Sunday, September 24, 2006

This is for Dale


Dale F who so often says just the right things, who has a unique ability to put them into the right words, and loves horses. We love you, Dale, thanks for your comment on my Lille post. I feel I am a lucky man. VallyP sends her hugs to you too.


She can't spend on blogging the time it deserves. Giving less would be doing it wrong. Hence her decision not to blog until workload permits. Until that have to live without new posts from Vally P. In the meantime I shall be happy to oblige every time people ask me to give her a hug on their behalf.

This is the traffic sign of the day.

It makes perfect sense unless you give it a Koos interpretation:

this road accessible only for
- tractors without drivers;
- men with small girls;
- cyclists using horses to pull riderless bicycles.
WHAT???????


What exactly happened to Philippe Chabottier, who died here on the bank of the river Maas, near the Belgian border on Februari 17 2002?
Well, it seems he was drowned here.
Now we face the beginning of a new tradition after the roadside memorial: the riverside memorial!

A strip of today's pictures. Click on the strip to view large version.

18 comments:

Anne-Marie said...

I know I should let Dale post first, but it's later here and I'm going to curl up in bed with a good book soon. She has a few good hours left. ;)

Please give a big hug to Val, and then have one for yourself. I think Sindy should also get one. She is much missed here, but I do understand the desire to do things right or not at all. This is one thing I admire in a person. (Just in case you thought I meant Sindy, although I think she's sweet too.)

I love your interpretation of the signs! You've given me a great, late night chuckle.

Love,
AM

Anonymous said...

Hi Koos,
So it was meant for Dale but I liked it too!
Please give Val another hug.
Erik-Jan.

Koos F said...

Ahhhh, this is lovely.
Val is going to notice the rise in the number of hugs!

mental note:
- hug-her.com
- hug-her-for-me.com

gypsy noir said...

what a kind thoughtful thing to do for dale im sure she will love it..oh yes flowers on accident spots is it seems a new way..but go back in time and you will remember that people always threw flowers to the sea for when fishermen died at sea...oh give val another hug for me..no make that 2..no 3...ok stop it this is getting silly now..

Mary Beth said...

Oh, give Val a hug for me now....I miss her already!! I keep checking her blog just *in case* she decided to change her mind about her leave of absence. :)

Funny - my interpretation of the first part of the sign is the men walking with little girls should watch out for falling tractors. *L*

Dale said...

Oh, Koos!

You made me smile and cry at the same time!

Thank you.

The horse photo is lovely - it's amazing how a pasture with horses grazing in the warm sun can conjure up such feelings of peace and contentment.

I think that sign is a wonderful catalyst for one's imagination!

We, too, have the roadside memorials - as well as the disturbing tradition of cliffside memorials...

Thanks once more...and I know full well that when I ask you to give Val a hug from me I will be quite happily obliged!

Love to you both.
Dale

Ahvarahn said...

Oh I do love a hugfest - please give another from me!

I think that traffic sign has something to do with a special circus up ahead Koos, complete with dancing horses, bicycles on tightropes, Edith and her Giant (that ‘little girl’ is actually a fully grown adult woman) and the amazing invisible Jeff and his flying tractor.

-take care all,
Paul

Lannio said...

((((( Val ))))) .... That btw is a cyber hug to Val!

Another wonderful and unique post. I think you're really capturing the essence of Dale too. When we were young I was always able to tell where Dale had been because if there was a pad of paper around, there would be an amazing and often comical doodle of a horse. (I wish I had that artistic talent, but then again I have my own). Has Dale shared any of her horse sketches on here? I wonder ....

Lannio (aka sister to famous Dale)

Koos F said...

Eight comments, each and every one of them golden.
Remember the motto of Zen and the Art of Motor Cycle Maintenance:
Quality, Not Quantity

(and Val seems to like the extra hugs, so do keep them coming ;-).

Dale said...

Koos, with regards to the Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - great book btw.

It put me in mind of my female's guide to motorcycle riding and maintenance.

It's called "How to be Sexy with Bugs in Your Teeth"...

E.L. Wisty said...

Hi Koos,

Do give Val a hug on my behalf!

Maria

Dale said...

Hugs to both of you!

greekzoe said...

Koos,
I am in awe of your beautiful country. Such a beautiful picture for our Dale. Thanks for sharing with us.

Zoe

I love your sign interpretaton.:)
Poor Phillipe Chabottier, may he rest in peace. And please give Val a hug from me too!

bookworm said...

Hello Koos,
hope you feel good. I love your pictures. Last night I saw all. I like to make pics in the nature, but I have no much time to take my camera and walk. Hope the time will come. Here we have wonderful autumn weather. The sun is shining and the trees are getting red and golden leafs. One problem is, we have no rain and all is withered. Hope the rain will come soon.
Wish you a fantastic week.
Best wishes
Love and peace
Stefan

boogaloo dude said...

oh, Koos the photo of the horse and of Vallyp are gorgeous. I have been marvelling at the beauty of horses these days, at Central Park, New York City.

"Please give Val a big hug on my behalf. Thank you."

Have you told us what cameras you use?

boogaloo dude said...

oh, and thank you for the tribute to Dale. Yes we love Dale, who does always say the right things in a perfect way.

Spinning Girl said...

your interpretation of the sign made me spit coffee.

come see my other blog too (my regular blog) -- "Spinning Girl"

Koos F said...

Hi Elizabeth,
Sorry, I missed your question about the camera.
It's a Nikon 8400 that I bought especially because its zoom range starts wits a 24 mm equivalent, which I love, and find useful for QuickTime panoramas.
Barrel distortion comes standard with that type of lens, so I use the PanoTools plugins in Photoshop to straighten the lines.
I often treat an essential part of the image, mostly the foreground, with the unsharp mask filter to create extra sense of depth.
Inspired by the special lighting you use in some of your wedding photos, I now sometimes make the area surrounding the main subject slightly darker. Best examples of that technique are the horse image and the riverside memorial image.