Tag: green

#365daysofbiking Stirring

January 4th – In Kings Hill Park again at lunchtime heading for B&Q, I stopped to note that ostensibly, it was very much winter, and the park looked as darkly green and growthless as it always does at this time every year.

But wait up.

Stop and look, and honey fungus is growing in the grass – and bedgraggled daisies are still very much in bloom. But better than these side effects of a so far warm winter, the spring flowers are coming now: They have stirred in the death and are sending green shoots upwards.

Soon, there will be flowers.

My heart sang.

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#365daysofbiking Still hanging on:

September 15th – Back on the canal in Brownhills on the way back home, the autumn was far more subtle. The hawthorn hedgerows are very, very crimson this year with hawthorn berries showing a particularly heavy harvest,  and the reed beds, grass and waterside trees are still pretty green. 

If I tried hard, I could just forget the oncoming season and still convince myself these were the end days of a great summer.

#365daysofbiking Back on track

September 1st – I took a bimble on the bridleway that runs from Claypit Lane by Aldershawe at Wall to to the old Watling Street by the Birmingham Road, which I haven’t done for years.

The fields on Harehurst Hill were being ploughed, and under the railway bridge, there seemed to be a fault in the rendering of reality…

A beautiful little green lane I’d forgotten all about.

#365daysofbiking Canal dreams

August 28th – Back to work and still grey, but feeling better. On the canal at Darlaston the greenery is still uplifting, and we may get an Indian summer after all. Perhaps.

The water lilies are still showing well too, which is always a lovely thing to see. Still can’t quite get over the fact that we have them here.

August 14th – A tiring, very long day, but despite my weekend gloom (sometimes the IBS gets you like that) the weather is still very dry and warm – although not the sun-drenched heatwave of a couple of weeks ago, it’s still warm enough to ride with just a tee shirt and hopefully catch a little warmth on the skin.

The weekend’s small amount of rain clearly hasn’t been wasted: things suddenly look green anew – the canal at Clayhanger Bridge was as limpid and peaceful as ever, but the surrounding vegetation is greening up again. It looks… Fresher. Grass is sprouting again, and optimistic, opportunistic weeds and wildflowers are shooting up on the edgelands.

Looks like summer isn’t over after all…

August 12th – I was hoping to snap out of it. I certainly felt better today; the cramps eased and I did more of what I had to do. But the early, end of summer blues really had me around the neck. It’s ridiculous really.

But this is the problem with having a good summer. You get used to it and feel that it might never end.

I took a spin to Chasewater to see if I could find some wildlife to cheer me up. I failed. 

I noticed on the way that the rolling hills to Hammerwich were, after the vivid yellow of spring’s oilseed rape flowering, the gold of high summer and brown hot harvest, now… green. The rain on the stubble in the last couple of days must have really stimulated a bolt of growth. Stunning, really.

I was impressed by the two sunflowers growing near Chasewater Dam, though, just on the south shore. They must have germinated from bird seed.

Now they did cheer me right up!

August 9th – Kings Hill Park is looking very weather- worn at the moment. At the beginning of the hot spell, the planters were cleared for new flowers, but it was clearly felt that planting out new bedding plants might be a waste in the heatwave, so since early summer we’ve had to be content with the noble greens and golds of a hot, dry season.

This little oasis is still beautiful however, and a welcome refuge from the hectic day at work, providing me with a nearby place where I can take five, rest and enjoy peace and quiet.

It’s a lovely little park, whatever the season or time of year.

August 6th – Heading along the Walsall Canal towards Darlaston Green and Bentley Bridge on a sunny Monday morning. Not a soul around, intense blue skies and just the sounds of waterfowl, birds and nearby industry.

I couldn’t be anywhere finer, to be perfectly honest. I love this place with all of my heart.

June 30th – At Hints Ford, the water was cool and the air shady and still, and I spent a good 30 minutes just enjoying the relaxed, verdant scene and listening to water.

Sometimes, after a long ride, that’s all you really need.

I’ve been coming here since I was 12. It’s not really changed much, thankfully. This place is in my heart.