At a time when technology dominates and we’re more likely to be looking at our phones as opposed to out of the window it’s becoming easier to be blind to the beauty which surrounds us.  It’s especially easy to do this when you’re living in a country like England.  Grey clouds.  Office-blocks.  Litter.  Viscous traffic jams.  The angry honks of road-rage.  Ugly, rain-soaked 1960’s architecture.  These are the things we’re used to seeing on a daily basis when we’re making our way to work, or heading into town to buy a new pair of tights and some milk.  The metal-concrete infrastructures are unsightly but they keep our country economically afloat and so we have to accept them.  You can’t run a country from a muddy-field… as much as I wish it were possible.

But sometimes, it’s just nice to have that wonderful soiree with nature.  It’s the one thing that’s always been there, even when recession hits and companies submerge into liquidation, there’ll still be a fresh sunrise each morning reminding us that life goes on, and what’s more important?  Nature is more powerful, more valuable than anything and it makes me sad to see people abuse it.  Earth is seldom more beautiful than in it’s most natural state; because nature is real, raw and magical.  It’s no surprise that we often look to nature when we need a bit of time-out from the rest of the world.

Still trees seem to listen – they have centuries of experience, and glistening rivers seem to advise – no matter what the obstruction, they never cease to flow, flowing on until they reach the ocean.

Below are just a couple of photos, taken locally, when nature has put a smile on my face.  It really is a beautiful world.

View from train on way home from work, February 2012

High-tide at Epple Bay, January 2012

Snow in the Westgate Gardens, Canterbury – February 2012

En-Route to Dungeness – November 2011