Hi everyone,

It’s Thursday, nearing the end of my long journey here in Europe, with only a lecture this afternoon ahead of me in the professional agenda.  It’s time to start wrapping up.  I have been kindly received here in the Netherlands and reconnected with many old friends.

It’s been four years since I was last in Holland so things have changed.  The Dutch are worried about the financial situation in Europe, some of them almost panicked…. seems strange for such a solid, phlegmatic people but they take money very seriously and don’t like situations where they cannot plan.  The young people are worried about their jobs.

I have two friends, husband and wife, ecologists working for the Dutch Ministry of Defense, who now have three children and a small house with a big mortgage.  They are quite scared.  Others who have not yet found jobs in their professions have snapped up whatever they could get.  The Forestry Service is privatized without a decent business plan for how they will manage to make ends meet and the people there are exasperated about it, understandably.  Strange to see the Dutch in this state of mind, but I expect they will find their feet and work their way out of the mire, as they always do.

I’ve had a swarm of professional meetings, at the University, in the Forestry Service (the closest counterpart to my organization), with Alterra and just yesterday at the Biodiversity Center in Leiden.  My head spins, but I have located a couple people who may work with us in what I hope to be doing during the next few years, developing an inventory and monitoring program for our nature reserves.

I’ve had plenty of time to rest, deliberately sleeping 8-10 hours per night, and am quite rested although a bit of a virus is taking a poke at me.  As long as I’m rested, I’ll be able to manage.  Sunday morning, I’ll be heading back to Israel by way of a long train ride and then a flight home from Brussels Airport.  I was glad to go, but I will be glad to be home too.  I miss the animals.

Fortunately until now there has been no more illness among my cats although we just had a scare with some diarrhea, not sure from which one.  The pet sitter is keeping a sharp eye for any recurrence of the deadly virus which killed two of my cats before I left; if anybody gets sick, he will take the cat to the vet immediately.  Not taking chances.

Today the weather is beautiful and since my lecture is in late afternoon, I will get on the bicycle and go see something outdoors.  Still wobbly on the bike, but it gets better and I really should use it just to work off all the bread and cheese I am eating.  (It will be good to get back to the Israeli diet; this has been a nice change but is not so good for me.)

Not much more to add for now; perhaps I’ll add a bit after the lecture when I have met my old students again.

Shabbat shalom,
Linda