February16th – The greyness continued, and hung over the morning commute like a portent. Wet, dark and with a building wind, I edged into Darlaston over the River Tame at Bentley Bridge. The flood channel here has never been pretty, but on this awful Monday morning, it had something about it.
Maybe, somewhere downstream, there was a brighter day.
February 15th – A grey, lightless day, but still atmospheric. I popped out at lunchtime, not wanting to go too far as I was still resting and in recovery mode.
I slid up to Chasewater on the canal, and my favourite tree at Home Farm looked skeletal against the mist. The canal itself was deathly still, and I saw few people around. A tough day to take photos, and not a great riding day, either; but I did enjoy the spin.
Hopefully the weather will brighten and we’ll get a touch of spring soon…
February 12th – Darlaston and its remarkably wonderful architecture are stunning, and a joy to the heart even on the dullest winter days. Passing Rectory Avenue – the cul-de-sac next to the Post Office – I was struck by the beautiful red terracotta brick townhouses here I’d not really stopped and studied before. Foursquare, bold, architecturally confident, these were expensive houses, but not overly flashy. Beautiful.
Beyond them, between here and the church, the mysterious and wonderful tower of the Columbarium.
Such wonder in such a small, unassuming Black Country town.
February 7th – I nipped down to Lichfield in the afternoon for some shopping, and it was still cold, but at least the wind had dropped. Minster pool looked terrific and glass-flat on an otherwise very overcast, misty day.
Lichfield can look good on the dullest, most dreary afternoons.
January 22nd – I passed through New Street mid-afternoon. The whole place was grey. It’s still chaos, and has been clearly designed with anything but the passengers in mind.
I stood waiting for a late train. Ever signal I could see was red. Sometimes, commuting feels like this.
To quote Dexy’s, tell me when my red light turns green.
January 6th – An early, grey commute was brightened by something I’d never seen before, a heron in Jockey Meadows. A fair way from the canal or Ryders Mere, it must either have been resting or hunting in the water meadows here.
The photos are awful, and very long distance, but I’ve never seen a heron here before.
It set me up for the day.
November 16th – A grim ride, mostly in rain, up to Chasewater and back round by Brownhills Common. It wasn’t cold, but the light was atrocious and it didn’t feel great to be out to be honest. Some great views at Chasewater, though, with that wonderful colour from yesterday. I see the grebes are in winter plumage now, and the waterline on Jeffrey’s Swag and the North Shore could have been Penmaen.
Mr. Whiskers was the first cat I’ve ever seen on the north shore. He did’t seem to be lost.
Back in Brownhills, a lone cygnet made the canal view complete, and winter marigolds guerrilla planted by Becks Bridge on the Pelsall Road raised a smile.
Hope the weather improves soon.
November 15th – By rights, I should have felt miserable. At work early in the morning, still dog tired and sleep deprived on a dreadfully damp, murky day. But I headed over to Pelsall to catch up with a friend mid afternoon, and the colours in the grey mist were actually brilliant. There was an eerie, otherworldly quality to Green and Mob lanes, still in their autumnal jackets; on my return via Ryders Mere and the old railway, the marsh was ghostly, silent and deserted.
An unexpectedly good ride on what would otherwise have been a horrid day for it. You never can tell.
October 30th – The morning commute was marked by the wildlife I encountered on the way. As I left home, a large male fox sauntered towards me in broad daylight, bold as brass, taking the air, before diverting over gardens.
At Jockey Meadows, deer were over the back of the woods, but I had no time to investigate.
At Pleck, I was panhandled by the central Walsall swan family of mum and dad plus two. They always come over and noisily demand food. When they realise you haven’t got any, they lose interest and wander off. Aggressive begging is a persistent problem these days.
Right in the heart of urban Pleck, a grey wagtail was an unexpected delight, bobbin around in the canal side scrub. It was a long zoom in terrible light but such a cute little bird.
While I watched the wagtail, a large rat ran along the bumper rail. He was a big fellow. I only just caught his derrière. He looked healthy, though, so the water must be clean… yes, it’s a terrible photo but it does show the breadth of local wildlife, I guess.
October 27th – A quieter, and altogether more successful hunter was just up the waterway at Bentley Bridge. Initially quite well hidden in the reeds, I clearly put this young grey heron off his fishing stroke too.
I love herons – haven’t had one here for a bit. I still find it remarkable that I now see them in the most urban of areas. A real signifier of environmental improvement.
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