Images of Denmark

Spill the coffee

No it is certainly not a matter of "spill the beans" but the coffee.

It happened twice in 4 hours.

First my husband overthrew the coffee regime on our bed and then

I did it while reading a magazine at the table. So what does this tell me?

To be very careful around the coffee today!

I'll share some pics of a dog who spilled coffee on its coat:

It is the beautiful African Wild Dog. Not very known outside of Africa.

The most successful of African predators but also endangered as they need a large territory.

They are often (I don't know how lol) confused with hyena's if you haven't heard of/seen them before.It is also know as: the Cape hunting dog and the painted wolf (I love this one!)

Every individual has its own unique spots.

Do yourself a favor and read more about them: here!

We've visited a wild animal rehab centre called Moholoholo when we were in South Africa.

Moholoholo ("The Very Great One")

This is where I took the photo's. In the past we have been fortunate enough to see them in the Kruger Park as well. Any questions?

I'll make myself a cup of coffee while you're reading all about these dogs lol!

a is for animal

Here are some photo's taken by us on holiday:
this fellow below is a warthog (Vlakvark in Afrikaans because it is a pig -vark- found on the savanna - vlakte), very funny animals. They have manes and legs like deer and when they run their tails are like aerials. Oh and they have a face that only a mother can love.

We've rented a house in a reserve where the animals can come on your doorstep, and it is not advised to take a walk ;-)

This here is a kudu (Koedoe in Afrikaans), very shy and impressive animal. The females don't have horns. They're found in areas with shrubs and when the males flee they put their heads up so their horns lay on their backs and don't get tangled in the branches.

Isn't this cute: Hippo family basking in the sun. Hippo's are called seekoeie in Afrikaans (seacow), I think it has something to do with the Nile river looking like the sea and them looking like big cows. Maybe it is from "look! I see a cow in the water?" Though "hippo" is the stem word for the Greek word for horse..... so a river horse would have been a better word though of course then we get totally confused! lol

I've been busy the whole day painting linnen bags, 3 of them, and one tablecloth. Now I have to go and finish another tablecloth....

No ugly ducklings only beautiful swans

This morning I drove the scenic route to a friend. I saw the storks have arrived and are busy Spring cleaning their nest. Then I passed the beautiful green grass that I, as a South African, appreciate so much. It looked delicious and the swans down the road thought so too. I love seeing them as in South Africa it is a bird I associate with Europe and fairy tales.

The swans near the road didn't appreciate me taking photos of them so gathered their skirts and turned their backs on me.

What a pity, as they were really close to the road but behind a wired fence so I wasn't able to get closer for a better picture.

The sky has turned grey again as I'm typing this I'm relieved I have evidence that the sun did shine this morning!

Fjords and Friesians

The name of the blog suggests a Monday in a cold Scandinavian country. Everything but true!

Yesss! I've really enjoyed my Monday;
The sun was shining the WHOLE day

I was asked on Sunday if I'd like to come back on Monday to the school with the Safari theme. Of course I'd like to come back and speak about Africa! So on Monday morning I drove to Bennekom(15kms from here) to tell about life in Africa (for 45min). It is so easy to talk about something you love.

Then I took the scenic route and took pictures of the Fjords. One was very shy and walked away when he saw my camera and returned to his spot when I walked back to the car. Luckily for me the other horse ignored me flat. Here is a photo to show your their beautiful markings:

Golden delicious ;-)

Ok then I got into my car and drove to the next pair of horses I wanted to capture for eternity. The beautiful Friesian horses. Compared to the Fjords they're swans. Huge, very elegant and proud.

I had to step on it to get in time to the school to have some lunch with the girls. After walking with them back to school I went to buy some groceries. On my return I passed a nature reserve and as I had 30minutes to spare I just couldn't drove past. So I took my camera and went in search of the Galloways, deer and the Konik horses for a nice sunny picture. The horses and the deer were in a rest area where people aren't allowed. I stuck to the trail but could see them enjoying the sun. I did have some luck, a couple of Galloways were resting in the shade near me and then I saw it! Calves! A baby near me, almost didn't see it because it was resting against its mom and they're all black and hairy so it looked like one animal. And then on the grassy plain I saw 3 more with their moms. What a nice surprise:The front one is a bull, you can see that by the shape of his head. When he stood up it was confirmed ;-)

May day ended with spending some time with the girls in the back yard. Cleaning up the traces of winter. Ok Chanah and I did the cleaning and Danae sat on a chair making comments...

Horses and high water

Yesterday was a grrreat day as....the sun was shining.

Today is back to the usual grey sweater weather. We've had a lot of rain and the Blauwe Kamer nature reserve is flooded as well.

In the reserve there are Galloways and Koniks to keep the grass short so that the indigenous plants may prosper. With all this water they had to walk through the water to higher grounds.

The Blauwe Kamer is tucked in neatly between the Rhine river and Utrecht's mountain ridge (hihih).

I took some photo's of the konik horses, which I have been wanting to do for a looong time now.

They are a primitive ponies who can fend for themselves in the European climate. Originally they're from Poland. They are beautiful with their golden coats. I was really lucky to catch the sun on them.

The girls were running after a blue balloon that ended up in the reserve. It had cards attached to it saying it was a balloon contest from a school in The Hague to see who's balloon will end up furthest away. Well it was verrry funny to see the balloon coming our way and then end up 3 meters away from us. The ponies were all forgotten by the girls ;-)

As I've painted a Highlander I would also like to paint a koniks and a Galloway as they are all a familiar sight in the nature reserves in The Netherlands.

It was Wilfred's birthday and we did something very Dutch:

ate pancakes in a windmill: