Rewarded with 4 tulips…

Last week we had a visit from a mystery guest from Bed & Breakfast Netherlands. We were assessed during this visit which would decide on how many tulips were to be rewarded. Tulips are similar to the star rating standards for hotels.

Our mystery guest was very happy and gave us a wonderful commentary. “The Candlestick is a very rural B & B. We had a nice room with a good bed and clean bathroom. The breakfast room / cafeteria is cozy and also has a kitchen which can be used if a guest(s) wants to cook for themselves. Everything looks picobello” (awesome) on the dairy and arable farm. The breakfast was delicious and there was even a possibility to make use of a lovely terrace. We had a tour of the dairy farm and then the hostess passionately told us about the workings of the farm. We also had the chance to admire the calves. Very interesting and educational, we can still taste the fresh milk which is so different from the milk you buy at the store/supermarket. Recommended.

With such a good review we are obviously proud of having received 4 tulips.

Simultaneously with the visit of the mystery guest there was also plenty of buzz in the building, earlier that morning we had the pit floor cemented. After some 10 trucks full with concrete and after the considerable amount of hours worked by the construction company ‘Hogendoorn BV’ there was a smooth floor in the well.

Dispite the heat, they are currently finishing the walls of the pit, and finally due to the nice weather the corn is growing.  You can almost see it grow!  (about 15 cm per day).

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Here we go…

Planning permissions given, compared the quotes and now construction starts.

After a 2.5 years wait, the permit has finally come through. Today we have made a start with the preparations for the expansion of the dairy barn.

To this end, we will first make alterations to the field where we house our goats and sheep. With the expansion we will create additional space for “dry” cows so that they have more freedom and comfort to move around. (Dry cows: cows which do not produce milk.) As a result the area around the milking robot will now only accommodate the dairy cows.

Next week the current barn wall will be demolished and holes will be dug where the wells are for the new section. From mid-June: the construction of the roof begins.

To make our contribution to sustainability; in the coming summer months several roofs from our outer buildings will be equipped with solar energy. The company ‘Energy Plusdak’ will be here in August / September to install these solar panels, this will coincide with the last removal of asbestos from our yard.

In short, plenty of construction activity in the coming months De Kandelaar.

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It’s spring!

Spring is in full swing, the tulip fields are full of beautiful colours. On 11th April Dronterland’ officially opened itstulip routes. There is a walking, cycling and car routeorganised where you will pass several beautiful colourfulfields that are a must see. The routes have been opened up until Sunday 3rd May and can be downloaded viawww.tulpenroutedronterland.nl

It’s also spring at De Kandelaar, the sugar beets are seeded first, the potatoes are planted and the onions and corn sown. It won’t be long before the country is the vibrant colour of green from the various crops.

Spring is not complete until young animals are born. We have been delighted with two young billy goats, kittens and the lambs are next.

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Promotie Tulpenroutes in Dronterland

Preparations are in full swing for the tulip festival in Eastern Flevoland. Dronten has been willing to promote the tulips routes in “Dronterland”. You will be able to find a walking, cycling and a car route on thewww.tulpenroutedronterland.nl.   The car route ends up on our farm.

On Saturday 11 and 18 April and Monday 27 April, there are special activities along these routes. For our guests we have additional cycling routes along the many beautiful, colorful tulip fields in our region.

With the start of spring the activities on our land have increased.  The tulip bulbs are growing and will bloom abundantly within weeks, last week we sew beet roots.  When we have a few days of dry weather Johan van de Bergh will set and sow the onions.

We are also busy with our expansion plans of the diary barn extension to create more space for our cows in-calf, we will expand the stable by 6 meters. At the same time we will also place solar panels on the roof to produce sustainable energy.

Finally, we are now sponsoring the local softball team ‘The Vrijbuiters’.  An advert sign of ‘De Kandelaar’ is placed around the softball field and by supporting the local athletes we also hope many people will see the advert.

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Happy and uphappy news

De afgelopen maand hebben we afscheid genomen, maar zijn we ook verblijd met een geboorte. Op donderdag 29 januari hebben we afscheid genomen van het oudste paard. Met zijn ruim 28 jaar was het voor Spencer geen waardig leven meer. Ondanks dat hij nog goed at, kon hij zich niet meer warm houden en viel hij alleen maar af. Na nog een paar dagen samen met Guske en Brutus in de wei hebben we Spencer in laten slapen.

Op 7 februari werden we door Thara verrast met een nestje van 9 pups. Helaas waren ze een week te vroeg geboren en daardoor waren er enkele vrij zwak. Uiteindelijk hebben we nu 4 mooie teefjes die de groei flink te pakken hebben. Het zal niet lang meer duren of hun oogjes zullen open gaan en ze zullen meer activiteiten gaan ondernemen.

Deze week is door Firma van Engelen uit Swifterbant de nieuwe frontmaaier geleverd. Het gras zal nog even op zich laten wachten maar in april/mei zal de frontmaaier voor het eerst worden gebruikt.

Ook op De Kandelaar hebben we in het grasland veel last van muizen. Om de roofvogels te stimuleren hun jacht te openen op deze muizen hebben we palen geplaatst in het land. Daarnaast zijn er op het erf ook nestkasten voor uilen geplaatst. We hopen op deze manier de muizenplaag beperkt te houden.

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