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 ...

Cornelia the Colorado potato beetle

This morning I showed our potato beetle to oma and opa ... the same one we found in Switzerland 45 days ago while on vacation! Stijn and I were hiking the Etzel Kulm when this beetle crossed our path. Of course I couldn't resist picking her up! She's been with us ever since. She survived vacationing in southern France (that was rough!) and now living in Belgium. Guess she likes the taste of the Belgische spuds.

Reason I started this post was I thought she'd passed away. When I got the cage to show oma and opa, she didn't move an inch. Not even after poking and prodding. I thought that was the end of that, but was kinda sad because she's really CUTE! Was thinking of pinning her for the collection. Boy am I glad I didn't! Can you imagine the horror on the kids faces as they opened the box to see her legs wiggling around while stuck on a pin?

Now I'm wondering HOW LONG this beetle's gonna live! Been thinking about adding some soil because apparently they overwinter as adults underground. It's worth a try, don't you think?

Juvies all around

... was taking a walk in the park today, when all of a sudden I heard a winterkoning, or Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) calling like a machine gun near the Vossemvijver. Decided I'd check this guy out, so I walked over to a thicket near the Spaanshuis, and squatted down to peer through the bushes. There in the middle perched a juvenile wren, at least that's what it looked like to me, calling its heart out. It just wouldn't quit. It kept calling and calling and calling, as if waiting for some parent to come along and do something, which probably meant feeding it.

At just about the same time, in the distance across the lake, came the crying wail of another juvenile, but this one wasn't a bird. It was a human infant. And it kept carrying on and on and on ... just like the wren chick ... they both wouldn't quit!

Both the wren and the baby ... needing, needing, needing ... when would they be satisfied?

It's not very different in these two different worlds, is it?

Then another cry, but this time by two Great Crested Grebe chicks. They wanted just one thing and they wouldn't stop crying til they got it ... FOOD!

Chicks crying all around ... nature's so full of life this time of year ... my ears are bursting!

guess where on Earth this came from!

making room for nature

Last Sunday I helped Mario, who works w the French Bird Commission (COWB), with a house martin project in Watermael Bosfoort, a commune on the SE side of Brussels. House martins are declining, so any project like this is worth the effort.

Over ten years ago, he put artificial nest houses on a French primary school nearby and he's been banding the birds that nested there ever since.

The banding data show that the house martins are steadily increasing in this area and that juveniles are now returning to breed. So these artificial nests can really make a difference!

All pumped up from that morning session, I left with BIG DREAMS! Like putting nest structures on my own kids' school (and neighboring schools!) ... building up more populations of house martins ... teaching kids about birds and conservation ... and about the importance of MAKING ROOM FOR NATURE. But as I knew and would soon rediscover, this wouldn't be as easy as it seemed.

Disappointment #1 - my kids school wasn't good for house martins. The current building has no overhang so the birds probably wouldn't find it suitable. BUT with plans to build a new school, there could still be hope ...

Hope #1 - discovering that the city of Tervuren is offering to put up artificial house martin nests, along with poop collection platforms underneath, which the city would clean every year! How simple could it get! I'd just have to find homeowners that would agree and have them sign on the x!

Hope #2 - within 2 blocks of our home I found 5 natural nests (though some were old or had fallen down) and 1 artificial nest! With house martins already nesting in the area, it could be possible to attract even more birds w the artificial nests and to build up the population.

Disappointment #2 - None of the neighbors with natural martin nests and "suitable" overhangs would have ANYTHING to do w helping house martins. Even though I pointed out the fact that the martins had previously built nests on their home, these people flatly said NO, even to the poop platform, which made no sense. If the martins nested there already, why not minimize the fouling by having a platform underneath? Unless they take matters into their own hands by knocking down the nests, which might explain why the homes with meticulous gardens only had remnants of nests still remaining. One thing's for sure, next year I'll be keeping a VERY close eye on the martins in our neighborhood and making sure there's no foul play.

LAST HOPE - Although our home isn't perfect, we're going to try putting up a false overhang, which involves attaching the nest structure to a piece of wood that hangs overhead. The kids would be so excited to have the birds nesting over their bedroom window. And at least we could set an example for the neighborhood by being good stewards for nature.

Sometimes you gotta start small ...

Dudley did it!

witness the breakthrough moment as Dudley rolls a ball of horse dung!

missing summer

watching sunsets
kids run free
drinking up the nature
takes me home

be an armchair activist today

www.rspb.org.uk/safeguardoursealife

If you have the time please do have a look at the link above and
think about supporting this RSPB campaign. Populations of seabirds are suffering, and we need to do what we can to reverse the trend, even if that means just sending an email! YOU can make a difference!

Little Grebe takes the plunge

Went to photograph a Little Grebe nest (Tachybaptus ruficollis, Dodaars in Dutch) this morning during a ringing session at COWB (Commission Ornithologique Watermael Bosvoorde), and got a pleasant surprise. One of the chicks had hatched and was still on the nest, but barely. Apparently it didn't like the looks of us and decided to scoot off the nest. At first there was some anxiety (also w Christopher and Deloi), but after remembering that this bird is precocial (can swim soon after hatching), we all took a deep breath and relaxed.
To the left of the nest, which still had one egg remaining, you can see the grebelet. It began vocalizing and we started to wonder when an adult would make an appearance.
Now the grebelet ventured farther and farther from the nest ... still vocalizing ... still no adult. Began to imagine the thoughts going through the little chick's brain, like in the children's book by P.D. Eastman, "Where's my mommy?", which has to be one of my favorite books of all time. If you haven't read it, it's never too late!
... finally the caregiver shows up, but it doesn't stick around for long. It's apparent from the behavior (frantically swimming in circles) that the parent is falling behind schedule, and this newest little bundle of protoplasm isn't going to slow it down.
Can you see the tiny black dot on the right side of the parent? That's the chick, and it's attempting to climb aboard. But as I mentioned, the parent showed little patience, because nanoseconds after I snapped this foto, they both disappeared in a flash. Was this the grebelets first dive, I wondered. And did it even get to take a breath before it took the plunge?

thijs is jarig!

Thijs was greeted this morning by 3 of his little friends: Caroline the Colorado Beetle, Sushi the Snail and Dudley the dung beetle. After breakfast, he opened a few presents and was thrilled to find THORON, a platinum armor dragon, and Sunblott, an equinox dragon. Good thing he had his sword at the breakfast table because he was going to need it w all those winged creatures flying around!
Then it was off to school, where Stijn made a talk about Thijs and shared fotos from his childhood, along with some stories, like the time he dropped "bear bear" in a lake and a fisherman rescued him!
As you can see here, Thijs did not mind being the center of attention, and he was glad to pipe in now and again w his own version of a story. He was also happy to let the kids touch the Harry Potter-sized scar on his forehead, which he got from falling in the creek!
Showing his collection of insects is something Thijs takes great pride in doing. He also enjoyed telling how he knew the ichneumon wasp is a female. The kids thought this was really cool.