Week 40
Walking
Hard to see in the photo, but the birds are migrating again - they make a haunting sound as they fly over - maybe it's their way of saying "enjoy the winter......." or "we'll be back"?
Around the Farm
"Our" trees
A while ago I mentioned about the Local Government plan to remove some of the oak trees along our road. Janny attended another meeting which delivered some interesting information (to me, at least).
Some of the trees date from 1870!
The "expert" showed a series of photos of one famous English tree from 1910, showing how the crown dies out (due to the longer distance of "feeding" through the trunk). The next crown then grows due to more sunlight. The upper crown disappears, allowing further development of the new one.
The trees along our road have never had a chance to develop in this way, in my opinion, as they have had to be cut back from the road for both cars and trucks. It is indicative, however, of the research being done, which will also help to convince the naysayers that the work is being undertaken responsibly.
In any case, some of our trees are sick and will have to go despite the inevitable protests.
I'll also look more closely in the forest to see if there are any "normal" free-standing oaks that look similar to the example given.
What I found to be of particular interest was that our road used to have a different name...
Eikenlaan (Oak Lane). So our address used to be 51 Oak Lane (Or Eikenlaan 51 as they say in Dutch - with the house number last).
Edit: I have planted more than 200 oaks "out the back" and have often lamented how slowly they grow!
Winter preparations...
.....all seem to come at once
fire alarm testing
first aid boxes refilled
water off - the outside taps
fire extinguishers checked
fireplace chimneys cleaned
we even had an evacuation drill. Meeting Point - The Chook Shed
And we found a pumpkin place, not very far away. They didn't have any Queensland Blue, but promised to include them next year. The woman did say that it was touch and go with them this year - too much water - and they really only kicked on in the last couple of weeks with the unusually warm weather.
The Cooking Club (Country Women's Association)
They're back! We had forgotten that they were coming but luckily we had cleaned the kitchen thoroughly - that same day!
We ate too much, but at least I didn't have to cook!
I also had a cooking lesson from the Syrians - Deep Fried Cauliflower - served with mince lamb, coriander and rice.
On the Boat
In 2008 Ivan, Louise and I hired a boat from Haskerdijken - one of these, called Antares.
(That's 8 years ago now, but much more recent than that - in my mind!).
I found what I wrote at the time (I haven't re-read it yet).
Edit: I did read it and found some information (in English) about Friesland that I have been looking for. It was published on a website of an organisation in Leeuwarden - whose role it is to look at how people live and work (among other things). It is no longer available on - line, so I'm very pleased to have rediscovered it.....albeit a bit dated, now.
A brief description of Fryslân
The province of Fryslân is one of twelve provinces in the Netherlands and is situated in the north of the country. Fryslân has a population of about 630.000 distributed over 417 villages, which have been grouped into 31 local authorities. The capital, Leeuwarden, has about 83.000 inhabitants. Of the 417 villages, as many as 347 have less than 1500 inhabitants, and over 200 villages have less than 500 inhabitants!
Fryslân is not a large rural area, compared with other areas in Europe. Friesland's unique situation - a large number of small villages - can give rise to many problems. The Frisian language is used in addition to Dutch in most of this region, and Fryslân has its own distinctive culture. Traditionally, agriculture - livestock farming as well as crop farming - has been the mainstay of the Frisian economy. Frisian cattle, dairy products and potatoes have been and still are the major export products.
However, as in many other rural areas, agriculture has lost ground as a result of the expansion in scale and government measures. This has resulted in a gradual decline in population, especially in the western part of the province. This, in turn, has had a negative effect on the public facilities available, particularly in the smaller villages. The shops, the post office and sometimes even the primary school have had to close down and community life is under threat. It can be difficult to find alternatives to declining employment in the absence of new opportunities. Nevertheless over 200 villages with a population of less than 1500 inhabitants still have primary schools. Almost every village has its own villagers' association, comprising village inhabitants, which takes care of the needs and interests of the village. In many villages these associations stimulate and support changes and improvements and represent the village in regional government.
I found what I wrote at the time (I haven't re-read it yet).
Edit: I did read it and found some information (in English) about Friesland that I have been looking for. It was published on a website of an organisation in Leeuwarden - whose role it is to look at how people live and work (among other things). It is no longer available on - line, so I'm very pleased to have rediscovered it.....albeit a bit dated, now.
A brief description of Fryslân
The province of Fryslân is one of twelve provinces in the Netherlands and is situated in the north of the country. Fryslân has a population of about 630.000 distributed over 417 villages, which have been grouped into 31 local authorities. The capital, Leeuwarden, has about 83.000 inhabitants. Of the 417 villages, as many as 347 have less than 1500 inhabitants, and over 200 villages have less than 500 inhabitants!
Fryslân is not a large rural area, compared with other areas in Europe. Friesland's unique situation - a large number of small villages - can give rise to many problems. The Frisian language is used in addition to Dutch in most of this region, and Fryslân has its own distinctive culture. Traditionally, agriculture - livestock farming as well as crop farming - has been the mainstay of the Frisian economy. Frisian cattle, dairy products and potatoes have been and still are the major export products.
However, as in many other rural areas, agriculture has lost ground as a result of the expansion in scale and government measures. This has resulted in a gradual decline in population, especially in the western part of the province. This, in turn, has had a negative effect on the public facilities available, particularly in the smaller villages. The shops, the post office and sometimes even the primary school have had to close down and community life is under threat. It can be difficult to find alternatives to declining employment in the absence of new opportunities. Nevertheless over 200 villages with a population of less than 1500 inhabitants still have primary schools. Almost every village has its own villagers' association, comprising village inhabitants, which takes care of the needs and interests of the village. In many villages these associations stimulate and support changes and improvements and represent the village in regional government.
These boats, and ours, were made by the same company - part of a hire boat fleet from Noordman's. The hull of ours dates from circa 1900 (so they told me) and the superstructure from around 1976. I presume that the boats in the photo have a similar history.
Now, I went this week to ask what it would cost to hire one next year for Robin and Joy - yes, I've touched a nerve in Robin's adventurous spirit! They are considering buying a boat but a trial for a month would be a good idea. The alternative is a camper van - also an attractive idea.
But.... all the boats (in the photo) have been sold to AirBnB in Amsterdam and will be available at €100,00 per night!.
Who could have imagined this (rather unfortunate) end, 40 years ago?
Edit: After raiding the Pensioner's Piggy Bank we have booked the boat in for painting - goes in the shed on 23 December - for three weeks. I did my old joke of "does it cost more if the owner helps?" - and it wasn't at all funny - I am NOT allowed to help! He gets sick of the owners always finding "something more" that needs to be done. He advised against the matt black - too hard to keep clean - but we may well decide on another colour - the green hire fleet will no longer be around........? We still love the red but it does fade rather alarmingly, it seems.
More on Ben
Just popped over to Seoul for a long weekend! Again, not letting study get in the way of a wonderful experience. (It's all good "background" for a Journalist......?).
He was a bit surprised at just how Westernised it is.... and how nationalistic.
Going to the DMZ on Sunday....
A new girlfriend?
He's been trying out lots of different food, but he described the worms as "rather disgusting actually".
