#365daysofbiking Stars of the fall:
October 17th – It was a beautiful crisp, clear evening as night fell, and I was pleased to see in the western skies the stars were out, just discernible beyond the trees.
I might not like this time of year that much, but the sunsets are well worth it.
#365daysofbiking Skywiring:
October 4th – On my way home I had business in Shenstone, and as I returned through the tiny hamlet of Lynn, darkness was falling with the most stunning, dramatic sky.
I loved the way id highlighted the overhead electricity lines, which are something I consider beautiful and mysterious. These complex arrangements of poles, cable, metal structures and ceramic insulators are ignored by most, but are essential to our daily lives.
Few study them, and even fewer understand their layout, function and protective equipment. But that’s the whole point: The mystery in the complexity.
Meanwhile, while I was admiring the wiring, I was being watched, and never noticed.
#365daysofbiking Night comes in:
September 14th – The golden hour continued into dusk, and pottering down the canal by the Clayhanger overflow the sunset was stark, harsh and beautiful.
I love this view, it’s one of my favourite local views and I’ll never tire of it.At the end of a long, tiring week it was a great pick-me-up.
August 3rd – A tiring, heavy day at work followed by a call in south Birmingham saw me labouring up the Chester Road from Four Oaks station, headed for Burntwood for a family thing.
The sun had gone in for a bit, but the almost oppressive heat has returned. It’s as dry as old bones once more, but it’s different now; last time it was sunny, and baking – this is more of a dark, claustrophobic heat.
I still adore it though. Stood at the edge of a wheat field on the Chester Road under Castle Hill – one of the last few waiting for harvest locally – I looked up to the hamlet of Castle Gate, and over to Lazy Hill and the dramatic sky.
Only in the hottest, driest, sunniest summer for decades could my family have an outdoor get together and manage to get a dull, overcast day for it.
Such is life!
July 30th – Working late at a remote site, I came back through Birmingham and Shenstone to hit the homeward commute just as a beautiful sunset unfolded across the landscape.
One of the joys of late summer is it’s the season of the sunset, and it was a cracker. There were the earliest hints in the way the sinking, golden sun caught the thick, rolling clouds, and it ended in a banded crimson sky that made the homecoming skyline of Ogley Hay magical.
I’m so glad I caught this.
July 28th – There was not only a remarkable sunset, but a partial rainbow within it, so I shot out on the bike to catch it in what I thought would be the best place – from the canal overlooking Sandhilsl and Home Farm.
When I got there, I realised that I had a problem: The hedge was too high to get decent pictures. So I rode up the canal to the gap in the hedge, and crawled through. Walking the field of uncut wheat was wonderful, particularly so following the day’s showers, which made it a sensory delight.
How I adore that horse chestnut tree.
July 21st – In a slow potter back through Walton, Croxall, Edingale, Darlaston and Whittington the sunset was gorgeous, make better by some really great cloud formations.
The Trooper at Wall always looks great at night, too.
Couldn’t help notice though that the darkness is now coming on earlier and earlier. Autumn will soon be tapping me on the shoulder…
July 17th – Following the news of the sad loss of fellow blogger and friend The Plastic Hippo, today was difficult, sad and low. He followed this journal avidly.
I fought through it, and carried on. But it was hard.
I never realised that you could feel such loss for someone you knew so little about.
As I climbed the steps from Shenstone station, the sky was dramatic and beautiful. And beneath it, I was hollow.
Goodbye, pal.
July 1st – It was a great sunset, which I caught best from Meerash near Hammerwich.
The sunsets lately really have been excellent.
I’m also a sucker for radio transmitters and sunsets – I find something really enigmatic about them.
A great end to not the best day, but a good evening outing none the less.
June 23rd – Slipping out to catch the sunset after a much needed rest day, and the weather gods didn’t let me down.
I’m experimenting (again) with a new camera to me – a Canon G1X. Liking it so far but I think it may be a bit advanced for this poor snapper.
A gorgeous evening, but the sheer amount of bugs that rose all of a sudden on the dam as night fell were a bit of a trial.
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 