Demoiselle

We've first seen this damselfly when we were at the Semois 10 years ago.

A couple of weeks ago I saw it in the city centre of Eindhoven.

And now, finally, in our own back garden :-)

Just watch this short video Damsels and Dragons from Bill Oddie goes wild.

DIY

I did some new upholstery on this footstool.

Years of wear and tear damaged the original fabric.

This footstool was in desperate need of some DIY.

I used the fabric of an old Dutch mail bag. 

On the second footstool work is still in progress.......

Donkeys

These donkeys are very curious and not shy at all :-)

All four of them in great shape and perfectly taken care of.

You can help the donkeys on Bonaire by signing the petition here (EN) and here (NL) .

If you would like some general information about donkeys you can find it here.

Briekantiek

Today we went to Briekantiek again.

Chickens wandering around......

This is the place where we found some beautiful artefacts before.

We both enjoy the search for nice objects.

Nest Boxes

These nest boxes were in our shed for 3 years!!!
It's a box for a Northern Wren (winterkoning) and a
nestbox for a Short-toed Treecreeper (boomkruiper).

At last we found a spot for them.

XXX Asteroides

This is one of my favourite plants but I forgot the exact name :-)

It was something like ...... astroides.

This year I took extra care of it.

A mulch of compost and extra water suply.

It didn't help much because this plant has only one flower this year.

I should make the most of it, therefore these pics ;-)

Silly or Smart

We were going to the beach today but because of the heat we changed our plans.

It was just too hot to sit in the car for at least 4 hours.
And as long as we are in the garden Sil can go into our garden.

Sil loves to sleep outside in a tent!

Since he was a kitten he has been enjoying white sheets tents.
Such a tent filters the sun and reduces the wind. 

So when we prepare our terrace for the day we need 3 chairs, 3 cushions and a big white sheet :-)

Papillon

Stork

Yesterday we went to the beach. We saw a lot of storks on the parking.

We had such a good time, we'll go back tomorrow :-)

Scent

We tried to get rid of these vigorous eryngiums in the garden but they keep coming back.

The flowers look really good so we took a bunch into the house.
 It wasn't a good idea because of the awful smell! So we put the vase outside :-)

Butterfly

Because of the rising temperature we saw a lot of butterflies today.
This is a Meadow brown (aka Maniola jurtina, Bruin Zandoogje).

Walk With Friends

Finally a moment of rest for Abrikozeke.

We went for a long walk with good friends today.
It's always good to see them again and enjoy their company.
Time flies when you're having a good time!

Forbidden Colours

Sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus Cupani)
It's not just the incredible colours of the flowers but you should be able to smell these!!!!

Almost 25 years ago my first love played a very old fashioned cassette tape and I fell in love with him and this song Forbidden Colours .
He and I said goodbye a couple of years later but my love for this song always remained :-)
You can listen to Forbidden Colours by David Sylvian here.

Sil

Cloud No. 9

Sometimes a beautiful cloud is all you need.

Three Amigos

You will probably remember I have a weak spot for donkeys.
Initially these beauties we very cautious  but they are starting to get used to us.
Lots of carrots, apples and pears seem to do the trick :-)

Robin

Finally we could get our hands on a white ragged Robin!

It's stunning. And because we're on damp soil.......

Hopefully it wil go completely bananas in self-seeding.

Treat

After a little bit of work in the garden we treated ourselves :-)

You might be curious to those leaves in the kenderman's beer...... it's Lemon Verbena.

One day the kenderman experimented with this herb, and now it's becoming a routine.

Antony

Last wednesday we went to the Jazz Festival in Gent.

At last we would see and hear Antony and the Johnsons and the Metropole Orchestra.

It was amazing although the sound wasn't so good because of the acoustics from the tent.

Antony was amazing!

You can listen to a song I recorded here.

Much better and closer live recordings here and here.
And the best (not live) recordings from tv here and here.

One of my favourite songs A Child of God. 

Tears or Raindrops

We had a lot of rain today.

The kenderman started his vacation and I still got one week to go.

I'm tired and I need some time off.

But I really shouldn't moan.....

One of our best friends' sister is very ill.

She's not going to recover.

Life can be so unfair to those who enjoy it. 

Our thoughts are with them.

Cross

Why are women always freezing cold?
I really need a blanket on the sofa. 

This Cross blanket is made of ecological cotton and is designed by Swedish designer Pia Wallen.

The Crux blanket was on my wishlist for years but it's way too expensive.

The pattern is bigger, it's made of ecological wool and costs over 700 euros.
Complete craziness!

Swift

great photo via iberianature

This is my favourite bird! 

Wednesday I mentioned the common swifts (Apus apus). 

In our previous neighbourhood lived a big colony of swifts.

We had 7 pairs coming back, to their nests on our house, to breed each year!

These birds arrive late april after a long journey from Africa and they leave early August.

Three times I helped an adult bird after they had fallen to the ground.

 I just carefully picked up the bird, feeling it's very sharp claws,
(after making sure the bird wasn't wounded) I walked
to a wide open space with maximum wind.
Then just holding my hand up high so the bird could use the wind to fly away.
It instantly took off :-)

It worked and it was a great feeling being able to help such an incredible bird.

Normally these birds never touch the ground.

Their claws are fit to hang on to a cliff or wall but it's a badly design to walk around.

Two times we found a youngster who had fallen out of the nest.

So we took them to the bird shelter. It's not a bird you can easily take care of.
They have a special diet and need to be kept warm.

I must warn you, these birds really changed my life.......

I often hear them on the background of a film and I recognise them
even when I'm walking in a very crowded shopping street.

The sounds they make, just lift my spirits!

In the village where we live now there is just a small group of swifts.

We have a special nestbox on our house and we're planning to make several extra nestboxes.

We use a soundbox to lure the passing swifts.

We have had some interest but no habitants yet :-(

You can find more information at wikipedia and BBC.

Video's here and here.

Sparrows

Father House Sparrow

Mother House Sparrow

These two parents are quite busy right now.

We can almost hear the little ones grow, just by the sounds they make underneath our roof  :-))
It's really cozy to have them under our roof. In our previous house we had lots of House Sparrows and Common Swifts living under our roof.

Pillow Talk

I bought this pillow a long time ago and I still love it!

It was made by Arounna Khounnoraj from Bookhou.

She has a nice blog and webshop.

The shop will be open again after 12th of july.

Really worth it to check it out!
You can see some nice photos of her work at skôn.

Green Dream

We saw this flower for the first time at the BBC Chelsea Flower show 2009.

We bought this plant a few months later.

It needed some time to establish but this year it's doing great.

Finish up

You must think we're only eating and drinking in the weekends :-)

But we have been gardening today!

In between the showers we managed to do some weeding. 

Garden

Borago officinalis alba

Agastache rugosa

Two of the plants in our front garden.
Both plants are loved by bees and other insects.

Done

After we had been working in the garden for a couple of hours, it was time to stop.

Time to eat and drink :-)

Easy

We had a change of plans.......
We're both knackered so we're going to do some therapeutic gardening,

I wish you all a nice and sunny weekend!