May 4th – Summer seems finally to be on it’s way in. A warm, sunny day during which I had to visit telford, where the tulips in the station flowerbed are divine. On the way back from Lichfield, the daffodils were still strong in the hedgerows, and the oilseed rape was burning yellow in the fields.
Sunshine, it’s so good to have you back… please stay awhile.
May 3rd – The swans who’ve nested on the Walsall Canal at Bentley Bridge seem very house proud. The sitting partner today was busily removing debris and weaving new reeds into their huge nest, while their mate was finding suitable pieces from further afield to improve the construction.
I love how busy they are, and how they work in careful partnership. Magical.
May 1st – A blustery and occasionally wet ride over to Walton on Trent and back through Lullington and Clifton Campville – but true to my promise, I found the colours of spring.
Songbirds were in the hedgerows – never seen so many goldfinches – and blossom, wildflowers and emerging leaves made everything bright.
I couldn’t get the sunshine, but I got the season. A great ride.
April 28th – Another striking return is of the leaves to the row of trees on Stafford Park in Telford. I love this regimented row, which in winter always makes me think of Joni Mitchell and her song ‘Urge for Going’ with the line ‘Shivering trees standing in naked rows’ – but in spring, summer and autumn, when caught at the right angle, these carefully planted and well maintained trees are a joy to the heart.
Such a lovely shade of green.
April 28th – A beautiful morning but yet again, very cold. It’s like spring has been underway in every form except the temperature, which is stuck resolutely in early March.
The chill hasn’t stopped the spring arrivals, however; daisies, buttercups, cowslips and other grassland flowers are booming, and the dandelions in particular are superb at the moment.
These lovely yellow flowers, so often ignored, are a gorgeous colour and actually fascinating if you stop to study them.
So great to have them back.
April 27th – When I left home just after dawn there was a heavy frost; I left Darlaston later in the morning for Telford in bright sunshine, which really highlighted the blossom on roadside trees. Mainly cherry, but some apple and plum, too. Absolutely beautiful.
Sadly though, this doesn’t bode well for a bumper fruit crop like last year; a frost on the blossom now will damage it and reduce the fruit yield.
With such beautiful blooms, hope the weather and sunshine pick up soon.
April 22nd – A rare break in the clouds saw the sun shine as I came up from the canal at Bentley Bridge on my way back from an errand at lunchtime. To left and right here, out of shot are massive scrapyards, yet running like a green vein through the centre, the canal; peaceful, tranquil, verdant.
I love the Black Country and this scene typifies the way it’s canals exist as magical green natural corridors through great sprawls of urban life.
Wonderful.
April 21st – One of the joys of spring: the electric blue of speedwell, which lights up hedgerows and towpaths and other hinterlands. These beautiful little flowers are putting on a good show this year by the canal near Bentley Mill Way Aqueduct in Walsall.
Beautiful to see.
April; 20th – In Wednesbury, cherry blossom against an azure blue sky, one of the finest sights of spring, and a very long time coming this year, it seems.
I adore the sight of the thousands upon thousands of pink-white flowers, the confetti of their falling petals on the breeze and the sweet scent as one passes by.
So nice to have the sun back. Let’s hope it warms cup a bit soon.
April 18th – A devil of a day beset by difficulties at work. I rode off early in the morning into an unpleasant headwind with a bad stomach and the day didn’t improve much. I was distracted on the way home by a mechanical issue, and just took these photos of the new pond at Clayhanger, which is greening up beautifully at the moment, but is suffering a little for being a hanging-out place for local kids who are littering a little.
Hopefully in a few weeks the slopes around the pool will be alive with orchids again, as they were last year. Sadly, it’s a bit too wet down there at the moment to investigate.
Repairs carried out at home, I’m hoping for a better day tomorrow – it wouldn’t be hard to achieve.
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