July 5th – One of my wildflower joys at the moment is the humble thistle. Not just for the vivd purple brush that forms the flower, but for the delightfully spiky and prehistoric looking buds this curious plant forms.
They may not be conventionally beautiful, but next time you pass a thistle, look closely. They’re amazing things.
July 2nd – The day was also characterised by the animals met along the way. I’ve always loved canal animals, and these were all spotted nearby; the border collie waiting for his mistress outside the canalside farm shop at Haywood, the cat living at the canal cottage near Cowlick, and the two boater dogs watching silently as I passed.
I loved the terrier and venerable old collie on the boats particularly. They were clearly doing their job and looked happy and content with life.
Sometimes, it’s the animals you meet who make for a good ride, not the humans…
June 29th – On the canal near the Black Cock Bridge at Walsall Wood, work appears to have been undertaken today.
I have no idea what. It was clearly over when I came through, which makes the graffiti-style approach to warning about it wrong; how do you know the warning is current? At least you can remove signs when the job is done.
The spelling was very non-conformist, so I decided to preserve it for posterity.
June 27th – Near Catshill Junction, I watched momma coot feeding her chicks – presumably the second set of the year. She was diving, then returning to the surface and feeding the little ones from her beak. It was fascinating.
The chicks still look as Phil Griffin so memorably put it, like ‘badly knitted moorhens’, but they are very cute all the same.
It’s also interesting to be reminded of how strange adult coot feet really are. Curious birds, coots.
June 27th – One of the most notable changes with the cleaning up of the local canals since my childhood has been the explosion in water lilies and other water flowers that were unimaginable on the waterways of 40 years ago. Where once the water was polluted, filthy and lifeless soup, it’s now clear, limpid and at this time of year, covered in the pinks, ivories and yellows of various lilies and flag irises.
These flowers were near Clayhanger Bridge.
June 25th – Out late after a busy day working at home. It was a pleasant evening as I spun up to Chasewater along the canal from Ogley Junction.
I must say, that view of Hammerwich over the Warrenhouse still stuns me after all these years – and with the grass high in the meadow like a gently rippling sea, it’s even more beautiful.
Another lovely thing (though perhaps not if you grow veg!) is the burgeoning rabbit population along the canal and around Chasewater Dam. As you ride on a quiet afternoon, bunnies scuttle for cover from the towpath, nearby scrubs and gardens. They look healthy, and seem to be doing well, which is good news after myxomatosis wiped out the warren at the Chase Road Bridge a few years ago.
A nice afternoon’s bimble.
June 24th – On my return, I was not alone on Friday afternoon waiting out a sudden squall under a bridge in Moxley.
It sums up accurately how I felt.
June 23rd – On the canal at Darlaston, a flower I’m assuming is some kind of wild rose, although the flower itself looks a bit like a large blackberry bloom.
The flowers are wonderfully delicate and the centres a gorgeous shade of yellow.
Any ideas, anyone?
June 22nd – On the canal at Walsall, the single cygnet family are doing well, and their offspring has positively rocketed in size since I last saw them.
Still travelling in single file with clear purpose, they patrol canals throughout Walsall, and if I stop, they always pop over to seen if I have food.
I love how the little one is resting it’s leg.
June 21st – It may be the solstice, but the mating behaviour continues on the canal. With many mallards now on second broods, I noticed this industrious moorhen building a huge nest on the canal at Pleck.
She was very busy and the structure contains some interesting items. I’ll be intrigued to see if she uses it.
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