Haarlem, North Holland, The Netherlands April 13, 2026

Luck would have it on lucky April 13th!  Although the flight left twenty minutes late due to the need to be de-iced, the flight then arrived thirty minutes early. Passport Control took five minutes, we were at a close gate to baggage claim, luggage was on the carousel when I arrived. “You are very early!” was what she said when I arrived at my home away from home.  She told me “I can contact cleaning staff to get your room ready!”  By 9:30 am I fell onto the bed for a crash power nap!

All that was a most wonderful welcome to The Netherlands!  The real welcome was savouring the sights while strolling along the Spaarne, then finding the perfect spot to sip a local brew and snack on bitterballen. 

I was supposed to be here last year.  If you have been following my blog since then, you know what transpired, life happened and I found myself on another kind of journey.  That journey is history, long forgotten!  I am happy to now be here, following a journey, creating memories, never to be forgotten!

These are a few of the sights while walking off jet lag.  

From canals to boats and bicycles to flowers,

 these are what make Holland!  

a Great Crested Grebe

a solo Mute Swan

Thirteen kilometres later, I was ready for more than a crash power nap!  

Tomorrow I will be happy to be on Haarlem Holland hours!   

opportunistic windows

When the weather outside was frightful, I took a watercolour lesson on washes.  It was a good way to pass time until the weather window opened presenting an enjoyable opportunity to be "out & about". The wash includes the blue, brown and green. Small amounts of very wet paint are strategically dropped on wet paper.  While wet, you move the paper all around and up and down so the colours spread and blend.  I got what I hoped for after it dried, a scene that looks like a sky, mountains and a meadow.  Then my mind wandered and instead of creating a mountainous scene, I went with where my mind wandered to, a view of a girl in a flower field admiring tulips!  

With the weather window now beautifully opened, I aimed for Creekside and Hanson Ranch to check for Mountain Bluebirds and crocuses.  It had snowed heavily the day prior and it was still cold on this morning but I could not pass the opportunity to be outside under a blue sky.  From the top of the ridge, I had a view across to Nose Hill in the middle background and a snow-covered golf course below me.  

I did find a few crocuses, but this was the only healthy one.

It was in a spot where the sun shines.

A yawning coyote!

One of two that were digging in the snow for snacks. 

I saw no Mountain Bluebirds but I did see this Black-necked Stilt!  

I waited for another lovely day where the weather window opened once again after being shut for a couple of days.  I read where there were opportunities to see new arrivals at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. I spent a couple of hours strolling the area, the scenery was beautiful and filled with birds songs yet I heard no new songs.  

The Wood Ducks continue to increase in numbers.  This male sat on the snow at the edge of the water watching the ladies swim by, no doubt with hopes of an opportunity to do a little dance to make an impression.   

The male and female Mallards jumped from the water to the snow and strolled across to the grassy area. No doubt they were scouting out a place that may be perfect to build a new home for when the time comes to lay eggs. 

This Robin found a small spot in the water where the sun shone down on.  

It was a good opportunity to splish splash take a bath. 

Here we go, the Canada Geese couple are once again perched on the bridge railing! 

On another day when it was better to be inside rather than wandering "out & about", I went to a local book store to stroll.  This book jumped out at me, I knew I had to have it not even knowing what it was all about.  It has to be OK if it is a bestseller.  In a few days I will have lots of downtime.  I will take that window of opportunity to delve into my new book!  

Good Friday April 3, 2026

Before I get on with my "out & about" blog post, I want to send along greetings for the season!  If you celebrate Easter then best wishes for a Happy Easter! The thought for this watercolour painting came to me out of the blue when my mind wandered off, which is happening lots lately, and I am thankful for that and enjoying it. In my last post, I shared a photo of a Robin and I said I liked Mother Nature's frame around it. Well, when I was googling Easter Baskets, I paired the results of that googling with my Robin photo.  This is the outcome!  Happy Easter!

