where we live

one could say we literally live at a low point in the Dutch countryside, as we live very close (ca.100 metres) to this pumping-station -gemaal in Dutch- in what is known as a polder, flat areas of land that before drainage and the digging of canals were marshes; in this part of the Netherlands we live below sealevel so we're protected from the sea and the rivers by dikes and dunes and a whole system of canals/rivers, pumping-stations and sluices. This pumping-station is situated at the lowest point in the polder and built on one side of the dike along the river Linge and can pump excess water from the polder into the river on the other side of the dike and vice versa. A small part of this dike lies at one end of our garden. We are surrounded by many shades of green, earth, water and a lot of sky.

in memory of those who since 1231 dedicated themselves to maintaining the Spickersluise, later named the Polder Spijk, included in the polderdistrict Tielerwaard 1 january 1969.

east side of our house, why did I take this photograph: underneath the wooden cladding bats live and they moved in before we did 16 years ago

bat-poo on the east-facing window in our living room; unfortunately I have not managed to take a picture of the bats flying as it is too dark when they're up and about. Which is now 22:20 hrs