Maj måneds farver - May Dye Pot

    Maj måneds sidste fed blev vundet til et smukt nøgle.

 The last hank of May was won into this pretty cake.

   Alle majs farveforsøg er samlet her.

All the results from May's dye pots are collected here.

Top: Det seksfarvede kluddernøgle, det med de kromatografiske nister, det uheldige solfarvede nøgle, det grydefarvede  gule.

Bund: Akelejeforsøg 4,  Blå og grøn, Akelejeforsøg 5. 

Top: The tangled skein with 6 colours, the one with chromatographic effects, the sun dyed one, cow parsley

Bottom: Columbine test 4, Blue and green,  Columbine test 5.

     Det er bare meget nemmere at opbevare krydsnøgler end løse fed. Der er masser af plads til overs i posen nu.

  It takes much less space to store wound cakes. There's room for more in the bag that was bursting with the hanks.

Farvegryde - 5A - Dye Pot

Akelejer - Columbines

     Og nu er garnet så kølet af, tørret, vasket og skyllet og tørret igen. Så nu er det tid til en konklusion.
 
 And now that the yarn has cooled off, dried, has been washed and rinsed and dried once again, it's time for the result.

From the top, clockwise: "Poppies", Dark, Blue, Tulips, Commonest, Light.

     Og resultatet er at nej, jeg kan ikke nøjes med at plukke alle de almindeligste mellemlilla akelejer. Naturligvis giver de mere sjældne næsten sorte og smukke blå de bedste farver. De må bare opformeres.
    Tulipanblade giver en bedre farve når de er tørre. Det har jeg vist også læst, at de skulle.  Valmuefarven er gulere i virkeligheden.

  And no. I can't just pick all the most common middle purple columbines for the dye pot. Of course the more rare almost black and pretty blue ones yield the best dye. I'll have to spread their seeds.
  The tulip petals dye better when dry, I think I read this somewhere. The 'poppies' are more yellow in real life.

 -- 🧶 --

Og til Pia - løbelængde ... hmm, et fed, der vejer ca. 100 gram  er ca. 500 meter langt, jeg talte omgangene og målte bundtet 😉 Jeg håber, det siger dig noget. 

Farvegryde - 5 - Dye pot

Akelejer - Columbines

     I dag måtte jeg så teste, om der var forskel på mørkelilla, lyslilla, almindelige lilla (sådan en mellemvare; dem har jeg flest af) og endelig blå akelejer. Med i grydeforsøget kom halvtørrede tulipankronblade og endnu flere af de gule valmue-tingester.

  Today I wanted to test whether the different columbines, light purple, medium purple (the commonest type), dark purple and blue gave off different colours.
   I tested some dried tulip petals and some from a yellow orangey poppy-like flower from the dome.

Blue columbines, dark columbines, 'poppies', light purple, the commonest ones, tulip petals.

-- 🌷 --

     Da garnet var kølet så meget af, at jeg kunne røre ved det uden at brænde fingrene, hev jeg så de hvide stykker mellem glassene ned i næste glas, så får de en time til, og lov til at køle af til i morgen.

When yarn and water had almost cooled enough for me to touch, I pulled the white pieces in between the glasses into the glass to the left. Now they're left to simmer for one more hour, and then cool off until tomorrow. 

     Der er tydelig forskel på farverne her. De allermørkeste, der er nærmest sorte ude i haven, giver den mest blå farve, de lyseste lilla en turkisfarvet og de blå den mest grønne - sjovt.
     De almindelige er der ikke meget krudt i, det var dem, der var allerflest blomster af i glasset, de er jo almindelige! men farven er ikke særlig intens.
     Røde tulipaner farver grønt.  Jeg glæder mig til at hive feddet op af vandet i morgen.
     Det eneste, der undrer mig, er at jeg ikke har været i stand til at genskabe den kromatografiske effekt fra 1. omgang.

I see a distinct difference between the darkest, the blue and the lightest ones, with the darkest being the bluest, the blue one funnily the greenest and the light one a blue-green colour. To my surprise the common ones do not contain very much dye stuff. I picked so much more flowers of this colour, and it's not correspondingly deeper.
  Red tulip petals dye a pleasing green. I still wonder that I have never been able to re-create the chromatic effect from my first test.

