Tag: peace

October 30th – On my return, I popped into Kings Hill Park since it was such a beautiful afternoon. There was nobody around, peace reigned – apart from the normal industrial sounds of Darlaston living and breathing, which is a sort of background music to me now – and the only activity was from Mrs. Squirrel here, checking me out for food.

Sore from the hospital and feeling weary after the ride, I sat and thought, had a snack and something to drink, and gently recharged in my nowhere garden.

The park looks even better in it’s current cloak of autumn, with beautiful flowers still in bloom and the leaves turning so prettily.

This is one of the gems of the Black Country, yet what tour guide ever mentions Kings Hill Park? What guidebook ever dared to breathe the name?

This is just our peaceful, beautiful secret. And I love it so.

August 21st – A workday full of heavy meetings and considering answers to problems, so I took time out in the afternoon in my favourite contemplation spot – Kings Hill Park.

Nobody about with rain spotting lightly on the pavement and leaves, but the flowers were beautiful, the greens verdant and the place spotless.

I love this little urban oasis so much. And I managed to solve a couple of problems. Result!

July 12th – Passing through Kings Hill Park on a much better day I stopped to take the place in for five minutes. This small, well maintained patch of calm in an otherwise harsh urban environment cannot be underestimated. 

There are many species of trees and they all look wonderful at the moment. The flowers, usually profuse are between phases  at the moment, yet that doesn’t seem to matter.

I love this place.

July 11th – I returned via the Trent Valley Canal, which was alive with activity. Linesmen performed feats of acrobatics on the electricity lines above me as I drank tea beneath them, watching in awe. Herons were prolific, and I saw at least 7 – yes, there are three there in just one photo. The local cat population was also languidly active, hunting bugs, birds and furry things in the newly mown opposite embankment.

And beyond? The dull rumble of traffic on the motorway, trains, and of industry, breathing. This is a peaceful artery and a wonderful place.

June 19th – At that moment, the battery in the camera died. This one has a slight design flaw in that you can accidentally turn it on to display mode without noticing as you put it away, drawing power unnoticed. Hate it when that happens.

I had to make do yet again with the phone camera, which doesn’t seem to like bright sunlight very much at all, but the beauty of Lichfield’s Friary Gardens on a bright summer afternoon is undeniable.

I love this spot, with it’s mature trees, weathered paths and great flowers and shrubs. An overlooked, tranquil jewel.

June 17th – It had been a tough day, but recent issues should improve now, and I slipped out again, this time at sunset. I just took a lazy loop of the canal out of Brownhills, over Catshill Junction and up to Chasewater. 

At Newtown, the dying sun caught the water and rush-irises, and rendered everything precious. A pleasingly serene end to a difficult, scary day.

April 4th – Riding a bike is a cyclic antidepressant, and riding one once a day keeps the black dog at bay. I was sad, really sad, but something on the way home cheered me right up. A young heron, fishing by Clayhanger Bridge on the canal. I can’t ever recall seeing one here before, but I love these comical, dishevelled fishers. He was hungry, and young enough not to be skittish. He tolerated me taking photos for ages. He made me remember what I was doing, and what I was about. 

I adore herons. Such complex, fascinating birds.

It’s taken me all weekend to pluck up the balls to write this sequence.

July 14th – I followed the track back to Ryders Mere. I hadn’t been this way for a while, and this relatively new lake – created as part of an opencast remediation 10 years ago – is maturing well. It was very quiet, with few around, and I was impressed at the number of damselflies, dragonflies and other insects there were around. The meadow was alive with grasshoppers. In the background, the gentle lap of water and calls of waterfowl. 

Beautifully tranquil.