Tag: canal

October 8th – I looked hard for inspiration in the grey gloom of late afternoon, and found nothing, and darkness had fallen before I found anything that interested me. Hopping on the canal at Walsall Wood, I headed for Brownhills via Catshill Junction. The stillness of the canal in the dark was as beautiful as it ever was.

When the nights close in, it can be hard to find decent photos for a while as you shift expectations of what makes a decent image. There is no longer the abundance of plants and wildlife in good light, and the sunshine that makes even the plainest view special is far more sparing in it’s attention; but in the night shot there is a whole range from quiet, lonely peace to the bright chaos of a city centre rush hour.

It just takes time to adjust to the darkness again.

October 7th – The Autumn isn’t bad at all, although the cold is starting to creep in now. It was a gorgeous golden hour on the canal as I came home past Clayhanger Bridge. 

The trees haven’t yet began to turn but the sun, on days like these, turns the ageing greens golden every evening.

October 5th – This is an odd one. Drifting for a while on the canal around the Black Cock Bridge in Walsall Wood, this abandoned pleasure craft does seem to have been someone’s home for a while, with boards tied at a broken side window, and signs of recent life inside. There’s no boat registration visible, no apparent engine and the craft is just drifting.

I had thought the boat had originated locally, but I think that assumption is wrong, having studied previous photos.

I guess, if abandoned this can be considered flytipping, and I suppose the Canal and River Trust, the people responsible for the canals, have a procedure for this sort of eventuality, but it must be a real pain hauling it out of the water and disposing of it.

A curious thing indeed.

October 2nd -It was a gorgeous autumn day – chilly, but still and the  the sun shone, it was warm on the face. I finally solved a pressing technical issue on the bike, then headed out to Middletn Hall for tea and cake, then up the canal to Tamworth and back through Hints and Weeford. 

It was the kind of ride that makes you realise autumn isn’t that bad after all, and in the golden hour travelling through Shenstone, with the church occupied and a service ongoing, even the looming dusk seemed magical.

September 25th – A windy, wolfish day with lots of sun and a few showers. Riding wasn’t so great – I was still short of energy, but on the other hand it was beautiful to see the rainbow form over Hammerwich just after the rain passed through.

It’s been ages since I saw one this vivid.

September 24th – Heading for Chasewater from Brownhills along the canal, my recovery ride was slow and plodding, but if it had not been, I might not have looked right down the Spot Path on Clayhanger Common and seen the old dog fox annoyed at my disturbing his duck hunting activities.

One ear flat in irritation and an expression of utter contempt, that fox never changes and we’re old familiars. 

Rare to be able to catch a photo – despite his age he’s nimble and still quick on his feet.

ISeptember 22nd – It was a pleasant but slightly chilly evening as I slipped out for a test circuit of Brownhills after a little bike maintenance. I’d forgotten my camera when I went to work, and was still without it, so I gave the phone lens a polish and had a go.

Cameras on phones haven’t half come on in the past few years.

September 17th – A bad day in lots of ways, but a sunset ride to sort the head out worked wonders. Heading up the canal to Chasewater the scenery was beautiful and the light golden. My favourite tree at Home Farm, Sandhills is laden with conkers and just showing signs of autumn, and the view to Hammerwich was gorgeous.

On the canal at Newtown, the Newtown one minded her own business, unconcerned by the stalking black cat, who seemed a bit peeved at my appearance.

If autumn promises more of this, it can stay around…

September 16th – On the way through Wednesfield, I met their swan family; mum, dad and six cygnets in rude heath. The young are as big as their parents and look well developed. 

Bickering and playfully pecking each other, they were clearly enjoying life and seemed like a happy, noisy family uint, clearly on a mission to the east, assisted by the wind.

A real delight.