Words for Wednesday 27-05-2020

This Wednesday's words:  

 1. Mythology                       2. Contemporary                 3. Instinct
 4. Overture                          5. Banter                             6. Groundbreaking
 7. Barrier                            8. Captivate                        9. Companion
10. Unique                          11. Affair                            12. Interior
were given to us by Lee at Kitchen Connection. I am back to writing filler material for Unicorn Farm, which might or might not find its way into the book. 

  At the station the man at the barrier would not accept her ticket. Susan was late, as usual, and she could see the train standing ready at the platform. Finally she was let through and ran to the train, only to hear the whistle blow and the train put on speed as it left the station. "Oh bother," she said loudly, She had bought a ticket for Die Zauberflöte for her birthday money, and today was to be the day. She had pestered her mum and dad until she was allowed to go to Copenhagen alone by train to see the opera at the Royal Theatre. And now that stupid man ... Suddenly the loudspeakers announced an extra train for Copenhagen Central station leaving in five minutes due to many passengers from Sweden. Susan ran to the announced platform, the one furthest away of course, but  this time she made it on board the train just before the whistle blew.
  The overture had already begun as Susan entered the theatre. Of course her seat was at the interior of a row; with a lot of whispered sorry's and excuse me, please's, she finally found her seat and sat down.
  From the first minute Susan was captivated by the happenings on the stage. It was not a modern staging. Susan was happy, she loved the oldfashioned, long skirts of Pamina and her companions, and Papageno in lederhosen and Papagena in dirndl were just as she had imagined them.
  During one of the didactic, and therefore boring interludes, Susan's thoughts returned to the first time she heard those wonderful songs. As so often before she was at the library, the big, new one near the park, where one of the attractions were a long row of listening stations. You found a record, told the nice man or lady which listening station you sat at, and then you could enjoy the music by holding the two handsets pressed to your ears. In desperation over the choice of music by her contemporaries, she had found Die Zauberflöte in the back of one of the rows, and listened to it. She was forced to hand over the listening station before she was through. She brought the records, four in all, home and listened to them when she was alone in the attic. She had seen the opera on TV as well, but she always had dreamt of seeing it in the theatre.

In the break Susan walked quietly around the foyer, studying all the photos and paintings of the famous singers, conductors and ballet dancers who had ever guested the Royal Theatre. The bell rang and called them back to the magic of the stage.

   The mythology of the play, with masons, trials and wows went over her head, but the big arias, sung in German, by a basso - a giant of a man, able to reach notes resounding deep down in Susan's stomach, and the almost ear piercing soprano notes of the Queen of the night - were just as exquisite as she had imagined. And Papageno was just as charming, toe-curlingly naive and clumsy as he should be. His light banter with an old, decrepit wife, his beloved Papagena in disguise, was the kind of love affair, Susan liked. The haughty, almost cool play between Tamino and Pamina did not fascinate her half as much.
The ending, with Papageno and Papagenas comical duet producing more and more small Papagenos and Papagenas made her laugh, not loud, but loud enough to make some near sitting stuffy persons look askance at her.

  It was late, but Susan was used to being out and about all alone, the night was not cold, and not a wind moved. All the way home in the train she sat still, looking out of the window at the moon, imagining the cruel Queen descending or softly humming Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja ..

  An instinct made her turn as she reached the short cut leading from the station to the main street. Somebody was following her, she was sure. It was neither groundbreaking nor unique, she looked young and naive, and it was not the first time someone had tried stealing either her money or her virginity. She regretted the fact that her wand lay at home in the hidey hole beneath the lose floorboard. She had to handle this in another fashion. Let it not be some witch or wizard, Susan prayed, just an ordinary idiot.

to be continued ... I hope

Farvegryde, akelejer - 4 - Dye Pot, Columbines

     Ude i haven gror der masser af akelejer, de krydser sig og frembringer interessante farver og kombinationer fra meget lys fesen lyserød over blå med hvide skørter til dyb lilla, næsten sort. Det mørke prøvede jeg at farve med for nyligt, men de fesne lyserøde, som jeg hvert år udrydder med hård hånd, havde jeg ikke prøvet med enden. Jeg havde en mistanke om at heller ikke duede til farveplanter.
     Det måtte tjekkes. For det kan jo ikke nytte at jeg plukker alle de - i min optik - pæne mørke akelejer af til at farve med og lader de fesne lyserøde grå og kaste frø. Her er det tørre garn bare stoppet ned i glassene sammen med blomsterne, og så er der fyldt vand i. Det bliver spændende om jeg får en kromatografisk virkning lige som sidst. Så fik de den time ved 80 grader i den vidunderlige gryde og stod og kølede af indtil næste dag

