Bamberg~

On January 30, 2016January 30, 2016 By cindy knokeIn Conservation, EXTERIOR & INTERIOR DESIGN, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, TRAVEL REVIEWS234 Comments

The early medieval town of Bamberg is in northern Bavaria and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It has one of Europe’s largest intact old town squares and is remarkable due to its distinctive half-timbered old buildings.

Bamberg was originally settled by the Slavs and starting in the 10th century served as a link between central and eastern Europe.

In the 11th century the town’s unique style strongly influenced the architectural development of central Europe.

During the 18th century enlightenment, Bamberg was the home of the philosopher Hegel and ETA Hoffman who wrote The Nutcracker.

The Alte Hofhaltung, or Old Palace, dates from 10th and 11th centuries. The inner courtyard is surrounded by half-timbered buildings with steeply pitched roofs and stunning wooden walkways.

Bamberg is a visual feast!

It is also pleasing to the palate with wonderful restaurants and is famous for its beer! The town has nine breweries, one of which makes an unusual smoky tasting brew, which no, I didn’t try, and neither did my husband which is a surprise because he is the beer aficionado in the family. I guess we’ll just have to go back!

The town is ideal for exploring on foot and full of wonderful surprises at every turn.

Cheers to you from the remarkably beautiful old town of Bamberg~

Lo-Down Ankole Watusi Holler Life-

On January 25, 2016January 25, 2016 By cindy knokeIn Conservation, Coyotes, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Tech Marvels260 Comments

The Holler is really a Holler and not only for the birds.

It is for low-down, on the ground, critter life as well. Meet the new, free range calf.

And, meet the guys who are overly fond of new free range calves.

We were quite done with watching the coyotes prey on the defenseless calves, and the cowboy intermittently shoot the coyotes.

This approach solved nothing.

The cowboy who grazes the free range cattle on the 1200 acre state-owned nature preserve that abuts The Holler, finally came up with a creative solution.

You know I value creativity. It is why I love bloggers so much!

Anyhoo, meet the new juvenile Ankole-Watusi bull. Imagine how big he is gonna be when he is all “growed” up!

These are African free range cattle that grow horns up to eight feet from tip to tip. At night, in Africa, when predators are active, the Ankole adults place the calves in the center, while the adults, and their eight foot horns defend the perimeter through intimidation. They are highly protective of calves and able to repel African predators. These cattle can subsist in drought conditions with low water and feed.

They are currently interbred in Europe and North America and, and news to me, The Holler. I had no idea of the Ankole solution until my telephoto saw them, and I sent it straight from my camera, to your eyes!

I am grateful to my camera because Ankole can be quite aggressive towards humans. If my camera hadn’t alerted me to their presence, I would still be hiking in the preserve, not expecting an ambush by potentially aggressive African bulls!

The coyotes are now in a state of détente. When the Ankoles lower their horns in the coyotes direction, off the coyotes trot. Coyotes regulate their estrus and birth cycles in accordance with environmental conditions. They are intelligent and adaptable. As they are able to kill less calves, they will limit their birth rates, and subsist on rodents.

Of course the poor squirrels have no say in this matter, but at least they can run fast into their extensive burrows.

Cheers to you from the still wild, and almost natural, Holler~
For more than you probably ever want to know about the Ankole-Watusi check out: http://edventures.phoenixzoo.org/pdf/animalFactSheets/watusiCattle.pdf

The Holler Soars~

On January 21, 2016January 21, 2016 By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES260 Comments

Transcendent hawk.

Soaring above us all.

Watching everything,

engaging nothing.

Touching earth only for a bite,

and then sailing up again,

catching wind drafts with a friend.

Forever, chasing rainbows.

Cheers to you from The Holler and her hawks~

The Holler Preens it’s Plumage~

On January 17, 2016January 18, 2016 By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES266 Comments

I couldn’t do another post on Holler birds without including The Holler Hummers could I?

The year-round hummers are mellow and co-operative.

Right, and I am the Queen of Bavaria!

We have oak groves full of all sorts of birds including droves of Acorn Woodpeckers in their smart red pope caps.

