Schiermonnikoog sheep

A flock of black-headed sheep on top of a dike in Schiermonnikoog, at the Wadden Sea side of the island.

I´m linking to Saturday´s critters.

The red lighthouse

A green door in a 44 meter high red tower: this is the entrance of the Schiermonnikoog lighthouse. We have never had a peak inside though as the lighthouse is not open for visitors.

Schiermonnikoog village (2)

 Two more views from typical Dutch homes that you find in Schiermonnikoog village.

Schiermonnikoog village

The island of Schiermonnikoog has one village, also named Schiermonnikoog with just over 900 inhabitants. The oldest houses date from the early 18th century. Whenever we visit the island and the beach, we also enjoy wandering around the streets and footpaths. Even in the grey and gloomy weather that we had last Sunday! :)

More to follow tomorrow.

Sea fishing

During our walk on the beach of Schiermonnikoog we saw these two fishermen constantly busy replacing and preparing their fishing-rods..

..while they probably better should have moved their 2 chairs and parasol to dry sand..

St Egbert chapel

The Roman Catholic St Egbert chapel at the Badweg on the island of Schiermonnikoog was built in 1915 in a rationalism architectural style. It then belonged to a children´s colony home next to the chapel, also called St Egbert. Here so-called 'bleekneusjes' (lit.: 'whitenoses'), meaning children who were weakened by war, malnutrition, or medical reasons, could get stronger during a period of 6 weeks.

The chapel is in its original state and is still in use today. The building was declared a national monument.

Beacon Kobbeduinen

The Beacon Kobbeduinen on the Dutch island of Schiermonnikoog is a marker for ships that sail on the Wadden Sea. This is a picture from this morning; arriving on the island with the 9:30 ferry this was the first thing we headed for on our hike. As you can see, the sun was just coming through the clouds. I may have posted photos from the beacon before but it is really a nice spot.

The wooden beacon is located at the edge of the National Park Schiermonnikoog. The word Kobbe is related to Kove which means 'seagull', and the Dutch word duinen means 'dunes' in English.

Begging Burros

The burros in Custer State Park (South Dakota) are not native to this area in the Black Hills. The donkeys are descendants from the herd that once brought visitors to the top of Harney Peak, which is the highest natural point in the Black Hills. Years ago the rides were stopped, and the burros were released into the park where they have become a popular visitor attraction. They earned the reputation of begging burros as they are known for approaching passing cars and beg for food.
We saw a friendly group along the Wildlife Loop, one of the scenic routes in the park.

I'm linking to Camera Critters and Saturday's Critters.

Enjoy your weekend :)

Falling leaves

A hidden and quiet spot on the lands of garden nursery Tuingoed Foltz in Meeden. And yes, the leaves are falling and falling!

The house with the 99 windows

A photo taken in the city of Zwolle; this is the so-called Hopmanshuis, at the Rodetorenplein. Built in 1663 as a store house it was used as a transition point for goods headed for Amsterdam and Germany. In 1843 it got a new destination and became a guesthouse. A nice detail: because of the many windows the people from Zwolle call it 'The House with the 99 windows'!

Pharmacy sign

I found this 'gaper' above the door of hotel 'Logement De Gaaper', near the market square in Amersfoort. It's the oldest stone house in the city, and as the head above the entrance indicates it used to be a pharmacy in the second half of the 19th century. The open mouth did not mean the figure was yawning, but that he was ready to take medicine.

Linking to signs, signs,

Mushrooms!

If you look well you might spot some gnomes..   I did!  :)

Photo taken last Sunday in the back of our garden.

Singing Cowboy

A great example of street art is this mural at Wazee Street in Lower Downtown Denver (CO) by Willie Matthews, created in 1998.

If you would like to read more, I found a nice article about the artist and the mural HERE.

Linking to Monday Mural.

The inside..

..is maybe even more colourful than the outside! These pumpkins were on a table this morning at Tuingoed Foltz, a local garden nursery, in the village of Meeden. This weekend they celebrate their annual fruit-trees and pruning event, with pruning demonstrations, pumpkin displays, Autumn fruit recipes etc.

Weekend Reflections

Two more photos from our walk in the old city centre of Amersfoort, last Saturday. Never mind that it was grey and rainy outside, the views were still wonderful :)

Like Amersfoort, many Dutch cities were built around canals, or 'grachten' in Dutch. Grachten were the life-lines of a city, and they were used for many purposes: for transportation, for draining, as water supply and as sewers, all at the same time.

Have a great weekend!

I´m linking to Weekend Reflections.

Beehive State

 

The sculpture of a beehive in front of the State Capitol building in Salt Lake City, Utah.

"The beehive is considered to be synonymous with industry and perseverance, since bees are famously hard workers, toiling almost endlessly for the well being of the hive and the bees living within it.

Utah is referred to as the Beehive State. The early settlers in Utah, primarily members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church, saw the beehive as the perfect symbol to indicate their industriousness and hard work. That is why the state motto is 'Industry'"


Isn't it funny that once we knew this, we suddenly noticed images of beehives all the time. On road signs, for instance..

Oversize load

OK, so the tires are really big, but how HUGE would the vehicle be there are meant for?

SLOW

Different from the Netherlands where you will see a traffic light when one lane is closed due to roadwork, in the U.S. it is often a man or a woman holding a sign saying SLOW (or STOP on the other side). This can't be an easy job to stand there, and it's not without responsibility either. I hope they are paid well for what they do.
The photo was taken in Yellowstone National Park, last month.

Linking to signs, signs.