Nimavenl - Nicole's Random Ramblings

It's no secret that I love taking photos - mostly of nature and the natural world. Clouds, the sky, trees and flowers - we live in a beautiful and amazing world, a world we ignore too often as we rush around living our busy lives. Up early a few days ago, I caught a ridiculously beautiful sunrise on camera. I hope you enjoy this photo as much as I enjoyed watching the sky turn pink! Stunning Sunrise Sky | Nimavenl

The wind is raging outside, the trees are blowing in the wind as if they're small shoots and news reports ( Telegraaf.nl, in Dutch ) speak of trees falling down, trucks falling over, cancelled flights at Schiphol airport and severe weather warnings in parts of the country. There's a big storm raging, indeed. Stormy Weather Today | Nimavenl Code Yellow for most of the country, Code Orange for everything to the north of me and in Germany the storm's bad enough that they've named it Hurricane Niklas. Wow! " The KNMI weather bureau is warning of dangerous conditions throughout the Netherlands and has issued a code yellow weather warning. Gusts of 110 km an hour have already been recorded on the Wadden Islands to the north of the country. " Storm brings transport chaos to the Netherlands | DutchNews.nl Clouds were raging past outside my windows earlier (see the photo to the right) while right now, all I'm seeing is blue sky with one tiny cloud. The b...

One of my favourite artists is Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890). Not only did he paint an amazing " Starry Night over the Rhone " and a ridiculously beautiful ("Almond Blossom" also known as) " Blossoming Almond Tree ", he also painted many other stunning works that I love. I'm a big fan of colour in life, in nature and in art, which is why I prefer Vincent van Gogh's more colourful and colour-filled works to the darker ones. The darker paintings are often detailed, intricate and very beautiful indeed (just look at " The Potato Eaters "), yet they don't speak to me the same way the more colourful scenes do. However... “If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” I certainly believe that to be true, in real life and in Vincent's paintings too! “ Many people seem to think it foolish, even superstitious, to believe that the world could still change for the better. And it is true that in winter it is some...

"If you truly love nature,   you will find beauty everywhere."  ~ Vincent van Gogh

Grijze lucht... Af en toe wat zonneschijn door het wolkendek heen... Ben benieuwd of we nog iets te zien krijgen! Zo ja, dan moet het er, volgens de website hemel.waarnemen.com ongeveer uitzien zoals op dit plaatje. Fingers crossed !

Today there are elections in The Netherlands. We vote twice today, once to elect new members of the provincial councils and once to elect new members of the water boards. Today people will vote about the future of the country, about how we want our country to be, who we want in government, who we want in power. Today we speak out about what matters to us by voting. As I sit here writing this I am still trying to decide which party to vote for in the provincial council elections, which is why I haven't been to vote yet. When it comes to the water boards, I know exactly which party I will vote for and why. In case you're curious, I'll be voting for Water Natuurlijk because their vision best matches my own. To read about why water boards exist in The Netherlands, check out DutchNews.nl's excellent article " Why you should vote for your local water board? A dijkgraaf explains all " which really does explain the importance of water management in The Netherland...

Walking through town yesterday I came across this stunning tree and couldn't resist taking a photo! A Tree in the City | Nimavenl

Vandaag ben ik Alkmaar stad in geweest en heb ik genoten van het warme weer en het lekkere zonnetje. Na een bezoek aan de bibliotheek om de lezing " Van Gogh en de Gekte " over Vincent van Gogh bij te wonen liep ik naar buiten en zag ik de Grote Kerk schitteren in de zon. Even gewacht tot de mensen weg waren en toen deze foto genomen. Ik ben geen christen en ga niet naar de kerk, maar vind veel kerken wel ontzettend mooie gebouwen. Daarom deze foto van een mooi oud gebouw, geniet er van! Grote Kerk Alkmaar | Nimavenl

Women are special, amazing, delicate, strong, powerful, mighty, dedicated, loving, caring, compassionate, intelligent, brave, honourable, beautiful, smart, kind and yes - they are  heroic fighters too! Tomorrow is World Women's Day, a perfect opportunity to speak up about women who inspire me. " International Women's Day (8 March) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. In some places like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, International Women's Day is a national holiday. "  Source: International Women's Day website Brave Kurdish women are battling those trying to eradicate them, theirs and their way of life: ISIS and others who think and believe as they do. This year, World Women's Day starts in Kurdistan, which means it feels very right to look to Kurdish women as women the whole world can be proud of and look up to - women who stand up for what is just and right, who fight f...

