A-Z Challenge 2025 ~ S

 ⚠ Warning! This post contains the answer to today's Wordle ⚠
⚠ Proceed at your own risk ⚠

This year I choose an easy way out. Each day I'm going to solve the Wordle of the day, using as starter a word beginning with the letter of the day. I post every day at 6 pm. my time (GMT +2. Dang you DST!)

As the alternative badge, as supplied by Lissa seems to suggest growing things I'll prefer those as starter words, and if at all possible, I'll avoid words containing the same letter more than once.

I'll maybe add a few words about my chosen starter word if fancy takes me, else I'll just post the solution - or not in the case that I did not solve it.

S is for Scrub.  We have lots of scrubs growing in the Owlery, most of them are used for dyeing materials and sticks ... who can't use a stick now and then?

I have a hard time returning to blogging. It feels like I have been away for a very long time. I'll be around, but posting comments and replying to comments will happen later.

And the Wordle - a Fail today.

GLÆDELIG PÅSKE

Kristus er opstanden - Ja, Han er sandelig opstanden. Halleluja!

HAPPY EASTER

Christ is risen - He is risen indeed. Alleluia!


Χριστὸς ἀνέστη! - Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη!

A-Z Challenge 2025 ~ R

This year I choose an easy way out. Each day I'm going to solve the Wordle of the day, using as starter a word beginning with the letter of the day. I post every day at 6 pm. my time (GMT +2. Dang you DST!)

As the alternative badge, as supplied by Lissa seems to suggest growing things I'll prefer those as starter words, and if at all possible, I'll avoid words containing the same letter more than once.

I'll maybe add a few words about my chosen starter word if fancy takes me, else I'll just post the solution - or not in the case that I did not solve it.

R is for Rowan.  One of the beautifully flowering trees right now.

Today's Wordle solved in 4 tries - pure inspration - earning me a Splendid!

A-Z Challenge 2025 ~ Q

This year I choose an easy way out. Each day I'm going to solve the Wordle of the day, using as starter a word beginning with the letter of the day. I post every day at 6 pm. my time (GMT +2. Dang you DST!)

As the alternative badge, as supplied by Lissa seems to suggest growing things I'll prefer those as starter words, and if at all possible, I'll avoid words containing the same letter more than once.

I'll maybe add a few words about my chosen starter word if fancy takes me, else I'll just post the solution - or not in the case that I did not solve it.

And I do know that today was one of the days I warned against no posts, but I had the time, so why not.

Q is for Quail.  No olvar with Q I went with a kelvar instead, also runners up were Quill, Quilt, and Quart, but no real growing there. We've been discussing whether to have these tiny fowls in our greenhouse, as yet undecided.

Hard word today. I had a whole paper filled whíth S T O _ D and S _ O T D combinations, until I once again remembered that repeating letters was a thing. I got Splendid for four tries.

Words for Wednesday ~ April 16

In April,  Elephant's Child is supplying the prompts for Words for Wednesday.

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us 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.

 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.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

This Wednesday's prompts:
Organic
Standards
Odour
Moisture
     And/or
20 years
Noses
Pregnant
Gloves
High

 I succeeded in adding yet another chapter to Sue and Bill's strange adventure. Mostly stalling, but a bit of progress is happening. As usual I use the words in the order they were given. 

Bill's gentle hands danced over the keyboard, he and his computer were almost like an organic unit to Sue. Maybe their methods were not always up to the moral standards set my their superior, but they kept themselves in good odour by bringing results -- every time.
Sue felt moisture collecting in her eyes. She loved that scoundrel, even after 20 years. They had solved many improbable and strange riddles together, mostly by following their noes - - or those of the ghost dogs.
Sue left Bill to his typing, and wandered to the car. The car was a new model, electric, and practically noiseless. In a very short time she parked outside the dog handler's house.
Sue rang the bell, and waited. It was the dog handler's wife who answered the bell. Sue asked if they could have Eryn, their old dog, back. The training of her pups had been fun, but it was only a parenthetic affair in their work. When Eryn, had become pregnant this was where it had gone to have her pups. Now the pups had been trained, Eryn was back to normal, fit for fight and eager to pull on her working gloves once more. Sue had high hopes of solving the riddle of Fred Thompson, the unknowing seventh son, plagued by ghosts.

A-Z Challenge 2025 ~ P

This year I choose an easy way out. Each day I'm going to solve the Wordle of the day, using as starter a word beginning with the letter of the day. I post every day at 6 pm. my time (GMT +2. Dang you DST!)

As the alternative badge, as supplied by Lissa seems to suggest growing things I'll prefer those as starter words, and if at all possible, I'll avoid words containing the same letter more than once.

I'll maybe add a few words about my chosen starter word if fancy takes me, else I'll just post the solution - or not in the case that I did not solve it.

