Travl juni -- 3 -- Busy June

     Alle ugleboets beboere har været travlt optaget i den seneste tid Her er et lille uddrag af det, vi har haft travt med. Nu er det sommerferie, og vi skal slappe af. Ikke at der ikke kommer til at foregå noget, men det bliver andre ting i et helt andet tempo.

The inhabitantts of the Owlery have been busy as ... well ... bees. Some photos will show a bit of it. Now Summer holidays have begun. This does not mean that nothing will happen, but otherthings will happen, and the pacing of events will hopefully be slower.



     Vi har fejret sankt Hans. Skribenten holdtårets båltale og sørgede for at der kom ordentligt fut i det smukke bål.

     We've been celebrating midsummer with bonfires, speaches (by The Writer), and BBQ.

     Vi har hafe en invasion af feststemte folk med overvejende hvide huer.


We've been invaded by happy, young people dressed in (mostly) white hats. A tradition upon graduating from High School.

   Vi - eller i hvert fald Uglemor og de tre mindste Ugleunger - har set verdens stærkeste mand.

We - or MotherOwl and the three youngest Owlets - have watched Herkules the strongest man in the World do his tricks.

   Vi har øvet os i at cykle ad snæver baner og gennem forhindringer. Min cykel er en ninjacykel, så den måtte have det sorte bælte.

We've practised trick biking. MotherOwl's bike is a total ninja and earned the black belt.

     Vi har bekæmpet ukrudt. Her en sejrrig Uglemor med en særlig stor, genstridig tot.


We've been fighting weeds. Here's a victorious MotherOwl with a slain enemy weed.

     Vi har set på smukke ting.

We've seen some pretty sights.

     Og vi har bekæmpet hvepse med kogende vand. De havde slået sig ned i et fulgehus. .

And we've been fighting wasps with boiling water. They had built a nest in a bird house.

Indsat dronningehveps  --  Inserted Queen Wasp

Travl juni 2 -- June-craziness

     Mellem naboens og vores udhus er der en passage. Her gror nælderne højt, og Uglemor må se at få spurgt naboen om at frede nælderne, så Uglemor kan høste dem senere på året.


Between a neighbour's shed and our wall, nettles grow to tall plants. MotherOwl has to ask the neighbour to leave the nettles alone and let MotherOwl pick them later for fibres.

Se lige den nælde!  --  Look at that nettle!

     Til sin fødselsdag fik Uglemor nogle nye, fine pile af glasfiber. De er bare så meget bedre at skyde med end de gamle skæve træpile. Tak til Ugleungerne.

For her birthday MotherOwl had some new arrows. They hit the target much better than her old, warped wooden arrows. Thanks, Owlets.

Det blæste stadig temmeligt meget, men nu måtte Uglemor bare prøve pilene.
It was still quite windy, but MotherOwl had to try out the arrows after waiting several day for the winds to die down.

     Sidste år var vores laurbærplante fuld af skjoldlus. Efter gentagne behandlinger og overvintring indenfor, levede Uglemor i håbet om at de var væk. Men nej. Planten blev grundigt solskoldet, da den kom ud efter sit vinterhi, og de (den?) overlevende skjoldlus havde formeret sig lystigt.
     Uglemor pillede alle de solskoldede blade af, børstede stænglerne med en tandbørste og se nu. Årets laurbærhøst er reddet. Den pink tandbørste står i krukken og minder Uglemor om at se planten efter og børste eventuelle skjoldlus af.

Last year our laurel was beset by wax scales. Repeated brushings and wintering inside left MotherOwl believing that the wax scales were all gone. But no, the plant had a sunburn as it was returned to out terrace, and this was obviously a signal to the wax scales to multiply.
MotherOwl removed all the damaged leaves and brushed the stems, and now this years harvest of laurels are safe. The pink toothbrush is standing guard in the soil, reminding MotherOwl to brush the plant now and then.

Før - skjoldlus på undersiden af bladene - efter.
Before -- wax scales on sun damaged leaves  --  after.

     Det anti-fuglebur Uglemor og Minimax byggede, virker efter hensigten så længe man husker at lægge stenene tilbage på plads igen efter sig. Vi har nu spist to portioner jordbær.
     I går dækkede Uglemor vores ribsbuske med resten af nettet. Der sad en due i busken og spiste løs af de modnende bær. Uglemor har drømt om gigantiske fugle, der åd vores bær hele natten.