Being the human that I am, I am supposedly hardwired to be a seasonal creature!  I have been enjoying the short teases of spring with warm weather, clear trails and that taste of crocus sightings a little while back. I am wired to be ready for spring!  Yet, this morning's "out & about" at Carburn Park was absolutely amazing after all the new snow that deluged the city yesterday. It felt like the first snowfall of late autumn. I embraced it and I loved it!    

This deer was crossing the trail to the bushes on the other side to.....

.

.....join those already settled in the snow!  

After enjoying a wander along the snow covered trails through the trees, it was time to..... 

.....start birding!  A flock of Bohemian Waxwings means the end of winter as they continue to pass through  on their way to spend summer in the North part of the province.  This is a small part of the flock which probably numbered near one hundred.  

a close up of a trio of Bohemian Waxwings!  Soon the Cedar Waxwings will arrive. 

a Pelican with a "horn on its beak" 

This bump grows on both males and females and shows they are ready to mate.

Once breeding occurs, the bump falls off. 

This is one of five Ruby-crowned Kinglets!

Seeing these tells me winter is over, spring is here.

This is my first Mountain Bluebird sighting this season!  

Yes, spring is in the air!

I lost count of how many Robins were in the Park today!  

I like seeing them with snow!  

Two Trumpeter Swans stayed curled up!

The Canada Geese pair are back at the old Bald Eagle nest!

This is what I saw when I checked in on the Carburn Bald Eagles. I only saw the one today.  You can see the head above the snow.  There were ten of us doing a check-in.  We talked about the weather more than we talked about the Eagles.  

As time passed, it warmed up quite a bit and the snow began falling from the trees.  I got confused, was that a bird or was that snowing falling.  I was confused a lot!  I truly did love everything about today's wintry weather in the middle of spring!  So not to be confused in other aspects, I am doing an actual countdown until I get to live out a dream!    

The Inglewood Bird Sanctuary March 31, 2026

It's spring, I know it, they know it! Life goes on no matter what the forecast!  Today was the only opportunity over a spread of a few days that I had the time to get out & about.  It was not the nicest day, it was cold, it had snowed, it was dark and grey. But, it's spring so I jumped at the chance to be out there, at The Inglewood Bird Sanctuary.  I arrived to see the lagoon partially frozen again.  A layer of white covered everything. Yet, it's spring, they know it, life goes on....the wildlife were having a blast at -17C on this last day of March.  

The Canada Geese are back claiming their partners and their territory. I saw couples settled in usual spots in the snow on the water's edge.  Soon the pair will be perched on the bridge railing. They were vocal!  

The White-breasted Nuthatches were chasing each other!  

This one stopped to give me the eye!

I moved on!

I now know where to go to watch the Red-breasted Nuthatches!

They are in the process of chipping out a new cavity in the tree.

The male House Finch sits beautifully on the snow.  

There were a few males and females in the area.  

The air was filled with their quiet high-pitched songs.  

Ain't no cold nor snow gonna stop them!  

The number of Wood Ducks hanging out here has increased since my visit two weeks ago. 

This guy was in all his glorious colour. 

He put on a song and dance show that impressed this lady!

Soon after they flew off into the trees!  

To me it always looks funny when they are perched on tree branches with the birds.  

Little Robin Redbreast

sat upon a bush

(I like Mother Nature's frame!)

This weather is nothing thinks the Black-capped Chickadee!

Life goes on for them here even in the dead of winter when it is much colder.

There was no sign of a single Richardson Squirrel yet the Mountain Cottontail 

was hippity hoppity because Easter's on its way!

The coyote took over this spot where two Canada Geese were hunkered down.  

I watched the coyote lay down and roll around.  Then it spotted me!

Then I spotted another coyote on the back side of the lagoon watching me.

Then a third came into the picture!  

While on the backside of the Sanctuary, I stopped to check out the Inglewood Bald Eagles.  One was perched on a tree a short distance down the river.  The other was sitting in the nest, no doubt incubating eggs.  The nest is a distance away, this is the best shot I could get with my lens on full zoom. Not only best wishes to the Carburn Bald Eagles plus the Douglasdale Bald Eagles, but also to the Inglewood Bald Eagles.  

