July 6th – I had to pass through Sutton Park in the early evening, and as I cycled by Longmoor Pool, I was pleased to note it had a family of resident swans, with as far as I could tell, seven cygnets. The youngsters were asleep on the water, and only awoke when the parents showed interest in me. That did;t last long when they realised I had no food to offer them.
Something about the light seems to have made this look quite dramatic…
June 30th – As we approach what is a very damp midsummer, the flowers and greenery are beautiful this year, even if the weather isn’t. Although the early flush of blossom and spring colour has now passed, there are now more gentle delights if you look carefully.
The thistles are just emerging now, in several forms and the self-heal has been in bloom for a week or two now, with it’s tiny, but beautifully coloured flower heads. Also remarkable and spotted today near the cycleway at Goscote, this wonderful orchid.
Purple definitely seems to be the colour of the moment.
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 28th – Oh dear. A short train journey mid-afternoon, and I found myself sharing the bike space with this nice, well engineered Specialized hybrid commuter bike.
Nothing wrong with it, and it looks like a nice ride – decent tyres, nice wheels and gears – but oh my, those mudguards are annoying my snobby sense of order.
Clearly fitted as an aftermarket add-on, the spacing between the guards and wheels is… all over the place. Also, the carrier tilts up to the back of the bike, and I notice another of my pet hates: seat post mounted rear lights – easily obscured by closing or objects on the rack.
Sometimes when you see other people’s bikes, it’s hard not to whip out the tools and start fixing them up…
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 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 24th – A shellshocked day, really, and the nation was politically in turmoil following the EU Referendum result. A Prime Minister resigned. Disarray in the opposition. Uncertainty about the future.
In Tipton, dodging the rain on an errand, I spotted this. Sometimes the most British answers are the best ones.
A Cuppa Tay is always best.
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.
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 