Tag: sunset

February 20th – Spring is encroaching. This evening, coming through Walsall at a close to normal homecoming hour, I started in the last vestiges of daylight and finished in the last vestiges of a gorgeous urban sunset.

I first spotted it as I came down the ring road, but couldn’t stop; by the time I got to North Street it was still strong, but although the photos are nice, I don’t think they quite did it justice. 

At Walsall Wood, onto the canal, and my long-time muse of Clayhanager Bridge at night. The dozing swans at Catshill Junction were also rather lovely.

This dusk interregnum as the days lengthen when winter draws to a close can certainly be very beautiful.

February 17th – Out just as the sun went down on an errand in Burntwood, hoping to catch a decent sunset as I returned via Chasewater, and thankfully I wasn’t disappointed. The day hadn’t been great and a number of things had gone wrong for me, but this was a really uplifting thing and I was glad to witness it.

With sunsets this good, can spring be far away?

February 8th – Passing through Walsall and running some errands, I crossed Church Hill in a golden hour. Always a bit conflicted about the view from here these days – it’s obscured by tree growth now which is a bit of a shame, but the trees are lovely in summer.

A bit of a trim wouldn’t hurt I guess. All the better to se a town glowing in winter sun…

February 8th – I’ve not ridden through Little Aston Forge for ages – and this curious hairpin over the Footherley Brook on the plain between Stonnall and Little Aston hasn’t changed a bit.

The brook still flows noisily, and those cottages still sit at an oblique, alarming angle to the lane on a series of nail-biting bends around them and over the hump bridge. 

This is aways a good spot for early spring flowers in the hedgerows of the copse-lined lane, and this evening didn’t disappoint – just as the light was dying, a beautiful patch of wild snowdrops to compliment a pretty decent sunset.

Must start coming this way more often again.

January 28th – Remarkably, there is a trace of spring in the air. I noted the odd nascent crocus in the week, so decided to check out CHasetown cemetery and St. Annes now I was feeling better.

On a grey, overcast but very warm afternoon, I found a single snowdrop, hundreds of crocuses, aconites and primroses, and as an added bonus, deer on the verge of the Chasetown bypass, which although lovely to see, was quite worrying with their proximity to fast traffic.

Be careful out there folks.

There was quite a decent sunset too, and a punishing wind. It’s quite clear that bad weather is coming in, but I don’t think anything can stop the spring now. The flowers are here – it’s starting.

Welcome, my green and beautiful friend.

December 21st – And this is the reason for my sudden optimism. Today is the winter solstice, or shortest day. From here, everything gets better, because the light trickles steadily back into my darkened soul.

The bike GPS tells me the sunrise and sunset times on the main screen, as I love to watch them daily. Today, the sun rose around 8:16am, and set around 3:54. I’ve watched these times all year, and registered the slow acceleration of nightfall from Midsummer, slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, minute by precious minute; then cascading and careering through the midway and the end of British Summer Time. Slowing up again, that last push to before 4pm is crushing when it happens. 

By the time I return to work after this, my final commute of 2017, the sunset will already be past 4pm. And no matter what the winter brings, inexorably, unalterably, the GPS will record the gradual steps into the light. And then, at the end of March, I will emerge blinking into the light evenings as British Summer Time commences again.

I have survived the oncoming dark for another year. All I need to dow now is watch the darkness retreat.

December 11th – I’d run around in the morning sorting displaced family members out and getting them back where they needed to be in the chaos of a snow-hit morning rush hour, so spent the day working from home. It was bitingly cold and with the snow a wee bit to deep to ride far in, I contented myself with getting caught up in the peace of a warm, quiet house.

Nipping out to take the air late afternoon in a lazy loop around Walsall Wood and Brownhills, taken slowly due to the conditions, I caught a lovely bit of snow day sunset at Anchor Bridge.

It caught me short for a bit. What a a gorgeous view that is.

November 19th – A late run out on an errand to Cannock Chase saw me crossing through Heath Hayes and the former RAF Hednesford during a very decent sunset. 

Sadly, I hadn’t enough time to do it justice, but is was so very beautiful, and a real pick me up on a cold autumn evening.