Windmill 'Simonia', Piershil

'Piershil' sounds like 'Pierce Hill'  (no 'sh' sound in Dutch, unless spelled 'sj')

The day began as a tail-end to yesterday.  Got out of bed around 13.00.  Actually woke up at 09.00, but then decided to let AW go ahead, so fell asleep again, but it was actually just a nap as sleep wasn't that deep.  It was a conscious decision and happy I did it.  Didn't make life better, but it did make the day better.  By the time I was done with the late breakfast, the curtain of clouds had opened to reveal a promising blue sky.  I had wondered earlier whether or not to go for it, but the doubt quickly disappeared.

Piershil is in the Hoeksche Waard, an area I explored extensively in the early days of my employment at Rotterdam.  I literally drove around in circles at the time, curious about every country lane and village, and admiring the rural views.  The Hoeksche Waard borders Rotterdam in the south and I have no doubt that at least 40% of the residents work either in the big city or at the nearby ports.  Proof is the dense volume of rush hour traffic both mornings and evenings.  'Simonia' is perched on a narrow dike and was facing the sun and away from the road, so I had to trespass on a farming property to get some panoramic shots, which turned out well but were not 'wide' enough.  The close-ups, however, were fabulous, and the setting sun gave very good light.  In fact, the sunset was gorgeous but there was no more time to shoot it well, and nowhere on the road to park on my way back.

Left at 14.40, rather late, arrived at almost 15.30, took my shots.  I noticed the Donkey was almost out of fuel, so I headed to Numansdorp, across the A29, as there's a cheap filling station there, which ex-colleague Micky pointed out on a previous visit.  In fact, before filling up, I passed by her place and we had a long catch-up.  She lives alone and often works from home, so her welcome greeting was something like 'You are the first human being I've seen in a long while!'  Had it not been on the late side, we would have gone on for hours yet.  She's got a standing invite for dinner at our place and is thinking of taking it up 'soon'.

No writing today, but housework and gaming, and AW had his Monday bridge online.  I am in any case thankful for the long sleep-in, the afternoon sun, the meeting with a good friend, and AW's evening humour.  Oh!  And the windmill, too, of course!