#Natuurmonumenten

[heleenrombout]

Surprised by the beautiful space and light in this birdwatch in the middle of the water. #birdwatch #natuurmonumenten #zwanenwater #inspirationwalks #travel #imagination #sea #contemporaryphotography #artphotography #photooftheday #naturephotography #callantsoog #photography #fineart #blackandwhitephotography #picoftheday #art #light #window #lowtide #tides #fujixpro2 #shadow #contrast #fujifilmforum #fujifilm #walking #silence #beach #architecturephotography (bij Zwanenwater - Natuurmonumenten) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp8XB1dIr0C/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[wildetuinplanten]

Ommetje buitenplaatsen s-Graveland op de grens van Hilversum.

Nu al op twee plekken een kammetjesstekelzwam. Bijna vergaan maar fantastisch. Deze zit er al 10 jaar en nog is de beuk waar hij op groeit niet “op”. Maar ook de andere plekken waar we al meer dan 30 jaar wonen zijn de moeite waard om even “een rondje” te maken vanuit huis. Je zult zo’n achtertuin hebben … Langs de leeuwenlaan. Braamblad Esdoorn op Schoonoord Schoonoord Langs de…

[fvbeers]

Vogelobservatorium 'Tij' - Haringvliet ( P1060291_1 ) by Frans van Beers Via Flickr: Vogelobservatorium 'Tij' - Haringvliet, Stellendam - www.natuurmonumenten.nl/natuurgebieden/scheelhoek/vogelki...

[jettyvanwezel]

Route van Natuurmonumenten uitgetekend voor no. 4 van de Wandelgang

[twafordizzy]

Paulien Cornelisse: bijnaiku

bron beeld: deburen.eu Paulien Cornelisse (1976, Amsterdam) is columniste, theatermaakster en schrijfster, onder andere. Ze maakt me blij en vrolijk door haar bijzondere kijk op taal en taalgebruik. Ze onderzoekt, observeert met oog voor gebruik en situaties. En altijd met humor, liefdevol. Een voorbeeld: Bijnaiku Een haiku is een gedicht van zeventien lettergrepen, waarin meestal een kleine…

[fireflowersims]

Death, dying and funerals in the Netherlands (pt 2)

The part in which we discuss options

My dad died this monday and as it turns out: funeral planning takes a lot of time. This part will go into more detail about your options of what can be done with your body. And also why one may want to subject their funeral director to police-level interrogation. My dad's final trips.

Part 1

So, same tw as part 1 on all of this: cancer, death, dying, corpses, handling corpses in various ways, funerals, undertakers, huge sums of money, insurance company (derogatory), religion

So where will the body go?

So, your loved one has died. You got to give them their final care and they are now "opgebaard" (ready for viewing). Now it is time to choose how to "dispose" of the body. There are several options you can choose. Before I continue with my dad's story, it's good to tell you a bit about what each involves:

Body donation

It is possible to choose to donate your body to science. If you go for this option, the body will be picked up within 24h of death to be taken to wherever donated bodies go. Before that, it is possible to spend time with the body and say your goodbye's. My grandma's sister opted for this. There was no final service.

Cremation

You can also have your body burnt. This happens at indoor crematoria. The funeral service is done prior to the cremation as Dutch law requires the ashes to stay at the crematorium for 30 days after cremation. My grandparents on my dad's side went for this. Both times we had a service at the crematorium. Songs were played, memories recounted and poems were read. The services were non-religious in this case. I remember my grandpa had a sea shanty play. After the service there was food either at the crematorium or at family. Coffee and a snack or some soup is common. The ashes can later be kept in an urn or scattered. You may also bury them in an "urn grave".

Burial

Burial is where some people may get surprised. In the Netherlands, "eternal rest" is not a given. In most cemeteries, you don't buy a plot, you lease one. After the initial period expires, the grave will be cleared so it can be used for someone else. There are two types of rental graves: algemeen (general) and particulier (private). With an "algemeen graf" the cemetery determines how long your loved one can stay in there. Often 20 or 30 years. Extending the lease is oftentimes not possible. When the lease passes, the grave will be cleared. Private graves also tend to start at 20 or 30 years but family can choose to keep extending the grave lease if they wish. Urn graves are the same in this.

Dig up that grave

When a grave gets cleared, there are several things that can be done with the remains: they could be reburied deeper (if possible). They can be cremated and the ashes given to family. They can be reburied in another grave chosen (and paid for) by family or they can be reburied in a common grave (aka: the big grave, some may call it a mass grave). Either way, exhuming a grave is not an ordeal legally speaking, it's just a part of life and death. The Netherlands is a small country with limited grave space and so we have to be efficient.

Eternal rest

Sometimes rental graves can be hard on people. Will you choose to renew the grave of your child or father who died way too young? It is not gonna bring them back and it is a big chunk of money, especially if your funds are low. Is it really worth it to extend the geave lease of people you never knew? Fortunately, nowadays there is a way to never have to worry about this: natural burial.

