I took off on my bike today for a quick 40 km through Rotselaar and along the River Demer. I’ve blogged about cycling along the Demer before (here) and can’t stress how enjoyable it always is. Winding river, wide cyclepaths, excellently signposted, plenty of benches to rest and enjoy the scenery. What more could you want?
But I was getting very confused as to what season we are in.
At times, with the bright sun, the green grass and the blue sky, it felt like a day in early spring; April perhaps.
When sitting on a south-facing, sheltered bench, it was warm enough for a day in June.
But returning home with the wind in my face, there was a chilly touch of September in the air.
But the end of December? The day after Christmas Day? The heart of winter? At 14 degrees C? Most definitely not!
Festive greetings!
I send my best wishes to all Discovering Belgium followers and readers for a delightful Christmas and a happy, healthy and successful 2016.
Thanks for your comments, suggestions and encouragements. Onwards to another year of discovering this delightful country together!
Finally, here’s a selfie of me – in action!
Fortunately, you had your camera with you 🙂 Never ever in my lifetime have I experienced such warm December weather. Only scientific explanation I’ve heard so far is el Niño… (so baby Jesus). But what caused this extreme el Niño? Global warming surely. Thanks for your wishes and all the best for you and your family. Kind regards, Guido.
I agree Guido. And while it’s lovely to enjoy the sun in December, it’s also rather worrying!. Best wishes to you too Guido.
It’s not as cold as normal here either – but with us, the result is torrential rain. Fortunately, we are in no danger of flooding unlike some unhappy people further south who have been flooded three times this month. Definitely climate change going on. But enough of the gloom – lovely pictures from your cycle. Compliments of the season to you too and look forward to discovering more about Belgium in 2016.
Glad to hear you are not personally affected by the floods Anabel, though I pity the poor people who are. Thanks for following me on my travels! Look forward to reading more of your exploits during 2016 too!
I like your selfie. 🙂 It is warm here as well, but we are expecting our first snow next week.
Hope the New England winter isn’t too harsh Judy! Wishing you a happy blogging year!
Just wanted to thank you for discovering Belgium for us and wish you a happy 2016. Your blog has been the cause of wonderful weekands for the family since we arrived. Keep on please!
Thanks so much for your kind words David; I’m always delighted to hear that people not only read my posts, but follow in my footsteps! Best of wishes for 2016!
Our weather patterns in Australia are directly affected by El Nino and its opposite La Nina on a regular basis. El Nino is the prolonged warming of the Pacific Ocean while La Nina is the cooling of the ocean. El Nino causes severe drought conditions across the eastern part of Australia. It isn’t caused by climate change and global warming – Governor Arthur Philip complained of severe drought conditions in 1791 and scientists began studying how the temperature of the Pacific Ocean affects weather patterns in the 1800s. You might like to read this interesting article. http://www.abc.net.au/science/slab/elnino/story.htm
Anyway, El Nino has given you glorious riding weather and that is the coolest selfie I have ever seen!
Thanks for the link Carol; I’ll read it when I have some spare time. And thanks for your compliment on my selfie! (To be honest, photographing yourself while cycling isn’t the safest thing to do!)
I did think you were very clever to get that selfie and it doesn’t even look like you are taking it. Lucky there was no one else around!
Our Christmas visitors from Scotland have been outside in t-shirts, I have been mountain biking in shorts – it really isn’t normal.
But the sunshine has been glorious – the low light has made for great landscapes in Lasne.
Happy new year!
Thanks Kevin, and a great 2016 for you and your family too!
Our postman has been out in short sleeves – but that’s normal. The dafs are coming out – some already are – that’s not normal!
It makes giving a postman in short sleeves a Christmas tip rather surreal! All the best for 2016 Mark!
Good selfie! Health and happiness to you and the family in 2016, Denzil 🙂