November 28th – Probably the coldest commute of the winter so far, yet no ice, which was a bit odd – but the wind was bitter. Luckily I was wrapped up warm and didn’t really feel it much.
What there was though, were gorgeous azure blue skies silhouetting the shivering trees, now mostly devoid of leaves for winter.
‘I awoke this morning, and found a frost perched on the town’ wrote Joni Mitchell. The was no frost, but I know what she meant.
Oh well, onwards – soon be Christmas.
November 22nd – Coming through New Street Station at night, rush hour on a foul blustery evening when all the trains are messed up.
I’d rather be anywhere else than here.
Nothing sums up the deadzone, the suck, this awful time of year: no end to the advancing darkness, travel worsening daily, weather closing in.
And yet, there’s something awfully optimistic about it. You know that in a few short weeks, it’ll be over, and we’ll be opening out again.
Patience. Patience.
October 22nd – A very decent, dark sunset descended on Brownhills. The day was still very windy, an rather wolfish so not really great for riding, really. But I can live with clear skies, a little sun and strong wind.
Sunsets like this, now hovering around 6pm before the end of British Summer Time next weekend, remind me that winter will soon be upon us.
October 16th – An very strange weather day. We were expecting severe storms in the afternoon, and in the morning, to a gradually increasing wing, the sky and light turned pink. Not just a light, gentle pink, but a deep, strong pink that suffused everything and made one think the end was coming.
It actually turned out to be pollution and sand dust in the upper atmosphere caused by the oncoming, dying hurricane, but the effect was bfar better than any eclipse I’ve ever seen.
For an hour or so on an otherwise unremarkable October morning, the world went a little bit strange for us all.
October 5th – A headache-grey, overcast and unpleasant day that was as grim and hard to face as the weather on the commute. Work is challenging at the moment and leaving me incredibly tired, day after day.
I’ve never known a summer end so abruptly and just dive headlong into a grim, grey, lifeless autumn like this – yes, the fungi is plentiful and the trees beautiful; but day after day the grey, sunshineless gloom is hard work.
I need a holiday. Returning home via a gloomy Catshill Junction, I was, for once fed up of the view.
October 4th – This is a great Autumn for fungi – everywhere I look there seem to be great examples of different species, and stuff I haven’t seen before.
This interesting clump of button toadstools is growing on the exposed, fractured roots of the spot where a tree fell near the Tannery flats in Walsall. I think it may be some kind of honey fungus, but I’m really not sure. It’s really colourful and the photo doesn’t do it justice.
I suppose this is the tradeoff for the damp, grey autumn – great toadstools!
September 3rd – The day was grim and overcast, and the weather horrid, and I was wiped out from the ride the day before. I confined myself to a short ride around Pelsall, Brownhills and Shelfield via the canal and old rail cycleway.
From the day before, in shirtsleeves getting a tan and sweating in the sun, to this: There was an unpleasant nip in the air, a serious wind and autumn touching the greenery in a way I find sad.
I do hope that wasn’t summer’s last breath…
June 22nd – More cats, sorry, but I just loved these pair, again in the cat metropolis of Scarborough Road, Pleck. There had been light drizzle, and the air was cooling but this pair of lazybones were in the same garden, asleep and totally oblivious.
I particularly like how the black one has fallen asleep while having a wash.
Oh, for the life of a cat…
April 30th – Worst bank holiday weekend weather-wise I can remember for a while. Bad Bank Holiday weather is a cliche in the UK, but recent years have generally been decent for most of them; this weekend has been cold, grey and periodically showery and not very springlike at all.
I popped up to Walsall Wood on an errand late afternoon. It was reasonably still, and spring is showing it’s colours and freshness beautifully, it’s just a shame the sun and warmth haven’t made it here yet…
April 27th – Also near Stonnall, a classic spring view: cottages at Mill Lane, Lynn surrounded by an ocean of bright yellow oilseed rape, the cheesy scent of which is filling the air in the backlanes at the moment.
It’s still way too cold, but the countryside is showing itself beautifully.
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