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.

Smeerling #2

Another view, now showing the side of restaurant 'Gasterij Natuurlijk Smeerling'. They serve local and organic food during day hours. An example is 'poffert', about which I posted back in 2015 (click HERE if you'd like to read more)

Smeerling #1

Restaurant 'Gasterij Natuurlijk Smeerling' is located in a former -and completely renovated- farm house and barn, in the heart of the Westerwolde region. The entrance is around the corner here.

A closer look at the weathered roof tiles.

I'm linking to Tom's Barn Collective.

Watching

A photo from one of our walks this Summer in the Westerwolde region. The group carefully watched us passing by. I'm sure they were happy to be in the shade that day!

I'm linking to Saturday's Critters.

A Smeerling barn

A barn at the back of a farmhouse in the tiny village of Smeerling. This one also has a lot of flowering rhodondendrons..

..and cow parsley next to the bycicle/hiking path along the side.

I am linking to Tom's Barn Collective.

Birdhouse Lane

In a tree near a farm in Westerwolde.

I'm linking to All Seasons.

A Smeerling farmhouse

A farmhouse and -barn in the rural village of Smeerling, seen on our hike today. This is the back, with lovely flowering Rhodondendrons along the path..

..and here seen from the frontside.

I'm linking to Tom's Barn Collective.

In the country

Ter Borg is a hamlet in the Westerwolde region with mainly farmhouses and barns like this one.

I'm linking to Tom's Barn Collective.

Once..

.. the beautifully weathered roof tiles of this barn must have been the same colour of the ones on the farm.

I'm linking to Tom's Barn Collective.

Dutch Landrace goat

Our hiking route passed these Dutch Landrace goats (Nederlandse Landgeit). It's an original breed found in the Netherlands. They have long hair that can come in a few different shades of brown.

They seemed rather interested in us when we passed them, though stayed very friendly even when they realised we didn't bring anything to eat for them.

I'm linking to Saturday's Critters.

Country road

This country road in the Westerwolde region was part of our hike.

Westerwolde

A short drive from our home brings us in the wonderful countryside of Westerwolde, perfect for hiking! This photo is from last Sunday.

I am linking to All Seasons.

Sun and shadow

I'm not sure if this piece of land in the Westerwolde region is overflowed or if there is (some) water here all year. By the look of the vegetation it might be a wet spot. Anyway there was a thin layer of ice at the front that wasn't reached by the sun.

N976

This is road N976 leading away from Jipsinghuizen. Our hike followed the bicycle path for a while.

The Hell of Jipsinghuizen

Less than a century ago -in 1924- the province of Groningen started an unemployment relief programme to provide jobs for the many people who needed work in those days. It wasn't on a voluntary basis though; in and around a hamlet called Jipsinghuizen men were forced to dig the barren land, and for very little money. The conditions were so bad and dramatic that it became known as 'the hell of Jipsinghuizen'.

This sculpture, also called 'The Hell of Jipsinghuizen', stands across the former tram station where the workers arrived. It expresses the desperation of the past and the hope for a new tomorrow. It was made by Dutch sculptor Eddy Roos (1949).

Walk or swim?

Believe it or not but the water on the right was the path we were supposed to follow! Due to all the rain of the past weeks the stream on the left overflowed. This was just outside the village of Sellingen.

I'm linking to All Seasons.

Ruiten Aa

It seems a long time ago since we had a sunny day like today -never mind the cold eastern wind ;)
So, we put on our hiking boots and went for a hike in the rural Westerwolde region. The road we are on here is the Zevenmeersveenweg, and the stream we are crossing is called Ruiten Aa.

Zuidveld bridge

This is the Zuidveld draw bridge crossing the Ruiten-Aa canal in Zuidveld, a hamlet in the Westerwolde region. The word on the bridge 'Zuidveldsluis' refers to the nearby lock, outside the photo.

Sunday hike

After a few rainy days, today was sunny and nice. We made a 14 km walk in the rural Westerwolde region, which is nearby our home town. The path went partly along the German border, the corn fields and windmills across the water are in Germany.

And the road we were on here was called ´Groentje´, meaning ´freshman´ or ´rookie´. A funny name for a road :)

Flowers and a lane

Two more views taken during our hike yesterday near the village of Ter Apel, in Westerwolde. These lovely little flowers attract bees and can be found everywhere now, especially on roadsides. I think it's called knapweed, or 'knoopkruid' in Dutch.
Update: I was kindly informed by several of you that this is not knapweed but clover. Many thanks for correcting me! I appreciate that :))

I love the sight of these old and grand looking lanes. It´s the kind of lane that would lead to a castle, or a manor maybe, and you wouldn´t be surprised to see a horse and carriage appear. This photo was taken near the Ter Apel Monastery, and it must be one of the older access roads.

Linking today to All Seasons.