Week 29
I continue to be enthralled with the work of Alphons van Winden - his in depth weather analysis is a pleasure to read - he also looks at the water levels of the Rhine and the Meuse.
waterpeilen = water levels
Evaporation in June was exceptionally large
In the month of June we experienced one of the longest dry spells ever in the Netherlands. This drought period started in mid-May and lasted until about June 20. In the last week of June, there was still some precipitation everywhere, especially in the southeast of the country, so that the month itself was not exceptionally dry.
What is particularly striking about this month, however, was not the precipitation, but the evaporation. With approximately 132 mm of evaporation, it was in De Bilt after July 2018 (then 135 mm) the month with the highest amount of evaporation. As the top graph below shows, the evaporation was even 20 mm higher than the highest value reached so far in June.
Four of the five June months with the highest evaporation can be found in the measurement series in the period since 2010. The trend line (blue line) of the evaporation in June is also clearly upwards. The long-term average is now about 100 mm, while it used to be about 85 mm.
The trendline suggests that it is a steadily ascending line, but that is not the case. At the beginning of the series, the average was around 90 mm for a long time, before falling sharply in the 1980s. It is only since 1990 that years with a low amount of evaporation have become almost non-existent and the average has risen rapidly.
verdamping = evaporation
neerslag = rainfall
neerslagtekort = rainfall shortage
Coincidentally, I happened upon this graphic only a couple of days later...in the news about the record high temperatures in Europe and elsewhere.
That is to say, there seems to be an obvious link in the rising line for evaporation to the increasing temperatures. I'm not sure why he looks at evaporation - probably very much a Netherlands thing where so much is dependent on water levels
Back at "work".
Janny took the clients fishing...
We had to clean out the Care Apartment - the chap who lives there styles himself as a
"streuner". (Is "gone walkabout" politically incorrect these days?)
The Dutch translation gave "groaner". But I always thought he meant that he is a "poacher" or "wanderer".
Another translation gave...
"a dog or cat, etc that has strayed and has no home". Sadly, this is more like it. We provide the housing but he has no skills to maintain it in any way - inside or out.
So, we go in every now and then and take trailer loads to the tip...
I sometimes wonder that the "State" provides the money for someone to live like this - but it's all part of a package of the "system" doing it's best for one of it's own.
TRANSLATION of Streuner | PASSWORD GERMAN–ENGLISH DICTIONARY
stray [noun] a cat, dog etc that has strayed and has no home.
(Translation of Streuner from the PASSWORD German–English Dictionary © 2014 K Dictionaries Ltd)
This will be the 2nd load to the tip...
We had to pull out the old kitchen - so Janny found a cheap IKEA version that we could put back in - without cupboards (no space to hoard stuff).
We had to relocate the drain and make a few adjustments to the IKEA fittings - but we had all the bits and pieces on hand (collected over more than 25 years of plumbing fittings).
On Thursday, we arranged things so that we could leave early to go to Amsterdam to see Paul and Heather, and Ben.
We parked at the Rai P & R parking garage - which was advertising 32 euros for a day - but with park and ride (on the public transport) the cost was only 6 euros. We walked a bit and then took the underground to a Social Hub Hotel (one of Ben's employers).
We were trying to surprise Paul and Heather by telling them that we were too busy to get down - but Paul saw my location on Google Maps when he checked where the Uber driver was going :)
A good night's sleep and then breakfast before Paul and Heather headed to Schiphol - on their way to London and "Abba" in the evening. Ben was also heading to Schiphol a bit later - going to Berlin (staying at another Social Hub Hotel) and then a musical festival on Saturday.
All too hectic for us (me). We got home and immediately packed up to go for a couple of nights on the boat. Reading, listening to footy, walking, eating, totally relaxing by doing nothing.
We asked the havenmeester first - the boat that normally lives here is away on holidays, so we could spend the weekend there. Mark also said that he is looking for a similar spot for us to be permanently. It's just a good spot to be for Boeke - a bit like a holiday house on the water.
I've also booked the workshed for the end of September - for the annual paint job
But for the first 2 weeks of September, we are off to Dokkum again - for the Admiralitietsdagen Festival.
The next Admiralty Days will take place on 7, 8, 9 and 10 September 2023. The Admiralty Days are an annual maritime event that takes place in Dokkum. The event is named after the Admiralty of Friesland and Groningen, which used to be located here. During the Admiralty Days, the waters around Dokkum are filled with beautiful tallships, historic ships and modern boats. Visitors can enjoy spectacular nautical shows, live music, culinary delights, fairs and many other activities. It is a festive and vibrant occasion where the rich maritime history of Dokkum comes to life.
I found an old book in my bookshelf "Through the German Waterways" - but it is from 1975 and almost totally useless these days. It was before the fall of the Wall and there was still East and West Germany - the book could only look at the West options. It was also primarily intended for sailors (in sailing boats) travelling from England - which required a seaworthy vessel and the proper sailing qualifications.
There is one route where only a canal worthy boat and ICC inland waterways qualifications are required by the German authorities.
We saw this route as we went to Ter Apel in 2018. It is the Haren-Rútenbrockkanaal, It comes out at Haren on the Dortmund-Eemskanaal - with only our inland waterways qualifications we must travel south from here and then towards Berlin via the Mittellandkanaal.
Lots of new reading to be found on the internet...
We backed the boat into it's mooring with a bit of wind and rain..after our 200 metre trip :)
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