Stromboli's Rolling Log: May 2017

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.

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 .