Fields of Crocus and Greedy Ducks

The crocus season has just about reached its peak in Holland, and there are purple, yellow, and white crocus everywhere.  They dot the lawns of gardens and parks, grow alongside the canals, and stretch in hazy purple stripes across the bulb fields near the train tracks.

I went to the Royal Library in the city of Den Haag a few days ago, and at lunchtime I went outside to eat by these crocus fields.

The network of canals crisscrossing the Netherlands attracts many different birds.  There are swans, seagulls, and different varieties of ducks and geese.

These geese were swimming along while I ate lunch in Den Haag.

The storks that once wandered around the fish markets in Den Haag have long been the city mascot.  This group lives close to the train station.  They make a strange clicking noise with their beaks.

These are not crocus.  They are another early perennial flower that blooms in the Leiden Botanical Gardens.  When I'm at school, I like to eat lunch outside across the canal from these gardens.

Last week I was accosted by a group of greedy ducks that had learned to beg for food.  This one showed up almost as soon as I sat down.  I guess years of experience have taught it that when a human sits on a bench there will be bread.  And it was right once again!  The duck ate well.

 Here is the duck's partner in crime.  It looks like a kind of sneaky bird, doesn't it?

And the most beautiful crocus I have seen so far were on the Temple grounds in Zoetermeer.

Here is another view of the Temple crocus.