The best things in life are...

... the natural things!

There's nothing quite like the thrill of sitting in the garden on a June evening in the warm sun at 6.30pm with a light wine, listening to the songs of Jack Johnson and Donovan Frankenreiter - especially after a period of crap weather - (& with Tess wittering non-stop of course). I've even convinced Richard to sit outside with me.

Bliss.

I've just chosen this photo from today's shots and I can't really see my laptop screen properly to see if it's any good but I know how standing there looking at the bright thistles against the distant sea and sky felt and how lovely it's been over the last 2 days to have much better weather than was promised by the weather forecast. It's that perfect mellow, light wind and not too hot feeling that I love best. It was nice to walk along the beach and see the odd windbreak (not the hundreds you see in mid-summer), babies toddling in just their nappies and just a peppering of brightly coloured bodyboards. The surf was alright-ish today too and at Putsborough the sea was purring happily and just right for learners. There were also 3 paragliders circling around Baggy Point and I envied the view they must have been looking down on.

We think of all these things as simple things but I'm not sure how simple the sun really is or the sea or even thistles, to be honest. Man likes to award himself the title of inventor of all things complicated but I don't think he's quite mastered the joy and magic of nature. I still think what was here already is more wonderful, complex and uplifting than anything we've come up with to try to fake that feeling of pure happiness and the thrill of being alive.

I wrote a blog post today about trying to feel more light-hearted: No Going Back.
Days like this help.