Ik ben het volledig met de Nederlandse Spoorwegen eens: "Handen thuis of blijf thuis!" " Een van onze collega’s is in de nacht van donderdag op vrijdag ernstig mishandeld terwijl zij haar werk deed in een trein op station Hoofddorp. Onze hoofdconducteur werd door iemand zo zwaar toegetakeld dat ze moet worden geopereerd. NS is zeer ontdaan door dit voorval, leeft met haar mee en roept de politiek op om samen met NS dergelijke gevallen van agressie in de toekomst te bestrijden. De hoofdconducteur deed gisteravond tussen Schiphol en eindpunt Hoofddorp haar laatste ronde door de trein. In de eerste klas kwam zij een reiziger tegen die de trein niet uit wilde. Even later, op het perron, ziet ze de man in de deuropening staan. Vanaf dat moment is het voor haar een zwart gat en herinnert ze zich niet wat er is gebeurd. De machinist vindt haar later op de grond. Ze heeft diverse breuken in haar gezicht. Ze wordt vandaag geopereerd. De politie heeft een aanhouding verric...

Tree Branch, Blue Sky | Nimavenl Here's another two photos from last weekend's Photo Walk. Well really, it's two versions of the same photo - the original and the edited version. This is the third time this week I'm sharing photos of tree branches and I'm as happy with this photo (or should that be 'these photos'?) as with the other two. On the 3rd, I shared two photos, as today an original and an edited version . Two days ago (on the 4th) I only shared a single photo - I liked the edited version a little better than the (slightly more boring feeling) original, to be honest.   Am very much looking forward to another Photo Walk this weekend, just not in the same location! Am hoping to capture some urban scenes and landscapes this weekend as well as photos of nature - I love living in a city with buildings that are hundreds of years old and am looking forward to spending some more time enjoying those buildings and learning about their history! Tree ...

Here are some inspirational quotes by the very wise Albert Einstein. “ If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales. ” ― Albert Einstein “ I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. ” ― Albert Einstein “ Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. ” ― Albert Einstein “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.” ― Albert Einstein Source: Albert Einstein Quotes , Goodreads

Out walking this past weekend, I came across lots of funky-looking branches. After taking photos of lots of them I am sharing my favourites this week. I already shared an original and an edited photo of tree branches yesterday, and today - you guessed it - is a great day to share another photo. I love taking photos of nature: Trees, flowers, grass, rivers, rocks, stones, pebbles, earth, the sky, clouds, bushes, plants, weeds, you name it. I also love taking photos of bridges and buildings and other man-made structures, however nature  remains my favourite subject. Nature is always beautiful and amazing,  Always special and yes, always changing. I wrote this yesterday, however it feels appropriate for today's post due to the recurring theme of trees and branches: "The birds outside seem to be having a wonderful time surfing the winds and basking in the sun. The trees are swaying in the wind, the branches seem to have a life of their own. A beam of sunlight light...

I logged on to Twitter yesterday and one of the first things I saw was this post by the amazingly talented Alison Jardine. It felt a little like she'd read my mind in writing this captivating caption. Having lived in New Zealand where it is often much quieter than in the middle of Europe, I sometimes miss the connection to nature and to the environment that somehow feels more 'available' there than here. I'll find myself day-dreaming about deserted beaches where all you hear is the sound of the waves, the wind and a few birds in the distance. In my dreams there is silence, indeed! 'In My Dreams There is Silence' 22"x30" charcoal, graphite & coffee pic.twitter.com/DieLMaT79C #art . — Alison Jardine (@alisonjardine) March 3, 2015