May 17th – Nice to see, even on a rainy, grey morning, that meadow flowers are now showing strongly on the verges and edge lands of industrial estate, urban roads, tracks, towpaths and trails.
Welcome back for another season to buttercups, clover and bird’s foot trefoil, which serve to brighten even the most overlooked piece of grass.
Everywhere you look at the moment, beauty is bursting to the fore in a myriad of different flowers, leaves and blossoms.
A wonderful time of year.
May 15th – A wet, horrible morning commute with the wind against me. The only brightnesses I found in the gathering dark were these dog roses and some ox-eye daisies.
No matter how bad the weather, summer flowers are a guaranteed pick-you-up that will leave you smiling. And is it me, or do wild roses always look best with a covering of raindrops?
May 12th – The rest of the day was marked with damp natural beauty and curiosity; the wild-growing roses were out in St. Matthews churchyard in Walsall, and they fit this decaying corner of God’s Acre beautifully, while not far away, also decaying, the oddity that is Highgate Windmill was standing sentry over the quiet, respectful urbanity as it has done for centuries.
I noted all along the journey that marble oak galls are surprisingly prolific this season, and last year must have been very good for the parent wasps who create them. They hang like red fruits in the oak trees.
Sad to see the Swan and Mitre in Aston still empty: A remarkable terracotta late Victorian pub, hideously beautiful in mock gothic in that way only Victorian boozers can be, this spectacular building holds many memories for me. Many a time I leant on that railing one a summer evening with a pint in my hand watching the comings and goings to late-shift local factories.
Reflecting, I have little physically to show for the few short years I spent haunting this place, but I do have a lifelong friendship and some truly wonderful memories.
The past is best thought of in terms of what was found, not that which was lost.
May 12th – Slowly recovering from my tribulations, I headed off to Birmingham along the canals and through Sandwell Valley Park for some light relief. It was a dreadfully dark, rain-spattered day but the birdlife I saw was incredible. From the bluetits near Park Hall to the young waterfowl all along the canals of the area, multiplication really is the name of the game.
Glad to see the six cygnets all present and correct at Catshill Junction, and who knew gulls could yawn?
May 5th On the way home I took the canal from Darlaston, in the hope of avoiding the worst of the wind. Nearing the factories near Pratts Mill Bridge, I noticed this swan, ostensibly asleep but clearly monitoring me on the far side of the canal, nurturing it’s clutch of eggs.
I wonder if it’s the swan couple that in previous years have nested in the old Gasworks Arm and Anson Junction in Pleck? No sign of them up there this year. Hopefully I’ll be able to catch sight of one of the parents leg-rings soon and find out for sure.
May 4th – In the past couple of days I’ve mused on the sudden explosion in the number of herons on the local canals around Walsall, and also noted the amount of fresh waterfowl hatchlings.
In one journey from Walsall to Darlaston this morning, I saw four lurking herons. But only one coot chick.
It was lunchtime before the connection struck me. The herons are finding food in the tiny new lives that have been nurtured in canalside nests in the last few days and weeks.
I can’t grumble – the herons are doing what herons do, and the reason many clutches are so large or certain species are prolific breeders is precisely because of the attrition of new generations by predators.
But it’s a grizzly thought. These very attentive coot parents were very attentive of their offspring – only 10 metres of so from a patient, waiting heron.
May 2nd – The canals locally are a joy at the moment. Spring is in full effect and in one short journey between Walsall and Darlaston I saw new goslings, moorhen and coot chicks and an older family of ducklings.
When your ride to work contains such wonderful things, it’s hard not to have a great day.
May 2nd – Many of us know the pain of an irritating sibling.
I spotted the charming grey cat near the Tannery flats in Birchills, Walsall. He was inspecting the flower border and very alert to me. Then what I assume to be his brother appeared.
They greeted each other with a nose boop, then grey fellow continued to stare me out, stalk me and generally let me know I was under intense scrutiny – while the brother rubbed his head on him, attempted to wash his tail, and generally didn’t take stuff seriously at all.
Eventually, Mr. Grey walked off in disgust.
A fine pair of cats. Someone loves these two very much.
April 11th – In kings Hill Park in Darlaston, the flowers continue to be a delight whenever I pass through; today the deep pink tulips were in bloom, sprouting in profusion from the planters – and in the strip of wildflowers I found a week or so ago, the flowering continues in earnest.
Such a beautiful display in a very well-loved and cared-for urban park.
April 5th – Blue sky and profuse cherry blossom, one of the absolute joys of spring. Spotted on an industrial estate in Walsall, just how gorgeous is this?
Spring is here and there’s beauty everywhere you look.
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