spring has sprung in the Kingfisher project

first I posted a letter and got next weeks Radio Times in Bosworth Drive
then I headed north west through the maze of footpaths

the water in the blue plastic fountain sounded as pleasant as any japanese garden

wow - one tiny yellow flower



and even a violet - global warming indeed


these two men pick up the litter here on Chelmsley Road every day
because behind me is Big John's fast food, and Teaxaco and a newsagent sell sweets and crisps to the childen who scatter the packaging.


Foxglove Crescent top left on Google Maps
which shows my route from Crabtree Drive up the image
and down the path to the river - then clockwise



a bit too light so I reduced the the F number to get more detail

and then two school girls came running "Are you alright Santa?"
they shouted across the field
because they saw me bent double over the first dandelion of the year
as if I had a severe pain.

Nice kids round here - I respect them and they me in return.


I wish you could also enjoy the babbling sounds of the full river Cole - I felt so peaceful and this valley is free from traffic noise

the rain just sits on this path


these exposed pebbles in the clay are from the melt waters of the last ice age

I looked forward to a sit down on the iron planked seat
(new rucksack £9 from LIDL for my handicam)

then the light went - my twenty year old boots were from the Scout Shop in Copenhagen on Nørre Farimagsgade to Krak.dk to check the spelling

it was not a gloomy day just changeable

and the sun came out again


looking back over my shoulder

and tilted

this dog is called Dodger, is now neutered and was male; and belongs to the vicar who was in London for the day


the lady dog walker is 84 and a spinster who lives with her bachelor brother

a handsome young oak tree unusual on a river bank

pussy willow and very soft to touch


I leaned against this willow tree and stood very still trying to make myself seem part of it

the distant swan was more people shy - you can just see my shadow on the water

but both were looking for food

and grazing the fresh grass

and noisily washing it in its beak before swallowing the grass blades

thinking about it, by chance I was "up sun" to them like a fighter pilot
beware of the "the hun in the sun" - Google Search

and they waded out when a disinterested dog came by on the path

walking on
three catkins

these two park rangers are going to clear the wind uprooted tree in the top left corner before it falls on someone - and they told me where the kingfishers might be



just a few tiny blackthorn flowers

there is a big sign RICHMOND HOUSE >>
on Cooks Lane - I thought that I might find a new path homewards

but it was a dead end with just 10 flats on three floors

click here for Google Maps and you can see this
and the pedestrian crossing over Cooks Lane
and the long jump pit below

Cooks Lane looking east

AHA a new shortcut - and my knee was stiff and hurting
and I had been so tempted by the number 94 buses passing by


looking south across the playing fields


sand pit for long jumpers


you can see the line of rubbish at the bottom of the hedge by the college

just a wide open space with the high houses artistically placed in the landscape
to the east


and to the south quite post Le Corbusier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ville Contemporaine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "or Contemporary City was an unrealised project to house three million inhabitants designed by the Swiss architect Le Corbusier in 1922." but this is a much less formal version of the same concept from the City of Birmingham architects and the 1960ies



rubbish thrown over the fence by the school yard - and very wet underfoot

Merton House is the third from the right

no clean up done yet at the Chelmsley Road end of the playing fields


my two nordic poles help me descend safely


not litter but crocuses in the middle of Chelmsley Road

my favourite fence



and down the backs
the sort of narrow place which gave Hans Christian Andersen nightmares




I love the quiet and freedom from traffic noise
and the intimacyof the back gardens glimpsed

our two paramedics are on call (beneath my kitchen window)


I started my computer when I got home

the windows looked burnt out in the above snap
so I had another go
still a lovely day

and then I blue-toothed these 54 JPG from phone to Macintosh

tomorrow to John Banks
Big Man, Men with Large Feet. The BIG MANS Clothes Shop.
machine washable suit jacket and a budget trouser

Map of B23 7JE United Kingdom | Multimap.com

then St MARTINS market for green stuff