A new year but the usual walk

HAPPY NEW YEAR, allemaal! I hope you had a good Christmas and festive season. 

Here in the flatlands, all was generally quiet. We had a Christmas lunch with my girls on the Vereeniging followed by a walk around Oudenbosch looking for somewhere to let the dogs run. Unfortunately, we didn't succeed in that mission, so the search for good dog walks in the area will be resumed the next time the grandpups visit.

That said, 'daughter one' and I did a New Year's beach walk on the 31st and, as often in the past, we headed for the estuary where the mix of sand, pebbles and tidal scrubland is always appealing. Luckily, the weather dried up for our stroll although it remained mostly wet and windy here (and still is). There were very few others around, so other than the weather, it was perfect. Just a couple of dog owners, who like ourselves were escaping the bangs. We could listen to the wind, the keening of the gulls and the cries of the terns without interference. There was a brief episode with some quad bikers, who shouldn't have been there at all, but they didn't stay long.

However, my ambitions of a place in the sun are currently limited to poring over estate agents' images of homes in Portugal and Spain. I can but dream, can't I? The only bright skies I've seen recently have been those lit by fireworks. They were banned this year, but you'd never have thought so. Belgium and Germany (where most of the fireworks come from) are far too close for the ban to have had any chance of succeeding.

Anyway, to kick off the year, the photos below are of our walk at Paulinahaven on the Western Scheldt coast near Biervliet (see map).

 In other news, I'm up to my ears in 'project shower' at the moment. As many of you know, I have a horror of leaks wherever they may occur. To my dismay, the shower developed a leak that no amount of silicone kit has cured, so there was nothing for it but to rip the whole thing out and investigate the darkness below. I have to say that, barring a few bashed knuckles and choice expletives, the dismantling was much easier than finding the culprit, which has so far evaded me. Koos and I tested the drain, the water pipes and the taps today, but none of them has given up any surprises, or comfort. The only thing left it can be is the outlet from the shower tray itself. I'll let you know! 

A bit fuzzy, but this was the dark and dingy 
place below

I also have a leak to solve on the Vereeniging...again. I check under the floor every week and for months it's been dry. This week, however, I found a puddle, the source of which is also proving hard to detect. Ah well, what would life be without a few leaks? Hmm, I shall ponder that appealing notion for a while.

Have a good week, one and all, and I'll be back with more watery wonderings in the coming weeks.