s cast and characters…
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February 7th – I have a new pair of pals and I’ve called them Arnold and Flossie.
This pair of young swan mates have been hanging about the canal at Bentley Bridge, between Pleck and Darlaston for a few weeks now and are surprisingly tolerant of human company.
I suspect they may well nest this year, which would be nice to see.
On this windy but otherwise pleasant, sunny morning they were both dozing on the towpath, out sheltering out of the wind when I stopped. They both listened while I talked to them and they allowed me to take photos without too much grumping.
I look forward top seeing more of these gorgeous characters in coming months.
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February 6th -The lighter evenings, although coming on fast now, have not reached the far end of my commute, and I tend to do the canal less in the dark, as riding the towpaths at night – even with my excellent front light – is a constant mental grind.
Approaching Clayhanger Bridge on my way back to Brownhills, I stopped to check a text, and realised how bright my light was, to catch Clayhanger Bridge like that.
It’s still a constant effort not to end up taking an early bath, though…
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