My hopes were to be out crocus hunting but that will have to wait awhile. It's spring, I  know it's spring, they know it's spring yet the snow doesn't care, life goes on with it falling when it wants.  We have been warned we will need to shovel again Thursday after another blast!  Hold tight crocuses, your time will come and I will be there for you!

take what you get, brush it off, then.....

.....make the most of your day!

I needed a gentle reminder this past short while so made a note to myself!

Some days it takes a little extra effort to go forward but not on this day! Confluence Park looked and sounded inviting!  I wore my real hiking boots for the first time this year, it was time for my feet to get use to them again.  With no ice nor snow, with the creek running freely, paired with the Robins singing loudly, this was a wonderful walk.  If I did nothing else on this day, I would have been content with the fulfilling feeling I arrived back home with! 

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On this day, I bundled up to brace against the cold wind and slight sprinkles of sleet.  Our plan was to cover roughly ten to eleven kilometres while we brain-stormed at solving our world's problems. I tend not to notice my surroundings on these kinds of walks but today was different!  Oh the distractions, of the best kind!  I had my first crocus sighting this season, March 24th, the earliest ever!  This collection was growing on the upper slopes of Hanson Ranch.  These are just two of the dozens of photographs I took.  If I saw nothing else on this day, I would have been content.  We continued on, taking the weather as it came, reaching our goal of eleven kilometres, then going for a reward afterwards. 

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A white out blizzard was what faced me when I opened the curtains on this morning.  There would be no going anywhere!  It was what it was, I brushed it off, then went about my day.  It was the perfect day to turn on my fairy light tree, settle in near it then paint until my heart was content.  With tulips on my mind, I used a tutorial I followed the other day and did a mosaic with a tulip instead of the Canada Goose. This was my third try!  It looks simple but it was not!  This crocus painting was a third try too! I used  yesterday's photo as my reference.  I was happy with how they both turned out. After those two, I was ready for something simple.  The line and wash of birds and flowers took all of thirty minutes and I got it right on the first try!  All these were accomplished while also attacking household chores!   

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After staying inside yesterday, I needed to get out the next day!  After brushing the snow off my vehicle then cracking the ice off, I ventured out onto the roadway but did not go far.  Heading back to Nose Creek would do it for me.  No one had been yet so I broke trail in the deep snow. Thankfully it was more on the fluffy side.  At -23C, the park was quiet, any wildlife had gone back into hibernation.  I saw a flock of Magpies and one.....

.....male Mallard Duck!  It did not matter to him what the weather was like!  He took his bath!

He shook it off!

Then went about making the most of his day!

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Today was on the cold side, but I can take that, so I took it, once again brushed more snow off my vehicle,  cracked off more ice, then went about my day finding a way to make the most of it!  I arrived at Carburn Park to find no new snow and it is only roughly a twenty minute drive down the Deerfoot 500. The Carburn Bald Eagles had been on my mind after all the new snow. I was happy for the Eagles to see this area did not get the snow.

The Bald Eagle is still sitting in the nest. 

It was too when I was there last. 

I chatted with the guys who are also monitoring the activity.  

The other Bald Eagle was grooming on a tree not far away. 

Our chatting came to an abrupt stop when a shift change took place. The split second the Eagle in the nest flew off, the other Eagle stopped grooming and flew to the nest. Here it is coming in for a landing.

It is just about ready to land on the nest! 

When the Eagles are not side by side, 

I cannot tell the male from the female. 

The Bald Eagle settled into the nest and went about its day incubating the eggs. The Canada Geese had been settled but in a flash they all took off to fly to better grounds to continue going about their day!  

That gentle reminder did the trick!  No matter what gets thrown our way, I do best if I focus on finding ways to brush it off, go about my day, doing what I can to make the most of it!