Sky Watch, Weekend Reflections, Meeting Kay D. from Canada.

Interior of one of the windmills


These past few weeks have been lovely sunny.On 22 March I cycled to the windmills, which took me only 15 minutes. I waited there outside the souvenir shop for Kay D., who is one of the Canadian bloggers.It was a kind of blind date, but she e-mailed me that she would be wearing a red T-shirt on which "Canada"was written. I recognized her immediately. It was nice to meet her and her husband. While he went to have a closer look at the mills, she and I were having coffee in front of the souvenir shop. We were chatting about bloggers we both know and how wonderful it is to meet so many different people and cultures.I had the feeling as if I had known Kay for a long time. The weather was nice and sunny and I am glad that my Canadian blogging friend saw my country in the best possible weather.If you want to visit her click on
Kay D..


Photo taken by Kay's husband.

And by myself of Kay and her husband.

that's My World, ABC Wednesday N for Napoleon and the Netherlands

Napoleon Bonaparte ( 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a military and political leader of France and Emperor of the French as Napoleon I, whose actions shaped European politics in the early 19th century.From 1806, Emperor Napoleon ruled almost the whole of Europe as an “enlightened despot”.

The Dutch Republic had already fallen to French troops in 1795 with the aid of Dutch patriots. Until 1806, the Batavian Republic, as the Netherlands was then known, remained officially independent of France but in reality little took place without the approval of the French. In 1806, Napoleon appointed his brother Louis as King of Holland, and the Netherlands became a kingdom. This laid the foundations for the later monarchy. In 1810 Napoleon deposed his brother and the Netherlands was absorbed into the French Empire. Three years later Napoleon was defeated and banished to Elba; the Netherlands regained its independence and became a monarchy.

That's my World is hosted by Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and Sylvia - a Team of experienced bloggers, whom we thank for this wonderful meme. You can see more of the world of other bloggers by clicking on the logo in the side bar or on that's My World


With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with N.

Sunday Bridges,Netherlands, Gouda V

From 9 April till 19 April I will take a break and I 'll answer comments lateron. My entries will appear on my blog for they are all scheduled.

 

Here is the last photo of a bridge in Gouda!
Thanks to Louis we can participate in this meme!

For more bridges go to Sunday Bridges

Psalms Challenge, Psalm 16

From 9 April till 19 April I will take a break and I 'll answer comments lateron. My entries will appear on my blog for they are all scheduled.




1Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 2I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you."
3As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.

4The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.

5The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

7I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the LORD always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

9Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.

11You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

(The video was sung in French.The text written on it is Dutch)
******************************************************************
Les Psaumes Merveilleux de David : Psaume 16
16.1
Hymne de David.
Garde-moi, ô Dieu! car je cherche en toi mon refuge.

16.2
Je dis à l'Éternel : Tu es mon Seigneur,
Tu es mon souverain bien !

16.3
Les saints qui sont dans le pays,
Les hommes pieux sont l'objet de toute mon affection.

16.4
On multiplie les idoles, on court après les dieux étrangers :
Je ne répands pas leurs libations de sang,
Je ne mets pas leurs noms sur mes lèvres.

16.5
L'Éternel est mon partage et mon calice;
C'est toi qui m'assures mon lot;

16.6
Un héritage délicieux m'est échu,
Une belle possession m'est accordée.

16.7
Je bénis l'Éternel, mon conseiller;
La nuit même mon coeur m'exhorte.

16.8
J'ai constamment l'Éternel sous mes yeux;
Quand il est à ma droite, je ne chancelle pas.

16.9
Aussi mon coeur est dans la joie, mon esprit dans l'allégresse,
Et mon corps repose en sécurité.

16.10
Car tu ne livreras pas mon âme au séjour des morts,
Tu ne permettras pas que ton bien-aimé voie la corruption.

16.11
Tu me feras connaître le sentier de la vie;
Il y a d'abondantes joies devant ta face,
Des délices éternelles à ta droite.

The verses from Psalm 16 are contributed to Robert's new Psalms Challenge meme at Daily Athens. To read more psalms click on Robert

ABC Wednesday, M for Mum

Next week's post is scheduled, but I'll probably not be able to enter ABC Wednesday, as I will have a short break. And if there are any comments I am happy to answer them after 19th April.

Why God made Mums -- Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following
questions
Why did God make mothers?

1. She's the only one who knows where the sticky tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring
3. God made my Mum just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother & not some other Mum?
1. We're related
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's mums like me.

What kind of little girl was your mum?
1. My mum has always been my mum and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did mum need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your Mum marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mum eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mum didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mum doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a clot.
2. Mum. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mum is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between mums & dads?
1. Mums work at work and work at home & dads just go to work at work.
2. Mums know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.
4. Mums have magic; they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mum do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mum perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your Mum, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my Mum smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.We started round 8 of the fascinating meme of ABC. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with D.

Sunday Bridges, Netherlands, Gouda IV

From 9 April till 19 April I will take a break and I 'll answer comments lateron. My entries will appear on my blog for they are all scheduled.

