Dutch Watermills

You may remember that there is a Dutch database of 1173+ complete/active WINDmills in the Netherlands (with another 4000+ incomplete/vanished windmills), all in a country the geographical size of slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey.

But WATERmills...that's something else.  There are only 108+/- in the Netherlands.  That explains why Astrid and I were so excited to see TWO of them while on our Vasse trip in early December.

But first, you know how much it's not just the destination but the journey that excites us...on two separate days, one after the other.

Vasse is in the Twente region of eastern Netherlands in the Overijssel province.

The farm houses are a different architecture from where we live in South Holland province.

I don't remember seeing sheep, interestingly, though surely they were there.

But there were a few windmills...and even a lion, prancing about.

And as I mentioned on Facebook, I loved the drive-by "shootings" of people!

Life is at a slower pace out in the boonies, which I love.

As we neared our first watermill, I totally woke up to the trees everywhere.  

OMG.  They spoke to me....

And then, suddenly, we were there, at the 1880 Watermolen van Singraven in Denekamp.

As you can see out back, the watermill is used to saw wood.

But first, we spent time at the dam across the street.

Lots of water power!

Wonderful scenic views downstream.

And the Singraven Coach House (with its weathervanes) is also there, off to the left of the dam.

It goes all the way back to 1415.

But it was the watermill we had come to see, with its three wheels.

We couldn't have picked a better day for a perfect example of a Dutch watermill.

And because this is what the Dutch do, we stopped inside for our koffie break.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

The next day, on our way home, we headed out to another watermill, 

De Noordmolen in Ambt-Delden.

It was built in 1325, renovated in 1984.

And what was most amazing...not another soul was anywhere to be seen.

We had it all to ourselves.

Well, that is, until we went across the street for our koffie break there,

just as they were opening for the day at 12 noon.

Two watermills in two days, Folks.
I kept thinking about a wheel in the middle of a wheel from Ezekiel 1:16!

It doesn't get much better than that, if you want to know the truth.

England 2015: Day 2--Pencarrow House & Gardens in Cornwall

Day 1 of my week's birthday trip to England was a breeze because, well...it was a short day.  I told you each consecutive day would be longer.  But at this pace, I may just finish the trip before g'son Nicholas arrives on July 17th!

So, moving right along....

Lisl and I got up bright and early on Tuesday, 16 June, to take the train from Westbury Station, Wiltshire, to Cornwall, where we would spend two nights with Pauline, a long-time friend of Lisl's and another Shutterchancer.

How many times have I told you I love the trains of Europe!

And the longer the ride the better.  This one was 3.5 hours,

with enough time to have a bacon-buttie elevenses.

See how close we came to the coast?

There were spots when we were right at the water.

In fact, last year the heavy rains actually covered the tracks!

I especially felt lucky to get the Pegasus vane in focus passing by!

By the time we got to St. Austell, we both had taken photos and enjoyed the sun.

Pauline met us in St. Austell and drove us to her home nearby where we got settled for our stay.

Back at the end of her yard near the shed are her gorgeous chickens.

You'd swear they were her children by how much she loves them.  Seriously.

And guess what!  I never once heard them crowing the two nights/mornings I was there.

 Here's a sampling of the scads of flowers all over Pauline's yard,

preparing me for what was yet to come.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

We spent the afternoon at the Pencarrow House and Gardens in Bodmin, 30 minutes away.

 We weren't there to visit the house but to walk the land and see the gardens.

From the house there's a one-mile walk down the carriage drive to the iron age hillfort.

The closer we got, the trees whispered to us and drew us in.

By the time we got to the hillfort, we luxuriated in the strong energy of the area.

The banks and ditches aren't archeologically excavated but go back to the 3rd-1st centuries BC.

The ladies knew I wanted "old" and old I got!

And while walking along, I also got flowers!

These weren't in gardens, mind you.  They mostly just lined the road,

both coming and going back to the house and the Peacock Café.

It was time for an English afternoon tea when we got back to the house,

but what I didn't know was that the ladies had planned a proper Cornish CREAM  tea for me,

with candles, no less, for my 70th birthday.  I'm actually welled up with tears in that above photo.

A cream tea, in case you're clueless (as I was), is tea with scones smothered in clotted cream and jam!

And that's where we saw the peacock and hen, strutting their stuff.

After tea, we headed off to the small lake on the other side of the house, 

passing the largest Cornish cross of its type, found in a hedge at Trescowe ca. 1870.

Cows were off in the fields along the way, caught by my 1200mm lens, thankfully.

 But it was the wee lake, covered with lily pads, that became a long resting place for us.

All 3 of us walked around, sat, and absorbed Mother Nature.

Even the flowers there seemed different.

We didn't see any foxes but the weathervane of the Pencarrow house was a treat,

in shadow and in sun.

What a way to start a 3-day stay in Cornwall!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I can't leave this post without a shout-out to the SCOTUS decision yesterday,

ruling that Marriage Equality is now the rule of the land nationwide in the USA.

I'll never forget the date:  26 June 2015.

My mom would have turned 99 were she still alive.

And it's still my birth month, celebrating my 70th birthday.

It happened in my lifetime, Folks!

The North Georgia Mountain Cabin

So, Ladies and Gentlemen, we're back from our annual trip to America!  Did it really come and go so quickly?

And since we packed a wallop into that 2+ weeks, I'll start with the last first...our time with the kids in the North Georgia mountains. 

It's my 4th year as a family (Astrid's 3rd) to rent a cabin 2 hours north of Atlanta, but this time in a different one altogether...just as nice and with another spectacular view:

We're so lucky that owners rent out these homes away from home.

It's not hard to settle in immediately.

This was our first year to add an extra night, making it Thursday - Monday.

We kept saying it made all the difference in the world!

As you'd guess, our time was often centered around food.

Daughter Amy and Dennis were the cooks....

...along with son Mark's bran muffins (and carrot cake!)...

...and s'mores, of course, at least twice in between games of Spades.

Astrid and I were the chief bottle washers.  A nice exchange!

There was also ping pong, pool, football, jigsaw-puzzle making, laptop time...

Square Up (a new game for us)...

...and the hot tub for Uncle Mark and Nicholas, the boys.

I even had time to make the lining for Amy's last (of 5) cross-stitch Xmas stocking.

And then Astrid and I were off on our own, taking walks in the beauty of Mother Nature all around us.

Do you notice something????  A new Canon PowerShot camera for me, yes!

It replaces my 28-300 mm bazooka lens that was aggravating my sciatic issues.

I sold that lens to a fellow blogger and used that money to buy the new camera and an iPad4.

The new camera is 24-1200 mm, for you camera buffs...my new travel camera that also shoots in RAW.

 This was October 17-21, just about peak time for the autumn leaves.

My favorite time of the year!

That time of the year, too.

Trick or treat?

Impressions, impressions, impressions...even in the North Georgia mountains!

How can you say NO to that!  

We were there during the full moon on October 18th...and the sunrise on the 21st, the day we left.

All my images here are with my new camera, barely tweaked.

I'm a happy camper!