I read in the newspaper that the Netherlands is counting its wasps. There is a national wasp count, a scientific event that has existed for two years. Its goal: to know if the wasp is thriving, and to improve the image of the wasp in general. Wasps have a bad reputation – no justification for […]
Why is the buzzing of a fly so annoying, while that of a bee is not? The buzzing of bees sounds intensely satisfied, that’s why If you have ever stood with your head in a huge wisteria (like me), or near a “wall” of jasmine, then you understand. Imagine you’re a bee or a bumblebee,
We are in the Fig Tree in the Delta – that is what Figueira da Foz would be called in english. Mira dances on the beach, growls at her own tail, looks at the waves in amazement and tries to ignore the seagulls. I suspect she has already seen their sharp beaks, and that they
A silver sea in September Read More »
Are they broken up now? How strange that there is suddenly a nest right next to the road, on a lamppost. Very low to the ground for a stork’s nest. Usually they look a bit higher up. The high-voltage pylons in the next valley are particularly popular. Efforts have been made to prevent the construction
Mother stork moves to another stork nest Read More »
My sister’s house smelled really good of jasmine. It made me feel at home – I was on my annual visit to Holland. Her plant was a lot smaller than what you encounter here in the wild. Here it also smells very nice of jasmine – outside. Spring is about to begin! The daffodils, magnolias
Spring fever – the kind you don’t get nasty tweets from Read More »
Spring is coming, and it shows. The first campers have already been seen. The second family is packing as we speak. There are many different types of campers The first family came with a large camper. Understandable, because the oldest cutie is just a year old, and the second is still in mommy’s belly. Then
Very different types of campers Read More »
We walk just around the bend, Mira and I. I stop because a car is coming. “CAR” I say with a frowned emphasis, as always, trying to make it clear to the dog that these things are serious. Suddenly, right in front of my feet something is moving, and fluttering around in circles. That’s weird.
An injured little bird Read More »
I’ve been breathing in a sickening sweet aroma all week – that is to say, I’m not in it all the time, but if you come into that room hours later you can still smell it. Not very attractive. That’s because of the babies. Eight billion, roughly speaking Maybe I’m coming up with that number
Eight billion babies…. and counting Read More »
Beautiful weather here, dear readers … it is blue, sunny and warm. And humid, because we landed in the humid half year of the year. Great weather for mushrooms! You see them everywhere. Then here, then there. Sometimes they are gone within a day. By themselves, then their life is over, or somebody spotted and
I wake up with a quenched-burnt smell in my nose. Once you’ve smelled it, it’s unmistakable. It was to be expected, yesterday afternoon the whole sky closed up, and you could see such a typical red burning sun. “Ai, this is not a nice veil cloud, like monday, this is completely wrong” I sighed to
(Forest) fire and (well) water, and a few kimonos Read More »
