Days 466-469 – September 17-20, 2012 – New discoveries…

Number of days in Amsterdam – 466-469

Number of days without a bike theft – 462-465

Days since it last rained – 0

Autumn has arrived in the ‘Dam with chilly rainy mornings that lull you into a deeper sleep even when you know you should be getting up, along with cool days and evenings, where you feel snug in a jeans and hoodie.

It’s really my favorite weather here. Sure, the park bbq’s are a thing of the past, but it’s weather made for leisurely strolls about town, or just staying in, which is what we did for much of this week.

We did make two new discoveries, though.

For one, the Kitten has new source of entertainment.

I’m not sure if she thinks it’s a show about her clothes, but she likes it.

She also likes to get inside, where the glass goes in, and rears back when the water sprays or the clothes spin.

For our second, we had a visitor.

On the 4th story balcony.

Now, balcony visitors are nothing new. Almost daily there are pigeons and the occasional wild parakeet out there. Slugs and snails sometimes trek up the building to see what’s going on, and on warm nights we watch the bats swoop and wheel about the courtyard.

Today’s visitor was a new one, though.

And when he saw me through the window, I think he was just as surprised to see me as I was him.

I’m not sure if he’s a new neighbor, or perhaps part of the neighborhood watch, as mouse season is starting to come on. I hope the latter is the case, because if he’s on patrol, we might not have to deal with mice like we did last year.

After he scoped things out, he left the way he came, along a narrow ledge along the side of the building, not worried at all about being four stories up.

I hope we see him again.

About Ryan

Ryan Cooper is a writer from Detroit who decided to trade in his car for a bicycle, his little bungalow for a fourth-story walkup, and his life in the Motor City for an existence in Amsterdam. Along the way, he quit his job, sold his belongings and, with a pregnant wife in tow, decided to see if the American dream wasn’t to be had somewhere overseas. His musings on music appear at punkmusic.about.com, and he has contributed to both fiction (Read By Dawn Volume III) and nonfiction (Punk Rock Saved My Ass) anthologies.
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One Response to Days 466-469 – September 17-20, 2012 – New discoveries…

  1. AnotherExpat says:

    Haha, love his expression. “And, you are?”

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