April 21st – Of course, the sunset was yet to come and it was a sign of my slothiness that I caught it on the canal at Newtown, Brownhills.
The colours of the day were beautiful, the colours of the sunset were stunning.
Sometimes, recovery is not in what you do, but what you see.
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February 2nd – Up by Middleton Bridge, two likely characters loiter and preen on the ice, regarding me with grumpy, truculent eyes.
I feel for the waterfowl this weather, they don’t have much open water, and most of that will be full of Canada geese and Mallards, who are both just shouty, loud idiots and must drive cultured birds like swans mad.
Still, at least that answered the IC scale question well enough…
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January 2nd – Still feeling my way. In a late evening bible after the rain cleared I pottered up the Black Path and along through Newtown to see how the camera reacted to the low light in the first instance and the streetlights in the other.
The shots seem a bit dark. I’m wondering if I’ve broken an exposure setting since Monday, which is a huge possibility.
They aren’t bad pictures, though for handheld on a dark night.
Puzzling.
September 10th – A cat on the patch I’d not seen before. It was chasing insects on the canal towpath by the smallholding at Newtown, and was embarrassed I disturbed a playful half hour. This jet black cat in lovely condition retreated to a nearby fence to glare at me and and like I hadn’t caught it being silly.
I love the way cats have such a well developed sense of self awareness.
August 19th – I was having a terrible day: I had plans to get out early, but the wind and weather were grim, and everything I did seemed like wading through treacle.
After miserably writing blog posts, messing up dates and publicity schedules, I finally got a grip and went out, to find a bright periodically sunny late afternoon in which harvest was being completed and the fields of stubble were golden delights over towards Sandhills and Hammerwich.
The sight of that lovely church and converted windmill cheered me, as did the bright, surprisingly warm if short-lived sunshine.
A nice pick me up on an awful day.
June 4th – A spin through Brownhills on a dull, rain-spotted afternoon reminded me that it was the flowering time of summer. Everywhere I went, copious flowers either wild of in gardens, beautiful colours just waiting to be seen.
Near Newtown on the canal, a white foxglove was keeping the bees busy and near the old railway line on Brownhills Common wildflowers were decorating and hiding the remains of the rail line here with admirable efficiency.
And then, in front of the Parkview Centre, what was once Brownhills Council House, a remarkable flowerbed that I believe is tended by volunteers. It’s a lovely thing and looks absolutely superb.
On behalf of Brownhills, I’d like to congratulate and thank whoever the gardeners are for their hard and skilful work. Thank you.
May 11th – Less hard to spot is Mrs. Muscovy, the Newtown One. Now feral, the flock she should have been part of has moved on, and this uncaged canard who escaped and subsequently survived nearly 18 months of canalside freedom is now a permanent fixture of the canal between Middleton Bridge and the aqueduct over the railway at Newtown.
When I passed this rather unique duck today, she was preening and bathing determinedly in the water, and making quite a splash.
And long may she continue to do so…
April 21st – Spent some downtime doing mechanical things on the bikes and then went for a test spin up to Chasewater. On the way, I noted that Mrs. Miuscovy, who escaped her domestic flock over 12 months previously, was still thriving on the canal despite her singular and peculiar habit of rarely moving from the towpath and adjacent patch of canal.
She’s a fascinating and resilient bird, and considering her fellow escapee was fox lunch soon after escape, the Newtown One’s survival is remarkable and to be commended.
A daring and delightfully eccentric duck.
January 15th – Intrigued to note that the former Terrace restaurant on the Watling Street at Newtown, in the hinterlands of Brownhills seems finally to be undergoing renovation of some kind.
Following it’s closure 18 months ago, this once very popular venue has been plagued by vandalism, metal thieves and arson, and rumours in the spring of it being host to a new buffet restaurant seemed to come to nothing.
Taking a nose today, new fencing is going up, and the fittings seem to be being cleared out. A licensing application for alcohol dating from July is on a nearby lamp-post.
I hope something does open at this landmark building. Brownhills could do with a decent restaurant.
December 11th – Nipping up to Chasewater to check out the Christmas Fair there, I spotted a familiar duck in the reeds near the Chase Road bridge.
It’s Mrs. Muscovy, the Newtown One. On the run (waddle) for nearly a year now, I thought the foxes must have had her as I’d not seen her for ages.
I’m glad to see this curious, singular, solitary duck is still with us.
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