Monday, May 16, 2011

The Norway Weathervanes, etc.

Part of the etc. of this post is that it's my turn at Vision & Verb again...


...where I talk about what happens when you feel snubbed/hurt.
I loved that I had this image in my files from a gift shop in Stokmarknes, Norway.

After the last few posts on our Hurtigruten sea voyage, especially the last post on the Norway churches (during Blogger's black-out!) which took a lot out of me, I needed something a bit lighter for today. Nothing better than weathervanes, right?!





How's that for all the weathervanes I captured from Olso to Kirkenes to Bergen and back to Oslo again! Most of the ones with dates were on the top of churches, telling the world when they were built. Notice how there are a few that remind me of what we have here in The Netherlands: the sailboat, cock, dog and owl.

Speaking of which, what better time to show the weathervanes I've collected here the last few weeks around our neck of the woods, some as recent as this past Saturday:










See how easily you can tell when it's sunny or not!
But what amazes me the most is that every single one is unique. There are many that are similar but one tiny thing may be different, like the horse's tail being up instead of down.

So soulful for me...and funl!

Now look at this and tell me what you see:


No. Or yes. A trick of the eye?
The image on the left is a stork weathervane. On the right is a stork's nest....
but it's a fake nest, all of it, including the storks, not real. Storks are common here in The Netherlands and build their nests on top of chimneys, if they can. Astrid says they return year after year to the same nest.
So, see how creative this family is...to keep real storks from nesting on their chimney!
BTW, if you want storks to hang around, you build a stand for them for their nest as seen here (scroll down).

How about some more etc....


We went to our favorite pannenkoeken restaurant the other week and found this special of the month: asparagus with ham and egg sauce. OMG! We liked it so much we hope we can go back and have it again before the season is done and over. Asparagus in Europe is WHITE, not green, and has to be peeled.
So different from what we're used to in the States.

Since we have to go out into the countryside to get there (above), we always see so many interesting things. Astrid is almost always ready to stop on a dime for me, bless her:


Spring is in the air everywhere. Babies being born, you know!


Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
.
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?



Swans are everywhere. I have seen more swans in one year than in the rest of my life combined.
Ditto for herons. The canals are perfect habitats for them both.


Speaking of herons, you can imagine our surprise one day to see one inside our senior-living courtyard at the fountain. He obviously flew in, ate a goldfish (Astrid saw him do it!), and then flew away. The bugger!


And speaking of babies, the geese in town are having a heyday.
It takes a village, you know, to raise a family!


Couldn't do etc. without adding a windmill, this one from Meerkerk.
It's a hollow-post mill from 1665, used to control the water level in the polder.

And finally, one of my favorite houses seen every time we go to the pannenkoeken restaurant:



Once again, a reminder that today is my Vision &Verb post....and now have a great week with all your etc's and so forths and so ons.

29 comments:

  1. I *should* (don't you just hate that word) be in bed already... but I just happened to notice you'd posted something new and had to have a look. (then realized I missed your post of last Thursday which I will need to check out tomorrow or the next day)

    Drat blogspot and its problems of last week! Messed me up and lost a few comments too. (thanks for coming back and re-entering yours)

    About your weather vanes... HOW do you manage to photograph them so beautifully? Most that I see are too high up for to capture easily. I especially like the blue sky collages of the weather vanes!

    I had salmon, baked sweet potato and asparagus for dinner tonight... 'twas delicious... I'm telling you this because there is NO reason at all for me to be hungry... except for your marvelous image of the asparagus with ham and egg sauce Pannenkoek! Looks and sounds divine!

    The white geese and their goslings with the red boats make for a very nice, eye-catching collage. And oh, what a wonderful spot for a house (your last image is beautiful)... worrywart me wonders if they have to worry about flooding.

    So I will save the churches post and V&V for later when I'm more awake. Be sure to watch the slide show when you visit my Catmint image (as I know you will)... you will see some Canadian geese and older goslings if you watch the slide show (and more macro images to inspire you to start shooting some yourself). :-)

    Oh... if I haven't gone on too long... I may be first to comment! :-)

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  2. Victoria: Oh my! Do you ever know how to make my day! After all that, I do hope you've had a good sleep. :) Blogger really WAS a mess last week. Hopefully we're all back to status quo by now.

    Your mention of baked sweet potato reminds me that I LOVE it but haven't seen it in the grocery stores here. I'll have to ask Astrid about it. I miss it.

    Those geese and goslings are against an orange boat...a slight 'correction' just because orange is the Dutch color, of course. Not that it matters. But you need not worry about flooding waters for that house because that's what the windmills are for...to control the level of the canals. Don't you love it?!

    Soon I'll be at your post, indeed, to check it all out....

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  3. Just catching up on all your lovely photos, Ginnie. It's great when you (Ginnie) travel, because we all get to enjoy what you see through your camera lens.

    I've become such a sporadic blogger that I didn't even know that there was a problem with Blogger last week. I just wanted to let you know that my Garden blog is getting going again now that winter is behind us. My husband informs me that I need to get out and take photos of all the new tulips that are blooming, but we've had so many days of rain I'm not sure how well I could do justice to them. I suppose I will give it a try, though.

    P.S. I love baked sweet potato too. The best I ever had was during a stop in your old neck of the woods, in Macon, Georgia at a roadhouse restaurant. Forget the steak and just give me a baked sweet potato for dinner - it was that good!

