September 23rd – I find autumn fills me with conflict. On the one hand, it’s the end of summer, the coming of darkness and the cold. On the other hand, it renders places like my beloved Darlaston utterly beautiful.
This is just a hint of the riches to come. It’s not all bad. Not by a long shot.
June 29th – Spotted on the cycleway near Telford station, this oddly tortured oak tree. Generally with a healthy appearance, look closely and the tree is covered in insect galls, whereas the acorns that it has grown are oddly mutated and tiny. The leaves also seem subject to some kind of leaf miner attack.
I feel sorry for the oaks – they seem far more susceptible to such attacks and diseases than other trees. I’m not arborialist – is there a reason why the noble oak suffers so very much?
July 26th – Everything was wet. Hour after hour of rain.
I could do without it, if it’s all the same with you.
February 18th – A sweet and sad little mystery in Kings Hill Park, Darlaston, I noticed whilst taking a shortcut back from Wednesbury. A young sapling, not long planted in the corner of the park. Surrounded by daffodils getting ready to bloom, a unattributed heart-shaped wreath, and a single red rose.
A valentines verse, and the date 14th February 1991.
I have no idea. But it caught me unawares on a sunny, springlike morning. Sad, and yet so sweet.
February 5th – In the backstreets of industrial Darlaston, part of the former Guest, Keene and Nettlefolds works: Salisbury House. Half derelict now, decaying ungracefully, a red terracotta brick edifice in mock victorian gothic complete with bay windows and cornices. The saddest part is that it’s almost impossible to get a good photographic angle on it.
This is a remarkable building – rather ugly, but beautifully executed; it has a proud heritage and it’s sad to see it carried to dust like this.
I think the internal light fittings are probably collectors items, and that lost football must have been frustrating for the poor kids that kicked it up there…
January 22nd – I passed through New Street mid-afternoon. The whole place was grey. It’s still chaos, and has been clearly designed with anything but the passengers in mind.
I stood waiting for a late train. Ever signal I could see was red. Sometimes, commuting feels like this.
To quote Dexy’s, tell me when my red light turns green.
December 14th – Sadly, it seems myxomatosis has found the rabbit warren by the canal, just off Chase Road in Brownhills. This elderly rabbit can’t see and wasn’t aware of my presence, only moving when a couple of dogs came close.
This awful disease sweeps through rabbit populations in waves; the last cases I saw were in Chorley, near Burntwood in 2011. The rabbit populations up there seem healthy and normal again.
It’s sad, but outbreaks like this are causing a gradual immunity to be selected in the rabbit population. In the meantime, I recommend anyone keeping pet rabbits in the locality makes sure they cannot come into contact with their wild brethren.
Let’s hope it passes soon.
August 25th – A wet, miserable bank holiday Monday. This was the wettest, coldest one I think I’ve ever known. I always find this day depressing; it’s the last holiday before Christmas, and for me, seems to flag the end of summer. A week later, the kids will all be back at school, the nights will be drawing in even more, and the sun will lose it’s warmth.
In short, we’re advancing to Autumn at a fair lick now.
I rode out mid morning during a lull in the rain, and spun around Brownhills and Chasewater. The fruits, glistening with rain, were gorgeous, and the heather is particularly beautiful at the moment. The still green embankments and hedgerows cut a bright dash through the gloom.
I did note puffballs on the old railway off Engine Lane, another harbinger of Autumn.
At Chasewater, the valves are fully open and the waterlevel is dropping quickly. I wonder if there’s a purpose to this, as the canal is clearly full to overflowing.
A grim ride on a grim day. Brace yourselves, summer is closing out now.
July 31st – It’s not lightly or without thought that I feature this, but it is part of rural life that’s becoming increasingly common on urban roads, too.
This is a dead badger, spotted at the side of Green Lane, Walsall Wood yesterday. Adult, large, and in generally good condition, he had been hit by a car. Either carried or finding his way to the hedgerow, he looks like he died peacefully there.
There ain’t a whole lot of road sense in your average badger, and they’re becoming increasingly active in urban areas like Brownhills. Please take care when driving at night, as these creatures often stumble out of hedges and verges.
They are heavy, and solid, and will do damage to cars if hit at speed, but to those on two wheels, they can be deadly.
Watch out for Brock, please.
July 20th – A day coloured mainly by the sad news of the loss of a good man, but as I rode the canal mid-afternoon, taking it gentle, I reflected on life. I noted a family of 4 cygnets and mum – dad seems to be gone – doing well up in Walsall Wood. I think they’re from up the canal in Pelsall. They are healthy birds, clearly getting by just fine.
Further down the water at Catshill Junction, the swans from Catshill still numbered seven youngsters and two parents. Nature is cruel, but the cycle of life continues.
I’ve grown very attached to these birds, have many of the local residents. It’s odd that we take such beautiful but grumpy and obstreperous characters to our hearts, but we do.
We feel great sadness at the toll of nature, and predators. But that’s the roll of nature’s dice, and it was ever thus.
And life continues, as it always has.
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