Week 45 It Just Works

Week 45

I'm trying not to be too political here, but.... crikey!.

Walking

I might have mentioned it here before. Many years ago, I was in South Melbourne with Barry and there was a Heart Foundation billboard with the caption: "Old Age Catching Up? - Walk Faster". Funny how some things stay with you. I think Uncle Bill still had his garage down there then - with the old, old coca cola machine.

Walking is one of my favorite pastimes, not least of all because I enjoy the forest around us, but also because I can listen to my audio books..... And Zoey likes it, too. (But I'd rather be Boating).

Speaking of which, the boat is now "ready for the winter"...

oil filter, water drained, diesel filter, oil change, water pump impellor, anti-freeze, diesel fuel additive (against the new bio-diesel).....and the long winter wait......

What follows is my wimpy excuse for not walking as far this week.....(or last week).

My "man-flu" has turned once again into "sinus problems". I have always heard other people say they had "sinus trouble" without really knowing what they were talking about. Last year, I went twice to the dentist to "get my teeth out" - but it turned out to be sinus related. The doctor said it was the worst he had seen - on the x-ray. So, a couple of things come out of this - I'm lucky I never had any problems before - and once again I was given cause to reflect on just how good the medical system is over here. We pay health insurance and everything "just works". Even if our doctors (husband and wife team) go on holidays, then we just go to the next village - we signed a waiver to allow our medical records to be accessed wherever we go - even to the weekend emergency help in Drachten. I should say here that we are fortunate enough not to have to go very often - nice to know it is there, though.

Fair to say that world events have made me think about (and greatly appreciate) how well things "just work", over here. On one of our few boating trips this year, we went to Blokzijl for Sipke's 60th birthday. We met a couple of Australian boats (and their owners) - part of a group of about 17 Australian boats in Europe, all originating in Fremantle. When talking to one of the owners, he was telling of their trips into France and Germany - sounding very appealing to me. At the end, he said, "but you know what, we really enjoy it here in the Netherlands - everything "just works" (in a boating sense).

Hence my own thoughts now about how things "just work", in general. Think of a voting system (without blatant gerrymandering), Health Care/Health Insurance, Infrastructure, (and even MORE infrastructure), the Social Contract with the whole population for goodness' sake! Yes, everything has to be paid for, taxes have to be paid, but at least EVERYONE gets something in return.

And it's still only Autumn

Around the farm

Mainly doing a few "wintery" things like closing off the outside taps so they don't freeze and collecting firewood. The leaves have to be blown and raked and the spoutings cleared.

The drainage ditches also have to be cleared....










Unfortunately, I only have one work experience lad for one day a week........

More Asylum Seekers

We have agreed to take two (2) men into the apartments - probably one apartment each, but they could "share" if they want to. Apparently, they are married and waiting for their families to arrive in the Netherlands. Not sure yet where they are from.


Our Syrian family has moved on but I'm still doing some work for them - did I mention that I hate working on doors?


Still trying to make this one fit... I've had to make it wider and shorter, not to mention the chiseling for hinges and locks....I guess I've just had enough of them, having worked on them over the years. This was just one of a pile of spare doors....wait, who has "piles of spare doors"?

But, then again, what else would I be doing?




Door finished, finally...

More on refugees

Italy

Italy is struggling with the huge number of refugees landing on its' shores.

With all the BS on the internet, I heard an interesting argument that kids should actually be taught in school to be "skeptical" - in other words, to be able to evaluate the information and decide what is logical or what makes sense or who is telling the truth for that matter. Rather a pipe dream, I fear.


In relation to my heading, I saw an article that said many refugees in Italy are nominating their preferred "destination country" and refusing to board the plane if it is going somewhere else. What?!


Another article that I give more credit to refers to the influx of refugees giving new life to "aging" towns or villages in some parts of Italy.
A few years ago, the village of Acquaformosa signed up to a government scheme under which struggling communities take in asylum seekers in return for government funding. The project has enabled the resuscitation of towns and villages that for years have faced depopulation and economic decline. Each refugee/migrant is given €24 per day to pay for food and lodging - this inevitably finds it's way into the local economy. More villages are also signing up to the scheme.

From the Newspaper

Clean Air in Friesland

Friesland has the cleanest air in the Netherlands. Groningen 2nd and Drenthe 3rd. (the 3 Northern Provinces again lumped together). Zuidholland, Rotterdam the Randstad, Utrecht and Limburg the worst. Fijnstof (particulate matter) has reduced since 2010.

People were concerned that the increased speed limit (to 130km/hr) might produce more, but this has not eventuated; this might also be due to the increasing number of cleaner vehicles.

stikstofdioxide (Nitrogen Dioxide) Friesland 9.7micrograms per cubic metre
National average 16.2

Particulate matter Friesland 16 micrograms per cubic metre. National 19.7

WW II Bomb found

40 houses evacuated in Den Bosch (proper name is s-Hertogenbosch), south of Amsterdam, where a 1000 lb bomb from WWII was found during digging works. The bomb squad was called to dismantle it.

