Tag: weather

September 10th – I’m not on form this week, not even slightly. Yesterday I got in and complained the wind had been against me both to and from work, and it was pointed out to me that there was next to no wind. Today, I forgot my camera and had to use the phone. I hate that. Oh dear.

I stopped on the way to work to answer a call. Pulling over in Rushall, I realised how autumnal it looked. This is a lovely Indian summer, but I note the leaves starting to fall, and colours slowly changing.

As autumns go, this is up there with the best so far. I just need to get things a bit more together…

August 13th – The wind had changed direction slightly, and the rains were scarcer, but conversely, the skies were far more threatening. As I headed home to Brownhills, I was struck by the drama of it. I’m not greatly struck by Humphries House in snow white, but it doesn’t half show off an angry sky well.

Hope it settles down a bit for the weekend.

August 12th – Sweet rain fell in short, sharp showers as I rode home, often out of an almost totally clear, blue sky. The weather is certainly odd at the moment; the wind has been quite strong and it’s been very changeable.

I’ve forgot in this really quite dry summer the music of rain falling on the canal and leaves as I pass. In summer, it’s an occasional delight to the senses.

So long as it doesn’t become too frequent..

August 10th – I realised I hadn’t really done a circuit of Brownhills like this for a while, and despite the grim weather warnings, it’s wasn’t a bad day at all. The light was bright, and the scenery good. It was a good day to photograph landscape, I guess.

A the Pelsall Road bridge on the canal, I discovered how the otherwise inaccessible flowerbed was being maintained – formerly I’d wondered if it was from the boat so often moored nearby. 

At Chasewater, the lake was very, very choppy. The wakeline had been abandoned for the day, and only a few very brave windsurfers were out.

I note that the valves are currently open, and the water level at the reservoir is steadily lowering, probably to the lowest level since last summer, the high watermark evident on the spillway bridge in a line of white surface scum.

An unexpectedly great day to be out.

August 5th – Another saying my Grandfather used to use a lot was ‘It’s always a good year for something.’ On this, the old man – who lived life much more connected to nature than I – was bang on. Every year, every season, is detrimental to something and benificial to something else.

This year we have an absolute wealth of early blackberries. They, sycamore,  horse chestnut and beech appear to have done very well indeed. Oak and fruit seem to have had a very bad year. This is the first acorn I’ve seen – last year, the boughs were heavy with crab apples, damsons, cherries and acorns. This year, very few. Rowan, Hawthorn and cotoneaster seem to be doing reasonably well, though.

I guess it’s just how the weather falls. One late frost and the fruit crops are ruined…

August 2nd – Still treating my injured foot with care, I took in a lazy loop of Brownhills and bimbled over to Chasewater, then back down the canal. It was a gorgeously sunny late afternoon, and after the heavy rains of the morning, all the greenery looked splendidly fresh.

In the space of 20 minutes, I admired the mature trees on The Parade, enjoyed the shimmer of Chasewater and watched spellbound as a wakeboarder practised his jumps. I also spotted the best garden chair-hammock thing ever, in a limpid, green arcadia beside the quiet, clear waters of the canal.

Don’t ever tell me there isn’t beauty in this place.

June 8th – A very, very British Sunday. I left at 1:30pm for Draycott in the Clay, knowing there was a steam event going on at Klondyke Mill. I like to visit every few years if the weather’s nice – it’s a great run up the A515 and a a nice hour or so ferreting about around lovely old machines and even more fascinating characters. More of that on my main blog in the next few days.

I set out on a warm day with bright blue sky and high cloud. As I got to the mill 70 minutes later, the heavens opened and we had torrential rain, thunder and lightning – which cleared within minutes. This was the pattern for the remainder of the day.

I enjoyed the event – lots of great machinery and lots to mooch around – but the entry fee was eye-watering, to be honest. But I understand running the machines is costly and the society need funds, so I don’t mind too much.

I did learn that there’s a huge, possibly even gourmet, selection of coal and coke. It really is a different world. 

I returned with a challenging climb up Hanbury Hill, close to the Fauld Crater, and back through Anslow and Tatehill. Passing Battlestead Hill, I stopped to think of the RAF training aerodrome that was on these hills during the war. So many lads learned to fly here, left for war and never came back. Now the sheep graze safely while I look out towards Burton.

On the way back, I experienced several more heavy showers. But I also got a sun tan, had ice cream, and cracked a hard climb. Not an afternoon to be faulted.

March 18th – I stopped to look at the Pussy Willows on the canal bank near Walsall Wood, which are currently just going over. The towpath was littered with their debris, and I found them fascinating. Sadly, my attempts to photograph them were thwarted by a blackening sky which, although dramatic, made macro photography impossible. 

As I arrived home it began to rain. Looking at the weather forecast, it doesn’t seem great for the weekend, either.

Come back spring, we barely got to know you…

March 5th – It wasn’t until I hopped on the canal at the Black Cock Bridge and headed for Brownhills that I realised how still it was. The canal was like a millpond, and conditions were really quite silent. It hasn’t been like this since well before Christmas. 

There’s definitely a change in the air. It really has been a detestable couple of months weather-wise; I really felt at one point that it was never going to stop raining. 

Let’s hope the weather continues on it’s improving path for a while…

March 5th – The nascent spring seemed to tone it down a bit today. It was a nice enough day to commute, but the light wasn’t as good as it has been for the past few days, and it felt chilly. I really wasn’t inspired at all by the light, until I was coming through Walsall Wood and noticed that Jockey Meadows hadn’t really started spring yet. Whilst other places were greening up, it still looks grey and lifeless here. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen the deer here for a while, either. 

In these deciduous woods, hedgerows and water meadows spring always comes late.