A Cosmic April Fool’s Joke...

After a very mild winter, Mother Nature must have decided to play a prank on us as we woke up to snow on April 1st, the latest it’s ever snowed since we moved to Holland. 

It didn’t stick around for long, but made for a pretty walk around town. 

Veronica couldn’t resist taking some self-portraits

 

Miscellaneous March...

An early March reflection...

…a reflection in the foyer of a theater...

…and a heron in motion.

Veronica was excited to convert her room into an office after she converted her search year visa into a Dutch American Friendship Treaty visa. So it was time to part with her loft bed that she actually hadn’t slept in about five years. When she found out that the buyer was a Ukrainian that needed it for her family that was fleeing from the war in Ukraine, she offered it for free, but the buyer refused. They settled on a 50% discount.

In March, Ashlynn was busy helping at a bake sale to raise money for a trip to Thailand...

…and at Subcity Community Radio. 

Signs of spring later in the month included Egyptian goslings...

…daffodils...

…and cherry blossoms.

 

Calves or Lambs?

Is it only me, or does that little black and white animal look more like a calf than a lamb? 

This was the first time there was a black stud at this farm and he clearly was a busy boy. 

Despite their wobbly legs, these little babies were very brave to climb up on the nearest sheep, who might or might not be their own moms. 

Instead of the usual sweet faces, the one in the back was pretty scary.
 

Lamb Time Again...

In early March we were thrilled to see a truly newborn lamb at our nearby farm. 

We started visiting the farm again every few days to see the progress of the babies. This year there were lots of adorable black and spotted lambs.

The moms can be incredibly rough with those little babies...

…such as this mom who just barreled out of the chute squishing two little ones.

Some of those lambs were really little. 

Sorry, fresh out of jokes about black sheep.

 

Reflecting on Delft...

The walk back to Delft Centraal was gorgeous with the soft colors of dusk and zero wind resulting in amazing reflections.

Jimmy met me in the city center and we grabbed a chicken kebab.

 

Hashing in Inner Delft

Eventually the trail led us into the city center through Oostpoort (East Gate), Delft’s only remaining medieval gate, dating back to  approximately 1400. 

Came across a few reminders of Delft’s native son, Johannes Vermeer, who painted Girl with a Pearl Earring.

We ran right through the main square, past the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) with its tower built in 1872...

…the restaurants catering to tourists...

…and the city hall from 1618.

Eventually the runners met up with the walkers, who were already enjoying a beer at Bier Fabriek (Beer Factory). Afterwards we attempted one more stop, but it was too full so we carried on back to the start where we circled up outside with crappy beer before finally enjoying a good craft beer.