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  4. Karen: I am SO glad you gave me your new link (Garden blog), which I have now added to my Google Reader. Amazing images there, Lady! Thank you. Your husband is right: get out there and continue taking your superb photos. It's fun to hear of someone else who loves sweet potatoes. It seems people either do or don't! :)

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  5. That is some impressive collection of weathervanes you have, I know I stop many times, but to see them like that, it is worth while.
    The Pannenkoekenhuis, to eat there is a real treat and the trip is short but wonderful, I love to go back the backroads.
    I feel blessed that I am able to show you all the nice things we have in our backyard.
    Beatufil post again, so educating too.

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  6. Astrid: These weathervanes are as much yours as mine when I think of all the times you have stopped for me to get out of the car. THANK YOU. Hartstikke bedankt. I love the backroads of your country. They are so soulful for me. They breathe life into me. So much to see that's important to me. You know I eat this all up! Bedankt.

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  7. this is the loveliest spot for the house. i just hope it doesn't get flooded.

    you have a ton of weathervanes and they each have individual charms about them.

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  8. PC: The house won't get flooded, Maria, because of the windmills that keep the water level where it needs to stay. YAY for the windmills! And you can see why the weathervanes are so soulful for me. 'Individual charms' is a good way to put it! Thank you.

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  9. what a collection, Ginnie! and the snubbed pic is priceless.....i wuld hate to be in his shoes, but havent we all been snubbed/hurt at some point or the other.

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  10. Your weather vanes are beautiful! I really liked your local collection of animal weather vanes. I think you're a person after my own heart. :)

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  11. Hey Ginnie, love all the neat weathervanes, all the cute babies and I am crazy about your favorite house, it's lovely. Thanks, as always, for sharing so much.

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  12. Moi: Thank you! Yes, we've all been in his shoes and can now hold his hand.

    Tim: Yes, indeed...we are both from the same cookie cutter, I'm sure of it! I find this to be true every time I read your own posts! We have a LOT in common.

    WS: We have to go out into the polder to see all these weathervanes, Susan, because that's where the farmers are who depend on them. I just love that they're so creative. I love that house, too...so full of personality. :)

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  13. I think that Blogger must have been tweaking some things when all was down. The comment boxes are bigger!

    The weathervanes are tremendous. I love the fine work. It really does give you something to watch for. And you have so many things to watch for!

    We loved the storks in Turkey and would see them often on rooftops.

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  14. Ruth: The comment boxes were bigger the first day for me, too, but now they're back to the same size. Not sure what that's about!

    I love how many soulful things there are here to look for: windmills, gevelstenen, weathervanes, water towers. It's like a little heaven on earth. :)

    Storks in Turkey! I never would have guessed that, but then, it's not all that far away from Holland!

    Thanks, Sister!

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  15. I've been very bad recently and have not been blogging or even leaving comments. Life has been busy! But now I'm back and I hope to be posting more regularly... did you wonder what had happened to me? Probably not! HA!
    More lovely pictures from your camera.... you have such a observant eye! Love those blue skies, all we have had for the past week is cloud, fog and cold rain. Getting a bit warmer today but still rainy! And now the people who run this place have put on the lawn sprinklers!!! I ask you!

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  16. The collection of the weathervanes is a wonderful treasure- I find it amazing to see so many different kinds of vanes- and each one has its special look and own beauty -I can well understand your enthousiasm for these little things! And we have always to lift up our eyes and heads to observe them.

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  17. I still can't believe your collection, just amazing.. Looks like the sunshine is out in full force as well!

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  18. ...I havent' even read this post - but the last photo is amazing! I have to get to bed, but wanted to tell you I savor your posts and I WILL be back to read this. What a trip you two had!

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  19. Sham: Yes, I DID wonder what had happened to you! HA. But I know you're still one of the busiest personas I know for your age. :) Thank you for taking the time to stop by here.

    Philine: 'Treasure' is a good word! They're much like the gevelstenen for me, so I always have to look up to find them. I never tire of their charm and individuality. Bedankt!

    ET: Thank you, Jen. We are finally getting some much-needed rain, so the sun isn't shining today. I'm not complaining.

    Margaret: You're such a sweetheart and I thank you for the time and effort you put into my posts. The trip was definitely one of a lifetime for us both. We'd do it again in a New York minute...from south to north the next time. :)

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  20. Incredible pics Ginnie.

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  21. Bob: Ohhhhhh. Thanks for stopping by and commenting here! I assume you are Bob K (I have two Bobs from Atlanta). :)

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  22. Wow! What an impressive collection you have there! Well done! There are a lot of them that I've never seen. I always love when the year is there too.

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  23. LC: I LOVE weathervanes and make no secret of it. HA! I will collect them as long as I am able, everywhere I go. :)

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  24. I love this post and photos
    (have to comment in short, due to regular "time-outs)

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  25. Tor: I hate that you're still having internet issues there. Hopefully your whole complex will be happier once you switch providers. Lots of luck. But in the meantime, thanks for trying to look!

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  26. Why do I hear Julie Andrews singing "Favorite Things" when I'm looking at these images? Could it be all the whimsical weather vanes, the windmills, flocks of birds, baby animals, that crazy-delicious-looking pannekoek, or that dreamy house that looks just like the one that belonged to my "juf" from elementary school? So many favorite things!

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  27. DB: HA! One of my favorite songs/movies. :) I guess they ARE my favorite things, just like she would sing. So fun to think of them in that way. And yes, so many. Bedankt.

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  28. Such an enjoyable post. I lingered for quite a while trying to narrow down my favorite weathervane. FORGET ABOUT IT! Can't be done. The mommy and babies are amazing shots. I love the horse drinking out of the stream. And I still love the last shot of that home. Imagine just sitting out in that yard and enjoying the view...

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  29. Margaret: You are such a sweetheart to backtrack to all these posts. Thank you. It really does mean the world to me.

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