  In our garden are loads of columbines, dark purple, almost black, sky blue with white inside, dark and lighter blues, dark pink with white and lots and lots of very light pink ones, which I do not like. I cut off all their flower stems each year to stop them from spreading seeds, and now I wondered if they maybe were good for dyeing. I feel a bit stupid dyeing with all the nice dark ones and throwing the ugly pink ones on the compost - what if I could use those for dyeing?  
  Two glasses were filled with a handful of flowers, the ends of a skein and water added. Then they simmered for an hour in the wonderful pot. O was hoping for some chromatographic effects like last time around.

     Næste dag så det sådan ud, da jeg trak glassene op af gryden:

  Next day I pulled the glasses from the pot. They looked like this: 

     Og garnet - stadig vådt - så sådan ud:
  And the yarn, still wet, looked like this: 

     Konklusion: de fesne akelejer ender fortsat på komposten, og jeg må plukke sparsomt af alle de mørke til farvefryden.

  Conclusion: All the sickly pink columbines will end their life in the compost as every year, an I am going to pick carefully from the pretty dark ones for the dye pot. 



     Det endte i farvegryden igen, det hvide stykke ved siden af det blå blev igen stoppet ned i det blå akelejevand, så bliver det måske tone-i-tonefarvet.Det andet hvide stykke kom i et glas med kronblade fra sibiriske valmuer, der jo har en skøn orange farve. Gad vide hvad der sker?

   The skein will be dyed more, all the white - or almost of it - will be dyed either yellow or more blue. 

Poetry Monday :: Smells

  My favourite smell, Jenny has spoken! Once again I cannot choose a favourite. There's so many wonderful smells in the world. Each single one of them evokes memories, happy or sad. And once again a rhytmically free verse, but sort of rhyming, is what you've got. I don't know why I feel like experimenting with form, rhyme and style right now, but I do. 
  Diane of On the Border and Jenny of Procrastinating Donkey are taking turns hosting Poetry Monday, supplying us with a theme and crafty poems. Mimi of Messymimi's Meanderings also writes a poem for us to enjoy.

The musty, adventurous smell of an old attic - a story
The eager smell of just before rain - oh hope
The rich, almost tangible smell of horses - my dear

The peerless smell of freshly ground coffee - plain glory
The virtuously clean smell of lye - for soap
The elusive smell of a newborn baby - so near

The bubbling smell of butter browning in a pan - so hungry
The indomitable smell of a campfire - can't be hidden
The appetizing smell of amethyst meadow squill - in the country

The soul quenching smell of old incense and prayers - clear as glass
The alluring smell of a pie in the oven - I'm smitten
The fresh, invigorating smell on the beach -  all will pass

Next week, Diane is our master once again: Bridges is our theme!

Grydefarvning - 3 - Dye Pot

     I går og i dag brugte jeg et par timer på at filtre garnet fra den seneste grydefarvning ud og vinde det i et krydsnøgle. Her ses det sammen med de tre seneste frembringelser.

-- 🧶 --

  Yesterday and today I spent some time untangleing the six coloured skein from the dye pot. Now it is wound into a cake like its three fellows. Here they are.

Nøglet med kromatografiske nister - the one with chromatografic effects --- Vild kørvel- cow parsley

Det seksfarvede kluddernøgle - tangled skein with 6 colours --- Blå og grøn- blue and green

Og hvad skal jeg så lave af disse nøgler meget tyndt garn?

-- 🧶 --

 Now I just have to find out what to make from these skeins of very thin yarn.

WfW - Unicorn Farm Vignette

This Wednesday's words: 
1. Physical                          7. Bearing
2. Partial                             8. Accomplish
3. Performance                   9. Deficient
4. Melee                            10. Hullabaloo
5. Odyssey                        11. Concrete
6. Amplify                        12. Cultural

were given to us by Lee at Kitchen Connection.

