CORONA UPDATE & LOCAL NEWS
The Corona Delta variant is reeking havoc across this tiny country (Netherlands). With infection rates climbing higher daily after the restrictions for masks lifted and many other restrictions lessened or obsolete, the virus has once again reached gigantic proportions in the terms of how many are infected. I said before, and I will keep saying it, masks are the key to less infections, and people not congregating together in closed stores and restaurants. It is summer, there really isn't a reason why people can not dine outside in the open air, it might not be the ideal situation, but neither is the health care situation where we can not get normal surgeries due to hospitals being full for months with corona patients and some closed due to lack of personnel able to fulfill the duties necessary with the influx of so many patients to care for. Healthcare personnel are tired after 18 plus months of corona patients.
Now we currently have flooding issues for the last few weeks of non-stop rain and many are dead or lost in floods in Germany. The Netherlands has been had hit also, but today a dam has broken and created more water issues. Luckily the dam near me held and I was just walking near there and the water has receded today since the rain stopped. I feel very fortunate to not have to deal with the distress of that, but I certainly feel for those that have had to suffer with these issues, and will continue to suffer until it is resolved. Our beautiful castle just a street away from me had water and the roadway was totally covered. I was sick upon seeing that, as it is a favorite element here for me, a restful place for me to go and rest when I am weary from life's struggles, and it's just a place of beauty. One of the things that I love here in Europe are the castles and old architecture. I never tire of seeing the "old beauty' that is not available in a young country such as America.
I think my raspberries (frambozen) are probably not going to produce much this year due to the excessive rain and low temps, nor my fruit trees apple, pear and plum, and my strawberries while they produced in great abundance before the rain, I think those are now done in by the low temps and too much water for this year. My hoop house with tomatoes does seem to be ok at the moment, although with so much water outside and the high humidity with the low temps, it will be a wonder if they do not develop mold sickness. The one thing that did not seem to mind the water was my borage, it is still in full bloom and today the bees were hovering over every plant. The people that have the honey bee hives should have some nutritious and delicious honey this year because they have had the borage and the lemon balm, and the purple basil in addition to the other medicinal plants that they have frequented. The huge hummels (bumble bees) are huge here, and they love the purple basil, and I love watching them. I move through the walkways and they have not bothered me at all, they just seem happy to coexist there with me like family. The honey bees also have not bothered to be bothered by me, and I've seen several of the hummels in my lantern filled with moss and sticks, hopefully depositing eggs there. I can't say I have enjoyed the snails, but I think I need to plant things on the outside of my beds so they do not travel further inside. Perhaps if I get my raised beds finished before next year I will have less issues with them.
So, I'll just end this evening being thankful for what I don't have and what has not occurred, and sometimes those are the greatest blessings of all.
Take care good friends, and new friends that happen to find me, it's my hope that something you find from my endeavors will provide assistance, or at least a bit of hope when there is a sense of despair.
Gardening and life ..... are not always the easiest pathways to travel, but if we enjoy the beauty around us, the serenity that wild life and plants bring to our lives, we too can find a bit of serenity and peacefulness inside our own minds and bodies, and in turn improve our minds, our health and our ability to foster a better sense of just "being".
If we were ducks we wouldn't mind the water, if we were snails we wouldn't mind the rain, if we were birds we wouldn't mind the beetles and grasshoppers and aphids, if we were not human, we wouldn't be able to enjoy the gardens and wildlife in the way that we alone can. With each species there is something to enjoy, and things to fear, we are certainly not an exception to that.
