Erve Middelkamp, an old farm in The Netherlands

One of the paths up the Tankenberg, a hill in the east of The Netherlands, crosses the yard of an old farm called Erve Middelkamp. The farm houses are in their original states, though no longer in use for farming.

^{Olympus Stylus 1s, 28mm, ISO125, f5.6, 1/60s}

The doors for the cattle of the larger house open onto the yard, the farmers had an entrance at the other end, but traditionally, there is just one big open space inside. This type of farm is known locally as a lös hoes, meaning "open house".

There was some old farming equipment standing around, like this chaff cutter, used for cutting straw for the stables:

^{Olympus Stylus 1s, 42mm, ISO100, f4, 1/100s}

Around the corner stood a cart with hand-made, wooden wheels:

^{Olympus Stylus 1s, 60mm, ISO200, f4, 1/60s}

There are still people around who can make such wheels; I have been to a demonstration of this process once and I was really impressed, especially with the way they heat-shrink the metal band around the wood.

What struck me most on the yard we were crossing, however, was this door:

^{Olympus Stylus 1s, 65mm, ISO200, f5.6, 1/80s}

Centuries old and gray with age, it fits and works beautifully, yet there isn't a straight line in it. I actually used the electronic level in my camera to keep the camera horizontal, as the door offered no reference for this.

They used planks as they were cut without straightening the sides, and made them fit together. I think it is a thing of beauty, and I have stood there for a long time just looking at it.