Repairing the dykes

A TV Mini-Series has just started on Dutch TV, titled "When the Dykes Break". A modern look at what will happen when the dykes break, as they did in 1953. Only one episode so far but it is interesting in that it includes (in the modern version) the politics of making the wrong decision i.e. not to evacuate The Randstad (the most densely populated area of Europe).

I have included this under "News" because it was also in the news this week that major dyke repair works have just been completed - at a cost of more than 600 million Euros.

I discovered that there is also a Govt. website that lets you enter your own postcode to see how far under sea level you are!

Wijnjewoude is between 4 - 6 metres ABOVE sea level. (But the boat might yet come in handy).


http://www.ahn.nl/pagina/apps-en-tools/postcodetool.html






One of my very first trips in the Netherlands was a "day out" with Janny's brother Sipke, to visit the Delta Works in the South. It made a lasting impression on me.

from Wikipedia

The estuaries of the rivers Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt have been subject to flooding over the centuries. After building the Afsluitdijk, the Dutch started studying the damming of the Rhine-Meuse Delta. Plans were developed to shorten the coastline and turn the delta into a group of freshwater lakes. By shortening the coastline, fewer dikes would have to be reinforced.
Due to indecision and the Second World War, little action was taken. In 1950 two small estuary mouths, the Brielse Gat near Brielle and the Botlek near Vlaardingen were dammed. After the North Sea flood of 1953, a Delta Works Commission was installed to research the causes and develop measures to prevent such disasters in future. They revised some of the old plans and came up with the "Delta plan".
The plan consisted of blocking the estuary mouths of the Oosterschelde, the Haringvliet and the Grevelingen. This reduced the length of the dikes exposed to the sea by 700 kilometres (430 mi). The mouths of the Nieuwe Waterweg and the Westerschelde were to remain open because of the important shipping routes to the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. The dikes along these waterways were to be heightened and strengthened. The works would be combined with road and waterway infrastructure to stimulate the economy of the province of Zeeland and improve the connection between the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp.

Our Asian Correspondent back in Hong Kong

He's had a few exams and done very well. (I was going to say "surprisingly well" due to all his travels, but that would not be fair, as it obviously hasn't been disadvantageous). In fact, I read somewhere that most people living in "that other America" rarely travel more than 200 miles from home. It made me think of Ben and his travels, hopefully becoming a wiser and more rounded person as a result. Not such a bad thing if he does eventually pursue the Journalism thing, in whatever form.

In Tokyo, Ben took this photo - I think a train station

Back in Hong Kong - a Mountain Hike on a foggy day....

Week 44

Week 44

Walking

Been sick again this week! Just Man Flu......

But I did go for a walk one evening, just to check out the migratory birds resting on our pingos.......

Bird Migration

 The Wadden Sea (Waddenzee) is where the Frisian Islands are located. Close enough to us.... Just as an aside, there are certain times of the year that the Waddenlopers (Wadden Walkers - people) can walk across to the islands. The ferries have to take often tortuous routes in order to have deep water.

Pingos (pools) opposite our place....

I've always been a little fanciful over the bird migration; simply saying something like "yeah, no wonder they are leaving". But in the last couple of weeks, I have been fascinated by the literally thousands of geese flying overhead of an evening and in the morning. Wave after wave heading, as it turns out, to and from our pingos (pools) - in the heath just over the road from us.
The pingos date from the Ice Age and are located in the Duurswoude Heide (Heath) - an area of approximately 150 hectares.
So, I finally decided to do a little research about the migratory birds of this region at least. It seems they come from even further north where their breeding grounds are located. There, during the spring and summer, there is plenty of food and fewer dangers from birds of prey or other predators. Daylight is for the best part of 24 hours so they can forage for much longer.
So, when they are flying over our house they are not necessarily heading away just yet. They are "provisioning" for the much longer flight ahead of them. Some species will actually remain in the Netherlands. It is also thought that the travel distances are becoming less as a result of global warming - that is to say they don't have to travel so far to escape the cold.
Bird migration has been followed by people since olden days. Migratory birds use the position of the sun during the day and the stars at night to orient themselves during migration. Scientists made this discovery by using mirrors to manipulate the sun's position as was visible for the birds. The birds reacted by choosing a different migration route. Birds also use rivers and canals to orient themselves. Furthermore, the magnetic field of the earth and polarized light also play a role.
The Netherlands Air Force base is located at Leeuwarden. There, they are using radar to track the routes used by the birds, in an attempt to be able to predict flight paths and so avoid collisions with aircraft. This has also been the subject of much research at and around Schiphol Airport.

Land birds migrate at high elevations. They don’t like flying over large bodies of water. Another place to see them is by sea straits, where the necessary crossing is the narrowest and is used the most often. There is a  good chance of observing lots of migratory land birds every year in the north of Texel (one of the Frisian Islands). In the autumn, one can literally pick them off of the beach and bushes. The birds are so exhausted; they need to catch their breath after the wide crossing. This is also where they gather in groups in the spring, using it as a pit stop before re-crossing the North Sea - ie heading northwards to the breeding grounds.

