April 3rd – Too rushed to take many photos today, but pulled up short by a flash of cerise in the Clayhanger hedgerow – blackcurrant blossom. Always beautiful, mostly overlooked.
On a grim, cold and windy day a real fillip.
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#365daysofbiking Sweet thing:
September 25th – Again returning through Stonnall, I stopped to take a look are the venerable, reliably productive sweet chestnut that is always so beautiful on the corner of Main Street.
Always laden with nuts in their prickly, fur lined husks the tree is healthy and always fruits well; but sadly the climate in the UK isn’t favourable for producing sweet chestnuts, so the kernels are always small and thin.
They’re still beautiful, though.
#365daysofbiking How do you like those apples?
September 24th – Interesting to see this year the large crop of healthy, plump fruit, which has turned my understanding on its head: I always thought that in hot, dry summers fruit harvests suffered.
This autumn, the hedgerows, commons and woods are populated by trees laden with fruit – from hazelnuts to apples, beech nuts to pears, it’s been a fine harvest.
These apples growing by the canal at Darlaston actually look delicious, but sadly, well out of passing reach…
#365daysofbiking A bitter pear:
September 17th – The pear tree in Clayhanger has had a good season, against my expectations.
I had thought the crop this year would be poor due to the dry summer and ravenous birds, but it’s been heavy and the fruit are large and softer than the usual small, bitter offerings. And mercifully free of bird-pecks.
But oh my goodness they’re sharp!
A lovely thing to see.
August 22nd – Also doing well this year seems to be the alder trees who are fruiting heavily with the catkins profuse.
This hardy, wetland loving tree grows well near the local canals and although not a stunner, is pleasing all year round.
August 15th – Also ripening in the hedgerows and waysides are a large variety of different rose hips in a range of shades and shapes. From cherry red and almost spherical to more oval and orange.
Again, these fruits will help sustain birds and other small animals into the winter and will be bright and beautiful in the late summer when traditionally the colour from flowers subsides.
August 15th – With all the sun we’ve had, the haws – fruit of the hawthorn – are reddening up well and in copious supply. These hard, bitter berries will last right into the winter, and although not a first choice of most birds, they will sustain many when preferable food sources dwindle.
They also provide a lovely splash of noble colour to the late summer and autumn hedgerows.
August 7th – Also showing a good, plump and juicy crop this year are the blackberries, so profuse at the moment, everywhere I go they’re so ripe they’re falling off the brambles. I see plenty of folks picking them, but there are just so many.
If you’re a crumble fan, get out there. These wonderful fruits are fee and so sweet and tasty this year.
August 7th – One of the surprises of the summer for me has been the surprisingly bountiful harvest of many berries, nuts and fruits: I would have thought that the dry spell would have meant fruit was more sparse.
Elderberries are a case in point. I think the fruit may eventually be smaller, but there is a huge quantity ripening in the warm sun. These are all in Victoria Park, Darlaston where the bushes are absolutely laden.
Going to be a good year for home wine-makers aI think.
August 1st – I’ve been enjoying watching the progress of the berries and fruits this year, perhaps more than usual. Mainly I think because with the hot, dry weather I expected the harvest to be very poor, yet it’s far from meagre. Most things seem abundant, and it looks like being a good winter for birds with a bumper crop of haws reddening gradually in the hawthorn thickets and hedges.
These tough, hard berries are a good winter food for many birds, loaded with energy but bitter so they aren’t depleted quickly.
Grandad used to say and abundance of berries meant nature was preparing for a harsh winter.
It’ll be interesting to see if he was right.
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 