Week 1 Green eggs

No Snow...

... but, we've had a fair bit of ice. The roads have been salted just about every night lately and yesterday I had to throw some salt on our own paving - in front of the apartments and the driveway to the (iced up) cars. If your car is not in a garage, it becomes a daily ritual to "scrape the ice" before heading off anywhere.

This from "I am expat" - in Amsterdam, where the daughter of a friend of Leigh's works. (originally from Melbourne).

(There has been snow in Madrid! ...and in Limburg in the south of the Netherlands)

On Snow...

The winter weather in December was pretty mild, and anyone who had been hoping for a white Christmas was left disappointed when the day instead welcomed brilliant sunshine and bright blue skies for much of the country.


But 2021 has (finally) arrived - can the Netherlands finally look forward to seeing a little bit of snow? Or should those hoping to experience a bitingly cold and white winter stop holding their breath? Well, they might want to hold on to that hope for a little while longer: some parts of the country can look forward to some snow on Wednesday!


Since the start of 2021, the temperatures have dropped  thanks to a cold northeasterly wind which has meant that for many it has finally started to feel like winter. Wednesday will start off dry and gloomy, but as afternoon turns to evening, central and eastern parts of the Netherlands should experience some sleet!

The highest points in the Netherlands, which can be found in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug and Sallandse Heuvelrug, as well as points along the Dutch border with Germany, could even wake on Thursday morning to see a thin layer of snow. And, if temperatures stay low enough, parts of Groningen, Eindhoven, and Limburg could also get to enjoy some snow. So get your gloves and sledge at the ready so you can make the most of the snow before it melts.

Why doesn’t it snow as often anymore?

Anyone who has been living in the Netherlands for a while will easily remember a number of winters in which the country experienced some serious snow - think back to December 2017, when the whole country was covered in a thick layer of snow. Or going back further, to the 1980’s when the country enjoyed snow almost every winter.

In the 80’s, the Netherlands experienced an average of 30 to 35 snow days per year, but now this has dropped all the way down to only 18 days a year! How has this happened? The answer is pretty simple: global warming. The temperatures the Netherlands experiences throughout the winter months are simply too warm for there to be snow, or if there is snow the ground is too warm for it to truly settle for any length of time.

The Dutch Weather Institute (KNMI) predicts that, by 2100, the Netherlands could experience as little as only one snow day per year. As temperatures continue to rise, the Netherlands will see less and less snow, with the magical weather phenomenon only becoming rarer and rarer.

Green Eggs!

Our euthenasia client gave us two chooks as well as a bit of other stuff. He said that one of them lays "green eggs"... we both let it go past to the keeper as there seemed to be more important stuff to talk about. 

The two chooks went in with the others but they remain apart - not being "accepted" for some reason. They settled down after a while and started laying again...

Janny's Mum came in with the eggs one day during the week to say "have a look at this"....

A Google search found this...

Araucanas and Blue Egg-Layers

Blue egg-layers typically have red earlobes, just like brown egg-layers, and their feathers can be a range of colors depending on their genes. Breeds in this category lay blue or green tinted eggs because of the pigment biliverdin, which hen’s deposit early in the egg-making process.

(We don't know which one it is).

Ben's work

Ben had been doing a traineeship program - full time for 5 months. They asked him to come on board permanently, but at the same pay - which Ben said "no" or at least "hang on a minute"....so he negotiated the same pay for fewer hours per week AND the flexibility to continue his modelling and other freelance work. It gives him a bit more certainty in these uncertain times...

He also picked up a job modelling glasses - at a studio only 200 metres from where he lives!

Nothing much this week...

just bookkeeping (end of year) and lots of walking and reading.

We're in our 3rd week of Lockdown, but I don't really miss going anywhere. It's pretty gloomy weather, anyway.

I'm still finding new tracks out behind our place - after all these years!