Spotting Birds in Voorschoten...

In addition to spotting foals near the field, we encountered pheasants for the first time in the field. It’s very difficult to see, but there’s actually some babies running (likely too young to fly) in front of the mama as the family scrambled to get out of Kati’s way. 

More often than not, I missed catching photos of the pheasants as they sought distance from Kati, but I managed to catch these few. 

A much more common bird in the field and beyond is the blue heron. 

I was quite excited to catch sight of four eggs in this floating nest of a couple of grebes (aquatic diving birds). 

It was cool to see them working on perfecting the nest...

…before settling down to the serious business of incubating the eggs. 

I started carrying my camera daily and taking detours to check on the progress. Sadly, one day they were just gone. No nest, no parents, no babies. A passerby said she thought that a passing boat might have destroyed the nest. 

The ducks next to the nest were of no help to explain what happened. 

This coot (water bird) couple clearly had better luck as they had two red-headed babies.  

So Happy to See Foals...

Our dog walks in the field took a major change in direction in the spring when Jimmy suggested we check out a side path. We were excited that it took us alongside a canal that ran on the far side of the field. I know this area used to be blocked by a barbwire fence because Kati ran under it once when she was little and Gillian crawled in after her. The fence was gone and we were thrilled to discover a very scenic path. We were even more thrilled in early May when we spotted a foal in the farm across the canal. 

On May 7, I finally met up with Carlin for the first time in nearly two months and took her to see the foal. 

By May 18, there were two foals...

…and by June 3, there were three. 

Seeing those beautiful horses brought me great joy, so I was quite sad when the path became too overgrown to access a few weeks later. 

So Happy to See Bees....

With so little good news circulating in 2020, I was especially thankful that I could get out into nature every day to help clear my head. I was also very relieved to see so many bees buzzing around. Clearly they also loved all the new flowers blooming in our neighborhood.

Perhaps they also liked the new bee hotel installed for their enjoyment. 

 

I failed to grab a photo of all the bees on the lavender plant outside our garage, but here were some hanging around the flowering bush alongside our fence. 

Spring Flowers...

After the hedge in our front yard was attacked by vicious caterpillars, the landlord hired a landscaper to put in a smaller hedge and a bunch of rhododendrons. The flowers popped up at different times, but there were a few days of overlap when there was a burst of color. 

The field where we walk Kati was also full of color this spring with orange poppies...

…red poppies...

…pink poppies...

…yellow irises...

…and white daisies. 

Unlike the field where all the flowers were truly wild, it was great to see that a large patch of grass between an apartment building and the Vliet had been planted with a huge variety of wildflowers. It was cool to see how the flowers changed with the passing weeks. This was taken on May 18...

…this was 10 days later on May 28...

 …this was one week later on June 5...

…and then nearly two weeks later on June 17. 

 

A Big Walk to Leiden...

On May 25, Veronica, Jimmy, Kati and I went on a long walk into Leiden, our biggest journey outside of our village since mid-March. Along the way we spotted this wayward cygnet...

…two black swans hanging out with two colorful cows...

…a quiet canal...

…closed canalside dining...

…tape on the ground to designate waiting spots to get into an ice cream parlor...

…folks eating ice cream in front of the ice cream parlor...

…and watching an artist painting from an empty barge...

…shoes hanging from wires across a side street...

…some guys working out outside since the gyms were closed...

…a lovely canal...

...a sign on the shopping street that says: Leiden has a warm heart for you...

…and some messages along a wall. 

As we got ready to use public transport for the first time in over two months, we proudly donned the masks that some of the ladies of the AWC made for us as members who can’t sew. In fact, not only did other members generously sew a mask for each of the six of us, but one of the ladies even dropped them off for us. 

Kati was nice and calm on the bus home.