Hillagom, Netherlands

Riding our bikes along the trail to the gardens and what do we see....?

Thousands and thousands of colorful Hyacinth, brightly blooming! Oh. My. Gods. Fragrance so intense it could almost give you a headache.

This flower field is located about 1/2 mile away from every gardener's dream destination: the Keukenhoff Gardens in Hilagom, Netherlands. (South of Amsterdam.)

I have arrived.

Scratch one biggie off my Bucket List.  💜

Keukenhof

A Swan Butt sculpture! :) i.e.tails up, heads in the water, feeding.

It's been on the Bucket List for a long, freaking time...

Traveling to Amsterdam to terrorize the tulips!

Keukenhof! The largest flowering bulb garden in the world!

7 million blooming bulbs on 70+ acres.

FYI, it's not in Amsterdam. Keukenhof is located south of there in beautiful Lisse, Netherlands. We rented an airbnb a mile from there and bicycled to the gardens.

Every color, every bulb imaginable is showcased at Keukenhoff, which is only open 2 months out of every year.

Since it's in Holland, the paths wind through rivers and canals. Past a windmill, or two.

I'm a sucker for Fritallaria. So, now I'm dreaming of an acre of these in my own garden.

Or, a jumbled mess of every bulb I've ever fallen in love with...

What's missing from these photos?  A: Throngs and throngs of tourists! If you're gonna tour Keukenhof try to get up early. We arrived about 5 minutes before they opened. The crowds showed up about 2 hours later...

Are you a lover of flower bulbs? That's my favorite type of gardening. Plant them on a cool, autumn day. Plant 'em. Forget 'em.

They pop up early in spring, adding much needed color to a dull, brown garden still reeling from a too-long winter.

I hope you enjoyed the show.

Tulips and Windmills

Biking around Kinderdijk - UNESCO World Heritage Windmill Site

Whats the #1 mode of transportation in the Netherlands? Nope, not trains -- it's bicycles! Everyone bikes here. Because it's FLAT!

Oh, how I've missed those days. Growing up in the Midwest, I biked every where. To work, to play, it was easy! It was fun. Because there were no uphill battles in the flat Midwest!

After moving to the mountains, I sold my bike. I hated that uphill jazz. If you choose a direction in Park City, Utah, you could be biking uphill all day long. Where is the fun in that?

I was happy to see that people still live in windmills. 

Anyhoo....    When you think of Holland most folks conjure up images of tulips and windmills. And, we did, too. So, we toured the windmills at Kinderdijk and Zaanse Schans on bicycles.

* It's a bit of a trek but well worth the effort to tour the 19 windmills of Kinderdijk.

Geithoorn

Geithoorn, Netherlands - the village without any streets. Boats and bridges are how we get around!

#netherlands #iamatraveler

Daffodil Time in the Netherlands

Everything about the Netherlands is charming. Even the junker the cars.

Kismet

Wait! What? Look at that!

We were on our way to Bláskógabyggð ~ to see the waterfall. In the rain. Because it's raining. And, we couldn't think of anything else to do.

But, when this gent trotted past our car, we finally discovered the real draw, the real excitement, and the real passion of Iceland. (At least, for us.)

Passion is a funny thing.

You see, I didn't want to get out of the car, in the rain, to hike to a waterfall. But, I didn't mind getting soaking wet petting this little doll. Check out that crazy hairdo!

Icelandic horses are pony-size by American standards but the Icelandic people take offense when you call them ponies. This is the only horse you'll ever see in Iceland. They have been bred in isolation for over a thousand years.

And, I can't wait to ride one!!!

* Kismet means "fate, destiny" in several languages, including Icelandic and English.

Sveitarfelagio Olfus Iceland

The view from our Airbnb rental in Grindavikurbaer, Iceland. 

We woke to a cold, icy rain on our first morning in Iceland. Sipped a lotta coffee and took advantage of the chickens on the property. Wise chickens that they were, all huddled in their coop, and perfectly delighted to gift us some eggs for breakfast.

Can You Pronounce Eyjafjallajökull?

