Sunday hike

Two photos from earlier today, and what a glorious day we had. A bit of a cold start with 0°C (32°F) though the bright sun made it a very pleasant hike.

Trees are rapidly losing their leaves now, like the beeches here on the left.

Westerwolde in Autumn

Both photos are from our hike last Sunday in the Westerwolde region. Here we are following a path along the Ruiten Aa Canal..

..and we were enjoying Autumn colours all the way :)   I'm linking to All Seasons.

Aster

This type of Aster blooms in September/October and is called 'herfstaster' in Dutch. (lit: Autumn Aster). I took this photo about 2 weeks ago in our garden. Did you know that the name Aster comes from an ancient Greek word meaning "star"? (from Wikipedia)

I'm linking to Floral Friday Fotos.

Autumn chores

The public works-department came by yesterday to clean the (dry) ditch across the street.

Sunday hike

 Enjoying a walk in the Molenveld nature area earlier today.

Don´t you love the sound of rustling leaves when you walk on a path like this?

Gloomy day

Happy to see the sun today after a few gloomy days with drizzling rain every now and then. I went for a walk yesterday and took this photo, with a houseboat on the left and a drawbridge just behind it.

Autumn red

A beautiful tree in Emmen. I'm linking to All Seasons.

Autumn streetview

Another Deventer streetview. Even though trees are colouring nicely, red flowers on the sidewalk also still catch the eye.

I'm linking to All Seasons.

Mushrooms

More signs of Autumn.

Both photos were taken in the Loenermark nature area, near Apeldoorn.

For those who celebrate Halloween: enjoy! I'm linking to All Seasons.

Palace park

 The palace park is part of Het Loo Royal Estate and lies adjacent to Het Loo Palace. It is open all year and with 650 hectare it is ideal for strolling and walking. Traditionally this park was for the relaxation of the royal residents of Het Loo and their guests. The origins of the palace park can be traced back to stadtholder Willem II, who purchased hunting lodge Het Loo in 1684 together with 200 hectare land. (more info from the palace's website HERE)

We followed the orange trail, which is one of eight walking trails in the park.

I´m linking to Weekend Reflections.

More mushrooms

We found -and photographed- so many mushrooms the past week! They came in all kinds of shapes, sizes, colours; alone or grouped together. Apparently the conditions for them this Autumn are good. So, more to follow!

Morning sun

We came back this afternoon from a wonderful short holiday in the Veluwe, a large forest-rich area in the Dutch province of Gelderland. We enjoyed summer-like temperatures, unusual for this time of year and it felt like a real treat! This photo shows the golden glow of an early morning sun, near Loenen.

Garden mushrooms

Aren´t they sweet!? They reappear in the back of our our garden each Autumn and grow on wood chips..

No sight of little elfs dancing around though... I guess they were camera shy ;)

A rainy afternoon..

..but I love how the Autumn colours are starting to show! Photo taken earlier today in Sneek.

Bruges mills

 On the remains of the old city fortifications of Bruges, that date from 1297, 4 wooden mills can be found at a section called 'Kruisvest'. It's part of a lovely walking route of about 9 km at which you also pass the old city gates. (more about those later). I loved this Autumn view with the sunlight on the leaves.

Watching from one mill to the next with the sun on our backs.

To see a full view of the St Janshuis Mill from a previous stay in Bruges click HERE.

I'm linking to Shadow Shot Sunday 2.

On a break

I am going to take a short blogging-break. Take care and see you soon.

Drentsche Aa river

Here we are standing (well, last Sunday we were..) on a wooden bridge near Haren crossing the 'Drentsche Aa', The river rises in the province of Drenthe, flows through the north east of our country, and eventually ends into the Noord-Willems canal not far from this bridge.

I'm linking to Weekend Reflections.

Roots

One of the many giant trees on the Glimmen Home estate, near Haren. Do you ever wonder how far and how wide roots go underground? I do!

I´m linking to All Seasons.

The Glimmen Home driveway

Did you ever dream of a 700 metres long driveway with oak trees on both sides? Have a look at this one! It belongs to the 'Huis te Glimmen' or the 'Glimmen Home', a monumental country house near the village of Haren. Parts of the house date from the 16th century, and though the house itself is private property, the estate is open to the public.

Taken from the same point as the photo above, but looking backwards.

Hiking in Westerwolde

A photo from last Sunday, in the region of Westerwolde near the village of Sellingen. A mountain bike is coming towards us; though it's a popular area for mountain biking we only saw a few.