mandag den 20. juli 2026

Poetry Monday :: Beef

Every Monday is Poetry Monday.

Poetry Monday is a blogging challenge started by Diane @ On the Border in February 2017, and later it was picked up by Delores @ Mumblings and Jenny @ Procrastinating Donkey.
    Then Dolores took over the hosting duties; but when Dolores left the internet, Diane returned and took over hosting duty again with her and Jenny taking turns suggesting a topic.

    Now Mimi @
Messymimi's Meanderings and I have taken over, as Diane has returned home from her travels some time ago, but seems disinclined to take up Poetry Monday again.

I find this sad, because she reached many more poetry-writing bloggers than Mimi and I do.

The prompts are now taken from 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts group. This is a Facebook group with a (drawing) prompt for each day of the year, but no worries, the prompts will still be here and at Mimi's blog. And they mostly lend themselves perfectly for poeming as well. 


  I have something to ask of you: If you read this and the poetry of others via the links, would you please leave a comment.
  Half - if not more - the fun of these challenges is receiving the responses of others
.


  -- 🍳 -- 🥩 -- 🥕 -- 🐟 -- 🍥 -- 🌿 -- 🍚 --


Today's prompt is
Beef

By now I think that you all know that I love limited poems, like Haiku, and Elfje. During the 2025 A-Z Challenge, I found the Epulaeryu at ladyleemanila's blog.
As always when pressed for time and energy, I recourse to these short forms. I still need some practise in Epulaeryu - strange name with a strange explanation:

The Epulaeryu poem is about delicious food (The name is, I think, a mixture of Greek and Japanese).
It consists of seven lines and thirty-three syllables.

The form is 7/5/7/5/5/3/1 syllables, an
d the seventh line ends with an exclamation mark
.


A tempting smell is wafting
to us from the pan.
We sprinkle salt and pepper
we turn it as we can.
Serve it with taters
and veggies.
Beef!

- - - - - - -UPCOMING Prompts: - - - - - - -

July 27 -  Relief
August  3 -  Tractors
August  10  - Bluebell
August  17  - Sunny days
August  24  - Photography
August  31  - Xerophyte
.

søndag den 19. juli 2026

Sunday Selections ~ Søndagsbilleder July 19
Colour26

This past week ... I've been folding tiny stars.
Each star is made from nine squares cut from a tea bag wrapper or an equivalent size of gift wrapper. I know what I'm going to use them for -- or at least I have an idea.

I den forgangne uge ... har jeg foldet miniaturestjerner.
Hver af dem er foldet af ni firkanter klippet ud af tebrevsomslag. Eller af gavepapir klippet i samme størrelse. Jeg har en idé til, hvad de skal bruges til.



There's something Jade green in this star.

Der er Jadegrønne felter på denne her stjerne.


I've  hung up decorative objects on our new shed.

Jeg har hængt ting op at pynte på vores nye skur.



And eaten summer candy.

Og spist sommerslik.

And seen a snake ... or maybe not.

Og set en slange ... eller også ikke.
This last one has a partially Jade green background.

Baggrunden i det sidste billede her er også Jadegrøn.

fredag den 17. juli 2026

Fredagsfrustration - eller snarere -undren
Friday Frustration -- or rather Astonishment

I går løste jeg Wordle med bare grønne bogstaver, og det gav mig et badge, "Sea of Green".
I dag løste jeg Wordle med bare gule bogstaver. Hvorfor er der ikke et "Sea of Yellow" for det?

-- 🟨   🟩 --

Yesterday I solved the Wordle with only green letters, and had the badge Sea of Green to show for it.
Today I solved the Wordle with only yellow letters. Why am I not given a Sea of Yellow badge for this?

I går / Yesterday:

Wordle 1.853 3/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

I dag / Today:

Wordle 1.854 3/6
🟨🟨⬜🟨🟨
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Gårsdagens / Yesterday's Sea of Green:

torsdag den 16. juli 2026

Using the Words ~ "Here and Now"

Ants,
Sushi,
Meeting,
Miniature,
Juniper,
Leaves
 
    and/or
Mushroom,
Seagull,
Windy,
Glass,
Knit,
Safe

    and/or the photo of a dormer window ... I did not use it, but I want to.

Once again I'm late, and once again this week I did not succeed in writing out the idea in my head. Another "here and now" is all I can do. And I took up my extra challenge of using the Words in the order they're given.


Today I spent the day cleaning, picking berries and fighting ants. The ants were flying today, and came out through a hole in our windowsill - inside. I fought them with the vacuum cleaner, running from the books and dust bunnies upstairs to the downstairs garden door carrying our vacuum cleaner.
I made sushi for dinner for me and the Pirate, he and the Writer also had pierogi, and we all had fried zucchini and pasta.
   
We have had no serious meetings for some days now, we're having summer holidays and thoroughly enjoying it. The sun is shining almost every day, the berries are ripe, and the ants are flying!
While dusting and re-arranging books (and ants) I also found some of the miniature Lego figures, belonging to a Hogwarts Christmas calendar from ome years ago. I like them, they are fun with Luna Lovegood dressed in a lion costume, and Dumbledore in an elf's hat with a wand and a sprig of juniper - I think this strange, I would have expected holly or ivy, but the leaves look just like juniper to me.