  The teachers at The Unicorn Farm were partial to physical exercises, but they did not judge the apprentices after what they could accomplish, participation was king. Susan thought this was a good way of seeing things. She was not adverse to PE or deficient in any way, But if she did not find the exercise meaningful, her thoughts went their own ways, like so many small entities on each their separate Odyssey. Now today they were having mock melee attacks in pairs armed with Bo staffs, and Susan was wide w´awake and present. This was not running or worse soccer.
  Jon, the tall black Norwegian, who had a couple of years' worth of cultural studies (another name for magic) and martial arts in Japan behind him, was their teacher. Jon counted Ichi - ni - san - hajime! In the ensuing hullabaloo Susan beat Heidi over the shin bone with her staff and Heidi on her side parried one of Susan's attacks so violently that she almost broke the staff and lacerated Susan's hand.
  Jon used magic to amplify his voice: "Stop!" he yelled, forgetting his Japanese, intend only on stopping the battle before anyone got hurt. "Look at me!" he said "You have to use the correct strokes. Finnbogi come to me." Jon showed them all a concrete example of how Bo staves were used, and now the apprentices were all counting the strokes, rhythmically, countering their opponent's strokes and making a pattern of staves and bodies. Only now and then one of them lost their bearings and clashed against staff or arm. but soon all followed Jon's counting.

Grydefarvning - 1 - Pot Dyeing

     Ind i mellem må man bare prøve underlige ting. Her er den seneste omgang plantefarvning med mange glas i den vidunderlige gryde.

-- 🧶 --

  Sometimes you just have to test your crazy ideas. Here plant dyeing in many glasses in the wonderful pot. 

     Feddet til venstre er farvet blå med ligusterbær, der var meget indtørrede, men farvede fint; grønt med blade fra rød hassel og gult med syreblade - vist nok havesyre og kruset skræppe, men det er altså svært at se forskel på dem lige nu. Det til højre er ligeledes ligusterbær, syreblade og rød hassel. De to interessante pletter er tulipanblade og lilla akelejer.

-- 🧶 --

 The skein to the left is dyed with red hazel leaves = green, sorrel leaves = yellow and berries from privet = blue. The one to the right is dyed with the same three plant materials plus tulip petals and flowers from purple columbine.

-- 🧶 --

    Vi går lige lidt tættere på -- Let's take a closer look

Her er de lilla akelejer; farven er åbenbart trukket op i garnet og har afsta sig som blå nister, det ser meget fancy ud. Tulipanerne har lavet samme nummer. Gad vide om det var fordi garnet ikke var ordentligt vådt inden jeg startede?

-- 🧶 --

 The piece from the glass with columbine flowers. The dye did some funky thing here, crawling up through the strands of yarn and making small blue spots. I wonder if it's because the yarn was not wet thoroughly.

Grydefarvning - 2 - Pot Dyeing

Lang, billedrig post, delt i to.

     Og næste forsøg: et meget langt fed uldgarn, flere glas med planter fra haven og min vidunderlige gryde.

-- 🧶 --

Long, picture heavy post, split in two.

  Next experiment. A very long skein, more glasses with plants from the garden and my wonderful pot.  

In the pot: Sorrel leaves, clockvise: privet berries, cow parsley with flowers, purple columbine, cow parsley without flowers, red hazel leaves.

     Efter en time flyttede jeg lidt på bundterne for at undgå hvide bånd i overgangene. Så fik det en ½ time mere, og nu ser det sådan her ud:

-- 🧶 --

   After an hour I pulled the white pieces of yarn between the glasses down into the adjacent galss to avoid white, undyed bands in the skein. Then it boiled for another half hour.

     Og i dag trak jeg så garnet op.Sådan her ser det ud. Ingen nister, men fine overgange mellem de forskellige farver.

-- 🧶 --

  And today I pulled the skein from the wonderful pot. It looks like this. 

Så er det tørt, men som alt plantefarvet garn er det megasvært at age billeder af det. 
 Now it has dried, but plant dyes are hard to get right.

Rækkefølge fra venstre - MotherOwl presents:

1. akelejer (mere grønligt) - Columbine (more greenish blue)
2. vild kørvel med blomster (citrongult) - Cow parsley with flowers (lemon yellow)
3. restebad af ligusterbær (gråt med en svag blå tone) - Exhaust bath from privet berries (grey with a touch of blue)
4. syreblade (mere orange - babybæ-farvet) - Sorrel leaves (colour like a baby's diaper)
5. vild kørvel uden blomster ( lysere citrongult - ikke hvidligt) - Cow parsley without flowers (light lemon yellow , not whitish)
6. røde hasselblade - Leaves from rde hazel.