The anti-bird cage Minimax and MotherOwl built does its job as long as it's securely closed after use. We've been harvesting strawberries twice since.
Yesterday MotherOwl covered the redcurrant bushes with the excess netting. A big, ugly dove had landed in the bushes, leisurely picking and eating all the reddening berries. MotherOwl dreamt of giant birds eating our berries all night.

Junitravlhed -- Busy June

     Ud over at høste nælder - eller rettere ikke at høste særligt mange nælder - har Uglemor haft gevaldigt travlt i Uglebo og andre steder. Faktisk har Uglemor ikke lavert ret meget af det, hun havde sat sig for. Der sker altid noget, der kræver handling her og nu - helst i går. Eller for at lave A, som jeg egentlig havde sat mig for, må jeg først gøre B, og C for at få plads til at gøre D, som så fører til E.... og så er dagen gået uden at jeg fik tid til A overhovedet. Den slags kalder Uglemor domino-arbejde.

MotherOwl is busy - June-busy.- Apart form harvesting - or rather almost-not havesting - nettles, a zillion things are happening. Not much of it has been what I actually planned. Either something else shows up, something demanding immediate attention and preferably the day before yesterday. Or I plan to do A, but to do this I have to remove B, and finish up C, to make room for D, which leads to E ... and then the day has ended without me doing A at all. Domino-working MotherOwl calls these irritating incidents.



     Men ind i mellem handlingerne og dominoarbejdet har vi også haft det sjovt. Uglemor, Minimax og Piraten var på cyrskue i Roskilde. Det er stadig et godt gammeldags skue med vurdering af kvæg, heste og andre dye plus en hel masse gøgl og sjov. Vi var der en hel dag.

    But in between being busy and domino-working, we have been having Sunshine and fun. MotherOwl, Minimax and the Pirate wrer in Roskildefor the agriculturakl show held there. It's an old-gashioned show with prizes for milk cows, meat cows, horses, goats, sheep ...ect but also a lot of fun happening there. Bow shooting, live role playing,   and much more. We spent a whold day there.

     Så har Uglemor lavet bukkarsæbe, der gelerede smukt og ikke behævede omrøring eller anden førstehjælp.

MotherOwl has been making soap with sweet woodruff. It gelled nicely, and did not need stirring or other first aid measures.

     Spirillen er vors bager og fremstiller velsmagende kager. Lige for øjeblikket har han - med hjælp fra Piraten - kastet sig over cookies med chokoladelinser i. Deres kulørte sukkerovertræk er ikke særlig varmefast, til Piratens store sorg. Hans grønne kager blev vissentgule i ovnene.

Marsupilami is quite the baker here. With a little help from the Pirate he makes delicious cookies with coloured chocolate drops. The colours don't stand the temperature very vell to the chagrin of Pirate, whose favourite green ones fade to a grassy yellow in the oven.

     Piraten har også fået en hajfinne ... han elsker hajer, man er vel en pirat. Så håber Uglemor at han kan lære at svømme som en haj til sommer.

The Pirate has gotten a shark fin. He loves sharks and everything else to do with the seven seas. Now MotherOwl hopes that this swimming aid will make him swim as a shark this summer. The water is arouns 16 degrees rigth now, not quite hot enough for sharks (or owls), but time will mend this.

     Og så har vi høstet honning. Mange mange tavler er gået fra at se sådan her ud:

We've been harvesting honey as well. Lots and lots of frames have gone from this:

... til det her:

... to this

     Og spandene her er fyldt med gyldne dråber. Vi er ikke færdige endnu, men bierne blev træte af at have Uglemor rendende og Uglemor blev lidt træt af bier. Så resten af høsten venter lige et par dage.

Buckets filled with golden drops. We're not done yet but the bees were tired of MotherOwl's visits, and MotherOwl was just as tired of bees, bees ,bees. So we took a smallish break.

     Al forseglingen blev smeltet, og Uglemor fik fyldt glasset med solgule vokstoppe igen.

All the capping was turned into these sunshine yellow wax "muffins".