Yesterday Marsupilami was home visiting. We ate mushrooms, meatballs, and more, and he told of his fishing trip. He did not catch anything edible, only a sea anemone attached to a stone. But it had been a nice trip. Lots of seagulls, and the pier was nice and windy, he's not as crazy about heat and sunshine as I am. We put the sea anemone in a glass of water with salt in it, but it died anyway. It reminded me of the cacti, I am knitting - I know ... knitted cacti are not what I normally do, but the Owlets teased me, and told me that woolly cacti are the only safe ones. Pictures will come, promise.

Today's Wordle earned me another "Sea of Green":

Wordle 1.853 3/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
And it was a fast solve too.

onsdag den 15. juli 2026

Words for Wednesday ~ Only the Words ~ July 15

The original Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and eventually taken over as a moveable feast with many participants supplying the Words.
When Delores closed her blog forever due to other problems, Elephant's Child (Sue) took over the role of coordinator.
Now, after Sue's demise, River has taken the mantle of coordinator upon her shoulders.

No matter what, how, where or who the aim of the words is to encourage us to write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

This month the words are given by me (Charlotte - MotherOwl) and can be found at River's blog
: Drifting through Life

If you are posting an entry on your own blog, please leave a comment on River's blog, then we can come along and read it and add a few encouraging words.

It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

And for today we were given:
Ants,
Sushi,
Meeting,
Miniature,
Juniper,
Leaves  
    and/or
Mushroom,
Seagull, 
Windy,
Glass,
Knit,
Safe 
    and/or the photo of a dormer window - thanks to River for this term.

As usual my Wednesday has been extraordinary busy - some kind of Wednesday hex maybe - I hope to use the Words in the days to come.

mandag den 13. juli 2026

Poetry Monday :: Dandelion Seeds

Poetry Monday is a blogging challenge started by Diane @ On the Border in February 2017, and later it was picked up by Delores @ Mumblings and Jenny @ Procrastinating Donkey.
    Then Dolores took over the hosting duties; but when Dolores left the internet, Diane returned and took over hosting duty again with her and Jenny taking turns suggesting a topic.

    Now Mimi @
Messymimi's Meanderings and I have taken over, as Diane has returned home from her travels some time ago, but seems disinclined to take up Poetry Monday again.

I find this sad, because she reached many more poetry-writing bloggers than Mimi and I do.

The prompts are now taken from 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts group. This is a Facebook group with a (drawing) prompt for each day of the year, but no worries, the prompts will still be here and at Mimi's blog. And they mostly lend themselves perfectly for poeming as well. 


Today's prompt is
Dandelion Seeds, This was not an easy topic for me. I really like Dandelions, and thir seeds aer so pretty, but making a poem about them... I could get no traction whatsoever, so after racking my brain for some time, I did something else - the idea of this challenge is after all to make us write poetry, not to pull out our hair :) 
    A week or two ago I bought this book second hand.
    It contains selected poems by one of my favourite poets: Halfdan Rasmussen, whose praises I've sung before.
    The title-poem - Mariehønen Evigglad (Mariehøne means Ladybird; Evigglad means always happy) - inspired me. And I made it into a poem in English. It has
nothing in common with Dandelion seeds, except for maybe being flighty and fun.







1.
The ladybird called Everglad
went walking down the garden path
And there she saw that Felix snail
was sleeping by a water pail.

2.
Then rain came down and thunder rolled
and Everglad got wet and cold
she sought her aid in Felix snail
knocked on his shell beside the pail.

3.
And Felix called out: - Do come in!
come out of thunder, rain, and wind.
It is not roomy as you see
but dry and cozy as can be!

4.
They both sat down and laughed a lot
in Felix' snail shell, nice and hot.
And there beside the water pail
Miss Everglad turned Madam Snail.


Extra  -- it seems that almost every kindergarten in Denmark has made their own 5th verse.
I took the ones I liked best and made my own 5th verse in English.

5.
And lots of happy kids they had
that looked a lot like mom and dad,
and they flew off into the blue
with shells and spots - my tale is true.

søndag den 12. juli 2026

Sunday Selection ~ Søndagsbilleder

Very fast, it's beyond bedtime.
Lots of pic featuring Jade green as background for other colours. More text will follow.


I hast, for det er længst sengetid.
Masse billeder med Jadegrøn som baggrund for andre farver. Mere tekst følger.


Golden gooseberries on the bush, I saved.  ~  Gyldne stikkelsbær på den busk jeg reddede.

Redcurrants that are really red, and not yet eaten by blackbirds or doves 
~
Røde ribs, som hverken duer eller solsorte har ædt endnu.

Oxalis, This luscious plant began as three tiny, shrivelled bulbs. 

Oxalis. Denne overdådige plante begyndte sit liv som tre småbitte indtørrede knolde.


White redcurrants, "invisible" to blackbirds and doves.  ~  Hvide ribs, som duer og solsorte ikke kan se.

One of my yellow birthday roses.  ~  En af mine gule fødselsdagsroser.

Grapes coming up.  ~  Kommende vindruer.

Denne her sjove busk med blå blomster kunne jeg ikke stå for. Den hedder Ceanothus thyrsiflorus, sikke et navn! Den er ikke vinterhårdfør, så jeg må dække den grundigt og håbe den overlever.
~
This funny bush with charming blue flowers was all alone in the supermarket and begged to come home with me. I was unable to resist. It is called a Ceanothus thyrsiflorus - I have to look this up every time. It's not hardy, and I just hope it survives if I cover it up well.