P is for Petal.  I also considered Pears, Pansy, and Pines. But then this old song from A Day at the Races (Marx Brothers) mixed itself into it. Choice made.

All God's Flowers got Petals.
All God's Flowers got swing
Maybe haven't got money
Maybe haven't got shoes
All God's Flowers got Petals.

Once again solved in 5 guesses, earning me a Great!

A-Z Challenge 2025 ~ O

This year I choose an easy way out. Each day I'm going to solve the Wordle of the day, using as starter a word beginning with the letter of the day. I post every day at 6 pm. my time (GMT +2. Dang you DST!)

As the alternative badge, as supplied by Lissa seems to suggest growing things I'll prefer those as starter words, and if at all possible, I'll avoid words containing the same letter more than once.

I'll maybe add a few words about my chosen starter word if fancy takes me, else I'll just post the solution - or not in the case that I did not solve it.

O is for Opium.  Reeally? Yes really. Not because I am growing my own. The reason is that I like poppies, but no way am I going to use Poppy as a starter word tomorrow. Not with three P's. No way, not going to happen. Today the poppies will be represented by the one thing I do not harvest from them. I harvest their beauty, I harvest their shiny petals, always trying new ways to put this spendor into something lasting. I harvest poppyseeds for buns and bread.

As yesterday I was at a cinema watching Lord of th Rings I extended edition (four hours), I would have liked to use my Elven theme word OLVAR*) for today, but Wordle do not accept Elvish, sadly.

Oh, a Wordle. Here we go:

Phew!

*) Olvar - living things that do not move from place to place - as opposed to kelvar, living things that do move.

Poetry Monday on a Tuesday :: Også på dansk :: And not using the Topic :: Bring

Every Monday is Poetry Monday.

Mimi of Messymimi's Meanderings and I have taken over the hosting duties, mostly the supplying of the prompts - only temporarily we hope - while Diane at On the Border is taking a break for 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.

  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.

  -- 🌸 --

Hver mandag er det tid for at skrive et vers. Det gjorde jeg da også på vej til København i toget. Jeg kiggede ud gennem vinduet og så millioner af anemoner i skovbunden. Senere så jeg et enkelt blomstrende kirsebærtræ. Så skrev jeg hele to små vers. Et elfje på engelsk og et dansk haiku.

Sakura vi ser,
rejser langt og længe, men
hvad med anemoner?

Jeg fik aldrig lagt digtene op i går. Da vi endelig nåede hjem igen, var der tid til en enkelt kop the og så i seng.
 

  -- 🌸 --

I wrote a poem yesterday, riding the train to Copenhagen, but when I returned home, all I wanted was a cup of tea and my bed.
Yesterday, from the train windows, I saw a sea of Anemoner covering the woods. Then I saw a single blossoming cherry tree and made this elfje:

Sakura,
we travel
far to celebrate.
In local woods, forgotten
Anemoner!

Picture of Sakura:

Picture of Anemoner:

 - - - - - -

Elfje:
An Elfje contains five lines and 11 Words.
First line is one word, (this word is a colour or feature.), second line is two words, (something or someone with this colour or feature), third line, three words (gives more information about the person or the object). Fourth line, four words (tell about yourself in relation to the person or the object. This sentence is your conclusion). Fifth line is again one word. This word is called the ‘Bomb.’ It is the essence of the poem.

 - - - - - - -

Up and coming:
April 14: Bring (today)
April 21: Free
April 28: Jam
May 5: Competition
May 12: Shape
May 19: Stem
May 26: Lead

A-Z Challenge 2025 ~ N

This year I choose an easy way out. Each day I'm going to solve the Wordle of the day, using as starter a word beginning with the letter of the day. I post every day at 6 pm. my time (GMT +2. Dang you DST!)

As the alternative badge, as supplied by Lissa seems to suggest growing things I'll prefer those as starter words, and if at all possible, I'll avoid words containing the same letter more than once.

I'll maybe add a few words about my chosen starter word if fancy takes me, else I'll just post the solution - or not in the case that I did not solve it.

N is for Nymph & Nest.  I did not imagine that I would have so much trouble finding five-letter, plant-related words with quite normal letters. Today I could not make up my mind. Nymph is such a wonderful word, I like the sound, and I like the entity it describes. But as far as I know, there's no nymphs in my garden. Nests on the other hand, I do have. Mostly nests I do not like, doves' nests. They wake me up with their coo-coo-CO! way too early in the morning.

I almost did not make it today, as I forgot that R was an accepted letter. CHEST was a stupid guess. I got Phew, and was tempted to re-do it in another browser, but that would be cheating.

A-Z Challenge 2025 ~ M

This year I choose an easy way out. Each day I'm going to solve the Wordle of the day, using as starter a word beginning with the letter of the day. I post every day at 6 pm. my time (GMT +2. Dang you DST!)

