Last night on a midnight walk around Smaragdlaan, we were exposed to Dutch wildlife. Overall, you don’t see too much besides birds. Ducks, swans, geese, storks, seagulls, pigeons, you see everywhere, but other than that, not too much. During our late night walk, we got to see the other type of Dutch wildlife, the kind that only comes out when most of the people [in one of the most densely populated areas in the world per square kilometer] are asleep.
Right outside our building, there was a friendly hedgehog, slowly working to sort through the leaves and grass of the front lawn. Scurrying, as they do, it was almost the cutest thing I have ever seen.
Later, near the canal, we saw slugs. Two slugs, to be exact. And although I have seen grubs, like those ones that live in dead tree trunks, I am not sure that I have ever seen this type of slug. Slimy, but not too slimy, more like an extra fat worm that is crawling across the cement, making any earthworm, long and thin, seem just plain underweight.
Now that we have discovered this secret nocturnal world, it makes me think that we should spend a little more time out at night in Holland. There’s something to be said for times when hedgehogs and slugs can scuttle and slide without worry. Especially among hundreds of sleeping Dutchmen and women, up to 1225 people per square kilometer.
If all were to go swimmingly... 