Tag: Lower Stonnall

November 2nd – At the far end of the day, it was wet, dark and challenging on the way back. Just having fitted new brake pads, the back end is a little jumpy on the commuting bike, and the greasy, drizzly roads made for an interesting trip home. Approaching the junction of Gravelly Lane and Mill Lane at Lower Stonnall, the lights of the house on the junction looked homely and inviting, and I liked the way they glistened off the wet tarmac. In case you’re wondering, the orange glow is light pollution from the street lamps of Birmingham and the Black Country – because there’s so little natural light tonight it was clearly visible.

October 25th – I got caught on the way home by the same shower twice. At least, it seemed like it. It rained on me in Redditch, and stopped just as I got to the train; as I alighted in Sutton, the heavens opened again. Oddly, despite the grim northern sky, it seemed lighter later than the previous evening. Everything was revelling in the soft drizzle as I returned via Lower Stonnall – I even I found myself enjoying the change in light, air and experience. As darkness fell, the countryside dripped, gently and quietly absorbing the currently rather rare dose of rain.

August 8th – It was a showery, unsettled afternoon as I returned through Lower Stonnall. Here at Mill Lane, the summer is advancing, and Autumn, sadly, didn’t seem too far away. There are already leaves littering the verges, and the harvest, here slightly behind, has paused while the wheat dries out again. Please come back summer – we haven’t got to know each other properly yet…

July 20th – Usually forgotten after it’s dramatic yellow flowering phase, the oilseed rape is nearing ripeness. People often think the scruffy, dead looking spiky plants are failed crops – but each of the fine pods contains numerous small black seeds that contain a rich, high-energy oil, useful for food and biofuel. The crop is harvested and flailed by combine harvester, the seeds taken away for pressing. A very modern crop.

July 20th – The rosebay willow herb – old man’s beard – has been coming out for a couple of weeks now. This tall, viciously purple plant occupies urban waste grounds, rural set-asides, hedgerows and lay-bys, and fruits to a hairy, airborne seed that we all know. This fine summer flower- often dismissed as a mere weed – is a veritable bee magnet and I counted at least seven species on this small clump near Ive House Farm in Lower Stonnall. As fine a summer feature as you’re likely to find.

July 19th – After a terrible, lost day, it was a joy to come home through the countryside of Little Aston and Lower Stonnall. It’s funny how on some days, you see lots of other cyclists, and on others, none at all. This was one such day. This cheery chap bid me a hearty ‘hello!’ as I cruised down the hill at the end of Forge Lane. Surprising, really, given the hill he was winching himself up…

April 30th – a bright, warm sunny day, unfortunately tempered by a headwind forged on Satan’s back doorstep. After some routine mechanical attention, I set off to Lichfield to get a little shopping in. Here at Lower Stonnall the wind was pulling pollen from the oilseed rape and the scent was intense. Nature felt more alive today than it has done on any day this year.

April 12th – I’ve been able to find out little of John Smith. He was clearly a big cheese, because he could afford a handsome, three-storey foursquare traditional redbrick Staffordshire farmhouse – Ivy House Farm, Lower Stonnall. I pass this name stone set into the barn an awful lot, and often wonder if the stonemason did that deliberately, or if he was just illiterate, and copying something written for him. It’s a charming little mystery.