April 17th – Spotted in a canalside garden on a dull. overcast bank holiday afternoon, this black and white puss feigned disinterest, but was clearly watching me closely as I passed on the canal at Catshill.
I love how cats balance and seem comfortable on the thinnest, most awkward looking things.
April 15th – A better day, but with a keen wind and I headed out for a ride late afternoon. Passing along the canal in Brownhills, the local feline population didn’t disappoint: At Catshill just on Clayhanger Common, eyebrow cat cast a surly, but authoritative figure as it disdainfully regarded me, and on a canalside deck but the Watermead, an old puss had fallen asleep, seemingly unaware his tongue was still out.
I’m loving the cats at the moment…
March 20th – With the start of my beloved British Summer Time less than a week away now (not that I’m counting the days at all) it was strange to get as far as Brownhills on a normal time commute and it still be pretty much light.
The morning commute had been awful – driving rain and a headwind – but the late afternoon had been sunny, if much colder than the previous day.
Hopping onto the canal at the Black Cock Bridge the towpaths were sodden, but I enjoyed the ride.
Stopping to photograph the view from Catshill Junction before my return to Brownhills, apart from the huge expanses of standing water, you’d not have known that most of the day had been so intemperate.
March 18th – A brief run out on a wolfish, windy afternoon had me glared at by a resident of… Catshill.
This grey and white, somewhat scornful fellow was watching me contemptuously from the far bank of the canal, just past the Anchor pub. I’ve never seen in before, but from the small grey dot on his nose to the subtle striped tail, he’s clearly a lovely cat.
I noticed he seems to be sitting at the mouth of a fox set, too. Wonder if the resident was inside, wishing the cat would bugger off?
March 3rd – A bad day when it barely stopped raining all day.
I had to be in Birmingham early, and took short rides in the morning and early evening. The weather was foul, and my mood little better.
Thankfully, good news, a mind at rest and the company of a very good friend helped no end.
Some days make you glad they’re over.
March 1st – For me now is the time of the half-light. My morning commutes are well into light now, and most welcome that is; but evening commutes are mostly on the cusp of day and night, light and dark, optimism and pessimism.
This commute started in a grey, overcast light with a strong tailwind and and the threat of rain that arrived as I rode the canal back to Brownhills. The sky though, transformed from a grey murk into a remarkable, beautiful, luminous blue which captivated me.
Even though it was raining, I couldn’t miss capturing this.
Within 10 minutes, the light had died and night had fully fallen – but I was so glad I caught the moment.
January 30th – A thoroughly uninspiring day’s riding. I travelled to work on a murky, damp Monday morning and there wasn’t even visible trace of the dawn.
In the evening, I left Darlaston in light but persistent drizzle that found every not-quite done up zip and flap in my clothes, with a crosswind that made the whole journey an ordeal.
Still, it’s staying late much later now than a month ago – a whole hour – and I keep looking at the green shoots on verges and in parks and know that darkness will reach it’s end soon.
I contented myself with a handful of shots of the canal on my way back to Brownhills, all the time dreaming of warmer, lighter, better days.
December 16th – On my return from work, I hopped on the canal at Walsall Wood, and enjoyed the peaceful darkness as far as Anchor Bridge, where I switched back onto the High Street.
The canal was peaceful, silent, eerie, with only snatches of light in the darkness, my headlamp scything the night as I rode.
But riding in the dark is mentally hard work, and I hadn’t got it in me. For once, the road felt safer, so I took it.
November 27th – It was a very dramatic-looking afternoon as I headed up the canal towards Lichfield on this cold afternoon suffused with golden, low sunlight.
I note from my favourite tree – the lovely horse chestnut at Home Farm, Sandhills – that it is now winter, as it’s bare.
As I noted yesterday, surprising how much colour is still in the landscape.
November 26th – Out for an early spa and an errand to Aldridge, I passed through a grey, millpond still Catshill Junction. With it nearing December, and nobody around, this is a quiet, if bleak spot to take five minutes and contemplate the day ahead.
Still astonishingly plenty of colour in the trees from the late autumn, though.
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