Tag: weather

October 31st – The mornings have been damp over the weekend, and we’ve had a little rain in what has generally been a very dry autumn indeed. This has led to the fungus taking a surge, and I noted in the canal cutting through Pleck this morning there was lots of fly agaric growing, some of which were astoundingly large. Contrary to my earlier fears, it actually seems to have been their year after all.

Meanwhile, the toadstools I found on the log at the back of Queen Street Cemetery have turned a gorgeous orange brown colour as they mature and die off.

Lets hope with a little damper weather, more fungus will appear. I love to see it.

October 20th – Heading home along the canal through Pleck, another of those rare treats: a rainbow.

It hadn’t rained here that I was aware of and I guess someone in east Walsall was getting an unexpected shower.

Hadn’t seen any for ages, and this is the third this month. You can’t beat a good rainbow.

September 28th – Although not as dramatic, the following sunrise was also beautiful as I rode through Mill Green. I love the shape and drama of pylons and radio masts at any time, but against a good sky they always look fabulous,

It was a good ride into a challenging wind, which is developing an all too familiar chill at the moment.

The year really is closing in fast now. 

September 27th – It was clear when I left work that there was going to be a good sunset, and it reached it’s peak just as I hit Brownhills. An absolutely stunning sundown, I haven’t seen the like for a good while – the sky appeared to be on fire, with the dying red light reflected on the underside of mackerel clouds.

A great benefit of the shortening of the day is riding home in sunsets like these.

September 18th – I have no idea about this, as I’m no meteorologist and I know even less about cloud formations, but I can’t recall ever seeing stripy cloud like this before.

It persisted for some time around 5pm over east Staffordshire, and was quite beautiful – when most pronounced, it had a very shard ‘edge’ to it which was fascinating in itself.

Can anyone tell me what this is all about, please? How rare is it? Does it have a name?

September 9th – Found in Kings Hill Park in Darlaston, a sign of the oncoming autumn. Glistening ink caps, shooting up after a night’s rain; tiny spores waiting in the ground until exactly the right combination of light, temperature and moisture. Then – ping! – instant toadstool forest.

Isn’t fungus incredible?

August 17th – Too many cats I hear you cry – sorry, but I adore them. And with the warm weather, they are everywhere; dozing, loafing, strolling, patrolling, stalking or just watching.

When the warm spell is over, they’ll be mostly gone.

Returning home from work this evening, I passed this relaxed guy in Pleck. He was in the same place this time yesterday.

It’s clearly a hard life, but he’s bearing up, best he can.

July 21st – It’s been a great week of commuting so far. Sunny and warm, without too much wind. I felt the sun on my face, and everything had that great summer air about it you only get in during really warm spells.

This evening, however, was different; it was ten degrees C cooler than on Monday, and the skies were grey. As I neared Brownhills, it began to spot with rain, and I raced home to avoid the thunderstorm we were surely due.

It never came, and neither did the rain.

It’s been a great few sunny days, and if the summer would like to return, I for one will make it very welcome indeed…

July 13th – Running an errand at dusk, a beautiful sunset, and just after a heavy rain shower, very nearly a surface air inversion with small patches of mist drifting off the canal, but just a little too breezy for it to develop into anything.

The weather has been atrocious lately, but evenings like this – cool, clear and peaceful – make you remember what summer’s about.