Today was a brisk but sunny day so I decided it was time to get out on the bike and explore some more. A lot of times when I’m out riding around I either forget my camera or just don’t stop to take a picture and then later I wish I had. Today I remembered to take the camera and also decided that I would stop about every 10 minutes and take a picture of the most interesting thing around. I had one destination and that was a windmill I had seen from a distance several times but never seen it very closely. It is located in a little hamlet not far from here ( about a 15 minute bike ride).
As I rode down the street from our house I saw this. This house is decorated in typical Dutch fashoin for someone turning 5o years old. The Dutch are really into birthdays, so they see these types of milestones as cause for celebrations. 50 is a particularly big birthday to them, which they refer to as "Seeing Sara" for a woman or "Seeing Abraham" for a man. On the occasion, family members will construct a straw dummy (sometimes several) and put it outside of the house wearing the birthday boy or girl's clothes. The dummy will be adorned with items demonstrating their hobbies (like a golf bag for a golfer) and will be finished off with a gray wig. This display is to inform all the neighbors of the special milestone. I think I need to go on a Mediterranean cruise in May!
This lovely old house sits out amoung fields and farm houses. They have been working on renovating it since we got here and it looks really nice now. The thatched roofs always intrigue me.
Swans use to be scarce here and so they were put on the protection list and now we’ve seen quit e a few. They have been a lot in the fields lately and not on the water.
I love traveling down these picturesque little roads. There are always trees along the road and quite often a canal on the other side. It is so peaceful and pretty. It will be fun in another couple of months when all the leaves are on the trees and shrubs.
I took some pictures of some lambs that are just a couple of hours old. There were also some a day or two old. (I need to crop the pictures in order before I put them in here.)
I
2 comments:
This is really interesting. Are you sure you don't want a decorated straw dummy announcing your age to everyone? :)
Looks good mom! although i think we could do a little better than they did at announcing the 50 year mark :)
Post a Comment