Peas, The Pirate thinks they look like eggplants, and he's not wrong. 
~
Ærter. Piraten mener de ligner auberginer. Det er ikke helt forkert.

fredag den 10. juli 2026

Words for Wednesday ~ July 8

The original Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and eventually taken over as a moveable feast with many participants supplying the Words.
When Delores closed her blog forever due to other problems, Elephant's Child (Sue) took over the role of coordinator.
Now, after Sue's demise, River has taken the mantle of coordinator upon her shoulders.

No matter what, how, where or who the aim of the words is to encourage us to write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

This month the words are given by me (Charlotte - MotherOwl) and can be found at River's blog
: Drifting through Life

If you are posting an entry on your own blog, please leave a comment on River's blog, then we can come along and read it and add a few encouraging words.

It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

And for today we were given:
Peach,
Granola Bowl,
Idea,
Wood,
Sad 
     and/or  
Turn,
Scarecrow,
Flowers,
Cauldron,
Hot,
Bubble

Also this week I'm late, and also this week I did not succeed in writing out the idea in my head. Another "here and now" is all I can do.

While I sat eating Peach Melba yoghurt from my favourite granola bowl, I got an idea. I like wood, I like working with wood. I am sad that my lathe is broken, because I find so much beautiful wood, that would be just right for the turning of a bowl.

Instead I'll maybe go and put up a scarecrow.. The crows and blackbirds are eating my redcurrants and the slugs are eating all my strawberries - a scarecrow won't help here.

Maybe I'll pick some flowers today, the marigolds and the dyer's chamomile are ready for picking.

It would be lovely to have an old cauldron to dye my wool in with the dyer's chamomile, I see it in my mind's eyes: hot, bubbling, dying hank after hank a luminous yellow. But my wonderful pot is all I have. It does not bubble, but it gets the job done.




mandag den 6. juli 2026

Poetry Monday :: Moody ~ ~ CORRECTION!

Error message:
Dear all. I see now that I have given the prompts for the wrong dates - Sundays, not Mondays - for the rest of 2026. Blame it on my new PC, that does not show Sunday as the first day of the week.
I have now corrected them all.

 -- 🔺🔻🔺🔻🔺🔻🔺🔻🔺🔻 -- 

Poetry Monday
is a blogging challenge started by Diane @ On the Border in February 2017, and later it was picked up by Delores @ Mumblings and Jenny @ Procrastinating Donkey.
    Then Dolores took over the hosting duties; but when Dolores left the internet, Diane returned and took over hosting duty again with her and Jenny taking turns suggesting a topic.

    Now Mimi @
Messymimi's Meanderings and I have taken over, as Diane has returned home from her travels some time ago, but seems disinclined to take up Poetry Monday again.

I find this sad, because she reached many more poetry-writing bloggers than Mimi and I do.

The prompts are now taken from 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts group. This is a Facebook group with a (drawing) prompt for each day of the year, but no worries, the prompts will still be here and at Mimi's blog. And they mostly lend themselves perfectly for poeming as well.

Today's prompt is
Moody. Together with past Friday's WfW - Right Now - it made me think of a poem Pia @ ColorCottage posted ... it's almost 13 years ago! By Golly, time flies!


It is NOT my poem!



Dust If You Must
Dust if you must, but wouldn't it be better
To paint a picture, or write a letter,
Bake a cake, or plant a seed,
Ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust if you must, but there's not much time,
With rivers to swim, and mountains to climb,
Music to hear, and books to read,
Friends to cherish, and life to lead.

Dust if you must, but the world's out there
With the sun in your eyes, and the wind in your hair,
A flutter of snow, a shower of rain.
This day will not come around again.

Dust if you must, but bear in mind,
Old age will come and it's not kind.
And when you go - and go you must -
You, yourself, will make more dust.

Not mine, published by Pia @ Colour Cottage September 26, 2013.

- - - - - - -UPCOMING Prompts: - - - - - - -

July 13 -  Dandelion seeds
July 20 - Beef
July 27-  Relief
August  3 -  Tractors
August  10  - Bluebell
August  17  - Sunny days
August  24  - Photography
August  31  - Xerophyte
.

fredag den 3. juli 2026

Fredagsfrustration ~ Friday Frustration

Once again a change in the lay-out of our bus stops and the information contained there is frustrating me. For a small English summary scroll down.

Når jeg står ved et stoppested, og bussen ikke kommer som den skulle, er der nu ifølge teksten på stoppestedet to muligheder for at få besked om, hvornår den kommer:
  1. At downloade en app, Buster. Men det kan jeg ikke, når jeg ikke har en Smartphone.
  2. At ringe til 70 15 70 00, og lytte til ... Vælg 1 for ... i det uendelige, og så vente på en ledig medarbejder. Det tager undertiden lang tid - og en af grundene til. at jeg ikke har en Smartphone er, at jeg ofte glemmer min telefon, eller glemmer at lade den op, så det er ikke så smart heller.
I "gamle dage", ikke så længe siden endda, kunne man sende en SMS til 1250 med et S plus stoppestedets nummer - det nummer står altså stadigvæk på stoppestedet - og få en svar-SMS med kommende afgange fra det relevante stoppested med forsinkelser og det hele. Den mulighed lader så til at være afskaffet ... eller er det mon kun annonceringen af den på stoppestedet, der er væk? Jeg har spurgt trafikselskabet, og venter nu pænt på et svar.

Det er træls at jeg føler mig som en andenklasses borger fordi jeg ikke vil have en Smartphone.


In English
:
Before the new bus stops were put up, they contained an information about an SMS service for checking when the buses left from there. There's no timetable on any bus stops since 2019.
After the update, you're only told about an App called Buster.
I have written and asked the bus company if the SMS service is still available, if not I feel angry that you're almost forced to buy a smartphone to go by bus in Denmark.

