Hi Richard,
Firstly welcome to the CiC forums from me, great to have you join us.
You may notice I edited your first post to allow everyone to see the image bigger without having to click the thumbnail, I recommend you do this yourself in future when posting images on CiC. In fact further to that, since CiC is not an image hosting site, we limit the size somewhat severely, so I'd really recommend that you use the TinyPic method, or (if you already have your own web host for images; e.g. Flickr, etc.) you host them there and just paste a link to that here. The first thread below will help with the specifics.
You may find this thread helpful:
HELP THREAD: How can I post images here?
plus you may find the first post in this thread useful:
How to Get Effective Feedback for your Posted Images
OK, let's look at your picture ...
These kind of images are always going to be a case of making the most of what's offered and you seem to have done that already;
good light (harsh, but that's unavoidable)
good focus and depth of field (e.g. subject sharp (esp. eye) and background not sharp)
good white balance
good exposure
good framing (no parts cut off)
good composition (you got down to its level and didn't shoot from above)
All in all, a first contribution to be proud of.
Endless compliments don't help us improve though, so - is there anything I might have done differently? (note I didn't suggest 'better')
I might have allowed a tiny bit more space in front of it (on right hand side), just increase that gap a tiny, but noticeable, bit.
In Photoshop, I might have cloned out a few bits of detritus on the ground
That's all - and they are very minor things.
Well done, Dave