Tulips, a bunny and a view .

Real Dutch tulips in the spring, aren't they lovely ?





They are so cheap over here that I have several bouquets in the house, every time I buy some new. There are so many colors to choose from ! Yellow, red, orange, purple, pink and you also have the striped ones with the pointy petals. Do you see the one below, it has a double flower on the stem !




Spring has really returned over here, with temperatures way beyond averge in March. So everyone is enjoying the sun ! Look at this sleepy bunny with red ears from the heat. I tried to get a picture of her when she was fast asleep, baking in the sun, but she is so alert I alsmost never get one. When the nights are getting warmer I will put her in her own mansion outside, but that will have to wait for a while. I also enjoy her company very much and when she is outside I wont't get to spend that much time with her. Hmmm, that sounds a bit selfish..









This is the view from upstairs. Well nothing strange about that you might think, but this view really makes me sad !

Just 2 years ago my view was totally different than this one. There were green meadows with cows and horses grazing as far as I could see. Now the city of Rotterdam where we live close to has decided that they needed to build more house, and this is just what they have been doing for the last couple of years. This is what I will see in the future, nothing but houses ! There used to be a lot of birds of prey circling above the meadows and some owls too. They are gone..... With over 6000 houses that are going to be built over here there is nothing here for them anymore, so they moved to a better place I hope. There are still a couple of pheasants that live in the meadow next to my house, they often come on my terrace to eat from the food I put there for the birds. But also these birds might have to move, because we have to move too !

Our own village also wants to build new house where we are located! They plan to build 600 new houses over here as well.

I know there is a shortage of houses in our country, with over 16 million inhabitants in such a small country it is unavoidable. But why over here ? I really love my house, the greenhouse, my garden and the freedom we still have here. I know that compared to some of you there is not a lot of nature around my house left but to most of the people that live in the Netherlands this is something they can only dream of.. Especially in this part of the country where we are living: the western part. It is getting real crowded over here. Then why not move to a another place ? Well, it's not that simple, we can't take the greenhouse with us, and that is our living. Besides we can't sell unless it is to the village we live in. They have put a decree on it, so nobody can sell their properties. This is to make sure that nothing is sold to developers.

But it may take up to five years untill they start, so untill then we keep on going. And when the time comes to move, we will start somewhere else, where we have room for our ponies and dwarfgoats to graze. But it still makes me sad though.

On the knitting front, not much news, expect for the fact that I decided to frog the Scottisch Thistle shawl. I didn't like it enough to continue with it. The Japanese Feather Scarf is growing steadily.