August 4th – No idea what’s happened in the last couple of days, but Victoria and Kings Hill parks in Darlaston are alive with fungi. I assume these are field mushrooms – I didn’t want to destroy them to check for sure. They’re a good 3-4 inches across and look healthy. So nice to see the fungi back, even if it does herald autumn…
July 31st – Early morning, just after dawn, Mill Green in Aldridge. By heavens, it was cold; very cold for a summer morning. But it was sunny, and over this ripening field of oilseed rape, the sun passed and rendered it golden.
Interestingly wide field-margin, too – that’s got to be good for wildlife.
July 30th – Coming home from Shenstone, I noticed the harvest had started at Lynn, and the grain trailers were filling, clouds of corn-dust blowing over the fields and that familiar scent in the air.
At Sandhills, the first blackberries ripen by the roadside, while the oats at Home Farm have already been harvested. Interestingly, when I took the photo of Ogley Hay church over the fields, I didn’t spot the red deer in shot…
June 29th – Passing through New Street Station early on a sunny, bright morning. The skyline looked as busy as ever with clashing architectures, wires, antenna and other urban structures. And in the middle, the buddleia growing from the signalling cable raceway on the Hill Street Bridge was flourishing, seemingly unhindered and unnoticed.
July 27th – I awoke to a better day. It was warm again and the sun was shining sporadically. After the dismal unpleasantness of the previous day, this was refreshing and welcome, particularly as I’d expected a wet morning commute.
The dearth of traffic (due to the Industrial Fortnight) also made for a pleasant ride.
Passing the rowans in Pleck, I noticed their berries were plump and now bright orange. This pleased me.
Sometimes, like the berries, sun and warmth is all I need.
July 26th – In heavy rain, a flotilla of swans. not far from the place I last saw them, cruising for all the world like it was a bright, sunny day.
I don’t suppose they care about the rain.
They had somewhere to be, and were travelling with purpose. But despite the horrid, grey weather, they just sailed on like it didn’t matter – because to them, it clearly doesn’t.
I should be more like the swans. Rainy days like this pull me down. But soon the sun will shine, and the world will seem brighter once more.
July 23rd – It may be high summer, but the wildflowers see no sign of abating, just the usual shift to darker colours as summer wends on. I love the rotund, spiny perfection of thistles, and the loose strife by the canalside at the Black Cock bridge is a new addition; but a welcome return of common toadflax is always a joy, even on the dullest days.
July 19th – Another hectic day, and still not feeling exactly chipper, I spun again to Chasewater to catch a summer fair there,, and the speedboats. From there, I shot over to Wall to take a quick shufty at the Letocetum fun day – where the ancient Roman remains here were surrounded by re-enactors, stalls and activities. I wished I’d got there sooner; it looked like a fun, and very, very English summer event.
Wall is a gorgeous little place and the church overlooking the Roman site is just wonderfully historically prescient. The antiquity is free to visit and open all year round. Its well worth a visit.
July 18th – A mad day when I didn’t have much time for anything, and again, I was suffering with a dismal stomach. But in the late afternoon, the sun was warm and the wind wasn’t so bad, so I headed over to Burntwood to get some errands in. From there, I headed back over to Aldridge for some stuff I couldn’t get. In-between the two, the canal near Wharf Lane was limpid, dark green and beautiful.
Summer really is wonderful at the moment, and just the tonic for my wayward digestive system!
July 17th – I had to pop down to Shenstone on my way home; on my return through the backlands I noticed something that had largely been passing me by of late; the crops in the fields are now ripening, and the harvest cannot be far away.
At Footherly, a field of nice, plump wheat is turning golden in the July warmth. The clean, milky-tasting grain will, if the weather continues to be reasonable, make great flour.
Nice to see.
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