walk your kid to school month

Who would've thought "Walk your kid to school month" would coincide with so many beautiful things in nature. It seems every day we make our 10-minute march to school we see something new, like ...


this amazing fungi, the name of which i yearn to know


this beautiful web near our house


this huge spider that Thijs adores


this weenie guy (or guys! I think there are 2!) hiding out under a castle of web

a roost in the attic

Awoke the other night to find a roost of Willises in our attic, all giggling and whooping and carrying on. I never knew IKEA fold-outs could sleep 5, but now I've got proof! Well, at least Dad appeared to get some sleep ... or was he was just pretending?

Kids loved having nana and grandaddy for a visit. We spent one afternoon touring the Afrika museum, where there was an exhibit on wood that included about 9 wooden elephants parading around the gardens. This big boy caught my eye (and yours?), so quickly used it as an excuse for a nice family foto. Glad my little boy didn't start playing with the "you know what", because with my luck he would've dismantled it, and then i'd have some BIG explaining to do with the museum folk!


Every night was card night. Kids really loved learning how to play poker and black jack, but we always ran out of play money for betting. By the time we'd get to Go Fish (favorite of Thijs), things would begin to deteriorate quickly as the girls would bore easily ... and before you knew it, cards would disappear under the table, or go flying over it ... and soon it'd be pure mayhem. Then you knew it was time for bed.

Made some nice walks in the woods ... and enjoyed having a moment with nana or grandaddy. At least Alex was taking advantage of the opportunity.

I think Mom and Dad timed their visit to coincide perfectly with the Halloween Wandeling (Belgian-style haunted walk in the woods) because they enjoyed it so much last year. Or was it the pumpkin jenever at the mid-point break? Well, this year we included a pumpkin carving party beforehand, which was enjoyed by all. Our group almost doubled with Alex's family joining. Her husband Mark is a decent man, even though he's pretending to butcher his daughter Caitlin. We managed to survive the evening with no casualtie. But I doubt Dad will want to repeat his pumpkin-head superman costume next year as he was getting alien stares from the Belgian kids. Don't they know a superhero when they see one?

agronomy 101

Fields of yellow dominate the landscape in Vlaanderen this time of year, and they're quite breathtaking, especially if you're lucky enough to catch a glimpse of one during a 30 second spot of sunshine. Still meaning to ask a farmer, or a friend, what the plant is. But HEY, maybe you know!

Is it mustard (first guess)? Or rapeseed, which i've seen in Canada many years ago.

bird or blob?

October 6-7 was international migratory bird count weekend - at least in Europe, that is! Lots of bird movement around this time, so you never know what you're going to find. During a morning outing, I came across this thing in a field near Leefdaal.

Were the farmers playing tricks on me? or do you think it flew (or ran) away as i approached?

what a bird!

what a face ...

what a color...

what is it!

(photos courtesy Alexis Dall'Asta)

two little bugs, sitting in the street ...

Hopefully this will pose more of a challenge ...

Who knows WHAT type of insects these are, and WHAT they were doing, or trying to do, before they got squished on the road?

Believe it or not, despite their name (hint hint!), they're supposedly one of the most delectable of insects! They go well in sauces, pates and even as a topping for pizza! But be forewarned, before you go throwing a dozen in the pot, most insects need to be cleaned and prepped. For recipes, just drop me an email.

guess where on Earth this came from II

... okay, here's a confidence booster. Any ideas?

so happy i could cry

We could have HOUSE MARTINS (huiszwaluwen in Dutch) nesting on our house next spring!

A biologist from Leuven came to visit this week, and said he'd have 4 artificial nest houses mounted on our house in November (like above, which is on a neighbor's house nearby). Two nests will be placed near our bedroom window, and two will be near the kid's window. Wonder who will get more sleep!

The martins return from Africa next spring, and we'll be luring them to our house with flags, whistles, whatever it takes. The webcam will be ready!

Dudley's A-okay

Been over a month since Dudley came into our lives, and he's still as active as ever. From the beginning, I had him all wrong.

Maybe it's from watching documentaries, where you see dung beetles rolling perfectly round balls of dung, but I figured they crafted those round balls so they'd be easier to roll.

But Dudley set me straight. He showed me that he can take almost anything and get it where he wants it to go. If I could just train him to get my kids to school in the morning, that would be something, wouldn't it?

The other thing is that even though he's got nowhere to go, he still keeps rolling along.

Little things are very grand friends. A.A. Milne

A new winter coat: get it before you need it!

... was the subject of an advertisement email I received from Land's End today.

For a mere $99.95, you could have the latest spiffy white coat! And one that you DON'T even NEED! Now that makes about zero sense ... but how many people succumbed?

Does this make you feel just a little bit uneasy? That our obsession to "keep up with the Jones's" is turning us into irrational human beings, who want things even though we don't even need them. How much longer can Mother Earth tolerate our abusive behavior? It reminds me of a bunch of spoiled kids not showing respect for their parents.

I need a walk ... and time alone with the birds. If we could only molt our own coat each year like they do!

Kalmthout heide

Spent some time exploring a heathland in NE Belgium yesterday, known as Kalmthout, a place we'd been wanting to visit for over a year now. Fortunately, it was a beautiful, sunny day - a rare treat this far north - which also meant we weren't the ONLY ones hoping to steal away for a bit of peace and quiet. Seemed like most of southern Holland was there too! But no worries, with 1,000 hectares, there was lots of space to spread out and get "lost", so to speak.

The heather was in full bloom, and there was loads of it. Hence, the name heathland! Loved the way that cloud just hung in the sky.

Flocks of birds migrated in the distance, a sign that these nice, long days would soon come to an end ... and the whinchats, skylarks and tree pipits would be enjoying warmer climes if they had the good fortune to make it that far. No, there isn't a bird in this photo - in case you were wondering - i just liked the soft focus feel of it.

Kids were entertained by these big black grazers that were put there to maintain the heide, but they weren't so thrilled by the mosquitoes that were also attracted to these big, burly beests (omg, my spelling is really going downhill, isn't it?!). I mean beasts!

Fast forward 10 years, or less, and this will be Phoebes and a friend out for a little ride ...