January 3rd – Returning to Brownhills, there was a lovely, low sun at lunchtime so I visited the row of trees that make for such great autumn pictures during the leaf fall.
It’s fair to say they look totally different undressed, but no less beautiful.
Every time I see these, I can’t help but remember the when I was a kid, I remember these saplings being planted.
Oh, how that makes me feel old…
December 24th – The workboat I noted in the ice last weekend has been engaged in the process of cutting back trees on the far canal banks locally, clearing overhang from the waterway. I noted as I passed over Catshill Junction that once more, the sculpture here was now visible, if looking a bit sad and jaded. The trees that shade light from the new flats also seem too have been thinned.
I always feel sad about the Cycle of Life sculpture here: In utterly the wrong place, even when not overgrown (as it is every summer) it’s impossible to see in detail from and point publicly accessible on the towpaths around the junction and is therefore overlooked and wasted.
I hope one day someone realises and moves it somewhere a little more suitable nearby.
November 28th – Probably the coldest commute of the winter so far, yet no ice, which was a bit odd – but the wind was bitter. Luckily I was wrapped up warm and didn’t really feel it much.
What there was though, were gorgeous azure blue skies silhouetting the shivering trees, now mostly devoid of leaves for winter.
‘I awoke this morning, and found a frost perched on the town’ wrote Joni Mitchell. The was no frost, but I know what she meant.
Oh well, onwards – soon be Christmas.
November 17th – But still, some vestiges of autumn cling in in the final trees still shedding their formerly green leaves. Noticed while on an errand to Tipton, this sycamore in Ocker Hill was showing a beautiful range of colour against the bright blue frost-morning sky.
Sad, but very beautiful on such a chilly morning.
November 14th – Urban planners and groundsmen seem to like ornamental cherry trees. They grace town centres, open spaces, park and industrial estates. They don’t go particularly wild, take little care and offer beautiful blossom in spring, and gorgeous leaf colours in autumn, like these at Hortonwood.
They certainly brightened my day on a very, very dull morning.
October 24th – I popped to Telford late morning on a quite errand and noted this row of trees near the cycleway, whose uniformity has always fascinated me.
All ornamental cherries, the branch at the same height, are about equall in height, blossom and shed at the same time, and never seem to need management at all.
And in autumn they make for great photos!
October 15th – And then came a new day, and a restorative, happy ride to Cannock Chase – but before that, a quick call to check out Brownhills Parade, where the avenue of roadside trees is an autumn favourite.
Not quite at their peak, this spot will be a favourite with local photographers for weeks now, and rightly so, it’s a magical, beautiful reminder that the town I live and in and love is actually surprisingly beautiful.
I remember when these trees were planted.
September 18th – Riding through the backstreets of central Walsall, it’s getting distinctly autumnal. I keep thinking it’s too early, but then, we’re very nearly two thirds into September now, so I suppose not.
Here on the corner of Charles Street it looked lovely, and not having been here for many years, it’s changed a bit, too. Last time I was here the flats on the left didn’t exist and there was a row of Victorian factories in some decay. I remember well a cafe here I used to use a fair bit.
Ah well, nothing stays the same and time keeps moving on.
July 17th – Later the same day, in Darlaston. A summer place.
This, my friends, is the heart of the Black Country: thought by people who don’t know it to be ugly, defiled, polluted and unlovely.
It’s actually mostly the absolute opposite and that’s why it has such a large part of my heart and soul.
This is my place.
July 16th – The dying light intensified it’s drama as I headed back wearily to Brownhills. The Parade is always a treat but with so many mature deciduous trees there now, a low sun is a real treat.
It’s not hard to see the beauty in this place. You just need to be receptive to it and find the right light.
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