Yesterday evening, as the sun set, I was out on our deck taking the photographs for my ‘Coral, shell and bone’ post. The sky was going through its own coral colour palette and I got to thinking about when I was living in London for seven years and missed the sky so much.

Now, of course you do see the sky in London, that goes without saying, but it always seems to be limited by something. London’s a pretty flat place with lots of buildings obscuring the skyline, and you can go for months, years without ever seeing the horizon or the sun setting. When night falls there’s so much light pollution the stars are rarely visible.

I think the sky does something to the human spirit. I think it can literally “expand our horizons” and transport us out of our limited me-ness. It can lift the heart and fill us with joy and wonder. I think if we aren’t lucky enough to have good sky-access where we’re living, we need to go out and find it sometimes. Go and get a regular sky fix!

For those of you who are feeling a little sky deprived at the moment, I want to offer you some of the sky magic that we’re blessed with from our home.

We look due West across a valley to these hills, with little glimpses of the Tasman Sea here and there. The sky is vast and ever changing. You can watch rain rolling in off the sea, mist fingering its way over the hills, and rainbows on our neighbours’ roofs.

And on crisp Autumn mornings, the bottom of the valley is often hidden by a quilt of white fog.

I hope you’re enjoying the sky wherever in the world you are today. Take time to watch the sun set, the changing shape of the clouds, and constellations of the stars. Even just for a moment. It’s always worth it.