#ScenicSaturday 1st April 2023

On 01/04/202331/03/2023 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, Photography7 Comments

I share these pictures to show the beauty of our world, hoping viewers may be inspired to take action to save it from the destruction we humans are causing to nature.These were taken during April last year on a hot air balloon flight we took to celebrate my wife’s 70th birthday. You can find a …

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#ScenicSaturday 25th March 2023

On 25/03/202305/03/2023 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, Photography4 Comments

I share these pictures, taken during March, not this year, to show the beauty of our world, hoping viewers may be inspired to take action to save it from the destruction we humans are causing to nature.This one is from the Forest of Dean in 2020 and shows a lady fern highlighted by afternoon sunshine …

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#ScenicSaturday 18th March 2023

On 18/03/202305/03/2023 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, opinion, Photography11 Comments

I share these pictures, taken during March, not this year, to show the beauty of our world, hoping viewers may be inspired to take action to save it from the destruction we humans are causing to nature.This one was taken on a walk in East Yorkshire in 2012. The lake is situated in the grounds …

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#ScenicSaturday 11th March 2023

On 11/03/202311/03/2023 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, Photography3 Comments

I share these pictures, taken during March, not this year, to show the beauty of our world, hoping viewers may be inspired to take action to save it from the destruction we humans are causing to nature.This one was taken in southern Wales, in 2019 as the sun went down on a cold winter day. …

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#ScenicSaturday 4th March 2023

On 04/03/202326/02/2023 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, opinion, Photography3 Comments

A Footpath in East Yorkshire. I share these pictures, taken during March, not this year, to show the beauty of our world, hoping viewers may be inspired to take action to save it from the destruction we humans are causing to nature.This one was taken way back in 2012 and pictures a footpath near Pocklington …

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#ScenicSaturday 25/Feb/2023

On 25/02/202318/01/2023 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, Photography2 Comments

I share these pictures, from February (though not this year), to show #ourworldiswonderful. This shot, from 28th February 2021, depicts a steep climb up a path that dissects the slope of a narrow valley carrying a small stream. Most of the trees here are larches, and buzzards have nests near the tops of a couple. …

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#ScenicSaturday 18/Feb/2023

On 18/02/202318/01/2023 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, Photography2 Comments

I share these pictures, from February (though not this year), to show #ourworldiswonderful. This shot, from 2021, depicts a view from one of the surfaced roads that follow old tramways and railway lines through the Forest of Dean. It’s many years since that industrial work ceased, although there remain a tiny number of free mines. …

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#ScenicSaturday 11/Feb/2023

On 11/02/202318/01/2023 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, Photography6 Comments

I share these pictures, from February (though not this year), to show #ourworldiswonderful. This shot is from 2020 and shows a fairly steep valley that runs down to a brook. The trees here are mostly native oaks, but the greenery is almost entirely ivy at this time of the year. The remnants of bracken can …

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#ScenicSaturday 04/Feb/2023

On 04/02/202318/01/2023 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Nature, Photography11 Comments

I share these pictures, from February (though not this year), to show #ourworldiswonderful. This shot is from 2020 and shows the brook that flows through the beaver enclosure. They were introduced to help reduce the flooding caused by the brook that flows through the village. So far, that seems to be working well. The area …

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#ScenicSaturday 28/Jan/2023

On 28/01/202319/12/2022 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, Photography9 Comments

These pictures are from January, though not this year. I share them here to show #ourworldiswonderful.This shot is from the Forest of Dean, taken on an afternoon walk in 2020 as mist slowly cleared from the valley where a small brook flows. Frost remained from the previous evening, dusting the leaves of wild flowers still …

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Boys, Belles, Bikes, and Bells.

On 22/01/2023 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, Photography10 Comments

I just posted this piece to Medium. In a forest criss-crossed by tracks and trails of many different sorts, three types of users enter for their exercise, entertainment, and escape from the troubles of the world. Pedestrians vary from the agile runner in search of challenges, through dog walkers exercising their pets, groups sharing the …

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#ScenicSaturday 21/Jan/2023

On 21/01/202319/12/2022 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, Photography10 Comments

These pictures are from January, though not this year. I share them here to show #ourworldiswonderful.This shot is from the Forest of Dean and was taken with my second-hand iPhone in 2022. I love the way beech saplings cling to their autumn leaves throughout winter and shed them only as new leaf buds burst in …

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#ScenicSaturday 14/Jan/2023

On 14/01/202319/12/2022 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, Photography5 Comments

These pictures are from January, though not this year. I share them here to show #ourworldiswonderful.From the Forest of Dean, this photo, taken in 2020, depicts afternoon mist lit by the sun’s rays. # Please comment, like, and share these to spread the joy of natural beauty to as many people as possible. It might …

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Contagious Tales, Edited by Andrew Simms: #BookReview.

On 07/01/2023 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Nature, Poetry, Reading, Review2 Comments

176 pages.22 modern folk tales. Alan Rusbridger, former editor of The Guardian and now editor of Prospect magazine remarks, ‘These stories matter because they help us grasp a world that is seemingly out of control, and imagine what steps we can take to make things better.’ This anthology is subtitled ‘22 modern folk tales in …

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#ScenicSaturday 07/Jan/2023

On 07/01/202318/12/2022 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, Photography3 Comments

These pictures are from January, though not this year. I share them here to show #ourworldiswonderful.From Wales, this one shows the sunset over Caerphilly Mountain. I shot it in January 2019 after a trip to Caerphilly Castle with our daughter and her then boyfriend (now husband) who were on a visit from their home in …

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