January 4th – it has been a temperate commute in the morning, spoiled only by ten minutes of rain, but it felt reasonable for first day back, but in the evening my return was a shock. Not dressed for sub-zero temperatures, and on a bike without ice tyres, I gingerly picked my way through lanes and backstreets chilly and nervous.
That’s the trouble with having time off; you need to sharpen your commuting game on your return, because you get out of the habit.
December 30th – Night finally fell at about 4:30pm near Middleton. Sunset was at 4:01pm. Already, as we move into a new year, the darkness is on the run once more.
Despite the cold, despite the mud, this made me very happy indeed.
Bring on the light!
December 21st – And so, on the way back to Brownhills, a familiar subject that was today in darkness due to the lack of moonlight. The canal was millpond still and there was little wind – a situation that looks about to change, with incoming intemperate weather threatening.
I can remember really, really cold Christmases – with snow on the ground, if not truly white – but we haven’t had one for a few years now.
I suppose s decent covering of snow this winter is too much to ask?
December 19th – It may be deepest winter, but along the cycleways and towpaths there are still tenacious hips, haws and berries clinging on to sparse shrubs and trees providing food for songbirds, who seem to be devouring them now with a passion not shown in many a year.
Grandad used to say that if there was a profusion of fruit, it meant a bad winter was in store. I’m not sure about that, but the birds do seem to be stocking up for something this year.
I wonder what they know we don’t?
December 6th – And there you go; if you don’t like the weather in Britain wait ten minutes. in 24 hours, the air temperature had risen 9 degrees and it now felt positively tropical.
Still grey and murky, though, but at least it was warm.
Let’s hope the air clears in the next few days.
December 6th – Still cold, and again, a foggy, treacherous ride: I was at Telford early, and the cycleways were wet and dripping with water. The temperature was clearly rising and everything, every surface was saturated, including me.
I really hope this grim spell ends soon.
November 30th – Another beautiful, frosty and glass-hard morning, and again Jockey Meadows captivated me.
This wetland, separating Shelfield from Walsall Wood for centuries is an essential drainage band for the area and a haven for wildlife, as well as being a notified Site of Special Scientific Interest.
And I think Jockey Meadows are at their most beautiful on mornings like this.
November 27th – It was a very dramatic-looking afternoon as I headed up the canal towards Lichfield on this cold afternoon suffused with golden, low sunlight.
I note from my favourite tree – the lovely horse chestnut at Home Farm, Sandhills – that it is now winter, as it’s bare.
As I noted yesterday, surprising how much colour is still in the landscape.
November 22nd – Despite a bit of a slow ride back up the Chester Road (though powering down into Brownhills from the crossroads is always a joy) a couple of things stood out as I glanced at the computer at the lights at Shire Oak. The first was it felt warmer than it had for a while, and secondly the sunset was now coming up to 4pm.
The temperature though, was not even 4 degrees celsius, which means I must be getting used to the cold again, something I’ve had trouble with this year. I also noted that the elevation was horribly inaccurate – at least 70m out. Normally fairly accurate, the elevation was automatically calibrated when I set out in the morning, and is based on air pressure, so it shows that during the day, atmospheric pressure rose.
Perhaps we’re in for better weather. I do hope so.
November 16th – Also providing colour, and much later than normally expected, the leaves are stunning still.
It’s that time of year when if it rains, many tracks, backlanes and other cycle routes become slippery with leaf pulp, which is treacherous and hard to predict.
The colours were beautiful, even against a threatening sky.
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