There are Western Scrub Jays,

who don’t like being photographed,

and very shy Western Bluebirds,

who like it even less!

“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without words
And never stops at all.” (Emily Dickinson)
Cheers to you from your Holler feathered friends~

The Holler Flaunts it’s Feathers~

On January 13, 2016 By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES231 Comments

Ahhh, home at The Holler!

I’ve told you before, The Holler is ‘for the birds.’

And this is just how we like it!

Check out the cheeky, chirpy ones.

The beep-beep felt like a photo-op today,

and even forgot to run away!

He actually posed and beeped, vain meeper!

The mocking bird was in modeling mode, although still a very coy boy.

Cheers to you from The Holler and the world’s best neighbors~

Amsterdam Seen~

On January 10, 2016 By cindy knokeIn MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS235 Comments

In one day,

walking in Amsterdam,

you can find all sorts of unusual things.

In one day walking anywhere,

you can find remarkable things!

Just look and you’ll see.

Cheers to you,

from the unusual, the remarkable, the strange,

the beauty that is around you everyday!

Life Inside an Amsterdam Houseboat~

On January 6, 2016 By cindy knokeIn Conservation, EXTERIOR & INTERIOR DESIGN, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS288 Comments

Vincent Van Loon was a houseboat owner in Amsterdam who was constantly being questioned by tourists about his houseboat and what life was like for him living on it.

So, in 1997 he decided to open a houseboat in Amsterdam to the public to address this curiosity.

Take a peek inside the Maria Hendrika!

She was built in 1914 to haul materials up and down the canals.

In the 1960’s she was converted to a houseboat where people lived until she was opened to the public for tours in 1997. And yep, that’s me, reflected in the mirror.

Holland houseboats have all the comforts of home as you can see, including heating, kitchens, living rooms, bathrooms, bedrooms and decks which function as garden terraces.

There are approximately 3,050 houseboats in Amsterdam with people living onboard, and 100,000 legally occupied houseboats in all of the Netherlands.

Does life aboard a houseboat appeal to you? If it does, and you want to try out living aboard, there are houseboat bed & breakfasts you can stay in to see if you like the lifestyle.

Cheers to you from a cozy and comfortable Amsterdam houseboat~

Rijksmuseum 17th Century Dollhouses~

On January 1, 2016 By cindy knokeIn Conservation, EXTERIOR & INTERIOR DESIGN, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Tech Marvels, TRAVEL REVIEWS314 Comments

In the 17th century, women in Holland created and displayed miniature dollhouses, in much the same way that men of their era, collected and displayed curiosity cabinets. (You can click the images to enlarge them)

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has three of these dollhouses, two are pictured here, one from 1676 and another from 1686.

These dollhouses were not meant for children and could cost as much as an actual canal house at the time.

One dollhouse creator Petronella Oortman, commissioned artists of her day to create a perfectly to scale house with marble floors, sculpted ceilings, hand painted wall frescoes, and doors that opened on a garden with a working fountain. She commissioned miniature porcelain from China.

There is something about these miniature worlds that fascinate us to this day, whether it be scale model trains and towns, or intricate dollhouses.

Many humans like to be creators and masters of their own perfect little worlds, absent the stress and strife of real life. They are miniature dream worlds where everything is beautiful and peaceful.

These old dollhouses are time capsules, that allow us to travel back in time and imagine what life was like in 1686 living in Holland, on the canals, in this house.

Creating a house like this must be like Zen meditation, the creator lost in the bliss of their own imagination.

I would love to make one, but can well imagine the mounting costs, and how much I might get into it.

But it is free to look at these amazing houses, that others have built before us, and it sends our imaginations soaring across time, back to them.
Cheers to you and may your New Year be happy and peaceful~

Cindy Knoke

Month: January 2016

Bamberg~

Like this:

Lo-Down Ankole Watusi Holler Life-

Like this:

The Holler Soars~

Like this:

The Holler Preens it’s Plumage~

Like this:

The Holler Flaunts it’s Feathers~

Like this:

Amsterdam Seen~

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Life Inside an Amsterdam Houseboat~

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Rijksmuseum 17th Century Dollhouses~

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