Sunny Day after the Storm

It is a week since I took these shots, and sadly the North of England has since suffered the heaviest single downfall of rain on record, with massive losses to their local houses and businesses, and the tragic loss of a policeman from a bridge collapse at Workington.

The Lake District has a powerful pull on tourists for its beauty, I do hope that those that visit in the near future will remember that such beauty can hide the awful tragedy wrought by the power of all that water. We need to fully realise and plan for our defence from the awesome power of Nature.

In the South, and in inland areas beyond the flood plains, we need to appreciate just how lucky we can be to not suffer from such cataclysmic forces. We suffered just a few tree branches blown down, but in Cumbria they lost livelihoods.

The sun was out early down here in the Home Counties, and blue skies prevailed with little hint of the destruction of the night before and what was to follow just a short week later, up North. I decided that work I had to do could wait, whilst I went out and took advantage of the warmth and sunshine to capture what was left of beauty in the nearby countryside.

I was lucky to be photographing a landscape when a rustling nearby turned out to be a badger! My camera was on a tripod, so I only managed to catch this fleeting glimpse of Brock in daylight. Its home turned out to be beneath the bole of the tree right in front of where I stood, shielded by ferns.

There were still signs of autumn colour, and a few hardy flowers, with even some optimistic buds that I managed to capture, as I and numerous others, took advantage of this brief spell of warmth and sunshine. I dedicate these images to those less fortunate.