So how can I explain what happened next in Cologne Germany?
We just arrived from Amsterdam and went to visit the Koln Cathedral.
The cathedral was locked!
All of these strange,
phantasmagorical-creatures were around.
They were acting wild.
Crazy.
I mean this is Germany on a weekday in November!
Do you think I got a lollipop by mistake?
Or maybe it’s just CHEERS to you from CARNIVAL in amazing Koln Deutschland!
(On a big bummer note, my laptop broke. A nice Bulgarian person let me use his laptop to download some photos and send this post to you with no editing. I am traveling in small German towns with no idea when I can buy a new laptop, hopefully before I hit Slovakia. So until then, I am abroad and adrift, laptopless, and missing you and your posts terrifically~
Year: 2015
Ahhhhhhhh, Amsterdam~
It’s November, and one must open one’s windows in order to cool an overheated room. This is when the uniqueness of Amsterdam wafts in, making me think back a lot of years, “Is that incense I’m smelling?”
“Wait no, that’s pot.”
Amsterdam sure is aromatic.
And mellow.
I can see why they have so many incredible pastry shops, and people eating in them all night long!
I mean they even have cannabis lollipops. I never liked pot when I was young, but breathing deeply in my room now, inadvertently of course, as I type this, does bring up the possibility that this might be more medicinal to me in my soon to be descending senior years. I seem to be feeling really relaxed……
Amsterdam is unapologetic about pot. Here you can see oodles of it growing inside this historic old house boat in the UNESCO World Heritage Area.
In Kinderdjik Holland one finds idyllic scenes like these windmills built in the 1700’s and still in use today.
Holland is justifiably famous for its flowers,
and it’s artists!
Cheers to you from Vincent,
Holland, and I~
(Sorry for the repost but this did not show up in my reader!)
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Ahhhhh Amsterdam……
It’s November, and one must open one’s windows in order to cool an overheated room. This is when the uniqueness of Amsterdam wafts in, making me think back a lot of years, “Is that incense I’m smelling?”
“Wait no, that’s pot.”
Amsterdam sure is aromatic.
And mellow.
I can see why they have so many incredible pastry shops, and people eating in them all night long!
I mean they even have cannabis lollipops. I never liked pot when I was young, but breathing deeply in my room now, inadvertently of course, as I type this, does bring up the possibility that this might be more medicinal to me in my soon to be descending senior years. I seem to be feeling really relaxed……
Amsterdam is unapologetic about pot. Here you can see oodles of it growing inside this historic old house boat in the UNESCO World Heritage Area.
In Kinderdjik Holland one finds idyllic scenes like these windmills built in the 1700’s and still in use today.
Holland is justifiably famous for its flowers,
and it’s artists!
Cheers to you from Vincent,
Holland, and I~
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Mitseadazi~
The Hidatsa or Minnetaree Native People named Yellowstone National Park Mitseadazi which means yellow rock river.
Since then scholars have gotten into all sorts of disagreements about where the Hidatsa saw these yellow rocks in Yellowstone.
I don’t really get the disagreements, yellow rocks and stones are everywhere here!
This is my last post on the American West.
I can imagine how beautiful it must be now,
filling with silent snow,
as the critters hunker down,
for the long, cold, Yellowstone winter.
Cheers to you from the finally raining Holler_
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Dia de los Muertos~
November 1st & 2nd are days for remembering, respecting and honoring dead loved ones in Mexico, many Latin American countries, Spain and Hollerdom.
The Holler is close to the border with Mexico and is blessed with a large Latin American population so the tradition has become familiar.
Marking the Day of the Dead began in Aztec times and was able to survive the cultural suppression of the missionaries.
I admire cultures that remember and remain connected to their deceased ancestors.
In memory and respect for all our ancestors, and for those who honor them~
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Mini Me~
We’ve been home at The Holler for a couple of weeks now. The highlight of the trip was spending time with Mamma Griz and her Mini-me!
Thought you might like to see some more photos of them.
Here they are surveying their vast domain.
It’s mini see, mini do, with these two!
I have never seen such perfectly executed mimicry. Mini is learning how to be a bear.
They live in an awful pretty place,
and they are a awfully handsome pair!
Cheers to you from Mama Griz and Mini-me in their mountain lair~
Note: If you didn’t see the other photos of Mama Griz & Mini-me check out:
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Cabin Fever and The Ol’ Wild West~
Okay, this is a big log cabin! The fireplace weighs 500 tons and is 85 feet tall.
It is of course the six-story lobby of The Old Faithful Inn built in 1903-4.
I have a fever for all kinds of cabins.
They remind me of pioneers, fortitude and the American West.
There seems to be living history you can feel in the real old ones that are still in use.
Jim loves experiencing this too.
We like to stay in cabins and imagine a simpler, more natural world.
With fire for warmth, log walls for safety and wild animals as constant companions.
At home in the wilderness…..
Can you imagine what it was like to travel like a pioneer, stake out a claim, and build your cabin?
Okay, okay, there would be no wi-fi, no indoor plumbing, no grocery stores.
Can you imagine NO WIFI…..Ever????
I can bare knuckle it for 10 days max.
Cheers to you from the, almost wild, WiFi-west~
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Rare Wild Trumpeter Swans~
graceful ballerinas,
plie’ in black stockings.
Mating for life,
there were only 70 left!
With care and concern,
there now are almost 40,000.
Cheers to you from Yellowstone’s Wild Trumpeters~
Note: Trumpeter Swans are the largest swan in the world with wingspans reaching over 3 meters. In 1933, because of extensive hunting, there were only 70 left. They were on the brink of extinction. A breeding population was discovered in Copper River Alaska that was used to reintroduce swans to their native environments. Trumpeters require pristine habitats, today they are threatened by habitat degradation. These swans were photographed in their year round home in Yellowstone National Park. The water in The Yellowstone River has thermally heated areas that allow the swans to survive the harsh Wyoming winters.
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Fastest Four Legs in America~
Everyone knows the fastest land animal in the world is the cheetah, but not everyone knows the second fastest animal in the world is the North American Pronghorn Antelope. Pronghorns can run up to 55 mph for .5 miles. They can run 35 mph for up to 4 miles. In fact, they can run at high speeds for more sustained periods than African Cheetahs.
This is a puzzling ability because no predator in North America can run fast enough to catch a pronghorn, so why is it necessary for pronghorns to run this fast?
Biologists believe that pronghorns evolved to run these speeds in order to evade the now extinct American Cheetah.
During the Pleistocene era, there were twelve species of pronghorns in North America. By the time humans settled on the continent there were five.
We are now left with one remaining species. Pronghorns are in fact not antelopes at all but a unique species named Antilocapra Americana. Handsome creatures aren’t they?
Pronghorns range all over the American west, into Canada and northern Mexico.
They have the longest land migration of any species in the continental US.
They migrate 300 miles roundtrip, between Wyoming’s Upper Green River Basin,
and Grand Teton National Park.
Cheers to you from the fascinating Antilocapra Americana~
