New Photos

We are still without internet but hopefully it will be installed this week which we are all looking forward to. We are having to bootleg intermittent access from the wi-fi cafe next door and the neighbors upstairs. The only way we get access is to hang the wireless connector out the window and prop the window open with a wooden spoon. Yeah, I think you all need to see the lengths I'm going through to get this important information out to you! Next upload, I promise. Anyway, I put some new pictures out for you to see (taken with our new camera). More news soon!

Churchyard

Moved 080410/sa

Off line due to move. Should be back online by April 21st. Check back then.

Keukenhof: The most beautiful spring garden in the world 080328/sa

It is said that nowhere else in the world are the flowers and colors of spring as glorious as at Keukenhof, and after visiting there this weekend, I don’t doubt it.

Keukenhof is a historic park covering almost 80 acres, full of tulips, hyacinths, daffodils and other spring bulbs. The flowers in the park are a glorious visual feast with exquisite works of art peppered throughout. Keukenhof is an unforgettable experience. The park is peaceful and serene and it has been one of the most popular destinations in the Netherlands for almost 60 years and is famous worldwide. With more than 42 million visitors in the last 58 years, it is also said that Keukenhof is the most photographed place and event in the world annually and I have no doubt that it is. We had a field day with our cameras. Check out our Keukenhof photo album. I’ve never been so into flowers before and feel pretty sure I can say the same for Rick, yet again, we came home with almost five hundred pictures.

Keukenhof park is only opened for a brief period each year (March 20 - May 18)–less than two months. The rest of the time is devoted to maintenance and special events. It purports to have over 4.5 million tulips in 100 varieties and 7 million flower bulbs are planted by hand each year! There are almost ten miles of footpaths and more than 2,500 trees in 87 varieties.

Though Keukenhof is a park put together by man, as I walked the trails, I couldn’t help my thoughts being drawn back to the original garden–Eden–and once again, saw God. He is so creative--He must design flowers in His spare time! I think the Garden of Eden must have been much like Keukenhof–and like my future heavenly garden will be–that makes me excited!

Besides posting all these pictures for friends and family to see, I’ve been trying to decide what I can do with all the beautiful pictures–seems such a waste just to sit here. I’m thinking of incorporating a greeting card company–send your ditties and I’ll personalize a card for you!

Note to Vicki: I think we should save our money and come over to Keukenhof in a couple of years and shoot photos from dawn til dusk for two or three days. Playing with the lights and shadows was a blast, but I needed a couple of days. Some pictures would have been so cool with the sun on the opposite side. This is a photographer’s paradise–and to think I thought they were only flowers!

Jan & Vicki: I think you're the only ones reading this blog so you better comment occasionally so I know you're there!