February 26th – Reedmace, bullrush or cat tails as they are variously known have a fascinating mechanism for deploying their seeds.
This time of year, if you can find one, just rub the head and it will explode into a huge ball of fluff – wind borne seeds.
Setting them off is compulsive and fun, but you do get covered in the stuff…
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February 26th -Arnold and Flossie, the Bentley Bridge swans have definitely got the spring imperative, and appear to be building a news. Well, she is. He was patrolling on guard – but Flossie was very busy weaving reads into her pile and testing it for fit.
This will be fun to watch over the coming weeks.
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February 21st – We are currently enjoying the most remarkable good weather for February, and in Kings Hill Park the spring flowers are coming on well, with the crocuses and snowdrops showing well, miniature daffodils just coming out and even the normal daffodils presenting the first early arrivals.
A sight like this on the way to work is just what you need. This good weather has been so good for me. Just in time.
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February 18th – There was a remarkable sunset, apparently, which I missed as I was in a windowless industrial unit. However, leaving I just caught the tail end of the bright sky behind the Kings Hill phone mast, silently tapping the ether for the hundreds of phone calls and data packets it continually relays for the community around it.
I love the mystery and appearance of radio masts.
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February 13th – Kings Hill Park continues to captivate.
The spring flower patch planted last year in the grass by the converted church is coming on lovely once more, and is currently a hubbub or crocuses in white, pink, violet and yellow. Soon they will be joined by other blooms, and a few short metres away, dwarf daffodils are coming on to flower, too.
It’s going to be a riot of colour again. I can’t wait – this is just the start.
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February 13th – A ride into work on a pleasant, sunny and mild morning saw me take to the canal from Walsall to Darlaston, mainly to check on swan couple Arnold and Flossie, who had enchanted me last week.
They’re still around, still very much a couple and were just loafing, grazing the canal bottom and green shoots of reedmace. They seem in rude health and only looked cross when they realised I had no treats for them.
Looking on carefully was an enemy they may need to watch out for if they hatch a brood: Grey herons won’t bother a grown swan, but they will take hatchlings. They’ll need to be vigilant.
And so, slowly, the spring sets up it’s cast and characters…
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February 7th – I have a new pair of pals and I’ve called them Arnold and Flossie.
This pair of young swan mates have been hanging about the canal at Bentley Bridge, between Pleck and Darlaston for a few weeks now and are surprisingly tolerant of human company.
I suspect they may well nest this year, which would be nice to see.
On this windy but otherwise pleasant, sunny morning they were both dozing on the towpath, out sheltering out of the wind when I stopped. They both listened while I talked to them and they allowed me to take photos without too much grumping.
I look forward top seeing more of these gorgeous characters in coming months.
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January 31st – on the way to work on a grim, cold morning, the familiar sight of gorse flowers on waste ground near Bentley Mill Way surprised and delighted me. I’m never really sure of the difference between gorse and broom, but the bright yellow flowers – in bloom before Christmas – seem to be around forever and smell pleasingly of coconut.
Such a lovely sight on a cold, grey day.
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January 29th – Despite an icing sugar dusting of snow and a very cold wind, the dates and emergent daffodils of the industrial estate where I work know spring is a thing.
Jack in the Green has tapped the ground with his stick and it’s all systems go.
The cold might slow things up a few days, but it’s underway now. It’s coming.
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January 28th – Passing through Kings Hill Park on a mercifully sunny, chilly day, I noted the progress of the snowdrops and crocuses, with the early-appearers looking wonderful in the sunlight.
I’m a bit worried about Kings Hill Park. Not one of Walsall Council’s premier parks, it seems to be losing some funding and last year, although kept beautifully tidy. the flower planters seemed rather neglected, which is a shame as they’ve always been gorgeous.
Kings Hill Park is a gem of a place, sited on largely reclaimed former industrial land, and is a jewel in the urbanity along the Walsall-Sandwell border.
I hope it gets a bit more love this year.
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