June 4th – Here’s to the dull ones, this that blend in to the background, and perhaps even those that are hated.
Nettles are prolific and fascinating – from the dead, non-stinging variety to those that cause sudden anguish and itching are everywhere – and they’re actually fascinating if you stop and study them.
One of the most important things they do is support the beauty of peacock butterflies whose larvae feed on these lowly-regarded weeds.
May 27th – I guess a lost balloon is a reflection on the sadness of things, and that woeful feeling of loss a child develops when something is gone for good.
But it’s also a symbol of pollution.
I see lots of balloons as I ride around – town or country trapped in hedges, trees, verges, fields and scrub – and also in the canal. Eventually, it will deflate, and lurk, another piece of plastic detritus waiting to choke the wildlife and add to the building polymer poison time bomb.
I know it’s not a popular view but I wish these things we rarer.
May 21st – Laburnum, or golden chain is one of the most beautiful blossoms of the British spring. Vivid yellow green, hanging in strings like some fluorescent downpour, it used to be a lot more prolific than it is today.
There used to be loads of this tree growing in parks, gardens and public spaces – but it hides a deadly secret.
The seeds of this beautiful tree are deadly toxic, and after several accidental child poisoning incidents in the 80s, many of the trees were cut down for reasons of public safety.
Fortunately, some remain, like this example on the canal between the towpath and the cemetery at Bentley Bridge in Walsall.
May 18th – Ah, so commence the annual cygnet search. On the way to work in heavy rain and also on the way back, I looked over to the nest of the Pleck swans, and noted they weren’t on the nest. I couldn’t spot them between there and Darlaston either, so they’re probably roaming for food now. I’m concerned about them since the heron incident, but I’m sure they will be OK somewhere. Just a question of when I’ll spot them.
In the mean time, I had to content myself with the goslings that seem so numerous this year.
I love spring.
May 13th – The Walsall Canal swans at Pleck had hatchlings when I passed them midday; I was very pleased to count four, and I suspected she was hatching more. The cob patrolled on the open water, and the scene was tranquil.
I returned the same way that evening on my way home, to find a drama unfolding. An elderly heron was perched on the rear rail, his beady eye making unfailing eye contact with the cob, who was perched on the nest with his mate. There was clearly deadlock – the heron obviously had spotted an opportunity, but the swans were having none of it.
In a couple of days when grown, they’ll be safe from the herons and other predators, but it’ll be a tense few days for mum and dad as they guard their precious charges.
Nature, red in tooth and claw.
May 12th – He was hiding in the long grass near James Bridge Aqueduct. I decided to blow his cover.
This lovely chap – who had a white tip to hist tail, as if it had been dipped in a paint pot – must have been a long way from home. There aren’t many houses nearby.
Lovely chap though in excellent condition.
May 12th – A great morning ride, although the wind was against me, again another wolfish May day. I hopped onto the canal at Pleck, hoping to see swan hatchlings, but mum was still sitting. Her partner was attentively maintaining the nest – packing a bit more reed here, throwing away some debris there.
The wait goes on…
I noticed near the Scarborough Road bridge in Pleck the huge Lilac shrubs wonderfully in flower, and just a bit further along, an elderly heron watched me carefully.
So much wildlife to see on the canal in central Walsall, there really is.
May 5th – In case you haven’t noticed, there’s an election on. I’ve avoided mentioning it much this time, as there’s little to be said that isn’t being mentioned elsewhere, and the whole thing seems a bit of a crap shoot.
However, I couldn’t let this pass without comment. In Walsall, there is a voluntary ban on posters on council property at election time, which is being semi-sidestepped by landlords allowing banners to be erected on their properties. Sadly, all the ones I’ve spotted for the Conservatives in Walsall South are on derelict or unused buildings, which really promotes the booming, prosperous image the party must crave.
The local council candidate in Darlaston South standing for the Tories doesn’t even name his party – surely he can’t be avoiding mentioning it, can he?
This is the oddest election season I’ve ever witnessed.
May 5th – On a morning commute from hell, against a headwind that wanted me dead, I winched myself through Walsall and onto the canal, as I was scared the wind would blow me into the path of traffic. The only consolation was that coming home had to be better than this. Fortunately, it was.
Welcome serenity came in the form of the swans, still sitting the nest at the disused canal basin in Pleck. With no Catshill pairing this year, I have high hopes for this pair and have been keeping a weather eye on them for a few weeks now.
The male is a bit of a lad, and last week was begging chips off a canalside diner. Today he still patrolled patiently on the canal nearby. He had to content himself with the few grains of corn in my pocket…
April 27th – A short run of Black Country canal – from Pleck to Bentley Bridge, Darlaston, on the way to work in bright, but chilly sunshine. Mr. Swan was still drifting aimlessly, waiting for his partner to hatch their clutch; it’s nice to see he’s been ringed. Further up, the coots had already got chicks. Coot chicks are probably the most ugly-cute young birds this side of baby owls. Sadly, they were being stalked by a heron, so I don’t give much for their chances.
Off Bentley Bridge itself, a great sky, mirror flat water and the feeling that spring is really on her throne.
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 