Embracing nature and all that is wonderful about Whitchurch

Perhaps it is the fact that school is almost at an end and the holidays near?

Is that feeling of childish excitement something we all carry into our adult lives?

One thing is for sure. Life is better in flip-flops and life is better in June.

The American philosopher Aldo Leopold was certainly a great fan of the month, writing ‘In June, as many as a dozen species may burst their buds on a single day. No man can heed all of these anniversaries; no man can ignore all of them.’

Such sentiments can certainly be agreed and life is abound all around us.

Others regard June as the gateway to summer and perhaps have not even hung up their winter coat yet.

After all, the weather is Britain is infamous for its unpredictability and it is ingrained in us all from a young age that it is is either about to rain or just finished raining.

Perhaps this inherent cynicism plays a part in our fascination with the weather.

Even in June when the days are longer and the sun is out more often than not we find time to discuss the weather with strangers.

You can guarantee that one of you is finding the weather intolerable, whatever that weather may be.

Yet these connections are part and parcel of life and something to look forward to.

Simple pleasures such as a day out in the sun are all well and good but we would not be British if we also did not use this as an excuse to bemoan the weather,

It is all part of the human condition.

Dusk over Whitchurch. Picture by Tim Dickenson.

Lounging lizards on Prees Heath. Picture by Kate Long.

One of Whitchurch's water voles. Picture by Kate Long.

Enjoying the garden. Picture by Hev Harding.

A pheasant has a morning nap. Picture by Mark Lewis.

Birds of a feather. Picture by Steve Beech.

Steam locomotive 'Britannia' heading down the hill towards Whitchurch. Picture by Steve Beech.

Ducks chilling in Ellesmere. Picture by Tim Dickenson.

A buzzard over Whitchurch. Picture by Steve Beech.