Week 18
lists
power cut
decomposition
gegraagd roodstaart
mowing
My to do list(s)
I make a list as we're having coffee with the clients at the start of each day. Mostly for me, but sometimes for Tjeerd (I wouldn't get much done without him). More often than not we work together - we both seem to enjoy it and I always try to let him know how much I appreciate what he does.
I also wander from the list quite often - I tell Tjeerd we're having a "Surprise Day" today, if something unexpected pops up.
Crossing things off the list becomes important in it's own right - "first this, then that".
With so much on our plate at the moment, I've also started to make categories...
1. Grounds
2. House
3. Apartment # 2 (the one we're in)
4. Buildings in general
5. Equipment, Machinery, Tools
6. Dagbesteding (Day Workers' activities)
Other :)
"The environment appears to be drowning in plastic for the same reason that global temperatures continue to rise." - The Economist
I read an article in The Economist about plastics - the main point of which is that the petro-chemical industry will be continuing in this field even if we do manage to get off fossil fuels.
It struck a nerve with me because I sometimes have days when I am quite alarmed at just how much plastic goes through my hands. It's just in everything. There has been a rather feeble effort at removing plastic straws and knives and forks, but nothing much more noticeable than that. There is a proposal to raise the deposit on plastic bottles from 15 to 50 cents. We have our own recycling bins...
The Gekraagde Roodstaart (The Collared Redtail)
Google translates to Collared Redstart - but staart is Dutch for "tail", so Redtail is better - especially since they do have a red tail :)
We had a few days when 2 of these birds were hanging around outside the windows of the Day Work atelier. Fascinating to watch - I think they were nest-building, but not in our nesting boxes.
I started to make (yet another) list of the birds we see quite regularly
pimpelmees
koolmees
merel
heron
stork
About a month ago, a brother in law saw (and was awakened by) cranes in the heathlands (with water pools and forest) opposite our place. This was particulary noteworthy as they were an endangered species in the Netherlands.
The crane has been breeding in the Fochteloërveen since 2001, making its comeback in the Netherlands as a breeding bird after centuries of absence. In the meantime, cranes have also discovered other places where they can breed. A great success for nature conservationists in the Netherlands. Cranes breed in vast swamp forests and raised bogs. The establishment in the Netherlands coincides with a strong growth of the German breeding population, which is also expanding westward. This population growth took place across large parts of Northern and Eastern Europe. The cranes that pass through the Netherlands breed in Scandinavia and winter in southern Spain and northern Africa. They prefer some areas in the Netherlands such as the Peel, the Dwingelderveld and the Leersumse veld. Their trumpeting call is unmistakable.
They are called kraanvogels (cranebird) in Dutch. (kraan is also a tap and a crane (machinery))
I'm starting to think how I can encourage more birds to come outside our new livingroom windows...there is always a woodpecker here early in the mornings - but I am yet to actually see one!
The cats and the dog might have something to say about that...
Mowing
The grass continues to grow but the ground is still too wet - the new lawnmower weighs about twice as much as the old one - I got bogged 5 times and had to pull it out with the tractor...and it's raining again today - so it will be paperwork and footy replay...it's kids' weekend again so it was so good to be able to be outside yesterday, at least.
Last Sunday we had a power cut for a couple of hours during the day - a rarity here. Just shows how dependent we are - I went to bed!
One of the items on my list is to get the office working again...getting there...
Fence and gate finished...
Another article from The Economist...In the UK there has been a disturbing increase in the number of decomposing bodies found in residences - people living alone and not even missed when they die. A few years ago I was sent a survey which included questions about loneliness - I quite often think that I'm alone due to my circumstances and nature but never lonely. .More recently, I was asked to fill out a questionaire about "violence and have you ever felt threatened"? I began filling it out thinking in general terms - I asked Janny if we had ever felt threatened - fortunately NO. But it turns out that the questionaire was totally about domestic violence - probably more aimed at Muslim or other ethnic minorities (is that sterotyping??). Anyway, I was able to answer NO to every question - some of which were quite personal and disturbing. There was a "comments" section which I left blank - but I felt like saying "Lucky, eh?" I don't know why it was sent to me - maybe I'm on a list of foreign people living in the Netherlands....
Ben started his new Government job - Personnel and Organisation. They took him on even though he said that he had commitments in Spain! So, he's off to Spain again shortly and he can still do his work on line - he's only required in the office one day out of four. Sounds like a pretty good job!
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