Tag: unusual

December 24th – The weather was bad, I had much to do, so I didn’t go far. I’ll be perfectly honest, I’m nursing a shoulder injury at the moment which is making life uncomfortable – sustained falling over my own feet on the stairs, I ended up with bruises and some kind of muscle strain that’s making long rides very uncomfortable right now.

I was pleased to see however that at Clayhanger Common, in the usual spot, earthstar fungus had returned this year. The fungus here doesn’t usually show until December when the leaves are finally off the brambles that cover their spot, and this time, they’d been difficult to reach on a bike due to the snow. 

I finally noted one badly damaged by frost and the spore pods of several others, so at least we had a crop this year, even if it went mostly unrecorded.

They are an most unusual fungus.

November 28th – In winter, as I’ve often observed, you have to take beauty where you can find it, and to find it one must maintain a keen eye.

Hurrying into Wednesbury today, I noticed this confused thistle, in perfect full bloom. It was immaculate, this king of the wasteland, and made my day.

I must have passed this a few times and not noticed, like so many must. I need to sharpen my eye, and keep my sense of wonder in these coming dark months. Doing so it what keeps me going.

November 23rd – telford, early. After a stressful train journey that involved missing my usual bacon roll, I diverted from my usual route to visit a cafe for a pause and something unhealthy to fill my belly.

It was a sunny, cold, bright morning, and in a factory yard hedge, by a seldom-walked main road, a beautiful display of what seems to be some kind of rose.

I have no idea, but it pulled me up short with the unexpected beauty.

May 25th – Not a brilliant shot but something I’ve not seen growing wild in the UK before – ornamental alliums. These are pretty much onions, similar to wild garlic etc, and several less ornate relatives are common, but I’ve never seen these large, purple globes before outside of gardens.

They’re growing well on the grass edge land at Sandhills, just by Home Farm. I was fascinated to find them.

May 23rd – Spotted in Walsall late this afternoon, parked up outside the Saddlers Health Centre – this Dutch box bike, clearly used for transporting a child.

This one is made by Workcycles of Amsterdam, and features roller hub brakes, a nexus hub gear and small wheels. 

I’d imagine it weighs a tonne and rides like a tank. Majestic and stately come to mind – but what a wonderful thing.

My compliments to the pilot!

January 26th – On a particularly bitter day, pulling up at my destination in Telford and pushing the bike through the complex, a flash of white and yellow caught my eye.

Tiny, on it’s own and in the shade of a tree, a single, presumably somewhat confused daisy.

Hello there, little flower: in the cold and grey, this morning you made my day.

January 7th – I love inversions, when mist rolls off water low into the air. I don’t see many these days, and certainly none as dramatic as those from my childhood, but the character of the area has changed so much in 40 years that I shouldn’t be surprised, really.

I was out after dark and noticed fleeting, transitory clouds of mist forming over the canal at Silver Street, intensifying, then disappearing. It was stunning.

I tried to photograph them as best I could, but this is really something you have to see first hand…

January 3rd – Still rough this morning, I took a leisurely cruise on some errands, and was surprised to note on the canal near Pier Street this couple – Goosanders. I know they’re fairly common on the local lakes like Chasewater and Ryders Mere, but I can’t recall seeing them on the canal before.

Fish eaters, they must be a sign – like the kingfishers and herons – of good water quality and a good fish population.

They were fast moving, so apologies for the poor pic.

October 27th – Spotted in Victoria Park, Darlaston, this field mushroom. All on its own, it’s mates had either been picked, or not turned up – but this was a splendid specimen, and quite rare so far this year due to the dry autumn we appear to be having.

It’s a strange autumn when you can’t find enough wild mushrooms for a senescent omelette!

August 15th – A real treat for the seventh day of seven days of wildlife, the challenge set me by reader Susan Forster. I was riding through Pleck, and I spotted something wriggling, right in the middle of the road; stopping to investigate, I found this elephant hawkmoth caterpillar.

About two inches in length and ½ inch diameter, this is a big creepy crawly, not for the faint heated, but harmless and rather fascinating. Camouflaged to look like a plant stalk or twig, it has fake eyes and a bulbous head to make it look far more threatening than it really is, should it be threatened. Living mainly on willowherb or fuchsias, I suspect this one had been dropped by a bird, and thus escaped being lunch, and after posing for photos, was popped back on the scrub I think it came from, thus avoiding being squished.

This is a truly huge, fascinating caterpillar, and although common, a great chance find. Read more about it here.