Blackthorn

I thought I'd be posting a blip of Chipping Campden today: I was supposed to be there for a meeting this morning, but I appear to have gone down with kennel cough so I'm confined to home.

Instead I thought I'd record the blackthorn blossom which is currently brightening the hedgerow opposite the house. There's something about the fragility of this blossom which both delights and saddens me: it's lovely but ephemeral, and by the next time it appears I will be another year older. It doesn't do to dwell on thoughts like that of course - and for me, luckily, they tend to be quite fleeting. I'm essentially a pragmatist, so I will celebrate the beauty of the blossom now, and look forward to the harvest of sloes in around five months time which will deliver us some delicious sloe gin by Christmas!

I'm adding this to youoregon1's short informal challenge Soapbox Thursday. He asks how the world could be a nicer or more beautiful place, and my answer (for today at least) is that those of us fortunate enough not to be in need could try to spend more time living in the present and appreciating what we have, rather than wasting time  worrying about matters that we can't change in any case.

A few more shots of the blackthorn blossom here. All shot with the nifty fifty; this one with the addition of a 13mm extension tube.

Best viewed large, if you would.