King George V Memorial Playing Fields

King George's is a lovely park to walk round; children play on the splashpad and play area; local football teams practice on the fields; and it's a lovely place for a picnic with the family. Here are 3 photos I took a few weeks ago on the 8th of August. 

If you're interested in the history of Bloxwich Parks there is a fascinating read here at Bloxidge Tallygraph

Buff-tip Moth

For the last week I have been sweeping up little black balls from the patio each morning and night, I thought they were probably coming from the Silver Birch tree but didn't know what they were as I'd never seen them before. I crushed one on my palm, they were firm but crushable and left a dark green stain. Two days ago we spotted a caterpillar walking over the patio and we moved him to a leaf in the border, we saw what we assumed was the same one going in the other direction, and then again and again! Groundhog day for the caterpillar!!

Photo by Phil Griffin

A friend thought it looked like a tortoiseshell butterfly caterpillar, I liked that idea, they are nice.....

Photo by Bracken B courtesy of BBC

But, upon closer inspection and a little research....

 (and after one fell down right in front of me!) ...we decided it was likely to be the Buff-tip moth caterpillar!!!! I do not like moths at all! Especially ones with a wing span of 6cm!!!

The moths lay their eggs in many different trees, one of which is a Silver Birch, and the caterpillars eat the leaves often defoliating whole branches......

My youngest daughter and I noticed this branch yesterday whilst lying on the sun lounger....
the very same spot the caterpillar fell to the ground!!! That could have been my face!!!!!

After feeding they pupate in the ground and overwinters as a chrysalis. Not looking forward to next May when it warms up and they dig their way out!!! Oh, and that black ball crushed on my palm? Caterpillar poop!!! Gross!

Up on the roof

Getting away from the noise and the crowds in Walsall really doesn’t take much effort, just by climbing up a few stairs (15 flights and a ladder) you get uninterrupted views of green spaces and acres and acres of trees.

Getting up onto the giants of Walsall’s buildings really gives you a new perspective on just how our town is pieced together, from any one of the high-rise blocks you can see every other block and where it sits in relation to everything else.

Humphries House stands out in isolation generally towering over its little sister block, the white render on both reflecting the sun like one of Don Quixote’s Windmills, Lower Farms tower blocks are harder to spot and from Willenhall are barely visible other than the very top couple of floors.

BT Tower and the Birmingham skyline,
as seen from Caldmore

From Birmingham to the South & Cannock to the North, every part of the borough is brought into view but you're so distant from it all at the same time.

Pye Green transmitter in Cannock
 with Lower Farm twin towers.

Lichfield Cathedral from Brownhills.

Views from Humphries House.

Views from Humphries House.

Views from Humphries House.

Don't look down!

Do look out though.

My old school following some light remodeling
 (it was demolished and rebuilt from scratch).

Views over Lower Farm.

Lower Farms twin towers from Willenhall.

Toad of Toad hall...

Well, Griffin garden anyway! I was moving the pots to get rid of some ghastly slugs at the weekend and discovered Mr Toad under one....hoping that he'll decide to stay in our garden I put some water in an old bath, tipped it on it's edge and put bricks in so he could get in and out.....

"If I stay really still, they'll think I'm a rock!"

Photo by Phil Griffin

I'll have to look up how to encourage him to stay in our garden. And I thought the only toad in our garden was this one!! :)

Taking photos again

After many, many years break I've started to take photographs again. I used to love going out with my old 35mm SLR but these days enjoy the new digital cameras and seeing the pictures straight away. I mainly use an ultra zoom digital compact camera but sometimes take photos on a Fujifilm Finepix which I always have with me. Then, of course, there's always the phone camera :) One day I hope to buy a DSLR and have a play with more lenses again.

This is my first post on my new blog where I will share the many wonderful sights and scenes in and around Walsall. Here are a few photos I took last night on a disused section of the Wyrley and Essington canal starting in Broad Lane, Bloxwich.