Finally….finally the sun came out; however, with pristine weather comes harsher coldness. We have had flooding here with freezing temps creeping down. Hard winds have been blowing the water landwards, raising the water levels here in the low-lands even more. The natural combination of freezing temps with large, windblown waves gives some remarkably artistic ice formations down by the Zuider Zee in the park. We thought we’d take a stroll: The individual grass blades near the water’s edge look amazing after being belted with fine water spray after fine water spray. All along the shore line there were little icy displays: At one place there is an old weeping willow tree. Take a look at this phenomenon. The branch ends were not near the waters’ surface but the force of the waves crashing onto the stony edge sent droplets high-up. The droplets froze quickly as the storm continued and the ice build-up weighing the branch tips downwards. Another area under that great tree: This view of the shoreline that we would walk along. There is a decent path most of the way. At the end of this promenade, with the harbour tower across from us we encountered this moist barricade: The paved path is; of course, underwater and the ducks and coots were given to showing off in a way that they normally could not. Along the way we saw a huge dead carp lying by the side of the path and an expired male lapwing. Circling back home we took one of the paths through the woods…the flooding had come into the woods and frozen. When we got back, we were best cold. We had come across a mate, so we three went home for hot chocolate and marshmallows. My Bride took most of the pics, but I cannot tell you which is which. She has a good eye for composition.
Wow, Sjoerd, looking at those photos give me the shivers! Nicely done by your bride. It will be interesting to see how your daffs survive this winter, after they have already started growing. Mine too. When I was in the Army, I spent a winter on Mt. Ararat in Turkey. It was so cold, frost grew into three dimensional "trees" on top of the snow. Your images brought that to mind.
Mt. Ararat, now there’s an interesting place. I did not know that there was a military base there. Whilst there, did you climb up to try and see the remains of te Ark? Perhaps you would not have been allowed. Anywy— an interesting place, historically. p.s. I am keeping an eye on the daffs. I think they will be alright.
It was the Cold War (speaking of cold). I was just a medic and was not allowed to know exactly what was going on there. It was close to what was then the USSR. There was a big earthquake at the time. Maybe the earth opened and swallowed the ark. During the summer, the villages in the area (Erzurum) made bricks from cow manure and dried them in the sun. Then they built various structures from the bricks. During the winter, those were burnt for fuel. The air was filled with an "interesting" smelling smoky smog during the winter. Turkey is mostly a milder climate, but the mountain was very cold during the winter. I don't know how much history is visible on Mt. Ararat. I did like Cappadocia in central Anatolia, and the Greek and Roman ruins in the Mediterranean areas as well as Ottoman sites.
Thanks so much, Cayu. I miss your avatar and I miss you. Great seeing you back. Daniel—At one point we decided to take a travel around the world. We used our own devices instead of a package tour. We began our trip in Turkey. And travelled from west to east using whatever types of transportation was available. It was challenging, but the experiences were …. Well, there are no terms to describe the value of that trip. I still have slides of that and other long trips we have taken. Talking to you about Turkey brings back an enormous cloud of nostalgia over me. We have also visited Cappadocia and the other ruins that you have mentioned. It was wonderful from a historical and architectural point of view. The even more important aspect was learning about the culture, annnnnd — The food! My Bride and I have even taken vacations to Istanbul only for the food. Every day different restaurants. I may have gained weight, but I am not sure because we walked kilometres during the daytime visiting all the historical places of interest. I had better stop the waffling now.
Thanks Pac. I will see what I can show this coming year. Through the years I have shown all sorts of country pictures. What kinds of things are interesting to you?
Any Architecture, landscapes, plants and whatever you find interesting… this above pic is from a visit to Hawaii…
My favorite back then was to take the ferry up the Bosphorus and stop at fishing villages for fish kebabs.
Speaking of ice, I stepped outside to see if it might be safe driving. Nope. Couldn't even walk out of the driveway. Slipping and sliding. Best not to risk a hip fracture. It's like wet soapy glass out there. Rufus could. He's more agile than this old man. Plus, his hips don't have as far to fall. Lilac
Daniel—I know what you mean about those eating places. When you were in Istanbul did you make it up the hill to Pierre Loti cafe? It is a winding path through an old graveyard. The view up there of the Haliç is a view nothing less than splendid. I hope that you got to see that.
