March 15th – Nice to see another harbinger of spring today on the canal in Pleck – pussy willows. These curious, pollen-covered blooms are showing really well in the past couple of days, and bring some welcome colour to canal banks, verges and scrubs.
It really feels like nothing can stop spriing now – but it’s still a wee bit cold for my liking.
February 26th – One thing I have noticed this year is that the crazy mild and early spring seems to have really benefited the catkins. They are lush and large this year, which seems good.
Here on the canal at Walsall Wood they’re the largest such crop I’ve ever seen.
January 30th – A bright, clear but chilly day. Still not well, I went out in the afternoon, and had errands to run in Aldridge and Lichfield. Although the day was lovely, the wind was really not to be trifled with.
Passing through Catshill Junction, I noted something I’ve been meaning to record here for a while: the sculpture erected some years ago on the opposite side to the towpath has had the undergrowth and scrub cut from around it, I’m not sure who by, but my thanks to them.
With the leaves off the trees, the new building here looks really good, and I hope the growth here can be cut back for the summer – otherwise those brand new apartments will be awfully dark and have hardly any view of the canal at all.
October 25th – The Parade, Brownhills. The main route over the common, and so I’m told, once the line of a colliery tramline.
These trees in neat rows are younger than me. I remember harsh winters, when these trees were saplings, and the council used to erect snow-break fences down here.
The hard winters seem rare now, and the trees are large and beautiful. It’s not their fault that they make me feel old…
October 20 – By the time I arrived in Telford the mist was long gone and there was bright sunshine an d blue skies. Autumn was at it’s best, and the line of cherry trees looked fabulous, as did their turning leaves against the blue sky.
It’s also incredible really that this is in the heart of industrial Telford.
Once you get used to it, Autumn is lovely.
October 17th – I wasn’t feeling much better today, and resolved to get out to try and lift the black dog from my back. And as usual, it worked.
The day was as dull as autumn makes them; overcast and threatening, but my journey to Lichfield was illuminated by the remarkable colours on display. From my favourite horse chestnut tree at Home Farm to the line of maples at Darwin Park, it all looked beautiful.
Sometimes all you need is fresh air, bustle and the beauty of nature just doing her thing.
October 6th – A terribly grey morning, spotting with rain and I wasn’t sure I’d make it to work before the heavens opened, but… Victoria Park.
The greenspace at the centre of Darlaston looks beautiful at the moment, even on this greyest of days. Sometimes autumn is so beautiful, you can forgive it the darkness it leads you to.
September 28th – Nipping from Stonnall over to Walsall Wood on an errand at sundown caught a misty, golden take on one of my favourite views: The Lichfield Road down into Walsall, and on to the Black Country.
Look at the traffic, the skyline. Then take in the sheer number and variety of trees. We may not realise it, but we live in a very green place. Long may it remain so.
August 26th – I think I was a bit previous on the acorn thing.
I think acorns affected by galls fruit sooner. Perhaps there’s a naturally selective advantage in this. It’s fascinating me.
In the last couple of weeks, a huge crop of acorns has developed, even on the blighted trees. They came later than the acorn galls, and are plump and where unaffected, a great looking crop.
I’d say now less than 5% are galls.
Is there a guide or information anywhere about this? It’s fascinating me.
August 14th – I’m told these cherry-like fruits, growing on the trees on the Clayhanger side of the pedestrian bridge at Silver Street, Brownhills, are wild plums. They are most fascinating, and ripening in abundance.
I wouldn’t eat them, considering the history of the land they’re groin on, but the are a curiosity. Wonder how they got here?
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