Detlev Janßen's favorite photos

Mantingerveld consists of four small nature reserves, which are reduced to one large continuous area through activities of Natuurmonumenten (a Dutch society for nature conservation). The original landscape of the province of Drenthe with heathland, raised moors and fens must be restored over time. Mantingerzand - one of the four reserves - lies somewhat higher and that made it uneconomical to cultivate the area in the past centuries. On maps from the beginning of the 17th century, the area is already clearly distinguishable; it has hardly changed since then. Mantingerzand is an area with shifting sand hills with countless juniper bushes on it. The reserve with juniper berries was acquired by Natuurmonumenten in 1920; one of the first purchases of the organisation in the province of Drenthe. On the edge of the reserve are numerous old crooked oaks, which held the drifting sand. The oldest tree in the Mantingerzand is a pine, which has probably been here since 1840.

Petrified Forest National Park is well known for its many chunks of petrified logs ( www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/45523794 ), but it offers more fascinating and intriguing scenery. The Blue Mesa area of the park is part of the second-oldest layer of the so called Chinle Formation, deposited approximately 220 - 225 million years ago. This formation can be seen across the park with the multi-coloured Painted Desert (PiP 1) and the Blue Mesa badlands. Blue Mesa (main image) - easy accessible by a three mile long loop road - is a very desolate landscape of mudstone and sandstone layers in blue, purple and greys. The landforms have been sculpted by erosion. The Tepees (PiP 2) is a part of Blue Mesa with tall, cone-shaped hill striped with almost perfect layers of reds, pinks, blues, greys, purples, and white.

Zalk is a small rural village with less than 800 inhabitants, situated between the towns of Kampen and Zwolle along the river IJssel. The village was part of the heerlijkheid (fiefdom) “Zalk en Veecaten”. After the creation of municipalities in 1813 the fiefdom was transformed to the municipality of “Zalk en Veecaten”. Nowadays Zalk belongs to the municipality of Kampen. The most important building in the village is the Sint Nicolaaskerk (St. Nicholas Church) with a Romanesque tower dating back to 1220. In addition, the village has a flour mill dating back to 1860. Zalk became well-known in the Netherlands as the home of the kruidenvrouwtje Klazien ("herb woman klazien").

This is the third time I have (re)posted this picture; always when the survival of Ipernity is at stake. After 2016 (takeover by IMA) and late 2020 (major technical problems) I feel the future is hanging by a thread again. If I read the team message from January 28. correctly, two crucial posts on the IMA board must be filled by 25 February. Please read the last two Club News: www.ipernity.com/blog/team/4737428 and www.ipernity.com/blog/team/4738398 Again I keep my fingers crossed. Chile - Easter Island - Ahu Tahai

Dolmen D52 - just outside the village of Diever - is a medium-sized dolmen. It has fourteen sidestones and two closing endstones. From the original seven capstones six are still present. One is missing and of the remaing six, three still supported on their sidestones, the other three having slipped between theirs. Dolmen D52 is 14.5 meters long and 4.8 meters wide. Dolmen D52 is already mentioned in the 17th century and is depicted on the French maps. At the time of a big survey by Prof. Van Giffen (1918) the dolmen was a total ruin. Under his supervision this hunebed has been thoroughly restored in 1953/54. In 1995 restoration works were still performed to this dolmen.

The Motketel is originally a wet area, where the groundwater level is close to the surface. The name probably refers to a low area with humus frequented by wild boar. A mot or motte is a female pig and a boar's daytime resting place and nest is called ketel . Between 1600 and 1800, the high groundwater level was used to dig water wells here. The water from the more than 20 wells was discharged via man made brooks and streams to the village of Vaassen. Running water meant business and therefore income. With watermills, the water was used for washing, grinding, hammering and cutting. In the 18th century, 17 watermills were operated, using the water from the Motketel springs. The watermills have almost all disappeared, but the Cannenburchermolen , near the castle of the same name, is still there. The watercourses of the Motketel form the most intact and complex system, which is still visible in the landscape and is one of the most unique in the Netherlands. The system is opened up by a network of footpaths.