Some Autumn Medicine for all those Rhino Virus Sufferers.

Good evening!
I've been under the weather for the past week, although I have been dragging myself in to work anyway.
Persistant little worker, aren't I?

There is a virus doing the rounds in the Wetlands, called the Rhino virus. Compared to, say, Ebola it is a kitten of a virus. The symptoms are throatache, headache and a temperature. Oh, and you do need a wagon load of tissues...

Nothing very serious, you'll live. But it is a bugger if you cannot afford to take your soothing cup of tea and your good book to your sofabed, but when you have to work on instead.

So, if you are one of those poor people having to work on, feeling grotty, this post is for you. 

I have searched out the most gorgeous Autumn photos I could find at short notice. As I got them from the Internet, there are no credits.  But they are beautiful, those photographers know their trade!

To help you soothe that throat, and to feel better, try my recipe:

- boil some water

- put three large table spoons of organic honey in it

- put 1 table spoon of organic cinnamon in it

- stir well

- light a small candle underneath an aromatherapy burner

- put three drops of pure eucalyptus oil into some water on the burner

- put on the latest CD by Susan McKeown (Through Bushes and Through Briars)

drink your brew whilst sitting already in your bed, listening to Susan's intriguing way of treating traditional Irish songs.

You'll feel better! 

Susan McKeown

Viggo's Philosophy

Hello, Viggo fans all around the world. Hope you have had an amazing day! By popular demand Viggo has dictated his words of wisdom.

Right. Hi. Hello.

My woman has asked me to speak to you directly. Basically because she is too skint to ask some reporter for yet another interview, so this time I am taking the trouble to talk to you cat to man, so to speak.

It being October, and those leaves falling, and humans getting all soppy and melancholy, she asked me to try to get my philosophy across to you.

For I am, according to her, the most laid back cat around. And she has asked me to whisper my secret into her ear.

Here goes.

First of all. It is all in the limbs. You humans are much, much too uptight and stressed and stiff.

Take a good look at a cat. Ever seen a stiff cat? 

Now, okay, right, I don't mean one of those cats which you are trying to get into a cat carrier in order to take it to the vet. Now those cats are stiff as a board, but they are thus for a purpose...Namely to stop you shoving them into that carrier in the first place.

No, I mean a cat in its natural habitat. On the sofa, say, or in a beam of sunlight, or in the tall grass next to a gently running stream, or...

Sorry.

Perhaps I'd better provide you with a visual. You humans seem fond of those.

My point exactly.

You roll on to your back, you stretch, put the paws loosely apart (as wide as you like, we cats know no shame), take a deep breath....and...purr.

See?

I assure you I am as loose as a floppy rug in that photo. 

One caution though: you must stretch again before turning right side up! And for Frith's sake do not attempt to lick yourself between the legs in the first lesson. You would only look very silly and probably have to be carted off to the hospital (and see if you like being put into a carrier - I bet you'd go extremely stiff yourself!)

Yes, I do a bit of teaching, in between my naps and meals.

Have a look at this session with Gina. She's quite a dedicated student!

Okay, once you've mastered the relaxed-back-position, you are ready for a touch of the mind set.

You start by realising you are master of your own universe. To obtain this realisation, I want you to find yourself a quiet corner (a cardboard box will do nicely, or if you don't have one large enough you can always shut yourself into a dark cupboard or hide yourself under a bed) and imagine you are into The Zone. The Zone needs some explaining, I suppose.

The Zone is a state of being which comes natural to cats. All our senses are heightened, our whiskers are quivering like antennae, our ears pick up the tiniest scratch of a mouse's claw or the rattling of the jar where the cat food is kept in, and we see things you humans do not see.

Do NOT believe we see dead people or some such nonsense. We don't. We do see auras though. That's the reason we can stare at a point just south of your head for minutes on end. We don't look at your head per se, we watch the energy field around your head, which tells us what kind of mood you are in.

I've asked one of my pals to demonstrate this for you. This cat is definitely in The Zone.

