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.