The Old Alley

A rainy day today so I chose 2 photos with blue skies taken recently: this former sheep shed in the village of Gees is named after the alley it is located at: "De Oude Steeg" ("The Old Alley"). Inside antiques/vintage items are sold, or "brocante" as we call it.

The barn seen from the other side.

Reed plaiting

This traditional barn in the country village of Gees has a thatched roof combined with reed plaiting. Though it has mainly a decorative function now, it was once done to save money; wood was very expensive and this way less wood was needed. The use of straw, plaited and put just underneath the roof where rain water didn't do much damage, seemed a good solution. And it didn't just look nice, it also ventilated the barn.
Nowadays reed is used, which is much stronger.

I'm linking to Tom's Barn Collective.

Gees village

Gees is a small and idyllic country village in the province of Drenthe, and it is where we began our hike yesterday. Along the quiet roads are many farm houses with thatched roofs, like the one on the photo. Because part of Gees is a protection area, new buildings are scarce and so the village managed to maintain its original character...

...where apparently time stood still. Look at this rusty bicycle! Even though the tires and basket seem in rather good shape, I wonder if it is still in use..

Dandelion field

Photo taken recently on a sunny Sunday hike when we passed this huge field near the village of Gees.

I´m linking to Seasons on St Germain´s blog.

New life

It´s clear we´re in the middle of Spring!

Start of a pacifier tree?

Seeing 3 baby pacifiers hanging on a tree close to the village of Gees last Sunday really made me wonder. But okay, this was near a parking place; somebody found them and hung them there?
I googled and found out that apparently in Denmark and Sweden it's a tradition to hang baby pacifiers on a tree when toddlers turn 3 years old.
And in the Danish amusement park Legoland there is a tree which branches are filled with baby pacifiers that were found. I also read about a similar tree in a German zoo.

Peekaboo!

 I can't see you I can't see you I can't see you...

..Oh there you are!  :)

Two more photos from last Sunday where we passed a nature area near Gees; the path went through a field and forest where a large group of these Scottish cattle was walking. This young (?) one was on its own on this particular spot.

With a litte imagination..

.. these 4 trees could be the feet and toes of dinosaurs, or the arms and fingers of giants... I photographed them yesterday in the small village of Gees, in Drenthe.
What can you make of them?

Wet

This may look like a large pond, or a shallow lake, but unfortunately it is a farmer´s field. The area, as we saw it during our hike this afternoon near the village of Gees, suffered from torrential rains in the past week.

wet

Een prachtige plek om even te rusten tijdens een wandeling in de bossen van Gees, maar je moet er wel wat moeite voor doen om je voeten droog te houden.. 

 

A beautiful spot to have a rest here in the forest of Gees, though you have to put in some effort to keep your feet dry..