July 4th – Fully loaded with shopping, I pottered back, becoming slower and slower as my energy dropped. I was pleased to note, however, lots of new duckling families on the canal at Brownhills. There are mallard chicks from newly hatched to a week or so old, clearly all second clutches.
This summer seems to be favouring the wildlife, which is nice to see.
June 15th – The warmer days seem to be here at last, and out on the streets come the cats. These fair-weather flaneurs of the urban streets roll, stroll, preen and posture, but mainly just laze around languidly waiting for something interesting.
I saw this chap in the backstreets of Walsall. There’s an admirable air of relaxation and smugness there. Impressive.
May 26th – I had cause to visit Walsall Wood on my way home, on a surprisingly busy Tuesday evening. The sun was shining, but it was cold, with a sharp headwind; this May has had much of the wolf about it and I shall be glad to see the back of it and get some calmer, warmer days in.
I love the view up Shire Oak Hill to the northeast; surprisingly green, busting, the rooftops and chimneys, combined with a cheerful urban optimism always makes me feel good.
This isn’t such a bad place.
May 19th – Most of the day, the weather was dynamic. Sun, rain, wind, hail, sun… but even in the sun, it still looked black over Bill’s Mothers. The coos knew what they were doing.
I got soaked three times. But the rain passed as quickly as it came and it wasn’t cold.
May. It rages and it roars and it blows; but usually, it creeps out on tiptoe, spent from all the tantrums.
May19th – I set off in reasonable weather. The coos of Jockey Meadows knew best, and were lying down.
Always pay attention to the coos. They know what they’re doing.
(Thanks to Susan Marie Ward who got that ‘coos’ is the correct regional pronunciation for these dribbly, nosey, sagacious and truly meteorologically insightful bovines).
April 22nd – A spin around Stonnall on an errand on the way home, and it’s getting to late spring, early summer, or at least it feels that way: warm air, surrounded by flowers and greening hedgerows and trees. I seems a world away from the scene here a few short weeks ago.
It’s also hard to imagine that on April 5th, 2013, there was still snow on these fields.
One of the most charming and frustrating things about cycling in Britain is the weather. You never know quite what’s going to happen next…
March 29th – It was just an awfully uninspiring day. There were very few people about. The wildlife seemed to be hiding. Everything looked drab. In a vain search for deer I hopped onto clay hanger Common, which was saturated, like a marsh. Even the pigeons were giving it a miss.
It does look wonderfully green, though.
March 3rd – Cold, windy. Horrid journeys to work, fast and fun journeys back. It seems we’re in for a blustery spring, but it was light nearly all the way home tonight – another week, and I might get home in the light.
Ah, blessed light.
I’ve been fiddling with the new camera – astoundingly to me, these shots were all handheld (I don’t have steady hands). This one seems more sensitive, if that’s the word, and seems to select a faster shutter in lower light than previous models. I’m liking it a lot.
It was a fair sunset tonight, but clear, and harsh. I was glad to get in.
February 25th – Sorry, I won’t feature Darlaston again for a few days, promise: but the town is my current muse and I do love it so – and it looks splendid in the winter sunshine.
The curious, frustrating and utterly unpredictable flip-flop weather at the moment means last night’s rain was this morning a gorgeous, almost still, warm sunny winter day. Darlaston Police Station looked fine, as did Victoria Park.
You can’t not take a photo of this place. It’s gorgeous.
February 21st – The weather really couldn’t make up its mind – today, in about 90 minutes, I experienced rain, hail, snow, wind and warm sunshine. Heading back up the canal to Brownhills from Burntwood, the skies were beautiful, as were the patches of sunshine and shadow that chased over the landscape.
The verdant green of the new crops and bright blue really do whisper of a nascent spring, but I must remember, some of the heaviest snows for years were at the end of March in 2013.
I don’t think winter has quite laid down yet…
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