365daysofbiking Noble jacket:
October 5th – Darlaston is probably at it’s very best in autumn. An indisputably industrial, highly urbanised Black Country town with a huge amount of greenery, it wears the multi-coloured noble jacket of autumn beautifully.
In Victoria Park, looking towards the Mystic Bridge, autumn is just starting to paint the trees in shades of yellow, gold and orange.
The sadness of the summer’s loss is now passing, and I’m quite enjoying the change in the scenery.
#365daysofbiking Telephone man:
October 3rd – I stupidly left my camera at work, but took some shots with the phone camera over Clayhanger Bridge going to the village to undertake an errand on my way home. The phone is an iPhone XS and althoughhe range in the images is a little harsher than I’d like, phone cameras have come a long way considering the obvious limitations of the physical design.
I quite like these images, showing the the Brownhills Canal is also showing beautifully the colours of the season.
I also loved the sky reflection on the canal…
#365daysofbiking The united colours of autumn:
October 3rd – After the rain of the night before, the morning commute was warm, dry and almost humid. I made the very best of it by riding the canal the long way, and wasn’t disappointed – the autumn colours are very beautiful this year, and the canals and wooded areas of Darlaston are absolutely gorgeous.
There are some upsides to the time of year after all.
#365daysofbiking Spot on:
October 1st – Not seeing may fly agaric this year yet, which makes me wonder if it’s a bad season for them.
The classic red and white spotted toadstool is a real patch of brightness in the autumn, and is much loved and the subject of a huge amount of folklore.
Heading out to Chasetown before work to drop something off, I saw these in the usual spot before Wharf Lane Bridge in Brownhills, just on the heather sandy embankment by the towpath.
I love to see these fascinating fungi.
#365daysofbiking Tree of life:
September 29th – Heading out at sunset after what was a pretty bad day, I swung up the canal through town, over Catshill Junction and over to Barracks Lane. The canal was beautiful and peaceful, and the only souls I saw were the waterfowl scudding around looking for food.
Looking over the fields to Home Farm my favourite tree – the horse chestnut on the skyline just by the farm buildings – is beautifully golden, and glowed in the evening.
All round me now, the greenery is packing up and going for autumn. There’s no ignoring it.
#365daysofbiking Going down:
September 26th – Crossing Cathshill Junction and heading up to Anchor Bridge, I caught it on the cusp of day and night, and realised that soon, I would be doing this once more in darkness.
I don’t know where summer went this year; it seems barely days since I was riding the roaches, eating ice-cream at Blithfield or riding in short sleeves around North Warwickshire.
Time passes so fast these days. It was a good summer – I doubt I’ll ever see one with such consistently fine weather again.
#365daysofbiking Bugging me:
September 26th – The unexpectedly fine, warm weather has been bringing out some great examples of bugs looking for a last yahoo or somewhere to hibernate until spring.
On my way to work, this lovely shield bug decided to drop in and say hi.
What a great little creature it is!
#365daysofbiking The dying of the light:
September 25th – Darkness has begun to impinge on my evening commute. Often finding I need lights nearing home, the golden hour is quickly shifting back towards 5pm. Soon the clocks will dog back, and the darkness will again be upon me. I hate that.
The harvest moon this year has been wonderful, though, so actually coming home in the dark had a reward – particularly with the thin cloud haunting the view.
Winter is coming.
#365daysofbiking Squaring the circle:
September 24th – Returning via Shenstone from an afternoon trip into Birmingham, I noted that the recent days, having been sunny and comparatively warm, were bringing out the joy of Autumn, and I was feeling more positive.
At Footherley Lane the old bridge was beautiful as the sun went down.
Soon these trees will be golden, then bare once more, but it’;s all part of the circle and the circle must be round.
And as long as there will be some fair weather, I think I’ll survive.
#365daysofbiking How do you like those apples?
September 24th – Interesting to see this year the large crop of healthy, plump fruit, which has turned my understanding on its head: I always thought that in hot, dry summers fruit harvests suffered.
This autumn, the hedgerows, commons and woods are populated by trees laden with fruit – from hazelnuts to apples, beech nuts to pears, it’s been a fine harvest.
These apples growing by the canal at Darlaston actually look delicious, but sadly, well out of passing reach…
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 