At a natural burial ground, you pick a grave in the middle of nature. The grave often gets a temporary wooden marker. Once it has decomposed, you might be able to get a new marker, but after that one's gone, the grave is unmarked and can only be found via GPS coordinates. After all the graves on the burial ground have been filled, it will get turned over to Natuurmonumenten (natural monuments) who will take care of the area and ensure that it stays pristine and undisturbed. This means that graves will not be dug up. The bodies are left to decompose naturally in the soil. Sometimes in a coffin, sometimes in a shroud and their relatives will never have to make a decision about the grave lease.

This is what my parents chose. They went to a natural burial ground and picked a plot where they can be buried together on top of one another. It is a good fit for my dad, who always loved to be out in nature. I'm glad they got to choose together. Though I do hope I won't have to bury my mom anytime soon.

But what's with this insurance stuff?

Oh, insurance, I could probably dedicate entire posts to how much of a pain dealing with our insurance/funeral director has been at times. Dutch funeral insurance often takes the form of a sum of money to spend on a funeral. You can use it to pay to buy or lease a grave, but since my parents already paid for theirs, the insurance fee is used for things like cards, transport, renting the ice plate, renting space to keep the body and catering. Yup, catering. It is also possible to get a package. Grave/cremation + all needed services or a combination thereof (grave/cremation + a sum of money to spend on other funeral stuff).

Between life and death: corpse hauling

So this is where my dad's story gets absurd. So far, my dad's body has been in basically all the places you can store a body (for viewing and just storage).

First, we kept him at home. We didn't want to keep him there for too long though, as we didn't think he would've appreciated it (he was never one to confront death). He died monday in the early morning and was picked up by the hearse tuesday late in the afternoon.

Them he was brought to the crematorium's cooling. We were not allowed to follow. We found that out just as he had left the house.

Those 90 FUCKING EUROS

Wait, the crematorium? Didn't you go for burial? Well yes, the reason we had him transferred there is that we thought that should we have him transferred there, we would have access to a so-called 24h room. Turns out that wasn't the case. The crematorium doesn't have a 24h room and we'd have to pay 90 FUCKING EUROS PER VISIT! We were not informed about this nor about that a "visit" is only 45 minutes, needs to be requested via the funeral director and that the crematorium apparently doesn't work with digital systems or something, because appointments may only be made during working hours as the people who put them in the agenda are not there later in the day!

I repeat: 90 FUCKING EUROS to be in a room with a corpse for 45 minutes. For that money I can buy a museum card, spend the entire year looking at corpses daily, bog body, mummy, skeleton, plenty of choice and still have enough money left to buy a sandwich.

Needless to say, we were Not Happy. She did fix it fairly quickly by getting him transferred to a 24h room the next day, but yeah, that's another car ride, another corpse transfer, more costs. My dad was being driven all over town I tell ya

But .. how?

Alright, the funeral director was set at the table and we were talking about planning the funeral (more about that next post), at some point she made an offhand comment about if we wanted to view the body. We said yes. So she was like"okay, so I'll add a mourning visit" and that was it.

She did not explain that it would be a 45 min visit and that if we wanted more visits it'd be more money. I get it costs money. After all the workers have to get the body in and out of the cooling, into the room for a viewing, keep that room clean, keep the refrigeration running etc, but it would have been nice to get informed before we made that uninformed choice we did.

We thought (based on my BIL's experiences with his family being viewed outside the house) that his body would be put in a room and we'd just get a key to access it basically whenever we like. This was not the case. It was never explained to us. And thus we were totally surprised when the hearse driver told us to make an appointment and (respectfully) drove off towards the crematorium with my dad.

So this is why you interrogate your funeral director, kids. If you're lucky, you get one who understands that not everyone is well-versed in funeral options and may be tired and will explain everything in explicit detail but if not, you may find your grieving process disturbed by having your access to the corpse limited without informed consent.

In the end, my dad spent a night at the coolig where his parents were also kept. We jokingly said he paid the place their bodies stayed at a visit. He is now at the 24h room.

The last home for the dead

A 24h room is a fantastic way to say goodbye. It is a dedicated room where the body is kept and the family can just come in and spend time with it whenever they want or need. The atmosphere is homey and calm. In this particular room, the corpse is off to the side and can be hidden by curtains. One can choose to view him or just spend time on the couch talking with the relatives, enjoying a cup of tea or playing a game. The dead person is there, but life can happen too. It's a space between regular life and the reality of death. I personally find I quite like it. My dad would not want to be kept at home until the funeral, that wouldn't fit him. But I think he'd be okay with this option. It's more expensive than a visit to the crematorium, but you have the freedom to come whenever you feel ready and that is worth its weight in gold. Here he will stay until it is time for his final trip: to church and then to his grave.

