August 7th – This oak tree was spotted by the cycle way in Pelsall, and seems to be afflicted by the same ills befalling similar trees everywhere I go. The poor oaks this year seem to have few acorns, leaves dying off early and tiny, deformed acorns.
I hope this is an aberrant year and in seasons to come are better.
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 6th – On the way to work on a grey, dull Monday morning, these apples near the cycleway in Goscote caught my eye, and made me think. They’re growing well, and ripening in the recent warm weather.
That’s a harbinger of late summer.
Just where is this year going?
July 2nd – In Darlaston, a gentle precipitation; sweet-smelling, light, and coating all it touches. It’s pukh.
Pukh is a downy fluff produced by female poplar trees, not unlike the blossom fluff produced by sallows; I noticed today the Owen Street in Darlaston was coated with fuff. I’ve seen it before – Pitsford Street in the Jewellery Quarter used to be swept with clouds of the stuff in a good year, but rarely as uniform and snow-like as this.
It’ll be interesting to see if the rains washed it away.
April 20th – And in Telford, all along the cycleways from Stafford Park to Hortonwood, blossom – of all varieties. A horrid job today that I really didn’t fancy, but brightened on the way by the most beautiful spring flowers, azure sky and warm sun.
Not bad for a Monday, really.
April 16th – The greening continues. Darlaston is getting really beautiful right now. In a week or two, the whole of Victoria Park will be Verdant, and it will once again seem a million years since winter.
And so the seasons wheel continues to turn…
April 14th – You think there’s nothing that could match the daffodils. Then you look upward.
My gosh, the cherry blossom was astounding. Pure white and pink against a blue sky – and again, those nascent leaves, bringing warm days and lovely afternoons.
Excellent.
February 17th – Darlaston, again. What a difference a day made. Spring was in the air, the sun on my face and warmth in my heart.
Shame about the trees in front of St. Lawrence’s Church. They make it impossible to get a decent angle on one of the finest churches hereabouts.
October 25th – The Parade, Brownhills. Just by Holland Park.
This place is beautiful. Don’t ever let anyone tell you different.
October 16th – The patch of grass near Anchor Bridge in Brownhills is not something I ever pay much attention to, if I’m honest; it just exists, and it never occurred to me until recently how odd it is that it has never been built upon.
It remains unspoiled, mowed regularly by the council, and separates the canal from the Lindon Road. There are a good few deciduous trees here and in Autumn, they’re beautiful.
An odd little patch of beauty in an otherwise unremarkable urban landscape.
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