“ When a man moves away from nature his heart becomes hard” (Native American proverb) I appreciate that to many a “Stockport Man”, being “ded ‘ard” is a good thing! Certainly, so far as the “heart” at least is concerned, I must however, beg to differ and advocate (where possible), calm and sensitive thoughts/action - soft, and not hard! Those who know me will, be very surprised to hear me say this! I might not get it right (most of the time!), but it is nevertheless, a personal aspiration. In accordance with the above proverb, I am coming around to believing that an increased immersion in the natural world, is truly facilitative of a softening . I guess that one thing that has made me think about this, is a book that was recently given to me, about, so called “green man” carvings. You will no doubt have come across one or more of these, and here is a picture, which provides an example: They are generally considered to represent our close relationship with the natu