It takes dedication and practice, but if you apply yourself, you will be able to source The Zone. Eventually. After a lot of hard work. Perhaps.

Anyway. As soon as you have access, you are ready for lesson three.

Assert yourself.

Whatever you do, keep repeating this mantra:

Master, Master, Master, Master.

A good way to put this to the test (are you giving it the right stress?) is to jump onto the head of the person nearest to you and to firmly put your claws into the hair.

When they scream, curse or start crying, you know you have got it just right.

If you do this often enough you will come to believe yourself to be a proper master of the house. People will jump up to open doors for you, imagine that! They will vie for your attention! They will tempt you with treats! You will be able to sleep wherever you want, whenever you want. 

Oh...just one thing. Beware of cat flaps. I have it on good authority that humans are better off using doors.

Next time I'll teach you my hunting techniques, shall I?

Happy October To You!

Okay. Time to own up...
Hey there, you folks in the Ukraine, help me out here!
Illuminate me. WHY is it I have more readers from your country than from my own?
It baffles me!
Not that I am complaining, mind you. Nice to see you, any time.

My taxus tree is in fruit, isn't it gorgeous?

Okay. Time to make myself a cup of tea. I have a nasty cold and am in need of hydration. Have a lovely Sunday and until next time!

In the Wetlands We Celebrate Animal Day Today.

October 4th used to be a magical day!

We would buy treats for our dog and cats, and as a girl I used to put a ribbon around the neck of my favourite cat Bobbie (we had 3 at the time), which he would graciously allow to be there for a while, until he'd had enough and got rid of it.

Our other animals would get treats as well; we gave the 7 goats water crackers, which they adored, and the chickens would get endive.

Nowadays I only have one cat and one dog around the house.

But today still is a special day for the cat, as we got our Viggo from the shelter exactly four years ago.

He has the best life imaginable, with a large garden, plenty of food, loving people and personnel to open doors for him. Not bad eh, for an alley cat?

Thomas O'Malley the Alley Cat

So, to celebrate today, I'll leave you with some of my favourite animal photos.

Thank you for caring for your animals.

Rotterdam Is In My Genes...Through No Fault Of My Own.

Do you know the feeling that you are woven into the fabric of a city against your will?

I've told you before that I was born in Rotterdam, at a time when it was still licking its wounds from WWII.
The Wetlands were at the threshold of a new era, wrestling with the legacy of war, of betrayal, of shame, but also with the breathtaking opportunity to make things better.
My parents couldn't find a home of their own in the bombed-out city, so they lived with my grandparents around the corner of Blijdorp Zoo. They shared their tiny room with a large cat.
I was begat with this red tomcat keeping an eye on the proceedings, and was born with the same red tomcat watching my birth from a distance of 2 feet. For me, this is the most logical explanation of my life-long fascination and identification with cats. In fact, I believe I am part cat myself. (And if you don't believe me, that's your problem)

Later on, I used to take the bus from the village my Mum had moved to towards Rotterdam (a journey of 1 1/2 hours), and wander the streets of the city centre. It made me feel very grown up (I was 13).

Then, when I was 17, I found a job in Amsterdam and Rotterdam was moved to second best. After Amsterdam I moved to London, and Rotterdam only became important again when I was forced to move back to my home country. It was the city where I had to travel to to work, nothing more. I stopped work there when I found a job closer to home and that was that.

But.

Now that I am in my late fifties, and my aging brain starts to deteriorate to the point where 'old' memories come easier than 'new', and since I am once again working in Rotterdam, a certain pride has snuck up on me. 

When I stand on the quay of the Lloyd Island, looking out across the river, I  feel this deep connection to Rotterdam.

This is my workplace, believe it or not (better do!). Do you see the building right at the edge on the right, with the funny asymmetrical top? That is where I work, the STC, school for all things to do with the harbour, shipping and transport. 

And this is my view, when I have the time to look out my classroom window...which isn't often.

