Kees' photos

I’ve taken photographs of this picturesque little house before (its less charming parts being mostly hidden behind the bushes), but I won’t pretend I did a remarkable job here. Remarkable was what happened afterwards. A man came running out of his house, and asked me if I was the “Ipernity guy”. My existence on Flickr has drawn some attention, but I have never suspected more than two or three people (in the world!) being aware of my activities on Ipernity... With unusual hospitality, he invited us on a cup of cappuccino, and so we got the opportunity of viewing the interior of the most modern house we’ve ever seen, in many ways the perfect antithesis of ours. We love old houses and it pains us if they’re not being treated with respect, but I do think it’s also great to build something completely new and cutting-edge, and having it reflect one’s own taste and creativity. That would make a good Next Life’s resolution (provided I won’t be reborn as an earthworm).

Most of the time, Chencho is too lively for having his portrait made. Here I caught him in our garden while he was attentively watching people passing by.

I’m afraid we’ll have to do without an Easter Parade, this year...

Generally, I have no difficulty to keep the camera quiet; for a sharp photo, I only need to focus on a subject excelling in the same virtue. A dog with a hobby doesn’t belong to that category.

Chencho is fine with us, but when he discovers other people approaching, he’s easily alarmed, even if they’re still 100 yards away. His tail disappears between his legs, and he would be gone but for us holding him back.

Robbie used to be a nose dog: he didn’t see particularly well, and in the end, he was practically deaf. Chencho doesn’t have any of these handicaps, but he, too, clearly values his nose most.

A new territory needs a flag.

It’s plain to see: Chencho is in his element. He’s just met one of the locals, who incidentally was born on Cyprus...

It doesn’t happen very often, but Chencho sometimes takes a nap. Only if he can feel confident that we’ll keep him company, of course. I took this picture from behind my desk; the opposite chair is about to become one of his favorite places to be.

This is how February is supposed to look like. No match for England in March, of course... We indeed got quite a lot of snow, this year. But thankfully it didn’t come all at once, so we could cope with it ourselves, and didn’t need professional help.

Eventually, Chencho won. How could it be different? The Force of Adorability was clearly with him... It’s hard to speculate on his ancestry. There may be some Dachshund in him, but I doubt if it’s the main ingredient: he is much more heavily built, and his small feet remind me of Bull Terriers, his mouth of Cocker Spaniels. No trace of malice, but that’s something I could already tell, when I first saw his pictures. “I’ve looked him in the eyes...”, and what works for George W. works also for me! I wonder what his voice will sound like. He’s still very quiet, but when I see how he’s developed in one day, he won’t be for long.

We had signed a contract including the provision that Chencho shouldn’t be held outside, or in the cellar. Chencho had evidently read it, and immediately claimed a place on the couch. However, it didn’t remain undisputed, and he had to share it (the anonymous lady on the right representing the Empire, of course...).

Yesterday, we had a long drive to a small village near Darmstadt, leaving 10 past 6AM, and returning a quarter past 3PM. And we returned not alone: our companion was a Spanish member of the European Union called Chencho. I’m sorry to say he didn’t trust me, at first. He had been sitting beside my wife in the back of the car, and knew her better, when we arrived, than the driver. But when it comes to scratching an ear, previous reserves are overcome. This is the poor beginning of –hopefully– a long series of Chencho pictures. It hasn’t been long since Robbie died, and I do feel a bit guilty about having “replaced” him so soon. The fact is: Robbie cannot be replaced, and Chencho is no replacement, but a family member in his own right. Another fact: it appeared to be too hard for us to live without a dog.

Robbie isn’t with us anymore. This is one of the last pictures I took of him, on one of our last walks. He still had the same spirit as always, but sadly his heart didn’t play ball.

“So this is Christmas –and what have you done?” – John Lennon OK, this isn’t exactly the most spectacular snow picture I could have taken this year, but when, a week or so later, some 50 cm snow had fallen, we were too busy surviving (note to self: next car should have four-wheel-drive).

“And the light from a street lamp Paints a pattern on my wall” – Paul Simon (& Garfunkel) Yesterday, I had to interrupt dinner for taking this picture. Both bottle and glass (my wife’s, because my wine has a screw cap) are projections on the kitchen wall: the real items are invisible. Perhaps I should have cited Plato, who compared the things around us to projections on the wall of a cave (“reality” consisting in the world of ideas –in which case I’d have had to rephrase the last sentence), but I’d prefer Paul Simon anytime, even if the “street lamp” happens to be the sun. I’ve predicted that Picquoteaday won’t get a pic from me every day. I haven’t said I’d stop altogether...

This is our friend Jake from Boston. Next time, got to ask him who the young lady is.

Some people will do anything to get into the picture.