Baby swans in the canals of Rijswijk, Holland

Few weeks ago the biggest event in the area around my house were the big news that there are new born baby swans... Since last autumn/winter a swan family lives/swims in the canal in front of our house and now for over a month they go on wet walk with their fluffy little ones! So instead of the usual ducklings this spring you may admire the grey little babys...Do you also have to smile and think of the fantastic fairy-tale of Hans Christian Andersen "The ugly duckling", which was actually a swan baby? I had an absolouteyl beautiful book with his tales (inherited from my mum) and loved all of them! The family started with 7 little ones, but since one week only 3 children are accompanying the parents. As you may see sometimes the swim in the watre is perfect line, but sometimes (when they eat) its freestyle positioning....

 

Last week I have also met a family of Canadian geese with their little ones in the park I go jogging!

Dutch canals and ducklings, ooops sorry baby coot in Rijswijk

 
In spring time the Dutch canals become the nesting place for a lot of birds: like the mallards (wild ducks) the coots, the geese in the Netherlands. Right in front of the entrance of my house a coot family has its nest and 3 weeks ago the 6 babies coot came out.

 
At the beginning they were black with funny red-yellow hairs (like hats) on the top of their heads...2 weeks after the colourful hairs disappear and they start to look more and more similar to their parents...The parents are now very busy fetching food (some green leave and other greenish pieces) out of the water and teaching them how to it themselves.

I made few videos as well: enjoy them:-)

Sunny and white "Dutch winter-wonderland 2012" in Rijswijk, Zuid-Holland

 

Yes, we have been asking for real winter and frozen canals here in the low lands and guess what?! Our prayers were heart! We finally got minus temepartures this week and then 10 cm of fluffy snowfalkes made their way down from the sky Friday lunch time...So today, on Saturday morning, we all woke up to a white and wonderfully frozen winter tulipland (at least in the area of the Hague and north of it).

 

I got the camera and went out to capture some lovely white moments in white Rijswijk! I did get forzen fingers and toes despite of my thick and warm gloves...But hey, it was worth it. The sun came also out, so I got warm sunshine+my vitamin D for the day!

GayPride Amsterdam 2010, the Canal Parade

If you ever wonder what a gay parade looks like, let me summarise it for you in a few words...There is pink everywhere, its crowded and music in the air (on Saturday also some rain). The Boat parade during the Amsterdam Gay Pride seemed to me a nice thing to see if you live in the Netherlands. I honestly did not expect this HUGE amount of people everywhere...especially considering the pretty cloudy weather which at the end became too wet.

Anyway, from the small part I saw it looked quiet fun. The people watching were dancing on boats parked in the canals and next to the canals while some paparazzi (like me) were wondering on what to climb in order to take some pictures to show afterwards...It should be really better in sunshine, but then I am not sure how crowded it will get...

Skating on frozen canals in the Netherlands...

Some colleagues told me they did not remember (in the last 20 years...) a winter as cold and white as this one in the Netherlands. Last year (and to be more exact in January 2009) was the first time the Dutch canals were frozen (again) for the last..... 12 years!!! Why is it so surprising-well some decades ago this was happening every winter in the low lands...

But to come back to last and (of course!) this year! Young and old (and even the Queen-if one may trust the press) put on the skates and went on ice. Does not matter the skates: on ice I have seen next to the well-known figure- and ice-hockey-skates also the very famous here Dutch "noren" (speed-skates: the one on left side, picture above). A Swedish colleague impressed me with the Skandinavian version of speed skating: the one without a shoe and very funny form, on the right side in the above shot.

Snow-ball fights were also possible...But the minus-temperatures lasted only a bit more than a week and the ducks are happy now to have again water!