Tag: pretty

#365daysofbiking Ubiquitous

May 13th – It’s cow parsley time again: This prolific edgeland and hedgerow dweller is a member of the carrot family, and is plentiful everywhere I go.

Sometimes mistaken for Queen Anne’s lace or the truly horrible, much taller giant hogweed, cow parsley or keck is an innocuous, edible and some consider medicinal plant that tastes a little like chervil.

The white flowerheads make for a gorgeous, if very overlooked display at this time of year. A pretty and misunderstood plant.

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#365daysofbiking Stone me

February 1st – Heading out to for a gentle spin and resolving to take it a little easier – after all, I’d now got a cold developing which seemed to feature a particularly unpleasant mouth infection as a side dish – I bumbled past the monitoring well sensor post by Pier Street Bridge in Brownhills. Something on top caught my eye.

A beautifully painted smile stone.

There’s a local culture (particularly in Clayhanger in recent years) of painting random found stones with patters, cartoons or any art you fancy, then hiding them for smile stone enthusiasts to find.

Frequently this is a fun activity enjoyed by families with young kids.

I left this one where it was, but it was lovely to see.

Find out more about smile stones here.

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#365daysofbiking Here it comes


January 15th – In Kings Hill Park not ten minutes later, a vital discovery, my first snowdrops of the year.

Not hugely populous yet, just the early ones, the advance party; but strong, bold and yet delicate. There are here in enough numbers not to be a fluke, and instead cheering me with the realisation that there will soon be glades of these gorgeous flowers all over the place, and that yes, it may still be dark, mostly wet and chilly, but spring? Yeah, it could well be a thing.

How fantastic!

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December 29th – I had to pop up Walsall Wood, late. A curious thing about Walsall Wood is looking back up the High Street towards Streets Corner, it always looks like it might be Christmas, even on a midsummer night, such are the many lights that make it such a charming view.

Walsall Wood is a place people pass through without studying. It really is worthy of closer study; it’s a lovely place.

November 23rd – telford, early. After a stressful train journey that involved missing my usual bacon roll, I diverted from my usual route to visit a cafe for a pause and something unhealthy to fill my belly.

It was a sunny, cold, bright morning, and in a factory yard hedge, by a seldom-walked main road, a beautiful display of what seems to be some kind of rose.

I have no idea, but it pulled me up short with the unexpected beauty.

September 27th – I was lucky to spot this Japanese parasol toadstool fully open on Clayhanger Common on my way to work. They are generally so short lived that actually catching one fully open is quite hard to do.

When open, you can see just how these delicate little fungi got their name – fragile, with a pleated cap no bigger than a 10p piece, they’re one of my favourites.

Twelve hours later it will have disintegrated to nothing.

May 6th -Not far away, but still on the Goscote Valley cycleway, the dead nettles are doing well. These fellows have no sting, and can be touched freely. They hold a sweet, tasty secret.

The blooms can be plucked from the plant, and the small neck of the bloom sucked for the nectar it contains, which is sweet and tasty.

January 15th – one would tend to think that fungi don’t really grow over the winter, but a few species like the cold, wet weather. Here at Hammerwich the turkey tail fungus is growing well on a rolling, windfallen log.

Initially quite dull, when studied closely you can see how this delicate fungus got its name. 

May 11th – Cowslips are my favourite flowers. When I was a kid, these dainty little primroses were rarely seen in the area, yet thanks to wildflower planting campaigns, they’ve really got a strong foothold back in the local ecosystem. 

I love to see them, and this year they’ve lasted for weeks in the mild, dry spring; only now are they starting to go over; and even in that, they’re beautiful.

There may be bolder, bigger flowers – but you can’t match the cowslip for effort.