July 16th – In Telford, I noticed that following the dry summer, the rowan berries were ripening well, but not large; they look dry, rough and on the verge of shrivelling.
It’ll be interesting to see if other fruits are similarly affected.
It’s a long time since we had a dry summer like this.
November 14th – Urban planners and groundsmen seem to like ornamental cherry trees. They grace town centres, open spaces, park and industrial estates. They don’t go particularly wild, take little care and offer beautiful blossom in spring, and gorgeous leaf colours in autumn, like these at Hortonwood.
They certainly brightened my day on a very, very dull morning.
November 1st – Also growing well by the cycleways and roadsides of Telford is a surprisingly copious crop of puffball fungus.
Still young enough to be tasty, I made a mental note passing in a hurry, to on my return pull out my bag and gather some for tea.
Not everything about autumn is sad!
August 3rd – I’m amazed at the general variety between types of rosehips. I mentioned these sweet fruit of the rosebush on here a few days ago, and noticed today they were developing at a fair pace now. They range from thin, almost yellow and small, to bright red, akin to a radish, like the one above, which is actually quite large.
It’s interesting as there seems less variety in wild rose flowers than there seems to be in the seed fruit.
At this time in late summer they make for a welcome splash of colour, and will continue to be so until late autumn. A beautiful but slightly sad reminder that the season’s wheel continues to roll forward whether we like it or not.
March 9th – I paid a brief visit to Telford mid afternoon, still bathed in gentle, welcome sunshine. Whilst heading over to Hortonwood, I noticed that the blackthorns on the motorway embankment were all blossoming.
A beautiful sight in a most unexpected place.
December 8th – In Telford briefly, I tried a different route to Hortonwood and the cycleway led me from a lower path up to an elevated road.
Telford is crisscrossed by cycleways and paths, many totally undocumented and unknown to casual visitors, but once discovered, they’re lovely. Note these steps have a ‘wheeling channel’ up the right hand side so you can walk up them whilst wheeling your steed.
November 17th – It felt a long way from Christmas on this sunny but chilly day, but I found something quite festive in Hortonwood: the holly and the ivy. The holly berries are bright red and plump, this year’s crop, and the holly leaves are so shiny and perfect the look at first glance like they might be made of plastic.
The ivy, creeping up the fence in front, is also rather beautiful.
An odd find on a gorgeous day.
January 28th – In Telford, beside the Hortonwood cycle track, a fine crop of toadstools is growing. I’m n to sure what these beige, delicate little caps are, but they don’t seem bothered by the rain and frost. I assume that they are, like many things, caught out of season and shouldn’t really be growing in January.
They don’t seem troubled by the frost, though… a little bit of perfection on the way to work.
October 20 – By the time I arrived in Telford the mist was long gone and there was bright sunshine an d blue skies. Autumn was at it’s best, and the line of cherry trees looked fabulous, as did their turning leaves against the blue sky.
It’s also incredible really that this is in the heart of industrial Telford.
Once you get used to it, Autumn is lovely.
October 19th – I had to make a quick trip to Telford in the afternoon. Riding from the station on the cycleway, I noticed what a beautiful autumnal tunnel I was riding in.
It really is most beautiful. How fantastic this must be in the sunshine!
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