I tried to get some photos of them overhead - but always too late to get my phone out....

this is just the tail end one morning  as they left the pingos in search of food.

Around the Farm

New roof on the old shed - slowly coming along..

Our First client still with us after 9 years!

the one in the middle.....

Our Syrians leave for new home (house) in Ureterp

From the Newspaper

Food bank Friesland

The food banks in Friesland have been having trouble filling their quota. I gleaned from the article that there are approximately 1700 families in Friesland who receive food packets each week, enough food for two hot meals (i.e. per week).
The food banks have had to buy food; not a sustainable option.
The problems in Friesland are not being mirrored "down south". In fact, some places have too much food. But then arise the logistical issues of timely distribution and storage of frozen products, for example.

Our local area is Opsterland, which has 79 families making use of the Food Bank.

Changes in Health Care (that affect us)

2016 saw the transfer of the Care system funding from Federal to Local Government. Some of this has worked reasonably well for us, but our largest Local Government has been the "stingiest" in terms of providing care for it's constituents. There have been reports that the funds made available by the Federal Govt. have been underspent to the tune of 2.3 Billion Euros!, nationwide. Of more concern than that is the thought that the unspent funds are being channeled into the consolidated revenue of some of the Local Governments.

If this gets any more traction as a news story, it will surely play a role in next year's Federal Election.

From my relatively Outsider's View, I can hardly believe that they would be allowed to get away with it - the money was given to them to provide "Care" to the people living in their respective areas - our clients. One would almost think that this is a story emanating from America, not the Netherlands. Here, Government is generally relied upon, not distrusted.

From our Asian Correspondent

(Enjoying yet another break from the heavy routine of study.................)

Getting ready to board for Tokyo

In Flight

Week 43 Beanie Weather!

Week 43 Beanie Weather

Up and about again this week although still not into walking that much....

Around the farm

Finally getting on with the old hayshed. This is actually a "project" for one of our clients. When he came to us he was living in a caravan, debts were mounting and all-in-all, life was going downhill. His Case Manager found him a proper place to live and a "day-work" place with us. He has only been able to come one day a week while he gets the other stuff sorted out - hence the slow progress on his (future) workshop. He used to be a furniture maker, so he is very handy and has some great tools, which we are also storing for him. We actually get on quite well together and I find that I am enjoying working with him - much better than doing bookkeeping!! More importantly, life is improving for him - a big plus for "The System".

When it's finished, we'll try to make some proper things to sell "From The Care Farm".

Note the changing colour of the leaves. The yellow/red are from the beech trees; the rest are oaks, which are always the last to change.

For my Birthday....

The Cheesecake Challenge

Being Sunday, we'll just do coffee and cake for the whole day as Janny's family feel like dropping in. 

I made my standard lemon cheesecake and Janny was inspired to make one of her own - a Cranberry Cheesecake - and something else...the name escapes me.. Nice to have all the room of the Big Kitchen out the back.

Mine

Janny's, on the lower shelf

And some sausage rolls....

The Neighbours

Our neigbours kids have called Janny "KenJanny" for years now. The parents must have always called us Ken en Janny (en = and). We have always had a laugh about it, but they are probably old enough now to know that there are two of us.

 They always come over to our place to play or knock on the door to show us things - nice family, nice kids.

They came on Saturday to ask if they could blow and rake our leaves! At a price, of course!

(The eldest is not in the photo. They had lots of trouble in achieving the first baby.... and then, suddenly, there were four!)

So, it's not really child labour....

Our Syrians

On Saturday, I took a van load of belongings to their new house in Ureterp - about 8kms away.

They have been given (by the Local Council) new furniture, including fridge, washing machine, microwave, couches, etc., etc.  The full works, so they are almost settled!

I still have to find and fit a door, but that is not urgent. We'll do the last of the moving on Monday - and then send our bill to the Council! We haven't heard anything of another family - by rights, we should have already had two. When they first asked us it was oh, so urgent. In the 12 months(!) that it took to get it organised, the urgency seems to have disappeared.

I put this plaster wall in 

and showed Achmed what he had to do to fill the screw holes. He is 17 and very polite and helpful. They've been in the Netherlands for more than 12 months now and their Dutch should be better. They could all do with a bit of a rocket to get on top of it.

One of our clients came to help

From the News

Just a little snippet that I thought was interesting. A Dutch Documentary looking at "the" election ( a Horror story in the making?) went to New Orleans to look at the poverty and other issues.

People at or below the Poverty Line number at just over 19%

For America in general the number is 14%

In the Netherlands it is 7%

And Ben in Hong Kong...

The Great Gatsby (Party)

(There was a Police Raid at the premises - everybody had to sit still and show their ID cards - Ben doesn't know what it was about - presumably looking for someone).

A visit to Monkey Mountain