Words for Wednesday ~ Using the Words

Cold,
Door,
Fire engine,
Tree,
Jacket,
Sign   
    and/or  
Candle,
Cup,
Egg,
Roses,
Window,
Hazy

I did not follow through on my first idea, but the words lend themselves nicely to this little telling of "Here and now"

Right now it's cold and windy, actually after the record heat we now have record winds. I had to close the door because it made my papers fly around.

So now I sit here at the computer, trying to write. Outside I still hear sounds coming through a window standing ajar. I hear the wind in the trees outside. I hear a far off cow lowing after its calf. I hear the neighbour tinkering with his old car as usual, and I hear a fire engine really far off. I hope it's only a small fire caused by burning weeds in the wind. It rained yesterday, but now the sun is shining, and every self-respecting house owner is out there weeding -- many of them using these gas powered flame thrower things even if it's disencouraged when it's dry and windy like now.

But the branches of my other neighbour's willow tree is flying like pennants in the wind, so I'm not out there. I'm thinking of repairing my jacket, taking its disrepair and the violent winds as a sign that today is not a day for gardening.

I have lots of ideas, as to what I could do right now instead of sitting here typing.

I could go and make a batch of soap, or even try my hand at candle making, I have finally gotten all the bees wax cleaned, melted, and poured into small moulds, ready for use.

Or I could paint my white cup, the permanent, dishwasher safe markers finally turned up.

I could go and feed my hens, collecting the eggs, water my birthday roses still standing in containers waiting for me to weed where they are supposed to go before I plant them out.

I could go and pull off the painters tape from the windows of the shed, It is almost all painted by now.

But my head is still hazy and woozy from the headache, so no climbing ladders or anything today either.

I think I'll go and fetch the eggs, and maybe pick some dyeplants for drying on my way, and some herbs for dinner too. It's time to cook, actually.

onsdag den 1. juli 2026

Words for Wednesday ~ only the words & IWSG

The original Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and eventually taken over as a moveable feast with many participants supplying the Words.
When Delores closed her blog forever due to other problems, Elephant's Child (Sue) took over the role of coordinator.
Now, after Sue's demise, River has taken the mantle of coordinator upon her shoulders.

No matter what, how, where or who the aim of the words is to encourage us to write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

This month the words are given by me (Charlotte - MotherOwl) and can be found at River's blog
: Drifting through Life

If you are posting an entry on your own blog, please leave a comment on River's blog, then we can come along and read it and add a few encouraging words.

It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

And for today we were given:
Cold,
Door,
Fire engine,
Tree,
Jacket,
Sign   
    and/or  
Candle,
Cup,
Egg,
Roses,
Window,
Hazy

I have an idea, but a stupid headache has hit me. I'll be back!

And Tuesday's Wordle. Another solve earning me the "Sea of Green".
Wordle 1.837 6/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

- - A - - B - - C - -

July 1 question - Is there anything you'd like to see changed, added, and/or rearranged about the book publishing industry?

My answer - There's lots of thing, I'd like to see changed, added and rearranged in the publishing industry in Denmark:
  • I'd like the tax on books to be lowered. Books, more so children's books, are too expensive.
  • I'd like the writers and translators to have a bigger part of the price for a book. As it is now, only really big writers can earn something that looks like a living from writing, and translators plain can not. 
  • Also the tax rules, taxing the income of a book only in the year where the money are paid, instead of taking into consideration that writers often spend more time writing a book.
  • I'd like the library money (the sum an author gets paid for the books this author has in the public libraries) to be augmented. More so for translators, who often spend the same time translating a book as the writer spent writing it, but are paid a lousy sum. This leads to bad, rushed, sloppy translations.
  • I'd like editors to edit, and proofreaders to really proofread books. Too many books are semi-unreadable due to typos, errors, bloopers ...
  • I'd like front-page illustrators to have read the book - or at the very least the scene they're doing. The scene in the book for my example describes two kids, one dressed in a black shirt, one in a blue dress, accompanied by a German dog, And what do we see on the cover: Two girls, one in a green, one in a black dress, and a Golden Retriever.
In short, I'd like "Writer" to once again be a profession you're proud of.

mandag den 29. juni 2026

Poetry Monday :: Northern Lights
~ I suppose Southern Lights would be OK as well.

Poetry Monday is a blogging game invented long ago.
Mimi of
Messymimi's Meanderings and I are keeping it alive until Diane @ On the Border returns home from her break of healing and relaxation, travelling the world with her husband as far as we can tell.

We just hope she's going to take back over once she returns home.

The prompts now come from 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts group. This is a Facebook group with a prompt for each day of the year, but no worries, the prompts will still be here and at Mimi's blog.

Today's prompt is
Northern Lights. It's also called Aurora borealis or australis, or simply Aurora. As normally when my brains are mushy, I go with a shortie. We live far enough North for Northern Lights to be sometimes visible here, but I have never seen it, when there's a warning I do often not see the warning, and when I do, it's cloudy or even rainy. An Elfje will have to tell the tale.

Aurora
I try
to catch it
They are always elusive
Lights!

- - - - - - - - - - Coming Themes  - - - - - -

taken from the 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts group.