Poetry Monday :: Home

  Diane of On the Border and Jenny of Procrastinating Donkey are taking turns hosting Poetry Monday, supplying us with a theme and crafty poems. Mimi of Messymimi's Meanderings also writes a poem for us to enjoy.
   This Monday's rhyme is totally hopeless. Hubby and I call this kind of rhymes  "Folk Song Army rhymes". Of course named for Folk Song Army by Tom Lehrer.

My home is where I hang my hat
A wise man told us once.
I think this falls a little flat
At least I'd like some buns ...
Some children, flowers, hubby too;
A tree or four,
An open door,
A place to put our shoe.

However this is not enough
To really make a home
I'd like some place to put my stuff
An ugly garden gnome!
And bits and pieces just for fun
Some old, some new
A loom or two
And place for hubby's ton.

Our home is stuffed up to the roof
With things for work and leisure
With drawing tools and wool for woof
With cakes and games for pleasure.
I miss just one essential thing:
I have no hat,
And maybe that
Is why my home is where my heart is.

Happy 100th Birthday JPII

     I dag åbner kirkerne igen, og i dag ville Johannes Paul II være fyldt 100 år. Mon ikke han har vidst hvad vi ønskede os i fødselsdagsgave!

❤️  💙  💚  💛

Today our churches are once more open, and today John Paul II celebrates his 100th birthday. He sure knows how to celebrate!

  💛  💚  💙  ❤️  Tillykke på dagen - STO LAT - Happy Birthday - Buon compleanno ❤️  💙  💚  💛

15 Signs You Are Catholic

1.     You can follow every prayer in Mass, regardless of what language it is in.
2.     You have given up something sweet for Lent … at least a dozen times before.
3.     You dress a lot nicer when you know you might see the Bishop.
4.     You have genuflected (or started to) in a movie theatre, a funeral/wedding at a non-Catholic church, etc.
5.      You complain when the parish buys a new brand of Communion wine.
6.     You can say a family rosary on a trip in less than 15 minutes and know that God still heard it over the baby screaming.
7.      You have prayed a rosary while tired, fallen asleep, and thought, “glad my guardian angel finished if for me.”
8.     You have stronger knees than any of your neighbours who aren’t Catholic.
9.      You assume the headlines in your local paper about the Catholic Church will lead to a story that isn’t accurate.
10.      You are missing John Paul II more than some of your own relatives
11.      Instead of saying “tough it out” you say “offer it up”.
12.     All your children have Mary in their names somewhere. Including the boys.
13.     You have a set of recipes just for Lent.
14.     You have a collection of amusing word mix-ups from the Mass – e.g. Lasagne in the highest.
15.     You have found yourself absent-mindedly humming Mass parts.

Number 10 got me crying when I first saw a list like this. 

WfW May 13

This Wednesday's words:

1.  Faultless                                       7.  Literally
2.  Anticipation                                  8.  Privilege
3.  Quota                                            9.  Perpetual
4.  Development                               10.  Refresh
5.  Sculpture                                     11.  Platform
6.  Transform                                   12.  Ply
are given to us by Lee at Kitchen Connection.

This is a nonsensical tale form The Unicorn Farm. It won't go into the book, I suppose.

  Susan had not foreseen this development as she quietly followed the path to the old train station. She could see the dome, translucent and eerie in the moonlight. Slowly she opened the door and crept inside.
  It was literally pitch dark in the shadows, but the faultless dome over the platform allowed the light from the moon and the shadows from the trees to fall through unobstructed. The perpetual movement of the trees transformed the pattern in the floor tiles mosaic into a labyrinth.
  Like Ariadne Susan grabbed a red thread. The thick, woollen three ply yarn was almost too prosaic to be a real Ariadne's thread. On the other hand she was sure it would not break and leave her stranded somewhere in this crazy labyrinth. As she reached the centre, a Minotaur with a double axe stood in front of her.
  Filled with anticipation, Susan moved the right arm of the sculpture ten centimetres to the left. Nothing happened. Oh, of course, she thought to herself. and moved the left arm instead. My right, not the statue's. The statue and the plinth on which it stood, and a part of the floor, bearing Susan with it, slowly sank into the depths below.
  She was greeted by Torben dressed in a foot long rose pink tunic, who grinned wickedly at her. Torben stepped forwards, stroking his beautiful beard and hefting a long dagger, gleaming in the moonlight. He said: "It is my privilege to inform you that you have met your quota of idiocy this year ... "

With a start Susan awoke and found herself on the floor beside her bed, in The Magician's House.  In the clear moonlight she saw Heidi sleeping peacefully in her own bed, she crept back under the covers of the rollaway bed. "Never again am I going to read Greek drama in bed!" Susan swore before falling asleep again.

