Winter Wonderland

Although the Netherlands is along the same lines of latitude as Siberia, snow only occasionally blankets the landscape. The North Sea warms the air, keeping the temperature relatively stable and mild year-round. As such, the snow on Monday was an unexpected treat, and it merited a grand winter adventure. Mijn moeder (my mom) and I went for a long walk just down the lane from our house, meandering through the woods and playing in the white dreamland. Hopefully these pictures give a good sense of the scenery; it was difficult to narrow down (from 181!). Gelukkig besneeuwde dag!

From my bedroom window

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

The trees are God's great alphabet:
With them He writes in shining green
Across the world His thoughts serene.
~Leonora Speyer

By the lake

"Fietspad" means "bike path." Zo nederlands, echt?

"The poetry of the earth is never dead." ~John Keats

Failed attempts to get a jumping picture. This would be the landing "did you get it?" face.

 My lovely snow beard. Watch out Sinterklaas, I'm already working on the whiskers for next year.

Oh hi!

Stilte

A hunting house in the middle of the woods

Moeder an dochter

If you look closely, you can see the green algae frozen in the ice on the canal

"And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything." ~William Shakespeare

Another canal and bridge? Well, it is the Netherlands

"I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes." ~e.e. cummings

Come rain, wind, snow, or ice
Nothing keeps the Dutch from their bikes

More typical Dutch: bike path (red part) and canal

Heel mooi! (Very beautiful)

The farm house down the street. In the spring, you can see the baby lambs in this field.

Swan Canal...not quite the same ring as "Swan Lake"

If it gets cold enough, everyone comes out to walk and skate on this lake. It's only been frozen twice in the last five years, though.

Dutch flag in the Dutch wind (which always seems to be against your face while biking)

A typical Dutch rowhouse, which happens to be ours. We're in the far right third.

So much pride, even the Dutch sky is "oranje" (orange). It looks a bit pink in this, but it was very orange in real life.

"Alone with myself,
The trees bend to caress me
The shade hugs my heart."
~Candy Polgar