Author: David

The view down the bottom two locks of the Stourbridge canal towards the Staffs & Worcs which crosses below.

Frost outlining the leaves of a delicate ivy.

The combination of icicles and flowing water is not as dramatic as in wintery mountain waterfalls, but I still find it appealing.

Some sections of the Staffs and Worcs canal are cut into sandstone, giving the appearance of cliffs forming the bank opposite the tow path. This picture was taken with my back towards the aqueduct where the canal crosses the river Stour. The brightly lit rock face is reflected in a then frozen canal. There is an intriguing black-painted door in the rock face at water level.

The winged seeds of an ash.

Bracket fungus growing on a fallen tree trunk by the railway walk in Smestow Valley.

“When gorse is out of bloom, kissing is out of season.” This gorse was flowering before the end of January.

This honey fungus was covered with frost towards the end of January.

It’s a toadstool-shaped fungus which grows in clumps at the base of tree trunks, killing the tree in the process.

There are at least two species of lichen growing on the bark of this mature birch.

Lichen and moss growing on the trunk of a tree in a cutting on the South Staffordshire Railway Walk.

The top of a bullrush. The fluffy material is the remnants of last year’s seed.

The regimented ranks give the clue that these aren’t actually wild.

But they are still welcome as another sign that spring may at long last be almost here.