July 30th – A warm afternoon run to Chasewater on the canal: even though its getting on to high summer, there are still plenty of wildflowers looking beautiful, and the wild sweetpeas are still showing well around the derelict coal-chutes of Anglesey Basin.
At Chasewater itself, wake boarding was still in full swing despite the suspected bloom of blue-green algae the week before. I’m not into that kind of thing much but that does look like the most wonderful fun…
July 30th – I see the horse chestnut leaf miners are back with a vengeance now. A moth lays eggs, whose larvae burrow through the large leaves, eating them and leaving huge brown scars, which suddenly appear around this time of year. A relatively new problem, it doesn’t seem to hurt the trees, but it causes premature leaf fall, and they look bad.
Experts are assessing links between this and the canker also affecting many of these stately, arboreal giants.
It’s a great shame, I love these trees and hope this ugly affliction soon passes. I cycled a loop around Shenstone and Stonnall and I don’t think there’s an unaffected tree anywhere in the area.
July 29th – I’m not entirely sure what this plant is spotted growing near Wednesbury. It’s like cow parsley, with a flat flowerhead made of many tiny little flowers, but it’s way too short, and with a curious seed head.
There’s absolutely loads of it along the fences and verges here. Can anyone identify it?
July 27th – A foul commute in steady rain and a headwind, with the greasy roads I’d experienced a couple of days ago. There was really nothing at all to commend cycling this morning.
And then I passed the ripening rowan berries, bright orange and glistening with raindrops, and the morning didn’t seem as grim anymore.
I love how nature does that.
July 26th – The harvest started a few days before the weather broke yesterday, bringing it to a juddering halt – I note some bales in fields now, but mostly the combine harvester hasn’t been around much yet.
This field of wheat at Sandhills looks mostly ready now, but look closely at those plump ears and there’s still a fair way to go yet.
Hopefully, the current damp spell will pass quickly and the harvest can continue before mould sets in.
July 25th – In Rushall, a couple of apple trees have fruit growing well on the boughs right now. Some looks better than others, depending I think on if frost caught the blossom or not.
It’s not the largest harvest I’ve ever seen, but it’s big. It’s going to be a decent year for apples and pears, I think.
July 25th – A horrid, horrid ride home. I had to take a trip into Birmingham on my return from work, and I caught the train out. On my return from the station, it rained the sort of fine, penetrating rain that searches out every not-quite closed zip and aperture on your jacket, and just soaks you. But far, far worse than being wet were the road conditions.
The first rains after a dry spell are always bad – but if they aren’t heavy, the surface water they precipitate mixes with road grime, tyre detritus, spilled fuel and oils and makes a soapy, foamy, slimy emulsion that steals wheels from under you. I slid a couple of times. I head cars skid at junctions. It was awful.
I was glad to get home, just as the rain stopped. There hasn’t been enough rain to wash this away yet, so watch out the next time we have wet weather.
Be careful out there folks.
July 24th – Finally getting out on a ride late afternoon, I found myself on the canal near Tamworth. Here, I met a family of swans, with four cygnets. These were clearly rural birds, much more aloof than their urban counterparts; mum was very protective, and rather than hector me for food, they all grazed happily on the waterside greens.
It was a happy, healthy family and like the mallards yesterday, a very good thing to see.
July 24th – I paid a flying visit to the Vintage Fair at Chasewater Railway on a very busy day of errands, and despite my general irritation over the glossing over of history’s inconveniences one normally senses at these things, I enjoyed it hugely. There were a large number of stalls, the place was buzzing and there were lots of people in various great outfits that really made the thing work.
It’s always the characters and those with style who make or break vintage fairs, and there were plenty here, and lots of interesting stuff to buy and see.
I do hope Chasewater Railway do this again – it was lovely.
July 23rd – Pleased to see again that the walnut tree, appropriately situated in the village of Wall, has a great crop again this year. It’s the only such tree I know of locally, and the only one I’ve ever seen that reliably fruits.
A few more weeks and I might grab a couple of handfuls of the still green nuts to try pickled walnuts. Always fancied giving them a go.
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