April 16th – Heading up the canal toward Newtown, on the bend just past the old mill, a relaxing couple on a sunny afternoon. I’ve not seen the swans do this on the canal bank here before, and this one has me a little puzzled, but they were utterly relaxed and convinced the spot was just right for them.
A lovely sight, but I know the one that was ostensibly asleep was totally aware of my presence.
March 24th – I keep seeing this fellow about the canal recently. I’m assuming it’s the same bird – I’ve seen him up by Newtown in Brownhills, and today by Clayhanger Bridge at the rear of the Maybrook Industrial Estate. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a crested grebe on the canal before.
I suppose there’s no reason why not, but I do wonder why these delightful birds – common at Chasewater – are not seen on the canals much if at all.
A mystery.
December 15th – I spotted these odd remnants of toadstools on a damp grass verge near the canal at Walsall. I can’t recognise the original fungus, and they seem to be decaying in an almost skeletal manner. I’m fascinated by the way they seem to be reducing to the structure of their gills.
Fungi are endlessly captivating.
December 12th – A wet, horrible day, but a remarkable, surprising find – a rosy earthstar.
This curious thing, looking like plasticine or glazed ceramic, is a fungus like toadstools. It’s relatively rare, and I’ve never seen one before. It’s in a bunch of about 5 in various stages of life on a small patch of CLayhanger Common, and I spotted it entirely by chance.
A great find on a very unpleasant day.
September 28th – Quite a find for me, and only the second time I’ve ever seen it in the wild: orange peel fungus, seemingly growing well on Clayhanger Common, near where I saw the glistening ink caps last week.
This ascomycete is not particularly rare, and mycologists may scoff at my enthusiasm for it, but this delicate ad small fungi is hard to spot. I’m pleased I found it.
September 17th – I can’t decide if this single, gorgeous violet blue plant is a harebell or bellflower. Whatever it is, it’s been delighting me every time I pass by it for over a week now, just on the canal by the Clayhanger Bridge.
Any opinions, folks? It really is a most beautiful bloom, and so unexpected at this time of year.
September 16th – Not really sure what’s going on here but it snagged my attention as I cycled past: at St. Mark’s Church in Shelfield, there seems to be some kind of scarecrow festival going on.
It all looks very jolly, and I particularly liked the two chaps on the roof, but a bit unsure why the ones by the front door are apparently in jail…
September 11th – Bumper update today as I had a lovely Indian summer ride out to Abbots Bromley, Newborough and Dunstall.
Here at Hanney Hay near Hammerwich, just down from Meerash Farm, a field full of strikingly green proso-millet.
I have no idea if the use is as animal or human feed, or even biofuels, but it’s a handsome, beautifully coloured crop.
Cheers to Tony Jakeman for the identification. I’ve never seen it before.
June24th – Franchise Street, Darlaston. On an otherwise decaying, unremarkable house, a silver dragon fineal tops the gable.
I have no idea. The house was hard to photograph, as the neighbours were about.
Is this culturally significant somewhere do we know?
June 15th – Here’s something that’s got me wondering: the Pleck swan family are back to their nest. These are the group I saw, who after hatching their eggs in the disused canal arm found themselves being intimidated by the heron. Next day, they’d gone. I never saw them again, but heard they’d scooted off to Moxley, a few miles up the canal.
Well, this morning, they were back: I was alerted by the dad patrolling the open water outside the arm, while mum was nest rebuilding with at least two little ones. When I last saw them, I counted four cygnets; if they’ve lost two, that’s sad, but no so bad.
I have no idea what they’re doing back at the nest and invite comments. Good to see them getting on, though.
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