Okay, not quite this view, this is a selfie. But look at the river Maas behind us, and that ship! The Oasis of the Seas, she is called. She stayed one day in Rotterdam before moving herself to the docks. And hundreds of people streamed to the water's edge to see her pass. And we all loved it.

Just as we loved the opening of the Central Station last May, and the opening of the huge Market Hall for Fresh Food yesterday.

Now, do not make the mistake of thinking that Rotterdam is all huge brand new buildings! For just around the corner of my school, there is this:

Mooooooooove over, Amsterdam!!!

This is old Delfshaven, now part of Rotterdam-West, and it's the old port of Delft. Delft, being more inland, didn't have access to the river itself, so founded a port of her own. It is hard to imagine, but Delfshaven used to be more important than Rotterdam.

And when I walk around these streets, I have a certainty deep in my bones. This city is in my genes. I may not live there, and I make fun of its slang and pronunciation, but it is part of me.

Oude Maasweg This is the ultimate Maas song!

(Photographs were originally posted by Gers! Magazine on FB - except for the selfie, of course. You will recognise that they are wonderful, so do look up their FB page and feast your eyes some more)

Have Spent a Wonderful Weekend Spotting Deer!

One of the precious things for a small country is its surviving wilderness! One of ours in the Wetlands is called 'De Hoge Veluwe', and it is situated roughly in the middle of my country.

Last weekend my friends and I trekked to Otterlo, where we had rented a woodland cottage. Our aim was to spot red deer, 'edelherten', our largest kind in the Wetlands.
Did we spot them? We most certainly did!

Photograph by Martin van Es

The weather was wonderful, and we had left early, so by 11 am we were making coffee and getting acquainted with the resident squirrels at our cottage.

Rina took this by balancing her camera onto the dustbin...it worked!

We knew that the red deer were supposed to be in a particular area of de Hoge Veluwe by the end of the afternoon, so we entered the national park and took the free bikes that are included in the entrance fee. Theo and I had brought our own; one of the advantages of having a Volkswagen van.

It took only half an hour cycling to reach the area where the red deer were almost certain to make their appearance, but we had hours to spend, so we cycled all around the lower part of the national park.

Okay....so where are those red deer? I can hear you mumble. Well: here they are!

Photographs by Martin van Es

Aren't they magnificent?!

The males were putting up a show of strength. 

Unfortunately the wind was the other way, so they kept 

their distance and we couldn't hear their 'burling' very clearly, 

but luckily all those present had brought their little lenses...

Seriously, folks, just look at that!

I didn't dare take out my Samsung...

Mind you, some of the photos shown here 

were taken by me with this little Samsung mobile, so yay Korea!

We, and approx. 200 others, watched the deer

 until they got bored and ambled off. 

Then we took our bikes back to the compound and had

 a great meal in Otterlo.

All that tracking makes a person very thirsty!

The next morning we again entered the national park and 

this time cycled the other way. This part of the Hoge Veluwe 

is more wet, with little waterways and drinking ponds.

The park commission has put up boardwalks, to help people keep their feet dry. The vegetation showed that there was water; there were plenty of little ferns, and a lot of toadstools and other fungi.

Now, I don't know about you, but I am one of those people who needs a regular wee. Obviously there are no toilets in the middle of this wilderness, so the accepted thing to do is find yourself a quiet spot and do your thing. As long as you do not leave anything behind (like toilet paper!), it is tolerated.

So, after one of my sanitary stops I had just walked back out of this copse of firs, and had put my left foot onto the sandy track, when I almost jumped out of my skin. Underneath my right foot, which I had almost but not quite put down, there coiled an adder. The only poisonous snake we have in the Wetlands.

Theo and Rina immediately started filming it, whilst I kept warning them not to agitate it. It showed its fangs once, but decided to flee instead of attacking.

We saw some red deer prints, but no more red deer. Although we did hear them roar in the distance. 

All too soon it was time to pack up and drive back to the congested West...

It was a wonderful weekend, and I cannot wait to go back there!

Okay, one more then!