Next up in Fire's Funeral Adventures: how to plan a Dutch Funeral (ft. Frustration)

[mantingerdijk]

Oeverzwaluwwand Lentsche Veen

Uit Kontakt van november, Nieuw Balinge.“Natuurmonumenten pakt zwaluwwand aan de Haarweg aan.Aannemer Fulher uit Emmen heeft op 8 oktober vakkundig de zwaluwwand aan de Haarweg opnieuw onder profiel gebracht met de hydraulische kraan. Een bevlogen machinist die veel ervaring heeft met dergelijke klussen wist de wand weer in zeer goede staat te brengen, zodat de vrijwilligers de komende jaren…

[cpluzc]

in continuation to happy few

in the quarry, the foundation Natuurmonumenten with approximately 900,000 paying members is developing a piece of nature reserve, great work! when I walk there later, provided it is completed on time, I will see the former working capital of the cement factory who is going to pay for its dismantling? let me guess….. happy taxes happy crowd

[reginaenwillempieterpad]

Pieterpad #1 Laren -Vorden (etappe 13)

Vandaag (zondag 21 januari) lopen we onze eerste etappe. We gaan met trein en bus naar Laren. In het midden van het dorp staat het standbeeld van Albert Mol. Kennelijk de beroemdste inwoner van Laren. We hebben vandaag een etappe van 14 kilometer. We schatten in dat dat ons goed moet lukken. Er is geen horeca onderweg; we hebben brood en warme thee bij ons. We maken net voorbij de helft een etenspauze. Maar het weer is te koud en te vochtig; na tien minuten gaan we weer door. Ik red het net tot Vorden; ik voel een eerste blaar. Regina heeft vrij nieuwe schoenen, maar daar gaat het prima mee. We eindigen bij station Vorden van waaruit we met de trein weer naar Apeldoorn kunnen. Het stationsgebouw in Vorden staat er leeg en verlaten bij; het is al vele jaren niet meer in gebruik. We drinken koffie in De Gravin van Vorden net naast het station. Daar zitten nog meer wandelaars die deze etappe van het Pieterpad hebben gedaan. We vertellen over onze willekeurige volgorde waarin wij het Pieterpad willen lopen. We treffen een "purist" zoals ze zichzelf definieert: zij loopt het pad van noord naar zuid in de precieze volgorde van de etappes. Goed, dat kan: maar ben je dan een purist? Of misschien wel een autist? Nou ja, ieder doet het maar op zijn eigen manier.

De route had veel lange rechte (saaie) stukken; hier en daar moesten we een stuk van de route afwijken vanwege wateroverlast. Er zijn in dit gebied de nodige landgoederen (Velhorst en Het Enzerinck). En Natuurmonumenten heeft hier aardig wat gebied in bezit (Grote Veld).

[ahospers]

Burgvallen Natuurmonumenten 24km walk, Anloerdiepje, Beverdam, Drentse Aa, Maart roert zijn staart. (bij Nationaal beek- en esdorpenlandschap Drentsche Aa) https://www.instagram.com/p/CppqAYKIEhX/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[wildetuinplanten]

Fotografie, wilde planten en boeken, een passie.

Natuur, fotografie en educatiezijn gewoon heel belangrijk in ons leven. Samen met Marlies ben ik daar al vanaf de jaren ’60 mee bezig. Naderhand ook beroepsmatig en in dienst van onder meer Natuurmonumenten en van ons eigen bedrijf. We willen mensen laten meedelen in hoe wij hierover denken en doen dat door middel van fotografie en educatieve middelen en de laatste jaren ook door het kweken van…

[fvbeers]

P1060288_2 by Frans van Beers Via Flickr: Vogelobservatorium 'Tij' - Haringvliet, Stellendam - www.natuurmonumenten.nl/natuurgebieden/scheelhoek/vogelki...

[arun-pratap-singh]

Proef afsluiten van weg door Fochteloërveen gepland op 1 november. Afsluiting moet natuur beter beschermen

De weg door natuurgebied Fochteloërveen wordt 1 november bij wijze van proef afgesloten. Dat liet wethouder Gerben But van Ooststellingwerf dinsdagavond weten. Slagbomen van de werkschuur van Natuurmonumenten tot de Bonghaar bij Fochteloërveen moeten ervoor zorgen dat gemotoriseerd verkeer er niet meer langs kan. De maatregel wordt genomen om de natuur in het gebied te beschermen. De weg werd…

[ri-t-photos]

Water 💦 . . . . . . #picture #photo #photography #photographer #nature #naturephotography #naturephotographer #camera #beautiful #flowers #edited_by_me #tree_captures #tree_brilliance #treephotography #tree_magic #landschapsfotografie #magicnature #landschaftsfotografie #lovenature #landscapephotography #nederland_ontdekt #naturephotography #natuurmonumenten #nature_perfection #nature_sultans #nature_obsession #naturelover #nature_lensart #natuurfotografie #fiftyshades_of_nature https://www.instagram.com/p/CnjlHTtrlTk/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[frans-blok-3develop]

Interior of bird observatory TY in Stellendam, The Netherlands, made it to the top 10 of best photos over 2020

https://www.3develop.nl/blog/countdown-the-best-photos-of-2020/

[mantingerdijk]

Van de week werd de suggestie gedaan dat de waterstanden opnemen op het Mekelmeersche Veen 1 maal per jaar voldoende is. Een misvatting. In natuurgebieden van Natuurmonumenten wordt 1 x in de veertien dagen gemeten. Automatische peilbuizen meten meerdere keren per dag.Op het Mekelmeersche Veen is voor de eerste jaar gekozen om iedere week te meten. Nieuw ingericht gebied en een extreem natte…