Week 23

 

Week 23

We had to vote in the European elections during the week. A lot of other countries are voting today. I don't get the swing to the right...perhaps I see it it too simply - "is life really that bad that you think someone like Wilders (or Trump) can make it better for you?" (or maybe it is just a matter of "punishment" ).

At least they are holding Wilders away from the Prime Minister position and they didn't dominate the European vote.

It has been very wet in the Netherlands for 8 months.

The KNMI announced last week that spring this year was very wet. That will not have surprised anyone who comes outside regularly. What makes the situation even more exceptional is that the previous winter and autumn were also much wetter than in an average year. In fact, it has often been noticeably wet in the Netherlands since last summer. Only September last year and March this year were approximately normal, but the other 9 months were often wet or sometimes even very wet.

The graph below shows the quantities from July last year for the KNMI main stations; that is the average of several weather stations spread across the country. October and November last year and May this year in particular stand out, with May standing out because it is usually a relatively dry month.

light blue = average

dark blue = last 11 months

...and on Monday evening came this warning...

Water levels will rise in the Netherlands this week as a result of the heavy rain and floods in southern Germany, flooding fields and riverside camp sites.

The highways and waterways agency Rijkswaterstaat expects river levels to peak on Friday at 13.3 metres above the Amsterdam Ordnance Datum (NAP), the benchmark for water levels in the Netherlands.

Up to 5,900 cubic metres per second will flow into the Rhine delta from Monday, raising the water to levels rarely seen in June. Water levels are expected to be above the critical level of 12 metres throughout the weekend.

I found this on the BBC website - a story about Australia wanting to become a world renewable energy superpower...

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp00vyl6l6mo

.This bit reminded me of Miss Anderson in 3rd grade - she described Australia as a "nation of hole diggers" - I never forgot, for some reason. "Dig and ship" seems to be the thought these days.

"It’s a dig-and-ship model of trade that has earned Australia a reputation as the world’s quarry, and seen it lose out on a significant chunk of change further up the supply chain.

Australia’s economy has long been powered by its natural resources, such as coal, gas and iron ore.

But its critical minerals - many of which underpin crucial low emissions technologies - are exported raw, and refined abroad, predominantly by China."

Around the farm...

One of our clients has a wealth of knowledge with just about everything - plumbing, electrics, metal-working, bricklaying, car repairs, etc. a real "jack of all trades". He's not able to work as much as he used to, but he is keen to pass things on to our volunteer, Tjeerd.

 And Tjeerd is a very capable young man who picks things up uncannily easily. So, at the moment it is all working out very well as I manage to get a few projects done....

Tjeerd and I spent a couple of days sorting out the electrics in the Ben's (new) upstairs bedroom. I was really just tidying it up but then realised that we could do better with the power points and wiring...luckily, I have accumulated heaps of stuff over the years...haven't had to buy anything yet.

We had to use the ladder to get upstairs because the usual stairway was being plastered.

 (The 16 year old cat even climbed the ladder to have a look!)

Whilst cleaning up I found some more relics from the past...from my time in the NT.

Stairway plastering...gee, they do a good job!

The fake beam in the living room

We have to make some black brackets to cover the joints...

Skirting boards and window sills are in so it is looking a lot better. We have about 4 weeks before the "Builders' Holiday" - we hope to be able to start moving in before then. We need the heat pump and hot water to be working. The bathroom also needs to be tiled...

Mowing

It's been too wet for my hobby farming equipment - so Janny's brother came with his big stuff...

Yesterday, I was able to go over it and tidy it up a bit...

...and had a stork for company! (I think he was expecting frogs, but I haven't seen many this year...which is a bit of a worry).

...and we had a new bird outside the Day Activity window...

Kramsvogel = fieldfare (which I've never heard of)

It's scientific name is Turdus Pilaris (pile of....??)

About

Description

The fieldfare is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It breeds in woodland and scrub in northern Europe and across the Palearctic. It is strongly migratory, with many northern birds moving south during the winter. Wikipedia

Conservation status: Least Concern (Population stable) Encyclopedia of Life

Scientific name: Turdus pilaris

Mass: 110 g Encyclopedia of Life

Family: Turdidae

Phylum: Chordata