Happy Summer Solstice

The Black Forest: Magical waterfalls and misty mountain | Schwarzwald, Germany

Laying down in wildflower meadows, bathing in the songs of cicadas and crickets, hearing the sound of cowbells coming from the valley below.

Swimming in ice-cold waterfalls while sunlight leaked through the trees high up on the cliffs above.

Falling asleep to the sound of thunder echoing through the hills.

Stumbling upon the most beautiful streams, waterfalls, and moss-covered hill sides, every turn revealing an even more wonderful view than before.

Mysterious mists hiding hills, clouds concealing mountains.

Listening to the lullaby of dozens of birds that I had never heard before, while lying in the moss and blueberries, watching the golden sun slowly set.

Last month, I spent a week roaming the Black Forest in the south of Germany.

When wandering around these magical fairytale forests in Schwarzwald, it’s easy to understand where the Brothers Grimm got their inspiration from.

Spring is here! 🌼 Moments of a quiet life in a small village in the Netherlands

Some glimpses of my life from the past few months.

In April, I spent a week in Utrecht looking after my aunt's house while she was away. I spent a beautiful misty morning at Amelisweerd, a forest and estate close to where she lives.

This beautiful estate lies on the edge of Utrecht, adorned with centuries-old beech trees and the babbling river “Kromme Rijn”. A green haven loved by everyone who wants to escape the noise of the city.

It was such a nice moment to spend some time in Utrecht, just in time to witness spring make everything start to blossom and bloom. When I returned home again, David and I worked on transforming our backyard, building wooden raised beds with a mesh cover in an attempt to keep the insane amounts of slugs away from our vegetables - without much success so far. I don't know how it is where you live, but we've never had this many slugs in our garden before.

Luckily since we put nematodes in the soil last week, we got things a bit more under control. I can't wait to show you what our garden will look like.

And I'm taking you out on a little bicycle trip to some neighbouring villages on my little island, for some very Dutch scenes. Just some daily life moments and scenes that caught my eye.

I hope this brings some calm and beauty. Thank you for watching!

Wild wolf at De Veluwe in the Netherlands at by Henk Lentherman 

Dutch wolf in National Park Hoge Veluwe crawls through badger tunnel

This wildlife camera shows footage of a wolf on the Southwest Veluwe crawling through a badger tunnel with a diameter of 30 centimeters. It once again demonstrates that the wolf only needs a small hole to pass through a fence. This fence is designed to deter wild boars and therefore not intended to stop wolves, but it does offer new insights into the inventive behavior of the wolf.

March: misty meadow mornings | the Netherlands

A throwback to one of the most beautiful misty mornings of March a few years back. This is such a typical Dutch landscape.

I live on the edge of my small village on an island in the south of the Netherlands called Hoeksche Waard. Often, when I wake up early in the morning and see that it's misty or foggy outside, I take out my bicycle, cycling past the old mill, along the river to this specific wild meadow. The fog always lingers longest here, and there are always plenty of birds, cows, and horses to wish a good morning.