Miedum

Miedum has a leaning tower as well. But you can only really see it in the winter.

The Lapwings are back

I saw two pairs of lapwings (Kieviet in dutch) today in a field. That was very early. While it is not even March yet, the weather this year is very different from last year. Last year was very cold, while we have only had one tiny cold spel this year. The village ice rink still hasn't frozen over. Last year was cold but there was no 11 city skating event. But the trees showed no buds or leaves until late in April.

Starlings the sequel

This is a video I shot at the weekend.

Starlings on Vimeo

New look and feel

I had fixed up my other blog two weeks ago. I waited a while to make sure I like it, so I am rolling out this design here as well but in a kind of fresian colours. One main advantage with this design is that I can put larger photos.

Starlings - the movie

Ok this is my first ever video post anywhere. I was flicking a coin between Vimeo and YouTube. Vimeo was easier to sign into and there are claims that they have a better service.

Anyway this video is about 40 seconds long. I saw thousands of starlings (spreeuwen in dutch). It was just before sundown. It was shot in Lekkum, just outside Leeuwarden. The birds themselves where in Tytsjerk, which is a few kilometer further up. I love this kind of thing.

Stacks of starlings on Vimeo

Snakkerbuorren

A signpost with fingers. They don't make 'em like that anymore now do they? Location: corner Lekkumerweg and Bouwedijk Google maps heading towards Sakkerbuorren.

Skating

Skating is very popular in Friesland (I hope you notice the understatement here). In Heerenveen (googlemaps link) there is one of the best skate stadiums in the world and watching it all on TV can be very exciting. But if you would try to get tickets in the 10,000 plus seater stadium, you will come away very disappointed, unless you know someone who knows someone. The dutch skating union (KNSB) only sell 750 tickets a day. The rest are for sponsors! and skateclubs.

A protest group has been formed so that more cards will be available. I support them. They have set up a dutch language website for their cause over at http://www.volgendjaarwelkaartjes.tk/

Refugees and gravestones

Over at the Telegaaf (dutch language) there is an article about the cemetery in Sint Annnaparochie (link is to google maps). Refugees who die are buried here because the costs are so low. But they don't get a headstone. Former history teacher Frits Slicht heard about this from a radio program and got in contact with the Memento Gedenksteen Sichting (a foundation specializing in gravestones for special circumstances). Seven Artists made works which are being exhibited in Utrecht. On November 28th 2006 they will be placed at the graves in Saint Annaparochie.

Birds

Over at Low Weblog (dutch language) You will find this fabulous desktop photo of starlings/ Spreeuwen (wikipedia link - english). If you like birds, you could do worse than having to live in Friesland. Every morning we can hear geese either flying over our house or hear them in the fields down the road from where we live. There are literally hundreds grazing there. We also have droves of starlings flying around. Appearing in trees for about half an hour with an enormous amount of noise, only suddenly to disappear again and the quiet returns

The ice rink has been flooded for the winter

ice-rink.jpg, originally uploaded by Don Crowley.

In Friesland, if your village has a Hema shop, then it is better than the rest. Not that I mind. Our village doesn't have one yet ;-) but...

Every self respecting village in Friesland has it's own skating rink. It is now november and even though the cold has not set in (we have had the first night frost though), they are all flooded. When the cold sets in it will be packed here with people from gytsjerk and some of the surrounding villages. If the global warming does not act up too much I should have photos of this in January or February 2007.

File under: skating | friesland