Old and New

The old year has gone,
been chased away with fireworks.
The new year has arrived,
been welcomed with champagne,
and appelflappen (a Dutch delicacy only eaten on New Year's Eve).
It's 2008 now and I wish all my visitors a very Happy New Year!!!

After eating all those appelflappen, oliebollen and other stuff on New Year's Eve, I needed to work it all off a bit, so we went for a nice stroll on the beach near Zierikzee in Zeeland (Sea land).
Here we are on top of a dune, looking over the sea. It's rather choppy as there is a stiff breeze today.
The sea is foaming at the mouth err along the water's edge.
But even though it's not all that warm, we're not the only ones on the beach.
There are even two black labs playing in the water, brrrrrr better them than me.
I think it's time we call it a day, let's go somewhere else where it isn't so windy. So up those steep stairs again.
Ahhhh, that's better. Look at that gorgeous view, very Dutch those red tiled roofs.
Let's go a bit further and have a nice walk in the woods. It's very quiet there, this time of year. Very quiet and very bare, as you can see here.
But not everything is bare, some shrubs still have berries on them for the birds to feed on.
This tree looks very odd, don't you think? I hope it's not ill with something or other.
The pine trees are evergreen of course which is rather nice at this time of year when everything looks so bare, grey and dull.
But there's one thing that makes coming home great: all those lovely little lights twinkling away during the holiday season. They make for such a warm welcome home on a cold, gloomy winter's day like today.
A blissful 2008 everybody!

copyright 2008: Y.E.W. Heuzen

It's no coincidence that New Year resolutions are made when the garden is at its bleakest.
Monty Don, My Roots, A Decade in the Garden, 2005