March 1st – It was a gorgeous day for sure. Yes, everything was wet; despite overtopping the weir for weeks on end now, the main body of Chasewater seems fuller than ever I remember it being.
The fields of Home Farm at Sandhills were emerald green, and deer loafed at Brownhills West and Clayhanger.
A day that reminded me what spring was all about.
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February 17th -The storm bought huge amounts of rain to an already saturated environment. The canal overflow at Silver Street had flooded the lower meadow already.
The overflow at Clayhanger Bridge’s overflow – which goes into the same drain – was no less fierce.
Mesmerising to watch, but frightening when you think of the sheer volume we’ve had.
Let’s have a dry spell soon!
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February 16th – A truly dreadful day which saw a huge amount of rain and high winds. Overnight, lots of local roads flooded and there was much damage.
I ventured out after dark, and noted that the lower meadow at Clayhanger Common was doing it’s usual job. It had flooded, storing the water from the canal and local drains that would previously have swamped the village.
Instead, the landscape forms a lake that slowly and safely drains, keeping Clayhanger dry.
The noise and spectacle of this rushing water is a sight to see, but a remarkable bit of landscape engineering.
I do hope the weather will improve soon.
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February 11th – The spiky gorse bushes always seem almost prehistoric in nature, and flower pretty much through the winter in various spots along the canal and on particular local edgelands.
This patch of the spiny, hostile but beautiful shrub has just come into bloom at Clayhanger, adding to the impression that spring is nearly here.
A welcome, if prickly character after the cold and surprise snow of the day before.
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February 6th – the signs of the nascent spring are all around in the little things. Grass starting to grow again. Snowdrops. Gorse flower. Spring flower shoots. Easter primroses.
And hazel catkins, which although we pass without thought generally, are actually really gorgeous if one studies them, closely.
Spring is in the air, and just a wee bit in my step too.
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February 6th – My wellbeing is steadily improving, and so is the weather. Finally, it’s seems like spring is on the way and summer might be a thing, too. It’s been a long winter.
I’m still building myself up gradually with rides increasing in length as my energy, and capacity to process food, improves.
It was nice to pause at the Clayhanger canal overflow and chat with the mallards. Unlike the swans, they aren’t fussy about the company they keep.
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January 29th – The tribulations of the previous day were over with, and had gone well. I was still tired though, as I’d been nil-by-mouth for 24 hours and recovery was harder than I remembered it. After tea I braved a small spin around the canal and Clayhanger Common.
I wasn’t really up to it if I’m honest. But it was good to be out.
It seemed a good opportunity to continue the long exposure theme – the chance to stand and get my energy back was real, and waiting for the camera gave me an excuse I suppose.
Hopefully, tomorrow I will feel more like it.
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January 21st – Returning home from Bloxwich through Clayhanger, I took the Spot Path back to Brownhills rather than the usually manic and stressful Pelsall Road, the main reason I don’t usually go that way. As I left the village and headed up over the common, I found myself totally alone in the dark.
It was murky and drizzly and there wasn’t a soul about. I could hear distant traffic, dogs, the sounds of people on the new estate over the back – but compared to the ride I’d just had, this was blessed solitude.
This is never a particularly beautiful spot by day. It’s OK, it’s nice enough. But it’s at night that it’s specialness comes to the fore.
Sometimes the lonely dark can actually be reassuringly companiable.
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January 5th – Not sure what happened here. it was a decent sunset as I headed from Newtown up to Sheffield on an errand, so I stopped to catch it at Clayhanger Bridge.
This image is not how I remember it: It seemed much lighter at the time, and far less dark.
It actually felt open, light and beautiful, not dark, brooding and dramatic as it looks here.
This camera is very strange sometimes, I must say. (And no, exposure comp wasn’t turned right down.)
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January 3rd – And then, on my way home, in a familiar spot on the edge of Clayhanger Common, some old pals have poopped up to join me in my anticipation of spring.
So glad you all made it, I shall watch your progress eagerly.
Only the second day back at work and already reasons to be cheerful!
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