The Westhoek Nature Reserve

"I must go down to the seas again
For the call of the running tide,
Is a wild call and a clear call
That may not be denied.




And all I ask is a windy day
With the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume,
And the sea-gulls crying."

~ John Masefield

Looking for the first signs of spring

Already since Christmas Maarten is seeking for the first signs of spring. In other words he is looking forward to the Eastern Bunny!
But searching for snowdrops in local woods was truly soothing after the stressful exam week.

Kijk, mama, hier!

Een vlek!

...neusje trek!

Nejdřív si ukliď pokoj!

"Od Tebe musim porad neco uklizet!
Copa si myslis, ze jsem?!
Ňáká Popelka nebo co?!"

The woody hills of Thoricourt

What a beautiful sunny day! Passing some 19th century castles hidden in the sparse woods we mostly followed small country roads through open fields and therefore it was a rather boring trail.




Only la motte, the Merovingian burial mound, now overgrown with trees, added a bit of mystery and, of course, ghostly excitement!





Here on the old tree trunk Maarten (accidentaly?!) hit my nose nose with a piece of wood, as he claims, which caused an awful pain and further deformation.
As he obviously felt guilty he remained friendly for the rest of the day not whining about the length or boringness of the trail.
So, why should I complain, huh?

After a nice glass of Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Can't believe I'm back in Belgium again!

It feels like there is a sign on every corner shouting: "You don't belong here!"

(sorry, just venting...)

Maarten's room door sings

Starting to become territorial?

Winter break

Again not a traditional Czech Christmas Eve for us.
Since we’re back in Europe we are usually in Holland celebrating grandma's birthday which falls on Christmas Eve, indeed.




Luckily for the children (and me) this year even here was enough snow and ice in the nearby park to take a break and head outside to enjoy sledding.





What a hectic Christmas we had! Cooking, baking, shopping and right in the middle of this Christmas hassle I had my herbalist exam on the night 23rd; then one night trip to Holland, hurry back home to Belgium bringing grandma with us to celebrate Christmas together with Zdenka's family...


Due to all the snow and ice I had many doubts to make the planned trip to Czechia and I truly had unpleasant moments crossing the higher elevations. Driving through snowstorm for several times was quite tough but not that bad like the heavy rain and fog that caught us on a busy highway in Germany on our way back.


Despite the fact that I lost at least 4 kilo’s only by driving (again!) it was worth it.