"Rain in Derbyshire, how predictable!"

For one thing, there are always calming pastoral scenes of sheep grazing against a backdrop of hedgerow-laced hills, enchanting woods and cliffs, and lovely streams and rivers.

Yesterday I made the 45-minute drive to Cromford, near Matlock, with a group of friends whom I joined for a day-long spiritual retreat. We stayed at a Christian hotel/conference center called Willersley Castle, a positive spring chicken by English standards, being only about 200 years old.

However, it's still a building of historic merit, since it was used as a training camp and hospital during both the Great War and World War II. (It always makes me a little sad to see plaques commemorating "The Great War" or "The War to End All Wars," since those erecting them had no idea that the horror of World War II was swiftly approaching).

I enjoyed a wonderful day of sharing and learning with friends, but one of my favorite activities was when we dispersed about the grounds for silent reflection. Before propping myself up on a fallen tree stump overlooking a valley farm, where I wrote and prayed and watched the horses and sheep grazing below me, I walked around the hills with my camera. A misty green haze hung over the land and, though the photo below speaks of winter, the warm moisture in the air, patches of daffodils and tiny buds covering the trees hinted that spring is just about to burst into an explosion of delight.