July 17th – A very hot day with no little wind, and I set off on a ride cursed by mechanical problems, but I still got 57 miles in which was well worth it and very enjoyable. What was noticeable with the sudden arrival of summer was the active animal life. The deer were still showing well at Home Farm, and a rather hung-over looking heron was preening and looking a little mad near Wharf Lane. In between the two, a cat with remarkable whiskers was languidly patrolling his canalside patch.
July 16th – I know the deer have been on Home Farm at Sandhills for a while – I accidentally photographed a lone stag there last autumn – but I’ve never seen a large group. Until today.
A grouo of red deer females, with three fawns, were loafing in a field margin but the canal, at the conjunction between the oilseed rape crop and some wheat. They were not nervous and seemed comfortable.
I think they’re getting here from CLayhanger Common, as previously I’ve seen footprints on Catshill Junction Bridge, and there seems to be a lot of trampling in the hedge-gaps.
The local deer population really is ubiquitous now.
July 15th – As a good pal said to me a few days ago, some plants would be really cherished if they were harder to grow, and I believe this to be the case with ragwort. Deep yellow and orange, this dweller of scrubs, verges, hedgerows and fallow ground flowers profusely throughout the summer, largely ignored because it’s so common.
Scourge of horse-owners due to the toxic effect on their steeds, it’s not a well liked plant.
Which is a shame, because when you stop to look at it, it’s rather beautiful.
July 14th – Also spotted in suburban Walsall – Bentley Bridge to be precise – momma mallard standing guard over her two duckings on a simple reed nest. It was a warm, sunny afternoon, and I can’t think of a better spot for a little siesta.
She looks so proud.
June 14th – Spotted on the way to work in Place, this pair of characters. They seemed friendly enough. They mewed at me softly. I assume they’re siblings, or if not, they’re close pals.
One of the very best things about summer communities on a sunny day is observing the cat population taking the air and enjoying it.
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.
July 13th – I wasn’t on my bike, but I can’t let this pass: a chance to overview the start of the demolition of the Adrian Boult Hall, part of the demolition of Birmingham Central Library and Paradise Circus.
Prehistoric looking machines are ripping, tearing and crushing masonry and concrete, shearing and cutting steel. Skilled engineers, operators and surveyors move over the site, where the modern age is almost universally high-visibility orange.
It’s interesting to see new vistas evolve, which themselves will be lost again. I’m lost the horror of the demolition now, and an grimly fascinated, like I’m watching some post mortem or investigation into some misadventurous occurrence.
July 12th – Meanwhile, at Jockey Meadows, the coos are getting stuck in, browsing the scrub and spreading the cowpat love. I’m fascinated in their behaviour; they tend to operate in a loose group, and move to different parts of the pasture at different times of day. It’s almost as if they know they have a job to do, and are carefully, conscientiously doing it.
I love these gentle, charming beasts.
July 11th – I finished the working day with a meeting in Lichfield, and before facing an evil headwind on the way home, I took a look around the parks and open spaces of the city, which always look so good in summer.
From the Cathedral looming over the Memorial Gardens and Minster Pool, to the stunning lavender border in Festival Gardens, the gardeners are a credit to the city, they really are.
Take a bow folks, you should be very proud.
July 11th – Today I noticed an odd little curiosity I’d not spotted before. On the canal at Clayhanger Bridge, the rope guards that were installed on the original bridge were transferred to it’s replacement in 1994.
These rusting metal posts were originally at the vertices of the brickwork on the towpath side of the underbridge. Back when narrowboats were horse drawn, the guards were fitted so that the horse towropes would not groove the brickwork, but the metal instead. The years of boats passing wore deep grooves in the metal, which are a sort of historical witness to the traffic that once passed under here.
There are very few horse-drawn boats now, and the posts are merely there as an artefact. I note they were fitted slightly incorrectly in that they no longer protect the corners, and their positions have been exchanged (the wear would be on the right hand side of the post in the picture) – but well done to those who rebuilt this bridge two decades ago for preserving a little bit of industrial canal history.
How have I not spotted this before?
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