An Autumnal Walk in the Lingebos and Mastbos Forests

It's my favorite time of the year...in spades!  So, as you'd guess, even in the midst of a pandemic, Astrid and I wanted to get out to enjoy the colors.  But, much to our surprise, even by now, at the end of October, we're still only at the beginning of our tree changes.

So, what you get in this post is what we DID see.  We really weren't that disappointed!

First, on October 10th, Saturday, we went to our nearby Lingebos in Vuren, just 6 km from home.  It's actually an artificial forest (284 acres) created by the government in the 1960s as a recreation area. To be honest, for how beautiful it is so near to us, we should go more often!

This is what it looked like that day, with only a few trees changing colors.

But as you see, there was plenty to see.

I really got addicted to these beauties.

And just about everything else going to seed!

I didn't even see Ms. Ladybug until I got home.  A nice surprise.

Mother Nature knows that even what we might see as imperfect is perfect.

I immediately thought of this from Martin Luther King, Jr:

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."

Then, just as it started to rain, we had a fleeting glimpse of the Childlike Joy we all need these days.

From my first photo to the last, it was only 35 minutes.

But we were filled up.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

The following Saturday, on October 17th, we decided to try another forest, the Mastbos (1409 acres), this time in Breda, 40 km from home.  It's one of the oldest pine forests in the Netherlands, planted in 1515 with Scots pine seeds from Nuremberg, Germany.

This was where we parked and started our walk.

Before turning off from the main road, I loved the sunlight on the cut lumber.

Once again, the color change was still at it's beginning.

But still...enough to make us happy!

We weren't the only ones out that day.

But sadly, the next day many roads to the forest were closed because of coronavirus,

which is spiking now all over Europe, as well as the rest of the world.

We were lucky to have been there right at the wire.

We needed the autumnal fix!

We had seen the Bouvigne Castle, from 1554, as we drove into our parking spot,

and made sure we walked back to it before leaving.

(No, it wasn't open.)

Then, while walking back to the car, this is what we saw all along the path:

Lichen is one thing and actually stands on its own.

But then, it was like the Faeries came out in force to serenade us around their homes.

Some of these I've never seen before!

Some made me believe in growing older gracefully.

Some reminded me of why "it takes a village,"

something we so desperately need in these estranging times.

And because it's almost Halloween, how about a big 

BOO.

(It actually creeped me out!)

This time we had 2 hours of filling up our senses with, and I repeat myself,

my favorite time of the year.  God willing and the creek don't rise, 

maybe we'll get another walk in before it's all gone!

Till then, let's hope and pray next week's American Presidential Election remains as "calm" as possible.

(sigh)

Snow in the Lingebos Forest, Vuren, NL

Actually, this is the tail-end of our Christmas-market vacation at the beginning of December, when we went to Maastricht, Aachen (Germany), and the Rolduc Abbey.

We left the house on Friday, 8 December, with snow beginning to fall here in Gorinchem, NL.  All I could think of was "OH NO!  We're going to miss the snow!"  Wrong.  We had it while on our mini-trip south and then on our way back home, Monday, 11 December.

The further north we drove, on our way home, the more it snowed.  And without blinking an eye, we both decided to forget everything, once home (shortly after lunch), and drive out to the nearby Lingebos "artificial" forest in Vuren.

We wanted to WALK IN THE SNOW!

And when Astrid found out that her son Jeroen was let out of work early, because of the snow storm, she invited him and DIL Eva to come join us, if they could.  And they did!

We met up at the entrance of our walk, near where we parked.

It was snowing cats-n-dogs.

The Lingebos is a recreational park of 115 hectares (284 acres) "built" in the late 1960s.

The last time we were there it was the autumn of 2015, at which time we both said,

"If it ever snows again, we HAVE to walk here in the snow!"

Promises made and promises kept!

The snow was wet and gloppy, sticking to the trees.

The blustery wind helped.

Can you tell how much fun we had?

Astrid (red) and I (blue) felt like colorful birds having a heyday.

(The umbrella was to protect the camera lens.)

And because they are special to us, I loved capturing Jeroen and Eva.

After all these years (8+), they are as crazy in love as we are, which we really enjoy seeing.

If ever anyone asks for an example of CARPE DIEM, this is it for us.

We totally seized the day and will hold the memory for years to come....

...until the next time it snows?  We're holding our breath!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

And now another "seize the day" is on our doorstep:  Brother Nelson, the oldest of the 8 kids in my family, arrives here on Sunday for a week's vacation.  He wrote us on 22 December to say he had vacation days to use by the end of January or lose them.  He turns 76 the day he arrives...and yes, he still works!

So I'll be absent from this blog next week while we fill up the days "entertaining" him.  Did I mention that he lives in Holland, Michigan?  It's about time he sees the real Holland, don't you think!