A Sheep Milking Operation...

After spotting this milking equipment, we found out that the farm intends to make sheep-based cheese and ice cream.

Eventually we saw for ourselves that it was there to milk 14 sheep at a time. Here you can see the sheep eagerly lined up to get some relief...

…and here they are being manually connected to the milking equipment.

It was funny to see an occasional head pop up...

…including this one with a long tongue.

Once done, the gates open...

…and the sheep leap down the ramp.
 

Our Wooly Neighbors...

In mid-May, we visited the new farm buildings at the Van der Valk Hotel and came across these lambs...

…who apparently had been weaned and were fed by that blue bucket with nipples. 

Here are those babies two weeks later...

…and another four weeks later in late June. 

At the same time, their mamas hung out in a different paddock and then went into the main building for snacks...

…to scratch their backs. 

…and munch on some kind of special supplements. 

Not sure what was in that supplement, but it had that sheep on the right jumping for joy. 

In October, when we went to buy eggs, I wore my Herdy mask and Jimmy suggested I keep it on for some photos with these non-Herdy sheep. 

 

Free-Range Local Eggs...

It was exciting to realize that there were two places in our village where we can find truly local eggs. While not exactly around the corner, this small farm near Vlietland has an honor system for buying eggs. Oddly enough, now that we hardly ever use cash, it’s not as easy to find the exact change needed to buy eggs. 

The chickens were quite excited to see us, but likely disappointed when we didn’t feed them. 

Closer to home, the Van der Valk Hotel, just a few blocks down the street, expanded their farm. In May, they started selling eggs from their chickens that occupied an empty back lot of their property. 

They were also excited to see me and likely disappointed that I merely was there to pose with some of their eggs.

Over the summer, their coop was moved to a grassy field near the new pancake restaurant and ice cream shop that sold their eggs.

 By September, they shared their paddock with some sheep. 

It was so nice to see sheep and chickens living together peacefully. 

Kati didn’t know quite what to make of it all. 

In October, Jimmy was very excited to spot a few eggs laid in a hole...

…just hidden enough to be safe from being crushed by the sheep. Sadly, in December, after seeing no chickens in the field, we learned that they had finished their useful years of egg laying and had been made into chicken soup—a harsh reminder of the reality of farm life. 
 

More Amersfoort...

It was pouring when I left the museum, so I popped into the building next door. It was nice of Mother Nature to give me a good excuse to check out this incredible library: De Bibliotheek Eemland.

My next stop in order to avoid some more rain was at the end of this canal...

...Museum Flehite, an art museum housed in three buildings from the 16th century. 

The most interesting artwork was this model bringing 17th century Amersfoort to life, based on a large cityscape from 1671.
 

This is America...

The special exhibit that I was there to see was: This is America | Art USA Today, featuring 40 American artists addressing current issues like identity, city culture, climate change and Trump. The large centerpiece was a crashed version of the General Lee, the orange Dodge Charger from the 70s TV series Dukes of Hazard with a Confederate flag painted prominently on its roof.

On the right was a collection of posters put together by Amplifier, a nonprofit design lab that builds art to amplify the most important movements of our time. 

On the left was a wall with billboards from around the US. This one really struck home with me as one of my biggest concerns about moving back to the US is the high cost of health insurance and medical care. I am incredibly impressed with the system in the Netherlands where having private insurance is mandated, but the government sets the fees charged. Thus my monthly health insurance is €133 (~ $160) and my annual deductible is €389 (~ $475) for full coverage except dental. 

This was thought provoking. I wonder if the artist knew that the Pilgrims lived in Leiden before boarding the Mayflower for the New World. 

This painting seemed especially accurate in its depiction of the media circus that revolved around the 45th President.

There was an entire section called: All Things Trump. Incredibly, Andres Serrano, a New York artist, spent roughly $200,000 on eBay in 2019 to build up a collection of approximately 1,000 Trump-branded items, a small portion of which were on display here. He had taken the large photo of Trump at Trump Tower in 2004, the same year that The Apprentice started. Fifteen years later, he paid $7,000 for the 10-foot tall rotating sculpture that once graced the Trump Taj Mahal Ego Lounge in Atlantic City (the casino closed in 2016).
 

Exploring Amersfoort...

The following Saturday, Jimmy had to work again, so I went on my own to Amersfoort to see an exhibit at an art museum. The skies were bright blue, so I took a scenic route past the Onze Lieve Vrouwetoren (The Tower of Our Lady), built in 1470. Although the spire has burnt down several times, it long outlasted the original church, which was destroyed by a gunpowder explosion in 1787.

Rather than walk through the shopping district, I stuck to a lovely outer canal. 

The Koppelpoort is a medieval gate from 1425, built as part of the second city wall.

The view of the front of the Koppelpoort was definitely more dramatic.  

Just outside of the gate was my destination: Kunsthal KAde, a contemporary art museum without any permanent collection which opened in this funky location in 2014.