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January 10th – On the way out, I caught a golden sunset over a very choppy Chasewater. It was the sort of metallic, harsh light that’s beautiful and only happens on windy, cold deep winter days. 

On the way back, it was cold, and as I crossed the footbridge over the Chasetown Bypass, I was reminded of how beautiful nightfall was here. The distant, windy sweep of cars beneath my feet; countless lights stretching into the distance; the lights of Sutton Coldfield transmitter on the horizon, a constant, stable, reassuring reminder of the endless continuity of day-to-day life.

A beautiful but cold day to be out.

January 10th – Over to Burntwood to get some shopping in, I went via the canal and Chasewater. Just at Home Farm, where Brawn’s Wood used to be, I noted a new gap in the hedgerow, stomped down. It didn’t look man-made, and there’s no beneficial human shortcut I can see here; but earlier in the week I noted deer footprints coming off Clayhanger Common near Catshill Junction Bridge and I thing they’re probably coming this way now and on to the fields at Springhill and Sandhills.

Further on, on this clear, hard and windy day, Hammerwich and beyond to Lichfield Cathedral were very visible and made interesting zoom photos. 

How I adore that view, and this stretch of canal.

January 6th – I’d not noticed this before. On the canal near Darlaston, a high factory wall, and by some twist of nature, soot and the wind, a pair of buddleia plants, slowly and tenaciously taking the brickwork part by the action of gentle and sustained hydraulic pressure alone.

Although it’s destructive, I love to see this; nature reclaiming the constructed. It’s nice to see nature winning occasionally.

January 6th – An early, grey commute was brightened by something I’d never seen before, a heron in Jockey Meadows. A fair way from the canal or Ryders Mere, it must either have been resting or hunting in the water meadows here.

The photos are awful, and very long distance, but I’ve never seen a heron here before.

It set me up for the day.

January 5th – A fiddly maintenance job this evening. Studded ice tyres currently fitted to my bike have small, very hard carbide studs in them to grip black ice. They sit in pockets in the tyre tread, and on the back in particular, if you skid on tarmac or brake very hard, they rip out.

Once I’ve lost ten or so, I delve into the spares box and whip out a small bag containing replacement studs, supplied by Schwalbe, the tyre manufacturer. 

By deflating the tyre and pinching the cavity, with pliers one can pop fresh studs in, using a drop of washing up liquid as a lubricant. Fiddly at first, once you’ve got the hang, it’s easy to do.

It may sound overzealous, but for the want of a couple of studs, you could slide. A stitch in time, and all that…

January 5th – In the New Year Quiz on my main blog this year, I asked about the bulkhead pipes visible sticking from the mounds of a couple of local landfill sites; the answer was that they were gas collection points, to feed a gas turbine that generated electricity from the otherwise wasted methane evolved when the buried refuse decomposes.

This plant – humming away continuously in the way only a gas turbine can – is just off Brickyard road in Aldridge and has been running for at least 3 years fuelled by as from the Vigo Utopia landfill, generating electricity which is fed back into the national grid.

Refuse operators will paint this as ‘green energy’ – it’s no such thing; it’s not renewable, is finite and is no cleaner than any other methane power plant. It is, however, making use of gas that formerly would have been wasted, so it’s a good thing.

There is a similar setup at Highfields South, not more than a mile away.

January 4th – I’ll be perfectly honest here – I felt lower than a snake’s knees; the black dog was truly upon me and I’d been trying to ignore it for days. I’ve no idea why, other than stuff just wasn’t going well generally, but I did what I always do when life gets the better of me: I got out my cyclic antidepressant and rode it hard.

I rode over to Farewell on a journey that started sunny, but ended dank and misty, but it was enjoyable. Although cold, there were signs of life and colour in Farewell churchyard that pleased and encouraged me; and the winding icy lanes were a challenge. 

The old holloway of Cross o’ th’ Hand Lane was as dramatic as ever.

Coming back through Wall, the church and Roman remains were excellent stopping points as ever. My mood wasn’t completely lifted, but I felt a lot better.

January 4th – After being worryingly low in late summer, the water level at Chasewater has recovered quickly. With the rain and meltwater over the Christmas period, the balancing culverts are now submerged, and I think we’re about 16 inches (400mm) off full. If water isn’t drawn down, I’d expect water to be overflowing into the spillway by mid February if we have moderate rains.

I still can’t get over how quickly Chasewater refills.

January 3rd – My dislocation was compounded by the darkness. Despite the moonlight, the town seemed very dark and deserted, from the alley at the rear of the church to the footpath over the spot, which I rode over to Clayhanger to visit a pal.

Sometimes I hate the darkness. Sometimes it’s my best friend. Right now, I just wish it would hang back a bit.

Roll on spring.