As the alternative badge, as supplied by Lissa seems to suggest growing things I'll prefer those as starter words, and if at all possible, I'll avoid words containing the same letter more than once.

I'll maybe add a few words about my chosen starter word if fancy takes me, else I'll just post the solution - or not in the case that I did not solve it.

M is for Melon.  This is also a joke, as yesterday I had lemon. Melon & Lemon makes me think of this poster:

Of course I hav tried growing melons in my garden. I have only ever gotten ONE watermelon. It was the size of an apple and very bitter. There's something about growing melons I never understood.

And today was an example of an easy word being very hard to guess.

I had L U G A after three guesses. But I could NOT find a word that fit.
Even after the fifth guess gave me the pattern L _ U G _  and knowing that A was one of the other two I spend an inordinate time testing with all the black on light grey letters of the Wordle-keyboard. 

Certainly the solution had to be a very strange word, one I maybe did not even know, and I scratched my head upon finding LAUGR - old Norse for onion, and surely not todays solution.
I felt very stupid midways when L A U G _ plus H (now green) gave me the solution.
It earned me a well deserwed Phew!

A-Z Challenge 2025 ~ L

This year I choose an easy way out. Each day I'm going to solve the Wordle of the day, using as starter a word beginning with the letter of the day. I post every day at 6 pm. my time (GMT +2. Dang you DST!)

As the alternative badge, as supplied by Lissa seems to suggest growing things I'll prefer those as starter words, and if at all possible, I'll avoid words containing the same letter more than once.

I'll maybe add a few words about my chosen starter word if fancy takes me, else I'll just post the solution - or not in the case that I did not solve it.

L is for Lemon.  I try to grow lemons in my garden. Many is the lemon tree I've killed by frost. But now I have a yuzu tree Yuzu is an aromatic Japanese citrus-fruit, looking for all the world like the offspring of lemon and tangerine. Round and yellow-skinned. I love the taste. And when I saw one - in as unlikely a place as a local discount garden implement shop - I bought it with no second thoughts.  I thought I had killed it too some winters ago, but it was not dead. Now it grows and I hope for fruits in years to come. I wrote of my surviving yuzu HERE.

Now for today's Wordle:

Once again five tries giving me Great.

Let me explain how I do - pen and paper is my magic trick:

Time to get out paper and pencil

Sorry for typo: ons = ones!

A-Z Challenge ~ K

This year I choose an easy way out. Each day I'm going to solve the Wordle of the day, using as starter a word beginning with the letter of the day. I post every day at 6 pm. my time (GMT +2. Dang you DST!) if I remember - else I'm late as today.

As the alternative badge, as supplied by Lissa seems to suggest growing things I'll prefer those as starter words, and if at all possible, I'll avoid words containing the same letter more than once.

I'll maybe add a few words about my chosen starter word if fancy takes me, else I'll just post the solution - or not in the case that I did not solve it.

K is for Kiwis.  Yes I know. Two I's, but Kiwis and I have a long, tangled history. Read HERE.
I did fairly bad just typing in words, trying to find some letters, until suddenly inspiration struck. Solved in five tries. Great again.

A-Z Challenge 2025 ~ J

This year I choose an easy way out. Each day I'm going to solve the Wordle of the day, using as starter a word beginning with the letter of the day. I post every day at 6 pm. my time (GMT +2. Dang you DST!)

As the alternative badge, as supplied by Lissa seems to suggest growing things I'll prefer those as starter words, and if at all possible, I'll avoid words containing the same letter more than once.

I'll maybe add a few words about my chosen starter word if fancy takes me, else I'll just post the solution - or not in the case that I did not solve it.

J is for Johns  as in St. John's Wort -- and yes, I do know that this is not what it means 😉 but I had to find a "cheat" for J.
I grew this pretty plant for plant dyeing purposes for years, until I discovered that even if the resulting colours are very lightfast, washing reduces them all to a bland khaki-yellow-greyish in very short time. Now it's a weed.

Once again solving it in 5 tries. Giving me Great.

A-Z Challenge 2025 ~ I

This year I choose an easy way out. Each day I'm going to solve the Wordle of the day, using as starter a word beginning with the letter of the day. I post every day at 6 pm. my time (GMT +2. Dang you DST!)

And yes, I know that I am now a day ahead of schedule. It will become worse this Sunday, before it becomes better with probably Maundy Thursday and certainly Good Friday being days of me not posting or even opening the WWW.

As the alternative badge, as supplied by Lissa seems to suggest growing things I'll prefer those as starter words, and if at all possible, I'll avoid words containing the same letter more than once.

I'll maybe add a few words about my chosen starter word if fancy takes me, else I'll just post the solution - or not in the case that I did not solve it.

