Tag: leaves

October 25th – I’d been to Droitwich to see a customer and get some other bits and pieces done, and noted that the Autumn there too was very special, with the wide main roads lined with a variety of trees in excellent seasonal hues.

On my return from the station, I slipped through Little Aston Forge and Bosses, where I spotted the crimson ivy gable wall, and the driveway bed of beautiful flowers.

The last few days really have been beautiful out there.

October 18th – Another lovely golden hour, this time as I came through Walsall Wood and the Black Cock Bridge. The sun reflected off the golden leaves beautifully and rendered the farmhouse precious.

As the sun receded further, the skies were dramatic over Clayhanger, too. 

The sunsets at this time of year are fantastic.

October 15th – Further on, I hopped on the Spot Path back to Pier Street, and autumn is clearly well afoot now; leaves are turning and falling, and there’s that unmistakable nip to the air. It’s also getting dark now only a little past six pm – and in a week or so, the clocks will be going back and it’s the time of darkness once more.

Although autumn is lovely, I hate what it leads to.

April 28th – Another striking return is of the leaves to the row of trees on Stafford Park in Telford. I love this regimented row, which in winter always makes me think of Joni Mitchell and her song ‘Urge for Going’  with the line ‘Shivering trees standing in naked rows’ – but in spring, summer and autumn, when caught at the right angle, these carefully planted and well maintained trees are a joy to the heart.

Such a lovely shade of green.

March 30th – I stopped to take a look at the new pond at Clayhanger, which to my surprise, still looks very wintery. It was  far too wet to go down to the water or ride round, and from my vantage point I couldn’t see if the swans were nesting on the island this year.

There were signs of spring, however, in the track adjacent which was of course the line of the mineral railway that served Walsall Wood Colliery. The hedgerows and scrubs forming a woodland tunnel were looking fresh with a smattering of emerald green, fresh growth for the season ahead.

It’s hard to imagine that this time three years ago in 2013, there was still thick snow on the ground – in places several feet deep – that would last for a week or more.

October 31st – It was an unseasonably warm, sunny Halloween, and I headed to Lichfield mid afternoon on an errand. I wasn’t prepared for the beauty of the still falling leaves; whilst my favourite tree at Home Farm is now sadly and ominously naked, there was plenty of colour on the canal and in Lichfield itself.

Festival gardens are beautiful right now, as is Stowe Pool. So much to see, such a wonderful season this has been. I shall remember this Indian Summer for a long time.

October 22nd – Time for a seasonal warning. After raised winds and heavy rain, what can be better than riding through freshly fallen leaves? At Telford, the cycleways are thick with leaf litter, and very beautiful.

This is a cause for caution as well as awe. These leaves retain the rain from the day before, and still contain enough sap and resin to be slippery and form a soapy, friction-reducing goop the will steal your wheels from under you in a flash.

Where the leaf-fall is on busy roads, the pulp mixed with diesel can be like black ice.

Enjoy the beautiful scenes – but hey, be careful out there.

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.