Tag: commute

May 18th – Ah, so commence the annual cygnet search. On the way to work in heavy rain and also on the way back, I looked over to the nest of the Pleck swans, and noted they weren’t on the nest. I couldn’t spot them between there and Darlaston either, so they’re probably roaming for food now. I’m concerned about them since the heron incident, but I’m sure they will be OK somewhere. Just a question of when I’ll spot them.

In the mean time, I had to content myself with the goslings that seem so numerous this year.

I love spring.

May 14th – Marking the seasons in a journal like this is always about firsts; first daft, first bluebells, first conkers etc. – and it’s always nice to spot the first bird’s foot trefoil of the summer. I adore these dainty little flowers that brighten up meadows, fields, verges and margins pretty much all summer. This patch at Walsall Wood I spotted in rain, and they’d been left straggly by the mower, but still a bright flash of joy on a dull day.

May 13th – Less dramatic and more serene was the view over the new pond at Clayhanger from the canal towpath; caught in a glorious golden hour, the fresh greens glowed in the evening, and all seemed right in the world.

I was, of course, taxed for tidbits by the same pair of geese as usual, the canny devils – all hissing and wing flaps until they get food, then they waddle off, sated.

May 8th – Coming along the canal past Grange Farm in Walsall Wood (just between Black Cock Bridge and Clayhanger Bridge) I noticed the small group of deer in the coppice belt between the towpath and fields. Sheltering from the rain, they hung around and although skittish, allowed me to take photos.

One of the deer (not pictured) appeared to have a nasty sore on her snout, which was sad. They appeared to be healthy otherwise, though.

May 8th – On the canal at Walsall Wood in steady rain, an interesting group of mallard crossbreed ducks, which I think are fed and loosely tended by a household near the water. I notice there’s mallard in there, of  course, but also white ducks and the one with the grey/blue bill suggests a ruddy duck is somewhere in that one’s genes.

That’s the thing about ducks, they’ll freely interbreed…

May 6th – I got back to Brownhills at sunset, but couldn’t get anywhere to get a good view of it, sadly; but it did look nice from the canal over Clayhanger Common. 

It was nice to be home; I was worn out. Some days, you don’t know which way up you are by the end of them. Your legs turn the pedals, and your body knows which way to go, but mentally, you’re knackered.

May 6th – A frantic day. From work, to Birmingham for an important appointment, and I was there late. Not much time to eat, or think. I was frazzled, and on edge. But I did have a ‘what the hell?’ moment looking at the new tram tracks being laid from the New Street/Stephenson Place junction. It’s quite a steep hill, and that snaking curve looks… interesting. Not much can’t in the track, either. 

I hazard that’ll lead to some interesting moments with the odd inebriated passenger and also probably cyclists.

I must say, the metro extension project seems to be taking an age to complete.

May 5th – On a morning commute from hell, against a headwind that wanted me dead, I winched myself through Walsall and onto the canal, as I was scared the wind would blow me into the path of traffic. The only consolation was that coming home had to be better than this. Fortunately, it was.

Welcome serenity came in the form of the swans, still sitting the nest at the disused canal basin in Pleck. With no Catshill pairing this year, I have high hopes for this pair and have been keeping a weather eye on them for a few weeks now.

The male is a bit of a lad, and last week was begging chips off a canalside diner. Today he still patrolled patiently on the canal nearby. He had to content himself with the few grains of corn in my pocket…

May 1st – Like an idiot, I left my camera at home this morning. I like the iPhone camera, but after the all-singing and dancing idiot box I’m used to, it seems very limited.

I left work earlier than usual, and on my way home shot over Shire Oak hill for a spin to Shenstone and back. The backlanes were glorious and sun bathed, and it really felt like spring out there.

I’ve missed this sort of thing in recent years. It’s good to get back to riding just for the hell of it.

April 28th – I returned gingerly, saddlebag laden with Dhansak, poppadoms and naan, up the Lichfield Road from Sandhills. That view across the fields of home Farm at sunset always makes me catch my breath; Ogley Hay, at it’s centre the 1850 parish Church of St James, in a view that’s changed little in a century.

Beautiful.