June 5th – The rain caught me on the way home, but at least the awful wind was well behind me.
Everything is green now and it was quite warm, so in that manner summer rain has, it wasn’t so bad, but I was very wet.
Listening to the music of the rain on the canal at Clayhanger was sad, but reassuring…
May 24th – One of the more strikingly beautiful wayside flowers that grow pretty much as weeds along the cycleways and towpaths is Hawkweed. Ranging in colour from yellow to crimson, these are gorgeous flowers that some would view as invasive.
I love to see these every summer, and the Goscote valley is lined with them. They are a joy to the heart.
May 23rd – With warmer weather, during the warm hours, the urban cat population revert ro their languid, lazy norms, finding shady, peaceful spots to doze and watch the world go by – at least until it’s cooler, when they tend to be more active.
Coming through central Walsall in the afternoon, this young overseer of the neighbourhood was en repose on top of the wheeliebins in a shady front garden, and clearly enjoying the cool vantage point.
Seeing such characters emerge is one of the best things about summer…
May 18th – Another beautiful blossom that’s rarely looked at closely despite it’s obvious beauty is hawthorn, or May blossom.
I often incorrectly think go it as being the last blossom of the season, but it isn’t; but it’s so profuse in hedgerows and scrubs that when the flowers die off, everywhere seems quite barren without it.
Not so missed is the scent, which is strong and peculiar in that way that some flowers are, a strong organic odour that one could easily find offensive.
It’s hard to think that we’re only a few weeks now off the middle of the year, and the seasons are rapidly advancing with spring rolling into summer.
Just where has this year gone?
May16th – I note the annual appearance of lupins with interest; growing near Clayhanger Bridge on the canal bank, the purple always bloom before the pink and white; and I don’t suppose they are really but they seem very early this year.
Still, it’s lovely to have them back, and to note the start of the rash of purple flowers coming soon – vetch, marsh orchids and others.
There’s something new every day right now. I love summer’s first breath.
May 9th – I had to be out very early for something I couldn’t cycle to, so took in an early circuit of the canal at 5:30am. Not seeing a soul, I enjoyed the peace and quiet. Fascinated at the moment by the sheer quantity of organic flotsam and jetsam in the canal, with everything from blossom petals to dead reed foliage. I suppose it’s a feature of the season, but never really noticed it to this extent before.
There’s something very otherworldly about breaking out of your routine and just riding for the hell of it very early in the morning.
April 28th – I had business in Walsall’s and Birmingham, but had to pop to Walsall Wood first in the morning, The junction was obstructed at Anchor Bridge, so I got off to cross the road on foot, and in the process, noted a familiar classic Brownhills view – usually a muse of mine in night time, it’s looking fine in it’s daytime spring green overcoat.
Summer must be coming!
April 26th – As Spring is the (rather cold this year) warm up act for summer, the blossom phase moves to it’s endgame; the cherry is now finishing and soon, a profusion of white hawthorn will bring things to a close, but right now, that most beautiful of pink-white blossom, apple.
Such a joy to see in the sunshine.
April 26th – Another cold day, but not quite as bad as the day before; but it still feels like it’ll never be warm ever again. This is a most peculiar season.
Zipping about the Black Country on errands, wrapped up in woolly hat and scarf despite the bright sunshine it felt most odd. But there are spring flowers in abundance and every other element of spring is here. Just not warmth.
In Wednesbury, the tulips don’t seem to mind. Perhaps I’m going soft in my old age.
April 25th – Well, that was a shock. A light dusting of snow early in the morning was soon burned off by the sun, but my goodness, it felt cold on the m morning commute. Snow and frost this late in the year is not that unusual really – but after recent mild winters it was a shock.
By the time I reached work the only remaining snow was on vehicles.
Thankfully, the roads weren’t icy, but the unexpected snow clearly made many drivers nervous.
I knew my complaints about the recent cold were not just moaning and I was on to something….
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