Yesterday we had a great day visiting my Auntie Unnie, her son Reinier and his wife Coos in Zuid Laren that is two hours drive from Den Helder. It was so lovely to meet my Dads sister Unnie again and it was great to see her in such good health and looking fantastic. She lives in a wonderful apartment, which has a great view of the farming land that surrounds the town. Zuid Laren is small tourist town with lovely shops, cafes and markets.
My cousin Reinier is Sheppard who has a flock of about 600 sheep to take care off; the sheep are used to help preserve the conservation of an area of land that the government wants to keep in the same state as the 1600’s. The sheep eat and spread a plant called header that is a deep purple. Reiner also mentioned that this plant was a reason for Van Gogh to also paint in this area. He is helped by six trusty Australian kelpie dogs, that he has trained, his most experienced dog Dipper gave us a great show rounding up the sheep using only instinct and whistle commands. It is like they have a mental telepathy, he loves them so much the all live in the house together. I also had great treat because I got to ride on his quad bike, which was very cool. Reiner lost the use of his arm in a motorcycle accident 20 years ago and to his credit he has not let his disability stop him doing what he loves. His wife Coos is such a great support for him and as he says his the best thing that ever happened to him. It was lovely to meet her and fantastic to make contact with Reinier again after so many years. His dream is to work with Kelpie dogs in Australia and I truly hope he gets his wish.
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