Words for Wednesday :: New Header & 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 it is still to be discerned who will take over this role, River is doing it for the rest of 2025, but maybe Lissa will eventually be our new coordinator.

No matter what, how, where or who the aim of the words is to encourage us to write. A story, a poem, whatever comes to our mind.

This month the words are again supplied byWiseWebWoman and can be found at River's blog.

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.

We were given these words:

become
emigrate 
every
reliable
soonish
    and/or:
disunited
joining
million
referendum 
vote

I think I won't use any of them today for two reasons.

One: They seem far too "adult" for Unicorn Farm writing, and that's what I'm in the mood for today. Writing stuff might happen - and get posted - later.

Two: Lissa asked me if the elements in the new header meant something special. The answer is Yes - Explanation forthcoming, warning: might be boring, may contain poetry, old bits and pieces, and hints of things to come.

The Owl is obvious, It sits on a twig of some greenery, herbs I suppose, reminding me to pick and dry herbs and flowers for my different projects.

2026 in the Colour of the Month to remind me of said challenge and Sunday Selections.

The big, green I is an Inchworm. It reminds me in a very roundabout way of writing Unicorn Farm tales:
Inchworm, inchworm,
Measuring our magic wands
Come and tell me
Just how big they are.

From the A-Z Challenge, letter I 2022.

Sunflower seed oil, it's a soaping ingredient, saying simply: Soap more.

A frog, remember to do something for the wild life in the garden - right now: Feed the birds.

Sushi is a hint with more meanings: Study Japanese, make strange food items, sew something: The chopsticks reminding me of Hashi-bukurou - homemade chopstick bags. The puzzle piece below telling me to solve Rubik's cube, play with pentominoes, try my hand at Lingule, Wørdle or some such challenge.
Tuesday's Lingule was very easy for me:
Lingule #1360
"oświetlać": 1/6
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🏆

A mushroom, is also a multi-purpose hint. Take a walk in the woods, draw something, create something.

Most of these links take us far back in time, to a time when I created more, played more, and was a happier person. I'd like to revive my creativity and happiness from back then, and that is maybe the not so hidden meaning behind the header: Make more of what makes me happy!

- - A - - B - - C - - 

January 7 question - Is there anything in your writing plans for 2026 that you are going to do that you couldn't get done in 2025?

My answer - This is a very good question, but I can't answer it. I do not plan my writing. It just happens. I hope to write more in 2026 than I did in 2025, but I have no plans.

Søndagsbilleder/Sunday Selection & Wordles.

Det har været en uge med mange dyr, som jeg ikke har fået taget billeder af. Vi har set en rød glente adskillige gange svævende i luften over os, den er godt nok stor. Jeg har set en hejre der sad i et træ lige foran mig, den lettede mens jeg fandt kameraet frem. Vi har set snoge, vipstjerter, en bøgehjort og en grøn guldbasse. Den sidste fandt vi en til af i dag - og fik endelig taget et billede.

It's been a week with a lot of animals that I haven't managed to take pictures of. We have seen a red kite several times hovering in the air above us, it's really big. I've seen a heron sitting in a tree right in front of me, it took off while I got the camera out. We've seen garter snakes, wagtails, a lesser stag beetle and a rose chafer. Of this last one we found another one today - and finally got a photo.

Så har jeg endelig fået syet en ny tehætte. Vi kalder den Edvard Frø

And at long last I made a new tea cosy. We call it Edward Frog.

Jeg lavede også kamillesæbe, og fik taget billeder af en snoresæbe.

I made a soap with chamomille tea, and got a photo of a soap-on-a-rope.

Mon nogen kan huske, at jeg fortalte om det overlevende birketræ på Hillerød station og digtede historier om venlige togmænd, der delte deres vand med træet. Det var vist desværre ikke kun historier, den flinke togmand er gået på pension, og træet visner. Jeg håber, aftenens regn har genoplivet det.

I wonder if anyone remembers me talking about the surviving birch tree at Hillerød station and making up tales about friendly railwaymen sharing their water with the tree. I think unfortunately it was  not just tales, the kind railwayman has retired and the tree is withering. I hope tonight's rain has revived it.

.

Sunday's Wordle 1.457 6/6
⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜
🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜
🟨⬜⬜🟨🟩
⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩
⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Today’s average difficulty is 4.3 guesses out of 6, or moderately challenging. Oof, I found this word hard!

Saturday's Wordle 1.456 4/6
🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟩🟨🟨
🟨🟩🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Today’s average difficulty is 3.8 guesses out of 6, or easy breezy.

Friday's Wordle 1.455 4/6
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜
🟨🟩🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Today’s average difficulty is 4.8 guesses out of 6, or moderately challenging. Today again I say Yay me! for knowing this word.