July 5 - Moody
July 12 - Bonsai tree
July 19 - Telescope
July 26 - Anemone
August 2 - Faces
August 9 - Spiky
August 16 - Jungle canopy
August 23 - Snapdragon
August 30 - Horizon line
.

søndag den 28. juni 2026

Sunday Selections ~ Søndagsbilleder

Beginning with today's Wordle ... what a word. In the end I guessed it by just plotting in the letters I had and deleting the result when it was not accepted - monkeying I think it's called ;)  I never heard this word before, and was convinced it was a not-word until I saw all the squares turn green. Solution in the end of the post.

Wordle 1.835 6/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟨⬜🟨⬜🟩
🟨🟨⬜🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Vi starter med dagens Wordle. Den var svær. Ved det sidste gæt havde jeg alle bogstaverne, men ingen ide om hvad de kunne blive til, så jeg udfyldte bare felterne tilfældigt, der hvor bogstaverne kunne være, og slettede det hele igen, når jeg fik at vide, at det ord altså ikke fandtes. Jeg var overbevist om, at det ord her heller ikke var et ord, men så var det løsningen. Aldeles aldrig hørt før, og det virkede bare som et fup-ord i den grad. Løsning allernederst.


This past week I took some photos

Jeg har faktisk taget nogle billeder i den forgangne uge.


Tuesday we celebrated Midsummer Actually the birth of John the Baptist - as almost everything in Denmark it's celebrated on the vigil)

Vi fejrede sankthans tirsdag aften (faktisk Johannes Døberens fødselsdag - som næsten alt andet i Danmark fejres det aftenen inden)


The Moon looked at us Thursday night as we went to sleep.

Torsdag, da vi skulle sove, kiggede månen på os.


Saturday we had a heat-record of 37 degrees, the hottest ever in Denmark - too hot for even the Sun-loving MotherOwl.

Lørdag var det rekordvarmt med hele 37 grader, Pyha, for varmt for selv en solskinselskende Uglemor.


And Saturday night/Sunday morning we had thunderstorms with heavy rain. I tried to snap the lightening, I only succeeded in getting some dramatic clouds

Lørdag aften til søndag morgen haved vi nogle fine tordenvejr. Jeg prøvede at fange et lyn, men jeg fik kun nogle meget dramatiske uvejrsskyer.



Let's finish with a few flowers from my garden

Og lad os slutte af med nogle blomster fra haven.








Let us not forget the strange Wordle.

Og lad os ikke glemme den sære Wordle.

torsdag den 25. juni 2026

Månedens farve ~ Juli ~ Colour of the Month

The colour of the Month for July is  ~  Månedens farve for juli er



onsdag den 24. juni 2026

Words for Wednesday ~ June 24

Dansk længere nede.

The original Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and eventually taken over as a moveable feast with many participants supplying the Words.
When Delores closed her blog forever due to other problems, Elephant's Child (Sue) took over the role of coordinator.
Now, after Sue's demise, River has taken the mantle of coordinator upon her shoulders.

No matter what, how, where or who the aim of the words is to encourage us to write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

This month the words are given by Hilary Melton-Butcher and can be found at River's blog
: Drifting through Life

If you are posting an entry on your own blog, please leave a comment on River's blog, then we can come along and read it and add a few encouraging words.

It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

And for today we were given:
1. smoking  2. culture  3. popular  4. decade  5. soft
    and/or:
1. consumption  2. stretch  3. ripen  4. fields  5. cavern
    and an extra set of words:
1. jumper  2. multiple  3. oven  4. disprove  5. support 6. bound  7. rural  8. swathes  9. poverty  10. pop

I wrote about something happening today - not using any of the words.


Today I was biking to town for PE. It was nice and hot, and for once I was not late. I entered the woods, it was nice, shady, loads of flowers and so many green colours still, and quiet. Suddenly I heard a strange sound, something, someone in distress. It went Peeep, squalll squawwwk! Ihhh, reeeee! I wondered what this could be. A bird maybe. When I was besides the source of the sound, I stopped and saw the white underbelly of a fairly large frog. It was screaming and waving its legs, and making me wonder as I did not think of frogs as a species with any trouble turning over, unlike some beetles. I looked closer at the frog, it was only waving three of its legs, the fourth, one hind leg, had to be stuck or something. I picked up a stick - there were lots of nettles around the frog, and squatted down to free it. And then a grass snake let go of the frog's leg and quickly slithered for cover. The frog jumped off in the other direction, no more screaming. It was a very small grass snake, ineptly trying to swallow a frog one hind leg first. I think it was a young one, and I do not know if it would ever have succeeded in swallowing the large frog in this awkward position. I hope the frog survives being quarter-eaten, and that the grass snake finds a more adequate prey.

Later I met a family of slugs, and a flock of chaffinchs. A father with three sons, two of them racing me as I biked past, a large branch across the bike path, and a nice lady with a dog that refused to go any further. She just stood ther waiting for the dog to ge back up again. Then I was out of the woods and nearing town. I did not make good time today, but it was an interesting trip.

