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Showing posts with label snow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label snow. Show all posts

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Sunday Selections #58: The lousy shots of birds edition

I’ve been trying to shoot birds lately. With my camera mind you, not with a shotgun. Anyway, difficult thing to do. I often hear them, but don’t see them. And just before I do see them, they see me and fly off. Occasionally I manage to get a decent photo and sometimes I post them in my ‘normal’ posts, but more often I get lousy shots that I find difficult to delete, because they are the only shots of that particular bird I have. Apart from the robin. I have loads of robin-photos. He follows me around the garden, trying to get into the picture.

The not so good shots are therefore pointlessly hanging around in my computer, until it’s Sunday. Yay! Sunday Selections time. Hosted by the lovely Kim from Frogpondsrock. If you, like I, have folders full of photos waiting to be seen, hop over to the rocking frog ponds, follow the almost non-existent rules and join in.

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I can see two birds in this shot. A male ‘merel’ (in Dutch) or blackbird and a ‘koperwiek’ or redwing.

 

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A ‘koolmees’ or great tit. Strange name.

 

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The robin managed to get his photo taken. Again.

 

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This is a ‘winterkoninkje’ or wren (I think. I’m sure it’s a winterkoninkje, but not sure of its English name). It is one of the smallest birds in Europe, about 10 centimetres long. His tail always points upwards. It’s a quick mover and builds its nests near the ground in hedges or shrubs. Somewhere dense enough to get some shelter and feel safe.

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This is more of a close up, but he just wouldn’t sit still *sigh*. Still, I’m very happy that I did get a shot of him/her. I will persist and do my best to get a terrific photo of a ‘winterkoninkje’ one day. We’ll have cake that day.

Oh, and look who I’ve spotted in the garden, checking out trees to build a home in perhaps? Or more likely, looking for food. I suspect he’ll rather have a dead birch, there are plenty of them around, to make his nest in.

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Yep, it is a ‘grote bonte specht’ or woodpecker. Perhaps it is the same one I photographed with his family last year? Who knows.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Girl on bicycle

Sorry, my mistake. Meant to publish a photo post on my photoblog and accidentally put it here. If you want to see it, you’ll have to go over to my photoblog (look at earlier posts if you’re there. There are some lovely photos, even if I say so myself).

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Sunday Selections #57: The random selection

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Selections is hosted by Kim from Frogpondsrock and is the place to post those photos that have been hanging around for far too long in folders on your computer. If you have poor, unseen photos lurking somewhere in the depths of your computer, join in and hop over to the rocking frog ponds to follow the almost non-existent rules.

This week I thought I’d give you an impression of last week’s weather. Blue skies, sun, snow and freezing. Quite nice actually.
Yesterday I went shopping with a friend in Groningen and people were ice skating on the canals. It looked so picturesque. But of course I didn’t have a camera with me. Perhaps I’ll go back to Groningen today to take some photos. Apparently today is the last day people can skate, because thaw will set in later this afternoon. We’ll see what the day will bring.

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Saturday, February 04, 2012

Emigration plans

This past night it was –18 Celsius here. MINUS EIGHTEEN! Which is –0.4 Fahrenheit. In Fahrenheit it is much warmer. I’m going to buy a bikini and emigrate to a Fahrenheit-country.

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Friday, February 03, 2012

What the…?

See the header photo? I took that last Monday. It’s Friday now. And look what we woke up to this morning…

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And it is still snowing.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

HO HO HO

 

ho ho ly shit, is it that time of the year already?

kerstkaart 2011 blog

Monday, January 25, 2010

But where's Captain Jack Sparrow?

This shabby looking sailing boat appeared from the mist when we were on our sort of photohunt around the shores of the Hoornse Plas in Groningen. The thick mist and the fresh snow that covered land and ice made it difficult to see where the land stopped and the lake began. A matter of keeping our fingers crossed and treading carefully.

On closer inspection it turned out to be a work of art. With metal sails. I'm guessing it lies on the sandy beach that is created on this side of the lake. It could also be in the water. I didn't have the heart to examine that any further. It's just big enough to seat two persons. Me and Johnny Depp? But where is Captain Jack Sparrow when you need him?

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(I have it on good authority he's alive and in France. Perhaps I'll try again this summer ;-))

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Monday, January 18, 2010

Monday, December 21, 2009

Luctor et emergo

Not that I've been 'luctoring' too much, but I feel like I'm emerging from non-blogworld into blogworld yet again.
Update on the Lyme situation: there is no Lyme situation anymore. Hip hip...
Update on Willem's braces-situation: he is now bracesless, hehe. Again a hip hip hurray (hooray?) feels appropriate. His jaw has healed pretty good. The two teeth are sticking out just a tiny little bit, but as the vet said: "he doesn't have to win the Miss World competition". True! Not even the Mister World, which would be anatomically more correct, although he misses some vital parts for true Misterhood.
Sorry that I've been away for a couple of weeks again, but it is a serious case of time flying. Don't you feel that the days go by far too fast? I do. There are not enough hours in a day, not enough days in a week, etc. So blogging hasn't been at the top of my to-do list.
The photography course has finished. Due to the Lyme I've missed lots of lessons, but I do feel that I almost understand how my camera works now. Have to practice a lot to fully get to grips with all possible settings. So...this afternoon there were speed skating competitions, a marathon for women and one for men, in a neighbouring village and I took my camera.
As you can see, the Netherlands are covered in snow. We haven't had this much snow since 1979 I believe. We feel that we are living IN a Christmas card. I'll be posting some more photos some day soon.
The dogs and even the horses enjoy playing in the snow. Not so sure about the cats, but even they go outside a lot so they probably like it too. As do we.
In case I don't have time to post again this week:
wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a truly wonderful and happy New Year!
Be good!