Tag: spring

#365daysofbiking Nest option:

April 9th – Also a welcome and cheering part of spring are the antics of the waterfowl. Not so much the riotous, anarchic mating of the mallards, but the pairing off, nestbuilding and sitting of the other waterfowl – coots, moorhens, Canada geese and swans.

Mrs. Coot was clearly very pleased with this spot as I rode off to work along the canal.

It’ll be nice to see chicks again.

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#365daysofbiking All that I needed

April 7th – I think my mood is improving a little. It really sank leading up to, and over the weekend, but the realisation that life and spring continue are helping me adapt to new norms.

This beautiful cherry blossom is coming on strong now, and this one tree is always so gorgeous. This can never be wrong.

Soon this will be an absolute riot of flowers.

The sun and blossom are all I needed to feel better, I think.

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#365daysofbiking Obtrusive

April 6th – Working from home when I can means shorter exercise rides, so I try to make them quite challenging in the short time I’m out, mindful of the busybodies who currently seem to be revelling in their mantel as self-appointed lockdown police.

I hammered a fast, offroad circuit of Brownhills, and up around the track that runs around the new pond at Clayhanger. The heavily rutted, drying out trails are quite fun and I enjoyed the sight of swans pairing off on the water below.

Lots of people who formerly wouldn’t walk are doing so now; taking advantage of their daily exercise allowance. This is making me feel quite obtrusive: Quiet routes and trails that were usually mine alone I now share with those new to them.

I’m surprised nobody has got lost on the common yet…

Adapting to all this will take a while.

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#365daysofbiking Hawkish

April 1st – Every day now there’s a new flower to see on every journey – even the short ones.

Adding to the bright yellows of spring, a flower at first glance often mistaken for dandelions. Hawkweed.

This beautiful spring soldier is generally yellow but does come in a variety of colours and types. All dwell on edge lands, verges and in hedgerows.

This profusion of flowers is just what I need right now.

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#365daysofbiking Daffed

March 31st – The weather seems to be improving every day now – and despite the fact that my commute to work is on virtually empty roads, I’m still taking about the same time to ride it as the springtime attractions are far too beautiful to miss. This fantastic crop of daffodils cheer and welcome me every day on the industrial estate where I work.

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#365daysofbiking A golden hour

March 27th – Slipping home in the early evening, I couldn’t resist that quick hop up the canal to see how my favourite tree over at Home Farm was doing. I thought maybe I could seee a hint of green on it, but I think it was wishful thinking.

I gauge the seasons by that venerable, perfectly shaped horse chestnut tree. It’s as part of my life as cycling or drinking tea.

And tonight, in this most imperial of golden hours, it looked splendid.

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#365daysofbiking First, some good news at last

March 26th – However, it’s a glorious spring, the rain seems to have stopped and nature at least seems to be behaving normally.

On Clayhanger Common, small yellow flowers have appeared- my favourites; the cowslip.

These tiny primroses bring me such joy. Seeing the first of these is such good news.

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#365daysofbiking Currant affairs

March 17th – Unable to process the current madness as regards pandemics and panic buying, I find my daily reassurance in the emergence of spring.

At Shenstone, the currant blossom is pink and fulsome once more.

A sadly short-lived bloom, it’s a real harbinger of warmer days to come.

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#365daysofbiking The stars of spring

March 15th – It feels like Narnia’s winter melting. We didn’t have the cold, but we had the grey and endless, endless rain: But at Springhill, some youngsters put on a performance for me that chased the winter away.

These are the true stars of spring, and how welcome they are.

Gorgeous.

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#365daysofbiking Country roads, taken me home

March 15th – The first real ride out for the hell of it in a few weeks proved to be a real tonic. Not far: Just up over to Walsall Wood, Lazy Hill then around the lanes of Lower Stonnall, Hilton and Warrenhouse, but a delight all the same.

I hadn’t been in these lanes for the devil of it for so long. It felt like coming home – and the flowers, views and rain-sodden landscape made me feel at once refreshed and home again.

Whatever happens in coming months, I’ll always have this, my spiritual home.

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