Sunshine and showers at the lakes

Unlike the atrocious weather up north today, it's been rather a nice and bright afternoon (if I hadn't been stuck indoors doing tedious editing). Typically, once I decided to escape from my house at 5.30 for a quick walk around the lakes it started to rain. I had to get off my bike once and shelter under a tree but managed to get there pretty much unscathed.

Once I got there the the rain stopped and I was rewarded with this beautiful sky - despite it being an hour away from sunset. I've admired this dead tree at the lakeside many times but have never managed to capture it satisfactorily before: it always looks pale and wan in full daylight.

The tree stands on the east shore of Thrupp Lake, the larger of the two reclaimed gravel pits that are now looked after by the Earth Trust. See my many previous Radley Lakes blips for more info.