January
Thursday 19th Work Party
Saturday 21st Event: Home-made videos, quizzes & photos
10am Wombourne Methodist Church
February
Saturday 4th Work Party
Thursday 16th Work Party
Saturday 18th Event: Bird-spotting along the canal. Meet 10am school lay-by Ounsdale Road
March
Saturday 3rd SPRING WATCH 11am - 3pm at and in partnership with Wombourne Library.
NB No Work Party
Thursday 15th Work Party
Saturday 17th Event: Fishing,to test the water quality of the Wom Brook
The first frost of the season showed itself on the morning of the 2nd of December! As you are probably aware this is very late for a first “proper” frost and many of our garden plants are still in flower because of the mild weather.
Furthermore, here are some lovely frost scenes taken around the Wombrook area:
Thanks to the sharp eyes of the finger post’s sculptor, the top half was recovered from the bushes beside a section of the Wombrook. However, the owl was missing. Thankfully the sculptor was able to carve a faithful reproduction, and at certain times of the day, the new owl stands out from the original wood carving in the hole at the top of the finger post.
In the photo above, the back of the owl is shown (arrowed in red), along with the 2 dimensional aspect of the sign.The other side of the sign is a 3D representation, and shows the new owl and the remainder of the sign to particularly good effect.
Residents are positively enraged by the mindless damage to a local Wombourne landmark. The ornate and very symbolic wooden carved finger post which marks the crossing point between the Wombrook Walk and the South Staffordshire Railway Walk was discovered to have had it’s top half forcibly removed. (See red arrows indicating that the top half of the board was forced in one direction).
The original finger board was not only an example of an excellent wood carving, but it had been carefully produced following careful research into the local history, flora and fauna associated with the village of Wombourne. Carefully captured within its imagery was a representation of the endangered water vole, a protected mammal resident along the Wombrook.
Unfortunately a minority criminal element exists in the community, possessing little intelligence and contributing nothing but problems to it. The reader is left to imagine the level of punishment furious local villagers were suggesting should be given to the individuals responsible for the damage.
It is believed that the vandalism occurred sometime between Sunday 25th September and Thursday morning, 29th September. If you were walking in the vicinity during those dates, and saw something connected to this crime, please contact Staffordshire Police on 0300 123 4455.
As Autumn is upon us and Winter not too far away, the trees shed their leaves in vibrant oranges and reds. The picture below was taken a few weeks ago at the Friends of Wombrook “Nature’s Bounty” event, the towering poplar can be seen behind, shining with vibrant hues. (I can only presume it to be even more vibrant now as the weeks have passed!)
Any thoughts on the coming winter? Leave a comment, there is a mixed consensus as to whether the weather will be cold and snowy or wet and windy.
Addmittedly the above image was taken before this year’s spring growth of vegetation began along the Wom Brook. However, although not a ‘current’ image, it emphasises how the effects of weathering-particularly the prolonged periods of sub-zero temperatures that were endured during January and February this year, damaged parts of the stream banks along the Wom Brook.
The water infusing the banks of the Brook froze, and the resultant physical expansion of the ice within the soil caused parts of the banks to detach and fall into theBrook. There are now at least two areas along the Gravel Hill section of the Wom Brook Walk where the banks of the Brook have started to encroach upon the Wom Brook Walk.
South Staffordshire Council’s Landscape Department have been alerted.
Please come along and support this-based on last year’s event, there is plenty to see!
Away from the WomBrook Walk path, but visible from the first of the wooden benches downstream from the Gravel Hill picnic benches, a moss-covered concrete cylinder patiently awaits removal from the Brook. A legacy from World War II, this block, along with many others were manufactured as road obstacles, and used for slowing cars and lorries down by the Home Guard (and the regular Army) at vehicle check points during the last war.
At the end of hostilities, these blocks posed a disposal problem-instead of being recycled, they were collected together and buried close to the Brook. The recent cold weather has accelerated the process of soil erosion close to the stream bank, causing soil to break away from the buried blocks, eventually exposing this one and causing it to spill into the Brook.