I is for Inula. 
When I began this year's A-Z I imagined getting into problems later on in the alphabet, not with a common letter as I. But this is a fact. I can find no English word for any olvar, the Eldarin (Elvish) words for things that grow, and cannot move *), roughly equivalent to our Flora, that begins with I and have five letters.

 - - - - - - -

*) as opposed to Kelvar: Things that grow and move, roughly our Fauna, but also comprising humanoids and monsters.

 - - - - - - - - -

Thinking of Eldarin made me think of Latin, and I finally found the botanical names for one of the olvar  I sometimes, as yet in vain, try to grow in my garden: Inula helenium. In English this pretty flower is known as Elecampane, horse-heal or very fittingly elfdock, and reputedly have amazing healing properties, even to reviving the dead.

As I have had several similar words rejected by Wordle, latest ERUCA for arugula, I did not have high hopes typing in INULA in today's Wordle. But lo and behold, it was accepted.
Fun fact; Blogger's spellchecker does not approve of Inula either.

And tomorrow I will have similar problems. If anybody know of a plant, tree, fungus, moss, lichen -- in short any olvar -- beginning with J and having 5 letters, please tell me about it in the comments.

Thinking aloud once more:
INULA: Now I have an A, not in the 5th place.

DRAPE. Any word, containing many new letters and A are good here. Now I have E (not 5th) and A (not 3rd or 5th).

Remembering yesterday I went with TEASE knowing it could not be the solution with A in the 3rd place, but I wanted to check for two E's as well as hopefully finding more new letters. Now I have T, E, A, And I only know where not to put them.

Still thinking of my hassle with Hazel, I went with CHEAT. Very good one!

Testing the letters one by one: QHEAT, WHEAT - and that was the solution for today - yet another olvar, and one of my
                                                                                                words for W!

Once again I did Great

A-Z Challenge 2025 ~ H

This year I choose an easy way out. Each day I'm going to solve the Wordle of the day, using as starter a word beginning with the letter of the day. I post every day at 6 pm. my time (GMT +2. Dang you DST!)

As the alternative badge, as supplied by Lissa seems to suggest growing things I'll prefer those as starter words, and if at all possible, I'll avoid words containing the same letter more than once.

I'll maybe add a few words about my chosen starter word if fancy takes me, else I'll just post the solution - or not in the case that I did not solve it.

H is for HAZEL and HERBS.  I was so in doubt which one to chose, and only my telling of the revenge plant/wool dyeing had HAZEL win by a whisker.
Hazel is another one of those bushes or trees showering us with pollen and making me sneezy and itchy. But the leaves and the catkins are great dyers. I have even planted a red leaved variety in my garden, and every spring I bribe somebody, most often the Writer, to pick me all the catkins in a big pot and place them on a big flagstone outside. Then I pour boiling water over them, grinning evilly, and freeze the resulting mash until the time is right for dyeing of my revenge hanks. Red hazel catkins give a beautiful, durable bottle-green colour.
Herbs -- well I use herbs for cooking, dying, soaping, salves, and much more. I grow 2 types of parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, savory, tarragon, chives, lovage -- loads of lovage -- oregano, dill, fennel, mint, basil, laurel, lemon balm and lemon verbena.  But no cilantro. I cannot make it grow, and I find the taste nauseating. Sometimes I grow ginger, shiso, lemongrass, and anise. This year I'm trying my hand at caper berries. I also dream of growing juniper and turmeric. I tried wintergreen, but did not like the taste.

Wordle was a big tease yesterday, as the solution was HAZEL! Today's starter word. I opened Wordle in another browser and made this for showing off today:

Yes it is cheating, but I was sorely tempted. And for the real one today ... I got Great again

Yes, I know that SWANS could not be the solution, as E was missing. Thinking smarter migth have given me the solution in 3 or 4 tries.

As I have a very short memory for words, I thought it could be fun to try once more - only this time using my other H-word: HERBS:

And explaining how I solve a Wordle, just thinking aloud here:

HERBS - Yay. All of three letters: E, R, S, none of them in the right place.
STAIR - S, A placed rigth - good, lucky word.
Now I have 4 letters S, A, R, S.
R can only be in the 4th place, as there's no word I know starting in SRA.
E could be 2nd or 5th.
SEAR_ could be the solution with SEARS, but I do not like repeating letters -- a weakness, I know.
S_ARE looks better. And I try the as yet un-tried letters one by one, as I always do:
SQARE, SWARE, SYARE, SUARE, SOARE, SPARE 
Oh, SPARE is a word. And actually the solution. If it had not been so, P had been grey, and I had continued and found SCARE and SNARE.

Or in case of SEARS actually being the solution, E would have been yellow in the word SPARE as well as P being grey.