Tag: commute

August 1st – So, it’s August and we’re coasting steadily through high summer into autumn, as signified by a rash of sudden fruiting; the harvest has started and has been paused due to rains – but everywhere, blackberries are darkening, apples are swelling, berries are becoming plump and all manner of hips, haws and funny are maturing nicely.

On my way to work on a pleasant, sunny morning, I noticed the crimson red of hawthorn berries darkening in the hedgerows and thickets. Bitter and woody, these berries will last long enough to carry many songbirds through winter.

I just have no idea where this year has gone…

July 28th – A sunny morning, but dreadfully wet return from work made for an odd day. I’m increasingly aware now of summer and time marching on and this shows in the shift from flowering to fruiting.

The apples near the scrapyard at Bentley Bridge are looking wonderful again this year. Such a shame nobody can get close enough to pick them!

Looks like it’ll be another fruitful autumn…

July 27th – Pottering along the canal on the way to work through Bentley Bridge, I noticed this juvenile heron; I can’t tell if it’s the same one I spotted a few weeks ago, but it’s clearly hunting well. 

Quite bold and determined I wouldn’t disturb it’s fishing activities, the bird kept an eye on me but didn’t flinch when I stopped to take a photo or two.

I love these mad looking birds and like the deer, I can’t believe we have them now; it’s a sight I marvel at as I’d never have seen these on the canals when I was a child. A real sign of environmental improvement.

July 26th – In Stonnall itself, the village has been tidied and maintained this year I think for the Best Kept Village competition. There are some lovely touches, like this old bike turned into a planter and the wheelbarrow full of gorgeous flowers.

It’s a lovely thing to see. My compliments to the villagers working so hard. Everything looks splendid.

July 26th – Passing through Stonnall on my way home, I noted the harvest has started, presumably to beat that morning’s rain, but it’s a sobering sight.

Near Lower Stonnall, the oilseed rape has been cut, the fields looking ragged and desolate, covered in the stalks, pods and shredded chaff that the harvester blows out after flailing out the precious black seeds.

Perhaps more strikingly, the field adjacent has already been harvested and ploughed over for the next crop. 

It feels uncomfortably like Autumn’s breath is on my shoulder…

July 25th – The great feline sleep out continues, this time again in Scarborough Road, Pleck. This puss clearly wasn’t enjoying the scrutiny as it dozed on a shady garden path.

I’m unclear why Scarborough Road is so densely populated with cats – like The Butts, in summer it’s a rare journey where passing through either, I don’t meet one, yet other places where I’d expect to similarly find them – Shelfield, Darlaston – there never seem to be any around.

A curious mystery.

July 25th – On an unexpectedly sunny afternoon, travelling between Tipton and Darlaston at 3pm, this gem looked splendid indeed.

On the island at the bottom of Owen Street – Tipton’s High Street – just by Coronation Gardens, Sandwell Council planted the centre with wildflower seeds. This is the result.

It’s gorgeous, captivating and a joy to the heart. Thank you to whoever did this, it’s a real act of beauty.

The Black Country: It ay all chimmocks and grime these days…

July 18th – On the canal near the Black Cock Bridge, there’s again a natural, organic scum that seems to be originating in the reed beds on the far bank. I can’t see what it is, but the film is definitely organic and natural.

There’s been a lot more of this phenomena this year than normally – I wonder if it’s a factor of the particularly warm summer we’ve been having?

July 18th – Today, the older cats of Scarborough Road and north Walsall were not apparently pleased to see me. I haven’t seen either of these characters before – but the lounging black and white clearly had no time for me and my nosiness, while the black-brown bigtop bruiser was watching me carefully.

It’s reassuring to see neighbourhood watch duties taken so seriously – at least, while the weather is so agreeable.

July 17th – Later the same day, in Darlaston. A summer place.

This, my friends, is the heart of the Black Country: thought by people who don’t know it to be ugly, defiled, polluted and unlovely. 

It’s actually mostly the absolute opposite and that’s why it has such a large part of my heart and soul.

This is my place.