Og så på dansk:

I dag cyklede jeg ind til byen for at gå til træning. Det var dejligt varmt, og for en gangs skyld var jeg ikke kommet for sent af sted. Jeg kørte ind i skoven; der var dejligt, skyggefuldt, masser af blomster og stadig fantastisk mange grønne farver, og der var stille.
    Pludselig hørte jeg en mærkelig lyd, noget eller nogen der skreg. Det lød: »Piii, skkkvua squawww! Ihhh, riiiih!« Jeg spekulerede på, hvad det mon kunne være. Måske en fugl. Da jeg nåede frem ti der hvor lyden kom fra, stoppede jeg og så den hvide underside på en ret stor frø. Den skreg og sprællede med benene, og det undrede mig, da jeg ikke synes frøer normalt har problemer med at vende sig, i modsætning til visse biller. Jeg kiggede nærmere på frøen; den sprællede kun med tre af benene, det fjerde – et bagben – måtte sidde fast i noget. Jeg samlede en pind op – der var masser af brændenælder omkring frøen – og satte mig på hug for at befri den. Og så gav en snog slip på frøens ben og snoede sig hurtigt væk. Frøen hoppede af sted i den anden retning uden at skrige mere. Det var en meget lille snog der havde forsøgt at sluge frøen med det ene bagben først. Jeg tror, det var en ung snog, og jeg ved ikke, om den nogensinde ville have kunnet få frøen indenbords i den akavede stilling. Jeg håber, at frøen overlever at være blevet kvart spist, og at snogen fandt sig et mere passende bytte.

Senere mødte jeg en familie af snegle og en flok bogfinker. En far med tre sønner, hvoraf to løb om kap med mig, da jeg cyklede forbi, en stor gren der lå på tværs af cykelstien, og en sød dame med en hund der ikke gad gå videre. Hun stod bare der og ventede på, at hunden rejste sig op igen.
    Så var jeg ude af skoven og nærmede mig byen. Jeg nåede ikke særlig hurtigt frem i dag, men det var en interessant tur. 

søndag den 21. juni 2026

Søndagsbilleder :: Sunday Selections

Dagens Wordle, lige dele held og stort ordforråd. :: Today's Wordle equal parts luck and skill.

Wordle 1.828 3/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩⬜🟩🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩


Fra Facebook  ::  From Facebook.

I gruppen Sprogbøffer og -juveler så jeg dette billede. Den perfekte kur for skriveblokeringer. Bare spis en ostemad, så skriver du deruda' igen. Jeg tror, jeg ville købe et ordentligt lager.

Today on Facebook, in a group about misspellings and bloopers I found this jewel.
This sign has the most wonderful typo.
The first word "Riberhus" is the brand of the cheese in question, but the next line SKRIVEOST means Writing Cheese. The perfect cure for a writer's block, don't you agree?
It should have been SKIVEOST = Sliced cheese, very mundane. I like the writing cheese much better, and I would have bought a few packages, had I been lucky enough to see this offer in real life. 

lørdag den 20. juni 2026

Saturday News ~ Lørdagssmåtterier

Yesterday and again today I stood on ladders, first to pick elderberry flowers, later on to paint our new shed, and experienced what I have experienced many times before -- a thing I call The Ladder Mystery.
First I was very afraid of just standing on our 6-step stepladder, but after a while I had no problems standing at the upper rungs of our really tall long ladder stretching to paint all the boards. Why is it like this?
--  🪜  --

I går og igen i dag stod jeg på stiger, først for at plukke hyldeblomster og senere for at male vores nye skur, og der oplevede jeg en ting, jeg har oplevet mange gange før - jeg kalder det Stigemysteriet.
Først var jeg bange, mens jeg stod på vores seks-trins wienerstige, men senere stod jeg næsten oppe på det øverste trin af vores meget lange stige og rakte mig frygtløst ud for at male diverse krinkelkroge. Hvad er det lige, der sker?

-- 🪜 --

I solved today's Wordle, no Ta-daas or anything, just me being stupid, and the solution being a word I absolutely did not know was even a word ... it's just a name for me!

--  🪜  --

Jeg løste også dagens Wordle. Efter al fødselsdags-halløjet var det en tam affære. Dels var jeg lidt dum, dels var løsningen et ord, jeg kun kender som navnet på en historisk person ;)

Wordle 1.827 4/6
🟨🟨🟩🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

onsdag den 17. juni 2026

Words for Wednesday ~ June 17

The original Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and eventually taken over as a moveable feast with many participants supplying the Words.
When Delores closed her blog forever due to other problems, Elephant's Child (Sue) took over the role of coordinator.
Now, after Sue's demise, River has taken the mantle of coordinator upon her shoulders.

No matter what, how, where or who the aim of the words is to encourage us to write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

This month the words are given by Hilary Melton-Butcher and can be found at River's blog
: Drifting through Life

If you are posting an entry on your own blog, please leave a comment on River's blog, then we can come along and read it and add a few encouraging words.

It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

And for today we were given:
Livestock
Scheduled  
Structure  
Target  
Folklore
    and/or:
Accessible
Lichen  
Cheese  
Cushion  
Facts

A small tale from Susan's - almost - mundane life is all I could manage today. Also, and as I usually do, using the words in the order they were given.

The stretch with livestock, today peacefully grazing cows, never ceased to wonder Susan. Why would this stretch of land in the outskirts of the city be allowed to just be home to livestock? Many other green areas, even further form the centre were already built up or scheduled for housing, supermarkets or schools, but not this particular piece of land. A bit further on, and to he right she espied the structure, that was the target of today's bike ride, a large conglomerate of greenhouses and other buildings. She turned right into the gravel path and had to slow down as a troupe of some kind of artists came by. The women were dressed in embroidered boluses and garish skirts and the men in wide, white shirts and black pants. They looked like some Slavonic folklore ensemble down to violin cases, cymbals and tambourines.

