Birthday strolls in Brockwell Park

Usually I love my birthday. OH hated the fact that I seemed to go on and on about if for weeks in advance and try and stretch it out. In the past couple of years I seem to have been getting less and less excited. I had already decided that I wasn't going to go out for drinks as it hasn't been the same since my local closed down a couple of years ago. And this year a very close friend passed away the day before so my birthday this year was just filled with pain and sorrow. It was a glorious day but I spent the morning inconsolable. OH finishes work early nowadays so he was home by 4pm and I dragged him to our local park as I needed some sunshine and to see some colour outdoors.

Looking back on these images which I took over a month ago I  can see how I was trying to find solace in colour and new life. It was such a lovely walk, so familar and just what I needed. One month on I still miss my friend every day but it has made me appreciate the little things that little bit more. Enjoy every day as it comes. Enjoy the simple pleasures that life gives you such as the green of a new leaf, the dazzling red that a poppy has when the sun shines through it or the flamboyancy of a peonie. Hug those that are close to you, tell your friends you love them and live every day to the max. Life is cruel but I need to keep on going.