One thing the Netherlands teaches you is to make your own weather. Considering that over here it rains almost every day, if you wait for the perfect weather, you’ll spend the rest of your life indoors.
Knowing that summer lasts for only one day, and is usually in July (last year it was on a Thursday 🙂 ), if you’re passionate about nature, you have to learn how to fight natural elements and go after what makes you happy, regardless of the high number of clouds present on the sky. It definitely toughens you up, which is not a bad thing at all!
With that being said, why not hiking during winter? Nature is beautiful all year around, so if you really want, you can find a lot of unique places to visit and breathtaking landscapes.
Equipped with hiking boots and curiosity, I went on a few 15 km long hikes, in the very green Dutch landscape. I must say, the mix of sand, earth, trees and water always leave me breathless. It makes you feel like it’s almost not possible to have them all in one spot, and still, it works just fine! What can be nicer than seeing the dunes, the sea and the beach, even on such a cold winter day?
Hiking is wonderful but something I always wanted to do, is paint in nature, and I think there’s no better way to start the year, than with some fresh air, and a bit of creativity.
One thing is for sure about painting outside during winter, on a foggy day: if you don’t lose any fingers on the making, you have to hurry and finish the painting, as the fog eats one tree at a time, removing it from your landscape. Even so, I never had more fun doing it 🙂
Time flies by when you’re having fun, so I was sent home earlier than planned, because of the ‘unexpected’ sunset. The panting is still work in progress, but the amazing landscape is still very much alive, deep inside my memory.
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What a lovely dialogue with weather and nature, yes nature has its own ways to surprise and challenge us. It is how we take it and how we adapt and make it part of life and enjoying the different flavors of the season and some places it just doesn’t change and one or two weather dominates the year. We love rain when it comes some period of the year, but round the year the same rain, it is not easy to enjoy the nature. As rightly said if we stay there and we don’t adapt ourselves we will always remain inside our house.
There can’t anything better than sitting in the glory of nature and capturing the beauty… imagination gets the fodder to feed the creativity dormant within us…the work in progress is looking pretty good and the final one will take the breathe away, it will be fascinating see the progress and the completion.
I must say Lucy what a wonderful way to kick start the New Year, with hiking and with the magical strokes on the canvas…take care:D
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Thank you for reading dear Nihar! I love nature, and to be outdoors and it’s great to be able to do this, even during winter. Nature provides so much beauty, it would be a pity to see it only during the warm season.
I’m happy you also enjoyed the painting 🙂 It was so nice to be outside for that, and have the landscape right in front of my eyes!! Looking forward to doing that again. But as you also said, a great start of the year!
Have a lovely day! All the best 🙂
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Yes Lucy, I also do love the glory of nature, the more I think, the more I fall in love with the beauty of nature and it keeps nurturing our soul. Especially winter being outside and trying to fight the cold and still enjoying the chill and knowing that if it beats you, you can barge into the room and get the cover of warm and enjoy the coziness. Beauty is deep inside the nature and nature is where life is, each season gets with it the shades of beauty and the changing season is what makes the the nature magical, the same and the same tree but with what time of the year we are, the things around the tree changes and the mood and our interpretation of life changes…
Yes, painting is reflection of life and nature and we keep nurturing the nuances of beauty and county through our brushes and on our canvas. I can feel the warmth and the joy being in such beautiful surrounding and in the heart of nature and allow the soul to soak into the bounty of beauty…
I am so happy to see you have the best of time and the start of the year is setting the tone for the year…keep smiling and keep the art flying…take care!!!
😀
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Thank you so much! It’s definitely a great way to start the year. I love to see the mix of colors in the dunes. Also, plants and sand are just gorgeous 🙂
I’m very happy to know you feel like my paintings reflect nature. I’m so happy I can do that. I hope I’ll get even better at it, in time.
Take care!!
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I find winter hikes rewarding too. The ground may be frozen and covered in frost, but the views of snow-topped mountains make it worthwhile whether it is just the tip of the mountain poking through the clouds or the whole thing basking in winter sunshine.
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I can’t agree more! That’s a view worth seeing. Unfortunately, no snow this year, so far, but I’d love to have it soon 🙂 Thank you for reading and for your lovely comment!
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Wonderful, Lucy !!!
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Aww, thank you so much!! It was a lot of fun ❤
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Great post Lucy! Winter hiking (and birding) has its challenges, but it also has its beauties, as you point out, and the spirit of outdoorsiness is definitely more vigorous in winter. But these are moving activities, hats off to you sitting down and painting outdoors. 🙂
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Thank you so much! I’m happy you enjoyed it 🙂 I love the outdoors and I just can’t stay away from it, not even during the cold season. I never painted in nature before, and this time I just couldn’t wait until summer for that 🙂 We you get that creative spark, you just have to go with it 🙂 Have a lovely day and thanks for stopping by and for your kind words! x
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😀 😀
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Beautiful photos. Our weather can be similar and sometimes it seems that summer really is only for a few days. As to painting outdoors I am afraid I would freeze to bits. Good for you!
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Thank you so much, Sue! Haha, about painting, I agree with you. I was like a moving ice cream by the time I was done. Sooo cold! But it was fun 🙂
I had no idea the weather there is the same. Well, I’m an outdoor person, so I’ll go out regardless. I just have to be in nature, every now and then, to feel happy 🙂 Have a lovely day and thank you for reading!
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Lovely post. Lovely photos. Glad you had an enjoyable time 🙂
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Thank you so much! It was a very nice time indeed! 🙂 Have a lovely day!
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😊
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If you are well equipped, there is no such thing as bad weather 🙂 I’ve learnt that these last few months 😀
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True, indeed! Bad weather makes you though. But I must say I was very cold. My fingers were about to fall when I went back inside 🙂 It was a lot of fun though!
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I always find winter hikes to be very magical! Your pictures are stunning!
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Thank you very much! 🙂
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