At first glance, this house would be the ideal place to hunker down during a hellish rainstorm. The cottage is filled, to overflowing with books. But, they're all written in the Icelandic language.

A 32 letter alphabet (vs. our 26) which allows them to confuse us even further with double Y's yet no Z's.

Like this! Do not confuse the use of those double Y's!  Yy Ýý Þþ Ææ Öö

Have they ever even seen the Wizard of OZ?

This is a major highway! Welcome to the moon.

We drove for hours to get to the geyser.

Only to return home and discover we've got a 'geyser' at the end of our driveway. 😊

So, we're learning a thing, or two, about Iceland. And, it's all good. Weird, yes. But, good. The people are wonderful. It's the most interesting landscape I've ever encountered.

* I still don't understand why everyone says Iceland is beautiful. But, we have a couple more days to figure that out.

Grindavik

"When is it gonna get pretty?"

That was me, whining to my traveling companion, as we drove away from the Keflavik airport in Iceland. Having just departed the lush and lovely Netherlands where I was surrounded by brightly blooming Tulips..

It felt as if we'd landed on the moon.

Gulfoss on the Golden Circle

Iceland is not very pretty. 

There are majestic areas worth seeing.

But, you have to drive for hours and hours and hours to reach them.

It only costs $99 dollars, round trip, to visit Iceland from Amsterdam. Like we're gonna pass that up.

Seeing as how Iceland is one of those hip countries that everybody brags about visiting these days, and we believed everything they said about the place...

Off we went on our next adventure to Grindavik, Iceland aka the middle of nowhere to our cozy little cottage by the sea..

AIRBNB USES THESE HOME HIGHLIGHTS: Sólveig is a Superhost · Superhosts are experienced, highly rated hosts who are committed to providing great stays for guests. 

Sólveig lives in this house. She simply moved out of it, for the days we were visiting. She didn't even take her food out of the 'frig, or move her clothes out of the closet. Toothbrush still resting on the edge of the sink. She simply moved next door and stayed with her neighbor, while collecting money from us. Money, I would like refunded by the way...

This could be a long week.

MURDER!!!!

I hear them whispering behind my back. Nosy neighbors, witness to crimes unimaginable. And, now they're stirring up trouble:

"It's murder I tell you, murder most foul!"

"This killing spree began early in springtime. We saw with our own eyes how she tortured those little flowers..."

• There was Death by Dehydration. (RIP beloved Canterbury Bells.)
• Death by Shameless Neglect! (I'll never forget you, Lord Baltimore.)
• Death by Strangulation! (Who's got time to pull all those weeds?)
• Death by Scary Critters! (No tippy toeing through the tulips for this little lady.)

 
Death by ignoring which growing zone I actually live in!

Goodbye my little cabbage. The icy fingers of a frosty night squeezed the life right out of you [and the rest of my heirloom veggies.]

++++++++++++

Suddenly, without a sound. Without a warning of any kind...

A crime of passion that should have the neighbors gossiping well into the next decade.

The premeditated murder of every jolly little houseplant that had bugs or refused to bloom... Such senseless brutality!

Whodunnit?
I did it!

I was a lazy, lazy gardener this summer. Forgetting to water, forgetting to weed. I didn't fertilize my flowers even once all summer long. I planted a lot of goodies but my lazy ways upped the body count, big time.

In loving memory of all the little flowers who died waiting for Kate to turn on the sprinklers. I promise to do better next year.

PS: I hope you'z all prepared for a hideous Halloween :)


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Hopes, Fears and A Non Gardening Year

So, this just happened.

Autumn.

Golden leaves, changing of seasons. 

The tick tock of that infernal clock.

I was thinking about that as horse, Sable, and I were trotting along this very pretty path.

Read an article, written by some annoying scientist, who determined that time really does fly by quicker, as we grow older. And, that's because... we're old.

Can't fill you in on the details of that article. Or, why we oldies suffer with that my how time flies attitude. Best use for that magazine was kindling for the fireplace.  [And, that's how I feel about that Mrs. Scientist.]

