GreenCloud welcomed a new member today and introduced him to our Planticons at check-in.
Members chose a variety at the start with a couple of
wildcards for people who were struggling, and mostly feels of ‘being OK’, being ‘comfortable’ and steady – so Oak Trees, Willows, Bluebells and Wild Flowers.
We started our nature slot with some photos of a trip taken by a member of her visit to the Royal Horticultural Society’s Wisley Garden in Surrey. We saw fountains, strange twisted trees with faces and much more, with this scene of planned, structured topiary alongside trees and flowers being the favourite. Less exotic were 
the pictures of a woodland area in Reading where there are lots of different trails and wooden sculptures. We particularly liked this pig cleverly carved into a fallen tree trunk! And our resident cyclist shared more pictures of Horseshow lake 
(see previous blog) with the area for human swimmers (as opposed to ducks!) and scenic views of White Horse Lane just outside California Country Park. This one begs the question: what do you find just over the horizon!
We were entertained by the sights and sounds of hand bell ringing (taken up by Church Bell Ringers due to the inaccessibility of the usual Bell Tower
with Covid restrictions) and then a great video of the recent torrential rain, thunder and lightning. The rich colour of the sky was captured in this screenshot from the video.
As anyone reading this blog will know, GreenCloud members have a great affinity of love of animals and we were all so pleased to meet the newest family member both in photos and live in the group – this beautiful kitten Simba. Our hearts were captured at once!
Back after our break we split into two teams to tackle Sharon’s nature quiz: the men were ‘Snakes’ and the women ‘Lizards’. Unfortunately the Snakes gained one extra point and so declared themselves the winners… Lots of competition here – and lots of laughter!
Check-out with our Planticons showed a more settled and hopeful group. 
Several chose Daisies (playful and fun) Seedlings (hopeful of progress) Cherry Blossom (Peaceful and Mindful). Still some struggling feelings but generally more of a Flowering Thistle (difficult but worthwhile). All pleased to have our GreenCloud group where we feel safe and protected 🙂