 

There are so many little bridges in Gouda and they all are revealing lovely corners of the ancient city of Gouda. So here's another corner, near the cathedral this time! The cathedral is called the St.Janskerk.
The Sint Janskerk in Gouda, the Netherlands, is a large Gothic church, known especially for its stained glass windows, for which it has been placed on the UNESCO list of Dutch monuments.
The church is dedicated to John the Baptist, the patron saint of Gouda, and was built during the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1552 a large part of the church burned, including the archives. Around 1350 a tower was built (only the lower part remains). In 1485 the foundation was built for the present-day choir. This expansion made the church the longest in the Netherlands, with a length of 123 meters.

Thanks to Louis we can participate in this meme!

For more bridges go to Sunday Bridges

Psalms Challenge, Psalm 15

From 9 April till 19 April I will take a break and I 'll answer comments lateron. My entries will appear on my blog for they are all scheduled.

1Who may stay in God's temple
or live on the holy mountain

of the LORD?

 

Only those who obey God

and do as they should.

They speak the truth

and don't spread gossip;

they treat others fairly

and don't say cruel things.

They hate worthless people,

but show respect for all

who worship the LORD.

And they keep their promises,

no matter what the cost.

They lend their money

without charging interest,

and they don't take bribes

to hurt the innocent.

Those who do these things

will always stand firm.

The verses from Psalm 15 are contributed to Robert's new Psalms Challenge meme at Daily Athens. To read more psalms click on Robert

ABC Wednesday, L for Lovestory

Next week's post is scheduled, but I'll probably not be able to enter ABC Wednesday, as I will have a short break. And if there are any comments I am happy to answer them after 19th April.

This story was sent to me by my daughter in Oz. I don't know who the author was and who took the photos, but I couldn't but post this story, for it's amazing!

A true story, you'll see.
About eight years ago a wild Australian Sulphur Crested
Cockatoo flew into a car and broke its wing. The motorist
took it to the Vet in Nerang , Queensland , who had to
amputate the wing.We adopted her - for which we
needed a National Parks and Wildlife permit - and kept
her in a cage outside where she was often visited by wild
Cockatoos.
One of the things that impressed us was how she would
push lettuce leaves through the bars of the cage, offering
food to visitors. Last Sunday she again had a visitor.As usual he spent a lot of time sitting on the cage with a tamper proof latch.
There was a lot of talking and grooming. A bloke has to look presentable
when courting a bird!
Things got interesting when he approached the front door....
The clever fellow figured out how to undo the tamper proof latch!
He opened the door for a lot of mutual grooming and food sharing...



 

He was not shy to get into the cage and would go in and out a number of times.
They mated! We are looking forward to beautiful baby cockatoos. Will keep you posted.
Later on, the whole extended family came visiting but the special mate was back every day so far.
We leave the door open during the day but if we forget, it doesn't matter - cockatoos have intelligence
that rival primates. Because she has only one wing, she stays inside or just sits on top. Guess what happened next...

The Babies
At first it seemed as though he was annoyed because she did not fly off with him and he would squawk a lot.
He soon came to understand that she could not fly so he just stayed. However, she
was no longer returning to her cage. The two of them would stay in the trees in our garden and because the yard is well fenced, they were safe from dogs but the neighbour's cat is not kept indoors at night and we often have to chase it away. Chances are the cat would come off second best in a confrontation with a Cockatoo but at night cats remain a danger because they could stalk a sleeping bird on the ground.




 

Cockatoos make their nests in hollow logs but we noticed the male hard at work digging a hole under a clump of Lilly Pilly trees. We put down a hollow log for them but they just ignored us. The nest he dug was a hole with a short tunnel leading off to where she laid her eggs. Once there were eggs in the nest, the male became extremely aggressive. You better not get near the nest or he will take chunks of flesh from your foot. It was difficult to take these pictures because I literally had to steal them while running away from the male.

We kept a vigil to see how things were progressing.
They took turns incubating the eggs and covering the tunnel.
After about three weeks, the eggs hatched.



 

Whenever Mum & Dad Cockatoo leave the nest, we try to get a look but you have to do it while running because Dad Cockatoo is chasing you!

Well, I hope his mother thinks he is pretty and eventually I might think so too but at the moment, both of them just look like pink balls with a bit of yellow fluff.


With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.We started round 8 of the fascinating meme of ABC. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with L.

Sunday Bridges, Netherlands, Gouda III

 

Another bridge in Gouda.Gouda is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Gouda, which was granted city rights in 1272, is famous for its Gouda cheese, smoking pipes, and its 15th century city hall. But also for candles and beautiful pottery!

Louis from San Francisco started this meme, and many of us like to join in.
For more bridges go to Sunday Bridges

Psalms Challenge, Psalm 14

1 The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
there is none who does good.
2The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.

3They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.

4Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers
who eat up my people as they eat bread
and do not call upon the LORD?

5There they are in great terror,
for God is with the generation of the righteous.
6You would shame the plans of the poor,
but the LORD is his refuge.

7Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

The verses from Psalm 14 are contributed to Robert's new Psalms Challenge meme at Daily Athens. To read more psalms click on Robert