Dear coffee-friends,
I hope all of you are well and enjoying a beautiful autumn. Some of you noticed that I was less active on social media for the past ten days. This is because I couldn't always write since I was walking in nature for some days, then needed to finish all kinds of tasks in the Netherlands, followed by returning to Ottawa.
So, in case you missed my newsletter, let me first share the two latest articles; you can find them here and here.
Welcome to new supporters who bought me cups of coffee, and welcome to the new member who will support my activities monthly. Thank you all for your support; it means a lot to me.
Memories of this summer: breakfast in Madrid, July 23, 2022
For those newcomers: I do not see these BMAC (Buy me a Coffee) posts as a separate newsletter. The BMAC platform is not as easy to use as Substack, where I publish for The Planet newsletter. Nor was it ever my intention to open a second channel. BMAC is not a publication with a subscription but an initiative to support more than just writing a newsletter, like my activism, travel, podcasts, videos, lectures, or photography.
However, since there is the option to write directly to you, I started to use this channel. BMAC supporters form a different group. Not only is it a smaller community, but unlike the subscribers to The Planet newsletter, I know many of you. Somehow BMAC feels more like a friends group, making it easier to share informally photos or stories that I'm either still working on or didn't want to post to everybody for whatever reason. Some of these I share on Twitter, but most posts are just for members and supporters.
For now, I have a few photos for you:
I took this one in Utrecht some two weeks ago. The "Oude Gracht," the Old Canal, forms the city's artery. The view from this bridge hasn't changed since the days that I studied here in the 1980s. But in the rest of the town, I see many positive changes. The city's center is practically car-free, and most of the town has very little car traffic. It's a green city for cyclists and pedestrians. On many roads, the car is a guest on the bike lane and thus can't drive faster than the cyclists. Another positive change is the many new cafes and restaurants. The next time you visit the Netherlands, skip Amsterdam and take a train to nearby Utrecht; you will enjoy the cozy atmosphere in this university city.
A week ago, I made a last early-morning walk in nature close to my Dutch home on the island in the province of Zeeland. There was already a feeling of autumn, the season of spiders and mushrooms. I always say goodbye to this nature area when I leave, knowing I will always return here.
Another photo from the same area, just because I loved the light, shadows, and green hues that returned soon after the drought had ended.
I need your help here: what kind of flower is this? It was sticking out of a hedge in a city in the Netherlands.
This is the first photo I took after I returned to Ottawa. I often walk here, and it is a beautiful spot to follow the foliage that has just started.
This year has been one of walking, and I saw in my notes that I hadn't run since November last year. So, yesterday morning, I put on my running shoes for my first run in ten months. This is the halfway spot where I turned around after four kilometers. On the top-left, you can see the parliament buildings. In the middle are the locks of the Rideau Canal, which connects Ottawa to Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River at Kingston. It is North America's oldest continuously operated canal system and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
I took the photo I placed at the opening of this post during a morning walk close to home: one of the first trees to show its magnificent autumn colors. I hope to see -and share- more of the foliage this weekend.
That's it for now, enjoy this colorful season wherever you are.
If you like to join as a member: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/AlexVerbeek