Day 19, May 2, 2017 Airport, Wetlands and a good meal. Last Day!

 The last day was mostly driving and getting our things to the airport for a one night stay before departing in the AM on the 8:00 Delta Flight to Detroit.

The morning was leisurely and after good conversation at the breakfast table where we traded stories about our early life in our homes and what we did when young, the time came to get the bags out to the car and  say our goodbyes to Garda as we were taking Renate with us to Hoofddorp , her home, and eating one last meal with us  as she had fed us the entire time we were there.

There was even time for  one last viewing of the birds at a quite isolated wetlands not very far (30 minutes) from her house. We did that first. This was called the "Green Jonker",  There was a man there who ives nearby and knew the birds well in Dutch and English so that was to our advantage. He let us see the birds through his scope and pointed out a few we had not seen. A few of those are on the photos here.

The wildlife area today

We walked about the first 4 or 5 dots from the parking lot.

A surprise were these European Avocets , which are small and have a
shorter beak than the N. American ones.

Two good views of part of the pond, Excellent bird watching.

The Black Gulls and Mediterranean Gulls got excited.

Another view, there were about a dozen birds that we saw  and ID'd.

A spotted Red Shank.

An Avocet 

A Gray Heron

Renate and Ruth walking out through the sheep "do". Had to
pick you steps carefully.

Waiting for the shuttle at the airport. (5:45 PM)

So this will be the last blog until Thursday , when I will wrap up with a summary. So don't sign off just yet.
See you soon.

Day 18, May 1, 2017 Last day at Enschede, Electronic milking, Salt wells.

Its a REAL STROMBOLI!

That's right! It's winding down to the last days. Tomorrow we head fort the airport in the evening and get ready for a 5:00AM airport check in.

But let's relate the great adventures of today, first. The day threatened rain for the first time we have been here (it was an all day rain and very overcast all day).  So the activities deemed that we stay inside if at all possible. Renate's Nephew lives a few "Clicks" from this home, and he volunteered to give us a tour of his milking facilities and to show us how the "automatic milking" works for this dairyman in the Netherlands. We shall call him "Henk" as that is his name. He was just finishing the milking and the cows were feeding some as they were getting ready to be let out of the holding barn into the pasture to feed on grass.

Henk has a herd of milking cows that number around 85, with none in the "hospital" and a few ready (coming fresh) to  join the herd soon. (There were about 20 in the "expectant mothers" pen, and four calves that had been born recently. )  This is a two person operation, just he and his wife. The photos will tell most of this story. Interesting that the Netherlands has a rule about the maximum size of herds depending on many factors. But there is a limit on how many he can have in his herd.  We observed the holding pen, the milking parlor, the supplies and equipment barn and a barn that held the expectant mothers , before we headed for the house for a cup of coffee, some sharing, and a Dutch cookie. There were as many questions about the USA farming as we asked Henk and his wife about farming in the Netherlands.

See below for the salt museum in Delden.

The milking parlor for 85 cows Some cows stay in if they need specail feed.

They head out to the grass after milking

An automated and programmed manure scraper.
It all goes under in a two feet pit.

Cows can be "sent to the hospital "(two gates guide them)
if there is an issue. All by computer.

Henk shows the "hands on" work he does. Puts the machine on the teats.

                                                        He can milk 20 cows at a time.

The main computer in the milking parlor.
It can detect which cow is in which pen
before milking and records the amount of milk given.

The main centrifuge and het exchanger, that moves the milk through a
first coolant. .It has to end up at 5 C in the holding tank

Holding tank holds 20,000 kilos. It is picked
up every three days.

The filter takes out any accidental dirt or scraps.

Very important ...the temperature reduction assembly

The reheater which takes the water back into the feeding for the cows

Henks tractor 

Henk the dairyman

Automatic feeder for young calves 5 times a dy.
Just the right amount by computer.

The expectant "Mommas"

IN a few weeks he expects these silos to be filled with hay (grass)
Note solar panels that make his use of energy usually a "break even "
with the energy Company. (no cost) 

The cows in a part of the 89 hectares on the farm
He uses about 60 hectares for the cows.

A delivery of salt arrived while we were there.
He adds salt to the hay when it is stacked to aid the cows nutrition

We did take some coffee and cookie while we shared  each
others knowledge and stories. (Wi, Mn, Mi, and NY  were
mentioned especially about dairy herds.

  Finally today we visited a Salt Museum in Le...den. In the last century the people had no potable water, A man dug a well and found salt and brought up the brine .Great business, so he also bought water to the community by pipe. This is one of two largest brine wells in the Netherlands. There are 14 wells in the Province .

The salt museum in Delden had many displays about the history
of salt and its use in the world.

Most of remember the struggles of Mahatma Ghandi, and if not, see the movie
of the same name.

World salt production. (US is #2)

Some of the many salt  (and pepper) shakers

Most of the world used salt as a preservative before refrigeration.

A diagram of the many salt brine wells in this area.

The water tower the man built for the city
when he found them water.

Day 17, 2017 (Sunday) April 30, 2017 "Brunch", German style

The first full day at Enschede involved some birding (of course) but was centered around driving a few miles to a German Restaurant  (Haar Muhle) that served what they call a "brunch". This was no ordinary brunch as it took 3-4 hours to finish eating. The menu below, even though in German and Dutch, gives you an idea of why.

Note that he time of serving (the buffet) gives
you time to "Take a Walk". That was printed on
the Dutch side of the menu.

This restaurant is on the border between Germany and Netherlands, so the language spoken can be either Dutch or German  and the waitresses were fluent in both.  Renate states that on the border both languages can be spoken but the dialect of either one would be the way you could tell which was the persons first language.

Of course eating each of the foods would be impossible (for most of us) but tasting things you like, or have never tried is a possibility.  We started out with the typical breakfast of eggs, sausage, and some bread (Oh how the Dutch and the Germans like bread.)  There was also the fancy fish and a table full of seafoods, cheeses, and meats of all types and kinds as the German's love to indulge in the meats. Some salads and the many other thing you can interpret from the menu.

Next came the soup course which was a remarkable cauliflower soup that was small piece cut into a broth. Surprisingly tasty.

After a long walk around one of the many trails by the mill and the water falls (Oh I'll show you the mill which was built after the first building in this site in 1617) between the first and second courses (your table is your table for the entire four courses), we returned  for the third course which was hot dishes including fish, a pork side sliced, potatoes, green bean mix,  mushroom sauce, and many vegetables.

The main table for the first course

The seafood  table for the first course.

THE MILL 

The main floor for the mill. Like many mills of this date  (1617)
It had three floors to allow the flow of water to work effectively.

The cogs for the main gear.

Seems impossible that there has been a
mill here for 700 years.

Many people might ask why the flags are all at the same height?
A good question and I don't know the answer as they are all
flying in Germany across the border from the Netherlands.

We ended the day with a short tour to a "man made" (artificial) lake where there was a viewing station. We did see some  birds already seen, but picked up a Little Plover along with Lapwings, Sand Swallows, Crested Grebes and a Yellow Wagtail.

A Wagtail

A black Headed Gull

Lesser Plover 

Rook.Yes that is its name!

Many bike trails in this area and much of Holland.
This is near the Restaurant.

The lake on the right is a place the children could skate from one country
(Germany) to another (Netherlands) again and again as they
skated round the island in the border.

So it was another great day as our trip begins to wind down. Thanks for reading and watching. Tomorrow will be the last day and we will visit a milking parlor, some WW2 troop sites , and possibly a salt Museum depending on the weather. Today was bright and sunny all day , but unseasonably cool for this time of the year . Happy May day!