October 30th – Sadly, I took loads of photos today, not realising I had a piece of fluff on the lens and they all came out badly. But these toadstools, spotted on a grass verge in Wednesbury after the rains of the morning had stopped were wonderful. I think they’re oak milk caps, certainly some form of lactarius. I love the way they dimple and hole water as they grow.
I actually spotted them because that little one resembled a bum. It appealed to my sense of the absurd. Sorry.
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 16th – Spotted in Wednesbury, a whole line of snowberry bushes. These low, still flowering shrubs are peppered with the globular, white berries that look quite beautiful.
I know of no other fruit like it. I assume it’s an import for ornamental reasons. It’s certainly one of the markers of autumn.
September 8th – It’s nice to see the fungi coming through now – I love this feature of autumn. Many folk don’t realise, but toadstools, balls and polypores are just the bloom of much larger organisms living out of sight. They really are unlike anything else in nature.
This roll-rim was growing on a grass verge in Wednesbury and was about eight inches in diameter. They start flat and become funnel-shaped as they age: it was a misty, wet morning and this one was gathering condensation well.
July 17th – I found these unidentified, dainty little white flowers growing on a grass verge on an industrial estate in Tipton. I don’t know what they are, but they seem related to bugle, the purple-blue flower I featured here last week. I’ve not seen either in great number before this year, but something in the season has favoured them and these wonderful little flowers are profuse.
Can anyone identify it, please?
25th June – It’s easy to overlook the weeds and commonest wildflowers, but also a crime. I love dandelions, buttercups and daisies – they’re the unsung, everyday background to many beautiful views. After all, what would a gorgeous summer meadow be without them? Yet how often do we really study these most common of flowers?
I love daisies in particular. Delicate, colourful and hard, they are a real success of the British ecosystem, yet few ever give them a second thought.
Here’s to the common, but unseen.
June 2nd – A grey, windy morning, but the temperature was rising. Running around on errands in the morning after the rain had stopped, I noticed all these wonderful wildflowers on one roadside verge neat Tipton.
There are all sorts here from common but beautiful daisies to oilseed rape, gone feral near the crash barrier.
It may have been a chilly, grey spring, but the flora is thriving, and I don’t think I’ve ever known a spring this lush and beautiful.
May 4th – A run out in the afternoon didn’t reward me with the good weather I was expecting. It was lightly sunny (but mostly overcast), but not terribly warm, and whilst the day wasn’t the big, bad wolf of yesterday, it still had lupine tendencies.
I went out to Hints to explore the Black Brook Valley which I hadn’t done for years. On the way, I spotted a wealth of bright spring flowers.
The weather may not have been brilliant, but these certainly made up for it.
April 22nd – I spotted this striking red and green shrub in a border just in the backstreets of Pleck. It’s rather stunning, and brightened my day. Anyone know what it is?
April 15th – Shelfied, just on the marooned triangle of land where there was once a railway bridge, a beautiful display of daffodils, better than ever I remember them.
Every year these gorgeous flowers drag me into spring. They are a joy to the heart. My best wishes and thanks to those at Walsall Council who planted and look after them.
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