Still the old greenhouses were accessible to customers, even though they were old and decrepit and lichen grew in many places, Susan loved the old plant nursery. It was decidedly not a garden centre, as they had plants, and nothing else. Susan could spend all day walking around in and outside the greenhouses where plants grew, sometimes in ponds, sometimes in containers on shelves, packed much like cheese stacked to ripen. Moss grew like luscious green cushions, some tiny, with only room for a fairy or two, some big enough for even grown men to lie on, she liked the rich, loamy smell, and the moist, pungent smell from the lily pond. Only the fact that she had forgotten to tell mom where she was going, and ask for permission to not be home for dinner, made her finally leave the premises with a single, white water lily in a bag.

mandag den 15. juni 2026

Poetry Monday :: Cobweb with Dewdrops
Updated with Photo

Poetry Monday is a blogging game invented long ago.
Mimi of
Messymimi's Meanderings and I are keeping it alive until Diane @ On the Border returns home from her break of healing and relaxation, travelling the world with her husband as far as we can tell.

We just hope she's going to take back over once she returns home.

The prompts now come from 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts group. This is a Facebook group with a prompt for each day of the year, but no worries, the prompts will still be here and at Mimi's blog.

Today's prompt is
Cobweb with dewdrops, which sounds funny, almost like a kind of tongue-twister -- I could not resist the temptation to put these sounds in a rhyme. Can you guess the tune?

Dewdrops in cobweb
or dewcobs in dropweb?
Webdrops on cobdew,
or cobs wet with dropdew?
Spiders that spin with the thread from above
spinning their net in a labour of love.

Cobdew in dropweb,
or dropcobs with dewweb?
Webdew or cobdrops?
It's cobweb with dewdrops!
Spiders that spin with the thread from above
spinning their net in a labour of love.


Somewhere in my folders I have a photo of a Cobweb with dewdrops. I'll add it when I find it.
It was one of my headers. Here it is.


- - - - - - - - - - Coming Themes  - - - - - -

taken from the 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts group.

Jun 22 - Lily
Jun 29 - Northern light
Jul July 5 - Moody
July 12 - Bonsai tree
July 19 - Telescope
July 26 - Anemone
August 2 - Faces
August 9 - Spiky
August 16 - Jungle canopy
August 23 - Snapdragon
August 30 - Horizon line
.

Wordle ~ 5 Years ~ Friday TaDaa Update

Opening Wordle Monday, this met me:
Clicking  Play  I met this:
As I can't resist a good challenge. I clicked  Get started . Let's see if I will be allowed to add this badge to my online collection of Wordle-Badges. I'll update each day with my progress here.

Monday: Wordle 1.822 4/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Tuesday: Wordle 1.823 5/6
🟩⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Today's Wordle would have earned me the "Sea of Green" again
I did not get any new 'on your way' teaser today. I'll leave the Monday one.

Wednesday Wordle 1.824 4/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Easy, or lucky today. Still no new On my way-thingie.

Thursday Wordle 1.825 5/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩
🟨🟨⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Not that bad, still no new progress report.

And Friday ... Happy 5th Birthday Wordle 🎂
Wordle 1.826 6/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨
🟨🟨⬜🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Phew ... Luckily I took a screenie before saying no thanks, so here it is:

søndag den 14. juni 2026

Sunday Selection :: June 14

Today a few pink items. Not quite Razzmatazz, the colour of the month, but I try. And then a few non-pink items.

I dag har jeg fundet et par pink ting, ingen af dem rammer månedens farve, Razzmatazz, men jeg prøver. Så er der også lidt uden pink i.
One of the strands in this zipper-hanger on my backpack is very pink! It's made by my youngest grandchild.

Denne her lynlås-hænger på min rygsæk, der er flettet af mit yngste barnebarn, indeholder et par pink snore.
We painted (some of) our shed, and re-hung this "Our Lady with Child". The flower holder was also good for a re-use. The peony here is pinker in real life.

Vi fik malet (noget af) vores nye skur - og det blev ikke grønt; det blev gult. Så hængte vi Maria-relieffet op igen, og blomsterhylden kunne også genbruges. Pæonen her er meget mere pink i virkeligheden.

Today our church celebrated its 40th birthday, with never a touch of pink.
I dag fejrede vores kirke sin 40 års fødselsdag. Helt uden noget pink.

On our way home by train I saw two of these strange 'buffers'. Maybe they were the last leftovers of Copenhagen Sprint, that passed here earlier today?

På vej hjem med toget så jeg to sådanne sære 'stødpuder'. Måske er de de sidste rester efter Copenhagen Sprint, der kom her forbi tidligere i dag?

--  🩷   🚲   🩷  --

And now to some good news from the garden -- Og så lige et par gode nyheder på havefronten

My Yuzu is re-sprouting once again  -- 🩷 -- Min yuzu skyder igen-igen.

Same as my bog-myrtle -- 🩷 --  Lige som min mosepors.

Today's Wordle made a fun pattern

Wordle 1.821 5/6
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
🟨⬜🟨⬜🟨
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟨⬜🟨⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

fredag den 12. juni 2026

Friday Wordling ~ Updated with Solution!!!

Today again a solve with only greens. It looks fun. After midnight the solution will be added :)

Wordle 1.819 4/6
🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩






onsdag den 10. juni 2026

Words for Wednesday ~ Only the Words

The original Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and eventually taken over as a moveable feast with many participants supplying the Words.
When Delores closed her blog forever due to other problems, Elephant's Child (Sue) took over the role of coordinator.
Now, after Sue's demise, River has taken the mantle of coordinator upon her shoulders.

No matter what, how, where or who the aim of the words is to encourage us to write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

This month the words are given by Hilary Melton-Butcher and can be found at River's blog
: Drifting through Life

If you are posting an entry on your own blog, please leave a comment on River's blog, then we can come along and read it and add a few encouraging words.

