June 5th – Over to Middleton Hall for cake, and a weary return through Tamworth up the canal. Although it was a gloriously hot day, I just wasn’t feeling it and my energy was low, but the scenery really perked me up.
Everything is so green at the moment – from the barley in the fields to the gorgeous limpid canals – and that view of Middleton over the fields never gets old.
A lovely ride, even if I was knackered!
May 31st – The season of the dog rose is upon us. You can keep your fancy hybrids, your blobs of colour on thorny sticks; give me the colour and scent of a wild rose any day of the week – bringing colour in an uncontrolled riot to towpaths, hedgerows and edge lands all over.
These were just by the canal in Walsall near Bentley Bridge. A joy to the heart.
May 28th – A recovery day. I didn’t do much, but had to be at a function in Burntwood in the afternoon, so I pottered there in the sunshine of a breezy afternoon along the canal and via Chasewater. I’ll never tire of the stretch between Anchor Bridge and Chasewater; so varied in such a short run; urban gardens, rolling countryside. Green fields, open heath and factory yards. It’s all here, and all rather splendid.
My Horse Chestnut tree at Home Farm – my favourite, and my overseer of the year – is currently in glorious flower, like most conker trees. At the Chasewater Cottages, young rabbits regarded me watchfully from the buttercup-strewn lawn. And in a waterside garden, I loved momma and children scarecrows.
I’ll never love a stretch of canal more than this.
May 27th – I had stuff to do near Allcester, and finished early, so rode over to the canal at Browmsgrove and rode home all the way on the canals, through Birmingham. A great, though tiring ride, the canal was as fascinating and quirky as ever.
I loved the giant Lego in Aston, and was mindful of the slow men in the water. The boater dogs were charming, and I’d forgotten Brittania in inner-city Brum.
A great ride.
May 25th – As we advance to late spring and early summer, some of my favourite flowers are emerging now; birds foot trefoil ‘egg and bacon’, buttercups, elderflowers and ox-eye daisies all brighten the verges, hedgerows and edge lands of my commute.
Such lovely flowers. How I love this busy, colourful time of year.
May 24 – I ‘m convinced that whatever gave rise to moorhens and coots existing had the plans backwards. Baby coots – featured here last week – look, as Phil Griffin put it ‘Like badly knitted moorhens’ – and he’s right. On the other hand, apart from the remarkable feet, these moorhen chicks could easily thought to be coots.
The antics of both are hugely comical, however. So nice to see.
May 23 – At Catshill Junction on the way back, a small, domestic thriller: a young, very ginger cat was watching a pair of unconcerned mallards, maybe thinking of plum sauce.
Of course, I broke the spell, and butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. What a lovely stripy fellow!
May 23 – I get a bit tired sometimes of defending Brownhills, Walsall and the Black Country. People call all three dirty, unpleasant, polluted, ugly.
All these animals were seen on my journey to and from work today. There can’t be many urban situations where you pass deer and herons on a Monday morning, can there?
I particularly liked the cygnet preening, just like it’s mum.
I love this place.
May19th – I passed along the canal at Bentley Mill Way later than usual, and noted that the swan brood here had hatched. I say brood, but I’m not sure what the singular of brood actually is; momma swan clearly only laid one egg this year, the remnants of which are all I can see in the nest.
I noted the parents travelling down the canal with their cygnet between them, proud attentive parents. I also noticed an interested heron; lets hope he decided not to run the gauntlet of the angry swan couple.
This pair do seem to have small clutches. I hope little one survives.
May 18th – I spotted him sat on the decking on the canal bank by Barrow Close, Walsall Wood. The marmalade cat’s attention was so fixed, I couldn’t possibly distract him.
I hope he caught whatever it was. Not seen this chap before – that looks like a fine stripes tail there!
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