Hazel and Charlie Waffles goofing off at Antelope Island, in the middle of the Great Salt Lake. 

Which is not so great any more.. most of the water has dried up.

Another sad aspect of this relentless drought.

My oldest and dearest friend came to visit! Feels like she left just yesterday, though ~ as I glance at the calendar ~ I realize another month has gone by.

She was very excited to inspect the gardens but I'm afraid she was sorely disappointed. 

An avid gardener herself.. she keeps everything in tip top shape.. (She even restarts amaryllis bulbs!)

Tip: Photograph close-ups of your favorite flowers. This way, no one spots the weeds!

Meanwhile back in my reality..

I'm a-waitin' and a-wishin' for a brilliant magical cure to the Lazy Gardener Syndrome. Seeing as how I haven't been out there, tugging at those relentless weeds, for the better part of the summer.

Tip: Some flowers thrive on abuse and neglect. (Plant LOTS of those...)

Been busy! Doing all kinds of important stuff!

Like swimming...

Charlie Waffles likes to take a dip on a hot afternoon. (Me, too!)

Busy riding my beloved horse.

Ms. Sable & I took a lotta road trips this summer.

Drooling over wildflowers..

Scheming and dreaming on a grand get away for this coming winter.

And, camping! Super duper civilized camping, in the Wee House.

AKA midlife crisis? I dunno...

Check out those turquoise hubcaps!
Never again, shall I worry about setting up camp, in the pouring rain. 

It happened innocently enough. Having saved my pennies for many a year, I drove up to Tremonton, Utah to purchase a horse trailer. They thought I was financing it so when I got there they had to re-do all of the paper work.

Killing time, I wandered around their RV lot. I like the 'idea' of an RV. But, they are all so boring. Big, beige boxes that cost an arm and a leg.

The dining room...

So, here I am wandering around and..

In the midst of that sea of beige boxes rests the Wee House.

The totally tricked out brand new looks vintage turquoise hell on wheels extravaganza that fits me to a T.

My cutie pie couch.

Couldn't believe my eyes. Or, the low, low, low (I mean really low!) price tag.

I sat in the turquoise kitchen nook with the biggest, dumbest grin on my face.

Well. I do love blue.

An RV can't be that hard to figure out, can it?

Oh, I couldn't.

I couldn't possibly do that.

It's irresponsible!

It's absolutely crazy!

Some days, it's pretty pointless to try to talk myself out of an idea, once I fall in love with it.

So, yep! It is crazy. But, it's also mine, all mine.

Here's hoping y'all enjoyed a delightful summer filled with lots of lazy days and plentiful sunshine.

Thanks for stopping by,
- kate


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Wildfires and Wild Four O'Clocks

A year after she puts down roots, you will never need to water her again.

Hot winds blow, relentlessly. Stirring up trouble across our wild meadows.

No rain in many weeks. All that was green is turning brittle and brown.

The summer drought. Never-ending, blustery winds... Conspire to create these heartbreaking wildfires. Threatening to cancel our grand mountain adventure. And, that will be the second one this year.

I sit here, with the blessed air conditioning cranked to full blast. On call for a week long horse back riding adventure ~ scheduled to depart tomorrow evening.

This was a photo from yesterday's news ~ near where we are planning to ride.

We're waiting to hear if it's safe to head up there ~ into Wyoming, where wildfire season is wreaking havoc.

In the midst of all this weirdness... the 4 O'Clocks are making up for everything!

The heat? The drought? Who cares??

They are lovin' it!

* These beauties got their name (and their hutzpah) from handling extreme high heat by waiting to flower until the end of the day. After the sun dips below the mountains and the air cools, clusters of pretty pink flowers open en masse. Hence the name 4 O'Clock.

Aren't they amazing?

** We all have that one spot in our garden, where nothing grows. If it's a sunny spot, give 4 O'Clocks a try. 
- Plant them in the most inhospitable spot in your garden. And, make sure you're happy with that spot because they cannot be transplanted. They put down long, strong roots ~ to siphon water from wherever they can find it. Once uprooted, they will surely die.



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