It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

And for today we were given:
Baker  
Canoe  
Gable  
Training  
Rot
    And/Or:
Lily-livered  
Provisions  
Barley  
Arrow  
Border

As I did not see the words until now and will be out of home all day, no writing will happen today, I hope for tomorrow.


I had to look up Lily-livered. My guess was correct, but the explanation is interesting. Thanks to Merriam-Webster:

The basis of the word lily-livered lies in an old belief. Years ago, people thought that health and temperament were the products of a balance or imbalance of four bodily fluids, or humors: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. It was believed that a deficiency of yellow bile, or choler, the humor that governed anger, spirit, and courage, would leave a person's liver colorless or white. Someone with this deficiency, and so white-livered, would be spiritless and a coward. Lily-livered and white-livered have been used synonymously since the 17th century, but lily-livered is now the more common expression, probably because of its alliteration.

mandag den 8. juni 2026

Poetry Monday :: Two Minute Sketch

Poetry Monday is a blogging game invented long ago. Mimi of Messymimi's Meanderings and I are keeping it alive until Diane @ On the Border returns home from her break of health and relaxation, travelling the world with her husband as far as we can tell.

We just hope she's going to take back over once she returns home.

The prompts now come from 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts group. This is a Facebook group with a prompt for each day of the year, but no worries, the prompts will still be here and at Mimi's blog.

Today's prompt is
: 2 Minute Sketch

And as usual, when I'm busy and my brain is balky, I go for small is beautiful. Today a Haiku.

A Two Minute Sketch
is too short a drawing
Life is short, art long.

- - - - - - - - - - Coming Themes  - - - - - -

taken from the 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts group.

June 15 - Cobweb with Dewdrops
Jun 22 - Lily
Jun 29 - Northern light
Jul July 5 - Moody
July 12 - Bonsai tree
July 19 - Telescope
July 26 - Anemone
.

søndag den 7. juni 2026

Today's Wordle Ordinary Words can be very Tough ~ Part 2
Sunday Selection & Colour26

Today's Wordle had an answer I'm sure we all know!
I just could not wrap my brain around those letters and have a normal, English word as the result. When finally I got it, I felt very slow.

Wordle 1.814 6/6
⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟨⬜🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩


And a Photo. Pink, but not quite Razzmatazz.
Unfortunately they were not my size.

Oh, you want to see the solution ... scroll down, then.

 * * * * *


 * * * *


 * * *


 * *


 *





onsdag den 3. juni 2026

Words for Wednesday June 3 & IWSG

The original Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and eventually taken over as a moveable feast with many participants supplying the Words.
When Delores closed her blog forever due to other problems, Elephant's Child (Sue) took over the role of coordinator.
Now, after Sue's demise, River has taken the mantle of coordinator upon her shoulders.

No matter what, how, where or who the aim of the words is to encourage us to write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

This month the words are given by Hilary Melton-Butcher and can be found at River's blog
: Drifting through Life

If you are posting an entry on your own blog, please leave a comment on River's blog, then we can come along and read it and add a few encouraging words.

It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

And for today we were given:
Sculpture 
Amendment 
Timeline 
Bog 
Castle
    and/or:
Sword 
Crew 
Buffalo 
Forest 
Variation

These words just did not speak to me at all. But as the 'rules' also say: "Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them" I went with none and continued my story of The Effervescent Water.
Part one
Part two
Part three


Marja and Paula, the two Birch sisters, fervently wished they were invisible. The effervescent water had chased away any vestige of the Dream Drops, and they were now facing an angry Thora.

"Paula and Marja! Why are you here on The Farm if you just wish to dream your days away?" Thora asked, "We have had no problem filling the school, and we have had to say no to some children - or actually we never got to ask them. I hope you have a very good explanation."

"Do we?" Marja asked her bigger sister. Paula looked at Marja, then back at Thora, and slowly shook her head. "No," she said in a low voice filled with despair. "I, we .. no I can't explain."

"Then let's start somewhere else," Thora said. "How often have you been using Dream Drops here at the Farm?"

"Today was the first time ever," Marja said. "At least I never tried it before."

"And you, Paula?" Thora said looking at the elder of the Birch sisters.

"Same, I never tried them before today."

"Please give me the rest of them!" Thora said and held out her hand.

Paula reached into her skirt pocket and found a small paper bag and emptied the contents into Thora's hand. There they lay, looking just like candy, drop shaped and of the same enticing colour as crispy, ripe apples. They even smelled temptingly like apples.

"And from where did you get those Dream Drops?" Thora asked, a bit mollified by Paula's ready compliance.

 . . . . . To be continued

- - A - - B - - C - -

June 3 question - Do most of your story ideas come from one place (the news, dreams, etc.) or do they hit from all over the place?

My answer - My inspiration and story ideas come from literally all over the place. An overheard conversation, a photo, a smell, biking through the woods ... and as today from the prompts in Words for Wednesday.

For this story the Effervescent water comes from the prompts from May 6, and the Dream Drops comes from Heaven knows where. I no longer remember the idea for the Birch sisters - probably just from Koivu, their last name meaning Birch. Thora's name comes from an Icelandic lady of my wider family, and her person and demeanor is an idealized version of one of my teachers at school. The Farm proper is a real building from a place I visited frequently as a child, remade into a school of magic - and this idea comes from many books and my wanting to learn to fly and brew potions from very small.