May 18th – Riding home along a damp canal on a grey evening commute, I noticed the apple blossom is really, really profuse this year. This crab apple tree near the Black Cock Bridge in Walsall Wood is absolutely beautiful – and the scent is wonderful.
With decent weather in the last few days, hopefully pollination will be good. Certainly plenty of bees about, even on their grey, chilly evening.
May 17th – I see the canals are looking pretty messy again – not to worry though, as this pollution is entirely natural and harmless.
Lots of reed detritus and airborne blossom debris is combining, as it does at various times of the year, to form a heavy scum in wind traps on the surface of the water.
It’s harmless and will decay within a week or so, it’s perfectly natural.
May 15th – The ride to and from Fazeley was nice, too. I sped there, running late after some bike maintenance prompted by the previous day’s tribulations, but cutting over Little Hay was lovely. I left the market heading south to Middleton and the conveyor Bridge, and came out to the rear of Middleton Hall, so I came through Drayton Basset for a change, forgetting the grinding uphill run past the vineyards to Caraway Head.
Drayton Basset is, of course, the resting place of Sir Robert Peel, creator of the British Police Force, and who died surprisingly young, at 62.
The scenery was beautiful, there was a bit of an insistent headwind on the way back, but a pleasing 30 miles.
My 15th – A pleasant recovery ride down to Faxeley Junction in Tamworth to see an old friend – there was a ‘floating market’ there which I caught the tail end of; it was a lovely, gentle event.
As at any canal gathering, the dogs were the stars of the sow; the two retrievers on the doggie boat were gorgeous, even tempered things. Others snoozed, loafed or begged treats from passers by.
There was plenty to see and do and it was a lovely afternoon in the sun to soothe my aches after the long ride of the day before.
May 11th – On the Walsall Canal, despite the grim weather, life was continuing as normal. There are coot chicks in abundance, and I’ve been savouring the excellent description of them by Phil Griffin as ‘looking like badly knitted moorhens’ – they certainly are odd little things.
There was blossom aplenty from lilac and ornamental cherry, and the heron paused in it’s preening to look crossly at me, as if I’d broken it’s train of thought.
All of this in a 50 metre stretch of canal in the centre of urban Walsall.
May 11th – Another rainy commute in both directions, although it did dry out a little for the second half of the journey in.
I did promise to bring my friend some sunshine. On a dull day in Walsall, this will have to do. What a lovely looking boat!
May 10th – What a horrendous day of commuting – heavy rain in both directions left me soaked with frayed nerves.
Such was my desire to escape the traffic on the way to work, I hopped on the canal knowing how bad the mud would be – but I was past caring.
In the warm, actually not unpleasant rain, the canal rang with raindrops, almost musical, and the swans at Bentley Mill Way didn’t seem to mind.
Hope it’s a bit drier tomorrow.
May 9th – Pear blossom lasts but a few days, and you’re lucky to spot it really, but this thick crop of flowers, just going over and scattering like confetti on the strong breeze were profuse on the small pear tree by the new pond in Clayhanger.
Last year the tree fruited well, but with a late frost on the blossom, I’m not sure how well this tree will do this year.
Beautiful while it lasts, though.
May 9th – It’s a waiting game, still; I was hoping we might see some cygnets hatch over the weekend, but it seems not. The swans at Bentley Bridge wait patiently, whilst keeping a watchful eye on the odd bloke with the bike…
May 5th – This one has me a bit puzzled, and makes me realise how little I know about swan behaviour. This lone swan is on the decaying nest left in the disused basin by Cashmores works just off the Walsall Canal at Pleck. This nest successfully incubated and hatched at least four cygnets last season to a pair who I think are now nesting up at Bentley Bridge. The nest here is very secure from most predators – well out on the water, and humans can’t get there as it’s almost totally fenced off.
The one thing it’s not secure from is herons, and I’m fairly sure a heron took a couple of newly hatched cygnets here last year, which may explain the pair not using this site again.
Occasionally, a single swan sits this rotting nest. I have no idea why. She – I’m assuming it’s a she – was there this evening, and seemed quite content, but there was no sign of a partner at all, and no sign of nest maintenance.
I do wonder what’s going on here.
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