September 17th – Uh-oh, in comes autumn. The days are still warm in the sun, but when it goes in, the temperature drops considerably. There’s an edge to the air, and in the evenings it’s started to feel rather chilly. Sunset is earlier and earlier.
From Catshill Junction today, the trees and scrub are starting to turn.
Autumn is unstoppable, and bearing down on me now…
September 16th – Shooting along the canal to Great Bridge early doors I passed under Bughole Bridge. Can it really be 22 years since they rebuilt it? The Black Country Route – which passes nearby – was new then.
I’ve never got to the bottom of what Bughole means, though. Anyone know? Like Bumble Hole and Devil’s Elbow, it’s one of those great Black Country names we accept without too much thought day to day, but when thought about really are quite preposterous.
September 16th – Not really sure what’s going on here but it snagged my attention as I cycled past: at St. Mark’s Church in Shelfield, there seems to be some kind of scarecrow festival going on.
It all looks very jolly, and I particularly liked the two chaps on the roof, but a bit unsure why the ones by the front door are apparently in jail…
September 15th – It was an intemperate commute, the traffic was mad and the weather highly changeable, derring between azure blue skies and sudden, hectoring bursts of rain.
On the canal in central Walsall, there was little to indicate autumn here in green nowhere, with just blue skies, verdant foliage and mirror-like water. Only the saturated towpath spoke of the untrustworthy weather.
September 8th – It’s nice to see the fungi coming through now – I love this feature of autumn. Many folk don’t realise, but toadstools, balls and polypores are just the bloom of much larger organisms living out of sight. They really are unlike anything else in nature.
This roll-rim was growing on a grass verge in Wednesbury and was about eight inches in diameter. They start flat and become funnel-shaped as they age: it was a misty, wet morning and this one was gathering condensation well.
September 2nd – Like most people, I’m holding out for an Indian summer, but as I made my way home on Wednesday, it seemed the chance was slim. Caught by two very localised, heavy downpours, I was soaked by the second after having escaped the first by stating it out in an archway in Pleck.
It’s gone cold, too. Summer, come back!
August 28th – On an early afternoon run home from work, a beautiful patch of thistles gone to seed on Clayhanger Common. Like fellow fluff-mongers Rosebay Willowherb, they fill the air with small, wind-borne seeds often called ‘fairies’ by generations of local kids.
Also good food for small bits who will dine on these to their hearts content.
August 27th – Returning to Brownhills that evening, I stopped to look at these shrubs growing by the Pier Street bridge on the towpath. I’ve been peripherally aware of them for ages, but not studied them before.
I have no idea what they are, and the blooms – now mostly over – seem almost prehistoric.
I’ve never noticed this before and am curious as to what it is. I’ve not seen it anywhere else locally and it appears to be thriving. Is it a garden escapee?
August 25th – Although it was a grey, miserable morning, the canal near Bentley Bridge still looked awesome. It’s still very lush and green, in spite of the merciless mowing of the towpath. Today I noted snowberries were coming on to fruit, and the ragwort is still going well.
A little brightness is always nice on dull days. The kingfishers remain elusive…
August 24th – Fruits of all kinds from berries, to nuts to pears. All in a short section of canal from Clayhanger to Brownhills on a dull, airless journey home. Nature is bountiful at the moment, and I was pleased to find the untouched windfall hazels, as here don’t seem to be many around this year. I note also the pears did quite well at Clayhanger, and the blackberries are delivering a huge crop this year.
It’s feeling a lot like autumn now.
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