Tag: canal

#365daysofbiking A bit Woody:

September 5th – Good to see the singular Walsall Wood cygnet christened Woody has survived and thrived. This couple haven’t historically had large clutches of eggs and I was concerned this year to see just the one chick, late in the season.

It has however thrived and is now nearly the size of it’s parents, and they remain a tight family group.

A wonderful thing to see.

#365daysofbiking Springing up for autumn

August 31st – A welcome return with the damper weather has been the fungi, which has been mostly absent all through the dry summer.

I love to see toadstools and fungus in all it’s variety and this example on the towpath – some sort of Suillus I suspect – was glistening in the morning rain and was alive with bugs feasting on it.

#365daysofbiking Spirit of the water

August 30th – Returning home at sunset after a long day I noticed that Autumn is now encroaching. The evenings feel chilly and damp, although not yet cold; the greenery has the beginnings of the season’s golden jacket and things just look duller.

Still it was beautiful, and nice to see the canal so full after the leak in the summer.

#365daysofbiking Canal dreams

August 28th – Back to work and still grey, but feeling better. On the canal at Darlaston the greenery is still uplifting, and we may get an Indian summer after all. Perhaps.

The water lilies are still showing well too, which is always a lovely thing to see. Still can’t quite get over the fact that we have them here.

August 25th – A good deed for the day. Heading out, I noticed for the second time this year, a pwood pigeon downed in the canal near Ogley Hay. 

I was unaware wood pigeons couldn’t swim until I found one in the canal near Oldbury in the summer – they float, but just drift and will clearly drown before long. I rescued that one, but it was difficult as I had nothing to get it close enough to grab from the water. In response to that I now carry a length of thin rope which I held both ends of and tossed the loop over and beyond the stuck bird.

Gently pulling it to the bank, I took the pigeon from the water, and popped him under the hedge to dry out, poor thing.

Funny how I’ve never seen this before and find two within a few months.

August 25th – A bad time with the IBS at the moment, but I got out late in the afternoon on what was a very pleasant day to the Historic Narrowboat Club heritage gathering at Alvecote, on the far side of Tamworth. 

There were a huge number of old working boats on display, with their proud owners ready to tell you all about them – and these fine characters and their wonderful dogs made for a great couple of hours. 

A very English thing on a lovely Saturday.

August 23rd – I don’t know what it is in the season, but the acorns this year are prolific and absolutely huge. With the dry summer I’d have expected the opposite, but they are absolutely huge. 

The fecundity of the crop is, however, being affected by the large amount of knopper galls, that from from acorns attacked by the knopper wasp. Also a peculiar seasonal phenomenon, they are very,. very red this year, whereas it’s usually just tinges of colour. 

Wonder why?

August 21st – My late commute homeward bound collided with the start of the golden hour, a sign that the nights are closing in now, although I was unusually late, so no need to panic yet, I guess. 

Passing the trees on the edge of Grange Farm near the Black Cock Bridge, the golden light fell through the edge land  and was magical.

After a dull, damp, uninspiring start to the day, a welcome dose of sunshine.

August 20th – One of the sad but beautiful signs of a closing summer is toadflax, otherwise known as butter and eggs. This beautiful plant, in shades of yellow, white and orange will be common now in hedges and on towpath fringes until October.

It’;s a lovely thing but it does make me sad for a season passed.