Country magic

Everything seems to have started a bit late this year, hasn't it? Even though we're here at the beginning of June, the scenery around us still feels like early May, and how beautiful it is. I absolutely love the spring. It always reminds me of a sort of airbag that is suddenly triggered into action. Everything explodes into life and the trees, which were still largely skeletal in April are now positively blousy with voluptuous growth. They are all gorgeously green and profuse. These two photos below are of the nature reserve near the crumbly cottage. I love wandering round there, although I really miss having a pooch to accompany us. Still, a country walk is good with or without a four-footed friend, so I still try and get out as much as possible. I took these last weekend before I headed back to Rotterdam.

And this was the view from the crumbly cottage. Even my ivy has erupted, although that's always a challenge to keep down. I'm very fond of my little garden, but it's an ongoing battle to keep the field from invading. The nettles, thistles and cow parsley share the space equally with my geraniums and begonias, not to mention the volunteer foxgloves, which I actually welcome. I never know where they'll pop up, but they're always a rich and colourful addition.

The garden at the crumbly cottage

Elderflower in all its glory

On Tuesday, I got to work hopelessly early because there was a national public transport strike in protest against the increasing pension age and the authorities were predicting chaos on the roads. In fact, I had an easier run than normal, as I think a lot of people decided the pain wasn't worth it and stayed at home. It was an absolute pleasure to drive over the islands and see the pale sun glinting on the water of the great estuaries; I hardly saw another car, so I arrived with stacks of time to spare and feeling very relaxed.

An eight hour day of back-to-back teaching PhDers on Wednesday finished me off again nicely, though, so I was very glad Thursday was a holiday here in the Netherlands. I still had work to do, but at least I could do it on board as well as a couple of jobs inside. Then I emptied my little rowing boat of the rain that had been dumped on us overnight and just as I was about to leave the sun came out again, which made my journey back to the crumbly cottage all the more pleasurable. Most of the weekend traffic had left on Wednesday, so again, I had the road to myself.

One thing I try and do is vary my route on these journeys, or I'm sure I'd nod off if I had to do the same trip every time. It's at least a two-hour drive whichever way you go and I can choose a few different options depending on whether I want to shave a few minutes off here and there. This time, though, I decided to try a new way and I headed into the farmlands without having a very clear idea of where I was going to end up. To my pleasure, it was a very pretty diversion; rather slow, because I got stuck behind a tractor for quite a stretch, but it was real Dutch scenery of the most pastoral kind. Dykes, willow trees, reed filled ditches, quaint cottages and green meadows. There were also enough cows to give real life to what looked like a still-life scene. It was absolutely not the most efficient way, but I really enjoyed it.

Friday has escaped my memory completely now and I have no recollection of doing anything except working on student assignments. The weather was overcast and we were still waiting for the promised mini heatwave, which to my relief began yesterday. We woke to brilliant sunshine, and by chance the village was celebrating its annual festive weekend street market. It's one of those opportunities for the locals to sell off the accumulated stuff they've been accumulating (sorry) over the past year. Even our neighbour was out there with his trestle table, although from his relaxed posture, I think he was just enjoying the chats to passers-by rather than really hoping to sell anything. I strolled around the stalls but resisted the temptation to add to my own store of (accumulated) stuff. Maybe I’ll be out there next year too!

Later on, Koos and I took ourselves to a nearby village for a coffee and apple pie treat. It's not something we do that often, but it's wonderfully sinful. I confess I have quite a passion for apple pie and am a self-proclaimed expert, which means (naturally) I need to test it in as many places as possible. Well, you would too, wouldn't you?

Then today, it was the Hennie H's turn for attention. We are determined she won't be neglected this faringless summer, so given the rising temperatures this morning, I took set off on my bike quite early to give her some TLC while Koos started work on cleaning and painting the engine.

Just in front of the boat, I found a lovely clump of poppies, so of course I had to snap them. Then I spent the next couple of hours washing our little barge and touching up some paintwork. There's still plenty more to do, but it's a start and it felt good. I'm hoping the weather will be kind enough to let me sand and paint the decks next time, but it's not looking very promising for the coming weekends, I'm afraid.

On my return along the dyke, I saw this pretty cottage with another profusion of poppies growing outside. You might need to click on the image to see them properly, but they looked quite gorgeous in the heat of the day. Apparently it went up to 31C today, although there was a brisk breeze which made it feel less and just really pleasant.

This afternoon, we sauntered into the village again to see what was going on with the festivities and found an art exhibition in the old church, some of which was really impressive. We then enjoyed a glass of beer while we watched a marvellous display of exuberance from the local brass band who made up for their lack of finesse with unfettered enthusiasm. They were pretty good really, but it sounded just slightly chaotic. I loved it.

Overall, it was such a gorgeous day I decided to finish it off by going for a longish bike ride round the lanes and down to the great sea canal and back. Sadly, I couldn't help noticing that the weather was already changing. The clouds were gathering and tomorrow, I believe it will be back to normal: 20C and rainy.

All the same, it's been a glorious long weekend, and although I'll be in Rotterdam teaching again on Tuesday, I'm well refreshed by the solid dose of sunshine we've had. Such a gift.

Have a great week allemaal!