Tag: commute

#365daysofbiking Community chestnut

September 12h – Also on my way back from Shenstone, at the bottom of Main Street in Stonnall, a different type of chestnut is absolutely profuse this year.

Sweet chestnuts in their spiny shells don’t really grow edible fruit in this country due to the climate, but they are beautiful ornamental trees with their shiny leaves and fascinating, almost prehistoric looking fruit.

This tree is always impressive.

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#365daysofbiking Early arrivals


September 12h – The harbingers of autumn come in many forms, but few more pristine and beautiful than a freshly cracked open conker husk.

I found these windfalls on my way home from Shenstone – still a little unripe  but nearly there – lying in the road. Like most men, I’m indelibly programmed to pick up a stray conker wherever I see it.

And when they’re beautiful like these, that’s not hard.

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#365daysofbiking High on the hill

September 11th – Another sunny day, and passing through Kings Hill Park, my twin muses, the sisters of Wednesbury’s Church Hill were captured well by the camera.

I love the way these two totally different churches compliment each other, looking over the area imperiously as they have done for more than a century.

The view could probably be improved with the removal of the car sales place but that’s by the by.

On a lovely autumn day, the treetops of church hill were just starting to get their seasonal jackets on, and all was pretty much right with the world.

A decent autumn day can really warm the heart and nourish the soul, and make one realise that the loss of summer isn’t so bad after all.

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#365daysofbiking Urban explorer

September 10th – Up in Pleck, Walsall I spited this brisk, urbane puss who was stalking ratty  in the rubbish on the opposite canal bank by Scarborough Road Bridge. Nervous at first, I thought he was going to run away, but he found his courage and faced me while I caught him on camera.

This large black and white puss may be rooting through the rubbish but he was neat an tidy and very lithe.

Clearly one has to look one’s best, even in the most grim conditions…

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#365daysofbiking Sun worshiper

September 10th – The weather is generally agreeable and warm at the moment, and there’s no finer indicator of than than passing on the way to work local sun worshipper Mr Miyagi (turtle wax on, turtle wax off) as I’ve decided to christen him.

He was sunning himself in his usual spot, head out and enjoying the day.

This feral yellow belly slider is becoming quite the local celebrity.

He’s a handsome chap for sure…

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#365daysofbiking Forbidden fruit

September 9th – In Darlaston, trapped in land I can see but never reach between two factory yards, the most splendid crop of rosy red apples.

They will windfall, and be eaten mostly by the local foxes and birds, every year the same.

I always wonder if they taste nice. I guess I’ll never know.

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#365daysofbiking Duck deluxe

September 6th – It’s easy to overlook the ubiquitous, humble mallard duck, but they are most beautiful birds if one looks closely.

This female spotted at Clayhanger overflow lives perfectly happily on the canal, and is usually seen loafing with others in a loose social grouping.

The plumage is actually really detailed complete with the underwing blue stripe.

I’m convinced that were they not so common, we’d cherish these affable, indolent birds a lot more than we do.

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#365daysofbiking Sick more?

September 5th – Whilst I obsess over galls on oaks and wild roses, other shrubs and trees have their own problems. Here on Clayhanger Common, this sycamore tree is affected by sycamore mites and tar spot fungus.

The curious leaf growths form on the leaf like a gall from the point at which mites feed on the leaf by the same mechanism that other gall insects imply – in the case of these tiny mites, their saliva corrupts the lead cell DNA to grow into a gall.

On the underside of the leaf, a tiny, fur lined aperture into the gall is used by the mite after it has grown to lay its eggs, and the gall is eaten by the hatchling.

This leaf also has tar spot fungus.

Neither harm the host tree to any extent.

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#365daysofbiking Berry well red

September 4th – Also in the bright berry department, this bright red example grows in similar urban situations as the firethorn, but has much more spread, larger berries in smaller clumps more evenly spaced.

I was surprised to find that it’s actually a type of cotoneaster – plant that I’m used to having tiny leaves and berries.

It’s certainly very beautiful and the birds are already clearly digging in…

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#365daysofbiking A spreading fire…


September 4th – The firethorn berries seem late this year.

Curiously bright and profuse, pyrocanthus is a relative of the crab apple, and is a favourite in urban borders for the striking colours of the berries – from yellow to bright, vivid red.

Beloved by songbirds, they bring a welcome splash of colour to town centre planters, industrial estates, edgelands and gardens all through late summer and early autumn.

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