Ishelgenerne - Ice Saints

I dag er det koldt og det bliver det ved med denne uge ud. I år lever ishelgenerne op til deres navn. 

Ishelgenerne og deres mindedage:
    Mamertus, Biskop af Vienne – 11. Maj
    Pankratius, tidlig Martyr – 12. Maj
    Servatius, Biskop af Tongeren – 13. Maj
    Bonifatius, tidlig Martyr – 14. Maj
    Sophia, tidlig Martyr og mor til tre gudviede jomfruer – 15. Maj

Når deres dage er bag os, er det tid at plante ud og så frostfølsomme planter.  Det vil sige at der skal sås og plantes på lørdag.

-- ❄🌱❄ --

Today it is cold and windy and we'll maybe get a touch of frost in the coming nights. It's the ice saints causing this. They are:
St. Mamertus, Bishop, May 11.
St Pancratius, May 12.
St Servaitus, Bishop, May 13.
St. Boniface, May 14.
St. Sophia, nicknamed Cold Sophia,  May 15

When their days are past, it is time to plant out and sow plants that can not tolerate frost well. Saturday sowing will happen, I hope. 

Poetry Monday :: Favourite Flower

  Once again it is Monday, and once again the subject is Our favourite something. This time we speak of flowers.
  Diane of On the Border and Jenny of Procrastinating Donkey are taking turns hosting Poetry Monday, supplying us with a theme and crafty poems. Mimi of Messymimi's Meanderings also writes a poem for us to enjoy.

My favourite flower?
It changes by the hour!
Is it yellow, red, or blue?
I love them all. I do!

Does it smell? does it dye?
Can I eat it in a pie?
Can I look at it and sigh?
Does it feed a bee or fly?

Does it turn into a fruit?
Is it garish, is it cute?
Does it bloom in Spring or Fall?
Never mind, I love them all! 

Next week, Diane has decided, we'll talk of: Home!

Solfarvning -- 2 -- Sun Dyeing

     Nå så plukkede jeg en masse vild kørvel og en hel del regnfanblade, som jeg viklede ind i det sol'farvede' garn. Det blev bare gulere, ikke engang særligt pænt, og med smudsigthvide striber, der hvor snorene var bundet om.
   Dette fed garn vil blive udsat for flere eksperimenter og overfarvningsforsøg i sommerens løb!

-- 🌱 --

  Well, I picked a lot of Cow parsley and some Tansy leaves and tied the tansy up inside the skein of solar 'dyed' yarn. It turned an uneven, not very attractive yellow all over, with dirty white smudges where the string tied around it was tight enough.
  This skein will be subject of experimentation and more over-dyeing this summer!

Det sol- og overfarvede garn til venstre og garnet fra den vidunderlige gryde til højre. 

Teh solar and overdyed skein left - the Cow parsley skein from the dye pot right.

WfW - Here there be Dragons V

May's Words for Wednesday will be supplied by Lee at Kitchen Connexion. The Words for this week are:

1. Cliché                                            7. Direction
2. Eccentric                                       8. Sacrifice                                                           
3. Paradise                                         9. Dispensable                                                         
4. Derogative                                   10. Consequence                                                     
5. Capitulate                                    11. Outlook
6. Judgment                                     12. Principle

