We went to the Naar Buiten again this year. Many things were the same.

The tent city of stores..... ....all kinds of things for the kids to play on. And some of the activities in the ring were the same as well, but there were some suprises as well. This year they had a parade of old tractors. This isn't particularly old, but it is so typically Dutch to see a vehicle decorated for a special event - a parade or a wedding - with a bouquet of flowers. It is especially charming when it is on utilitarian vehicles like semi-trailer trucks and this tractor. We enjoyed watching the falconry demonstration in the ring again this year. They added some new birds to the show . This South African bird with enormously long legs which normally hunt snakes and some turkey vultures which hopped along the ground looking for bits of food they had dropped for it. The snake is a fake, but when the bird pecked at it, they would drop a bite of food as a reward. They let these birds get up and close and personal with the crowd. This owl was just a few feet away from us. Often the birds take a slight detour before coming back to their handlers. This one liked the view from the top of one of the tents. They even let the kids wear falconers gloves then lured a small owl from glove to glove around the whole ring. They also invited the children into the ring so they could take turns having a very small falcon land on their heads. The highlight or what should have been was a very large eagle. I had been waiting the whole show to see what this beauty could do. I heard the announcer say that this eagle is found all over Europe, but not in the Netherlands. He was let loose and he flew off out of sight. The falconer calling did not bring it back. Dont know if it is gone for good. Mabye now there is at least one living in the Netherlands. They also did a demonstration of police dogs in the ring. The dogs are amazing and their ability to react in an intelligent manner is amazing. I wondered if they would show the dog attacking a person. I wasn't sure how the Dutch would view such a thing. As you can see they had no compunction about showing all that these incredible dogs can do. They had the "bad guy" try several things. He had a stick and the dog attacked, but when the man dropped the stick, the dog stopped. They chased him on a bicycle. They attacked him when he shot off a pop gun. They chased and attacked him when he tried to flee after being in custody and also when he turned to attack the police officer. I couldnt understand all that was said, but at least one of the dogs was from America, perhaps both since they both wore a kerchief with the stars and strips on it.

There were some aesthetic changes this time -

Interesting topiaries A marvelous sand sculpture of the "castle" on the grounds.

We also got to see some old-fashioned crafts being done with a slightly modern twist.

This is a booth where the man is using machines to rough out the shape for wooden shoes. This booth had elaborate wickerware for sale. Yes that is a motorcyle made entirely of wicker. Here is where they boiled the switches and then used this machine to strip off the bark. There are some traditional things demonstrated too. Like winnowing wheat by beating the stalks with flails. Looked like a whole lot of work. And doing laundry with a tub of soapy water and a high-tech ringer to get the excess water from the clothes. That was a real laborsaving device in its day. And there was a parade of fancy farm wagons. I wonder if these are the ones the farmers drove to church on Sunday. This was new too - the kiddies had the chance to try their hand at milking an inflatable cow. We watched and the milk did squirt out like a real udder. Got to get those kids started early. The next generation is going to need cheese too!