     Bierne gjorde deres arbejde med at bestøve jordbærrene. Alligevel var der ingen bær. En tidlig morgen stak Uglemor hovedet ud af vinduet og så masser af solsorte lette fra bedet. Så blev Minimax ansat som fugleskræmesl - og betalt i lakridsbolcher - indtil dette "anti-fuglebur" stod parat. Det skete lørdag morgen og i morgen tidligt vil vi nok kunne høste den første skåfuld modne jordbær.

The bees did their job; pollinating our strawberries, but never a berry found its way to our table. Until Saturday morning. MotherOwl woke up earlier than usual - or maybe her timing was just better - anyway, as she poked her head through the window to greet the new day, a shower of blackbirda hurriedly left our strawberry field. Minimax was hired as a scarecrow, and paid in liqurice drops, until this anti-bird cage was finished. We expect to harvest the first bowl of ripe strawberries tomorrow morning.

Nælder til tekstil? -- Nettles for cloth?

     I et par år har Uglemor høstet nælder for at væve, spinde tråd eller måske sno reb af dem. Det er bare aldrig sket, men nu har Pia fra Colour Cottage lavet en Nettle-along, og Uglemor deltager. Derfor kommer vi nu ud på en foto-safari i Ugleboets mindre charmerende hjørner. Det er der nælderne gror, nemlig.
     Forbered jerpå et billed- og ordrigt indlæg. Uglemor viser billeder, fortæller og tænker. 


For some years now MotherOwl has been harvesting nettles with the express purpose of making yarn, rope, fabric ... something fibre-y from them. It never happened. But now Pia from Colour Cottage is hosting a Nettle-along, and MotherOwl is participating. Today you're in for a tour of the less charming nooks and crannies of the Owlery, because that is where nettles grow.
Prepare yourself for a word and picture heavy post. MotherOwl shows photos, tells about them, and thinks out loud.

     Hækken bag domen er ikke klippet endnu (det er jo heller ikke Sankt Hans endnu, og der er masser af unger i rederne stadigvæk) der gror masser af nælder.
     Gad vide hvordan man egentlig skelner liden nælde fra brændenælde (stor nælde) Ok let - afrundede blade er den lille, spidse den store. Det har betydning, for den lille skulle ikke give ordentlige fibre.
     Alle dem i hækken er brændenælder. Bare se på nærbilledet nedenunder.

First stop the hedge behind the dome-greenhouse. It has not been cut - but the birds still have youngs in their nests. They're not very tall, MotherOwl hopes they are all stinging nettles, as the smaller cousin does not yield as good fibres, and only the best is good enough for a first try.
Problem solved. Dwarf nettle has rotund leaves, stinging nettle has pointed leaves. These are all of the stinging variety.
Look at this close up:

Lad os fortsætte  --  Let's continue.

     Næste stop. Det gamle das. Her gror nælderne også tæt. Desværre for vores ben gror de tæt på tørresnorene, som Uglemor faktisk står nedenunder for at tage dette billede. Herlige spidse blade på dem også. Med mindre Ugleungerne klager alt for meget, bliver de høstet, når de begynder at visne. Det skulle være det rette tidspunkt.

Next stop is the old outhouse. Here the nettles thrive, a danger to Owlets hanging up clothes. MotherOwl stands under our clothes line snapping this photo.
And all the nettles here have pointed leaves as well. If the Owlets do not complain over-much, they will be harvested as they start wilting. That should be the very best time.

     I hjørnet ved das står det bundt nælder, Uglemor høstede sidste efterår. De burde være klar nu.

Here in the corner behind the outhouse we also find the nettles MotherOwl harvested last spring. They should be ready for use by now.

     Uglemor gemmer på træ til at dreje af. Ovenpå mini-presenningen ligger gårsdagens ringe høst på nældefronten. 

This is MotherOwl's wood turning supply. On top of the tarpaulin lies yesterdays meagre harvest.

 Hele 5 stængler  --  All of five stalks.

To små hampenælder (Urtica cannabina) - håber Uglemor i hvert fald - der gerne skulle blive større og flere og give fibre fra sig.

Kentucky hemp (Urtica cannabina) - at least MotherOwl hopes so. Their job is to grow and multiply and make lots of fibres.