  "This is a paradise," Kai whispered, as the four children and Sandra crept up the outlook to join him. "Just look at this!"
  They all looked in the direction, he pointed, and gave a collective sigh.
  "Against my better judgment, I have to capitulate," Sandra said very softly. "Even though it sounds like an old cliché, this is paradise."
  In the clearing the dragon was soaring, alert, on guard. Its dark belly and shiny wings like a thing of dreams. And they all saw, what he guarded. Another dragon, smaller, douche colours blending with sand, grass and shadows, lay curled around a cluster of eggs in motley colours.
  "You are dispensable, small humans," they heard the dragon say, as he landed in front of them. "Every being, who ever set their eyes on a dragon's nest, are as a consequence turned into a sacrifice for the conservation of our race."
  "You do not trust us, I see," Kai said. "In principle I do not disagree with you. Human beings are a despicable lot, not to use worse, derogatory terms. But you forgot to consider one thing" Kai sighed, and faced the beautiful dragon. "We are wizards and witches. We share your magic. You cannot pass judgement on us as you would on any other being in this world. We have the prerogative of choosing oblivion."
  "Oblivion it shall be," the dragon sighed. "Please walk ahead of me back the way you came." Kai bowed to the female dragon on the nest, and all took his example, curtsying or bowing their very best. Then they walked back through the woods, cross the river, picked up their brooms, and flew back to the peninsula, from where they had set out in the pre dawn hours. They landed on the beach in the mild noon sunshine. The beach was deserted, the waves kissed the sand with small lapping sounds.
 The dragon spoke again: "Face me, puny humans!" They all  turned towards the wonderful sight. Then the dragon took a breath, sucking in air, until Susan was afraid he would burst. The dragon opened his mouth, They saw a red, two pronged tongue, rows upon rows of sharp teeth, like a shark's and deep down, the smouldering embers of the dragon's fire. It roared, an almighty sound, so deep it shook them to their bones and they fell, senseless to the sand.

Poetry Monday - The One with no Poetry

I can't do it! Every time I begin thinking of Friends this flitters through my brain and just spoils anything, I just thought of:

So no one told you life was gonna be this way
Your job's a joke, you're broke, your love life's DOA

It's like you're always stuck in second gear
When it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year

but.

I'll be there for you
When the rain starts to pour
I'll be there for you
Like I've been there before
I'll be there for you
'Cuz you're there for me too...

Next Monday the topic is Our Favourite Flower. I know lots of songs about flowers, but I hope none as earwormy as "I'll be there for you".

Solfarvning -- Sun Dyeing

     I flere år har jeg forsøgt mig med solfarvning. Uden stort held. Her er en sammenligning; to bundter garn farvet med vild kørvel, det til venstre fik 30 minutter ved 80 grader i den vidunderlige gryde. Det til højre har stået 14 dage i domen, det kan vist ikke kaldes en succes.

-- 🌿 --

  For some years now I have been experimenting with solar dyeing. Without any luck. My latest try can serve as an illustration: The bundle to the left was put in the wonderful pot and boiled for half an hour at 80 degrees. The one to the left has stood in a jar for 14 days in my greenhouse.
  Both skeins alum mordanted and dyed - or not - with Cow parsley. 

     Ansporet af et opslag i vores platefarvergruppe rullede jeg de afkogte planterester og en håndfuld friske ind i det sol'farvede' garn. Så fik der 30 minutter i den vidunderlige gryde. Bundterne har byttet plads, men det er vist også alt, der er sket. Jeg må plukke mere vild kørvel i morgen, og måske nogle regnfanblade. Heldigvis kan det stadig overfarves igen.

-- 🌿 --

  I read a post in a plant dyeing group and made an experiment. All the old plant matters and a handful of fresh leaves were placed on the yarn, which was rolled into a bundle and put in the wonderful pot for half an hour. Well the bundles have changed places, and that's all what happened.
  Tomorrow I'll go hunting some more plants and try again.  

Pollen 2020

Uglemor er allergisk overfor birkepollen, og har set frem til årets pollensæson med rædsel. Pollenallergi oven i alt det andet? Nej tak. Og som et svar på hendes bønner har årets pollensæson været historisk mild.

-- 🤧 -- 

MotherOwl is allergic. One of the worst (after bee stings) is birch pollen. She did watch the pollen warnings with anxiety. Oh,no - no more health issues, please. And her prayers were heard. We have had a record low. Look at those graphs: First 2020 alone, then 2020 compared to 2019 and 2018. Big smile. 


Her først årets pollengraf:

Og så sammenlignet med de to foregående år;

Link til pollengrafer

Og da Uglemor gik en tur i dag, lå de første birkerakler på jorden under træerne. Gode nyheder, så er det allerede næsten slut for i år!

-- 🤧 --

And today MotherOwl went for a walk. The first birch catkins have dropped off already. The end is in sight. Hurray!