Week 34

 

Week 34

Just at the moment, I think the mosquito could be called the National Bird of the Netherlands...

...but since 2015, the Grutto was voted as the National Bird

The Black-tailed Godwit (Grutto)

My usual boating interest - mainly because of the size of the project - and the cost! I can't find the total cost - but the article refers to the ADDED cost due to an enforced change of plans...

The Julianakanaal between Berg aan de Maas and Born

 Born is closed to all shipping as of today. Rijkswaterstaat is making the Limburg canal deeper and wider, so that larger ships can pass through it in the future. It is a mega project for which the busy canal is being drained over a length of four kilometers.

For this purpose, a dam is being constructed in the canal at Berg aan de Maas. When it is ready, Rijkswaterstaat will slowly release the 1.9 billion litres of water via the lock at Born. The fish in the closed section will first be caught and released elsewhere.

Once the canal is dry, a nine-metre wide road will be constructed on the bottom for the supply and removal of materials. There will also be a conveyor belt to remove the excavated sand and gravel. According to Rijkswaterstaat, the advantage of this is that it will cause less inconvenience to local residents.

A new plan had to be made when some prepatory work was flooded. The new plan is expected to ADD 179 million euros to the cost! Bigger and deeper ships will be able to use the canal when the works are completed.

This one because it annoys me  - everyone was encouraged to install solar panels and a) the grid was not ready for it and b) the energy companies decided to charge people for using "their"  grid to transport the generated electricity. 

This gives a little twist...and hopefully a better and fairer outcome...

Home owners in three parts of Zeeland who have solar panels on their roofs are being paid money to turn them off, RTL reported on Friday.

Grid manager Stedin and supplier Eneco hope the move, a first for the Netherlands, will reduce pressure on the national grid during sunny periods.

There are so many solar panels in the districts of Tholen, Sint Philipsland and Schouwen-Duiveland that more electricity is being generated than can be used, and that is causing capacity problems, the power companies say. If the experiment is a success, it will be extended to other parts of the country.

“In the Netherlands we are working towards a new energy system,” Stedin’s technical chief David Peters told RTL Z. “That means finding a new balance between what nature gives us – sun and wind – and when we use electricity.”

Participants in the trial do so voluntarily and are paid for the power they would have generated plus a bonus. So far just 13 households have come forward, but Stedin hopes several hundred will eventually do so.

A third of Dutch households have rooftop solar panels.

Energy firms have also been attempting to reduce the amount of power households feed back into the system by charging fees for them to do so. The fees depend on a variety of factors but can run to tens of euros a month.

I must have too much time on my hands...

I "think" that if you scan the QR code below...it should show some photos of our boat trips to Boornzwaag...

(it works for me, but I'm not sure for anyone else) It comes from Google Photos - feedback appreciated :)

...and in the meantime, back at the farm...

Paul came to visit a few weeks ago and brought some Chocolate Ripple biscuits... (I still can't find anything similar with chocolate).

Last week, I complained about the moles - this week we had badgers coming in to root through the grass moss...I think there must be grubs under the moss...

Early in the year, Tjeerd and I had done the insulation and heating work in the apartment we were in...we had to wait until now to finish the work off - with cornices, skirting boards and painting..

This coat was a primer or sealer over the plaster sheets - a futile attempt on my part to ensure that I only had to paint it once...it's now been done three times! I think that's what I hate most about painting!

Janny and family went (again) to a local music festival - they know enough to leave me behind - even painting was (almost) more fun...