Thursday's Wordle 1.454 5/6
⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨
🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟨🟩⬜
⬜🟩🟨🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Today’s average difficulty is 5.6 guesses out of 6, or very challenging. I knew this word. Yay me!

Wednesday's Wordle 1.453 6/6
⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
🟨⬜🟨🟨⬜
🟨🟨⬜🟨⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Today’s average difficulty is 4.2 guesses out of 6, or moderately challenging. I'm happy it continues wih the words: "Your own rating may be different." For sure it was!


Tuesday's Wordle 1.452 6/6
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩
⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩
🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Today’s average difficulty is 5 guesses out of 6, or moderately challenging.

Sunday Selections :: April ~ Missing Green

The colour for April is Missing Green.

I have been a bit productive this week but I am not sure I caught this colour very often. Let's have a look.

We tried Coca-cola Oreos. We're not convinced.

We met these two wax monsters:

Some of the wax monsters ended up in these coffee soaps:

The rest were made into these small ones to be stored for coming projects.

The coffee soap still in the mould - Blogger mixing up the order of the photos.

We saw a small tuft of moss groving on a roof tile - surely the ends are Missing Green.

And finally a wagtail

At smelte fedt ~ Rendering Fat

En gang, knapt hvert andet år løber jeg tør for fedt til at lave sæbe af. Straks jeg kan se bunden af posen, skriver jeg en mail til Kødsnedkeren, en fantastisk slagter i nærheden, og ca. en uge senere cykler jeg så fem kilometer hver vej og kommer hjem med tre kilo prima svineflomme lige til at smelte af.
   Men altså, det er et slid. Det er fedtet, det er anstrengende, og så alligevel. Jeg har en stor kødhakkemaskine - sådan én hedder en Fleischwolf (kød-ulv) på tysk, sjovt navn synes jeg. De er nummererede. Nummer 8 er den normale størrelse til en husholdning, den vi alle kender, nummer 5 er en lille én, og nummer 10 er en virkelig stor én. Jeg har en af hver størrelse, og jeg valgte nummer 10 til at hakke fedtet.
     Det tog vel en times tid at hakke al fedtet, så skulle det op i en gryde og smeltes, og så skulle der gøres rent. Kødhakker, knive, bræt og skeer skulle vaskes op. Og så kom jeg - måske i anledning af alt det der slægtsforskning - til at tænke på mine forfædre. Jeg er altså totalt privilegeret. For godt nok er det hårdt at hakke noget mere end tre kilo fedt i en hakkemaskine, men det går altså både hurtigere og nemmere end at skulle skære det i bittesmå tern i hånden. Og jeg skulle hverken hente vand ved pumpen, hugge brænde til at varme vandet og smelte fedtet eller skrubbe al fedtet af med sand og håndkraft. Der er varmt vand i hanen, kogende vand i elkedlen, og gasblussene klarer smeltningen uden anden af min energi end den der går til at slæbe flasken ind i køkkenet.

Once every two years or so, I run out of lard to make soap. As soon as I see bottoms in the bag, I write an email to Kødsnedkeren, a good! butcher nearby, and about a week later I go by bike five kilometres there and five home again caryying three kilos of prime pork visceral fat ready to render.
   But really, it's hard work. It's greasy, it's exhausting, but... . I have a big meat grinder, the kind called Fleischwolf (meat wolf) in German - a funny name, I think.
     They are numbered. Number 8 is the normal household size, number 5 is a small one, and number 10 is a really big one. I have one of each, and I used the big number 10 to grind the fat.
     It took me about an hour to grind all the fat, it went into a pot to melt and then it was time to clean. Grinder, knives, board and spoons had to be washed.
     And then - perhaps because of all the genealogy research - I started thinking about my ancestors. I am totally privileged. Sure, it's hard to grind three kilos of fat by hand in a grinder, but it's faster and easier than cutting it into tiny cubes by hand. And I didn't have to fetch water from the pump, chop wood to heat the water and melt the fat, or scrub off all the fat with sand and manual labour. There's hot water in the tap, boiling water in the kettle, and the gas burners do the melting without any of my energy other than what it takes to drag the bottle into the kitchen.

Ⓐ - Ⓩ Danish Letters - Ø - Økologi

    Hver dag i april kommer der et A-Z indlæg klokken 12. Temaet er ekkoer, de løse ender, halve projekter, nye begyndelser, gyldne løfter og lokkende udsigter. Men jeg ville ikke være Uglemor, hvis ikke der sneg sig nye projekter og ideer ind i denne omgang A-Z også.
     Og så bruger jeg lige som for to år siden Æ, Ø og Å i stedet for de halvumulige W, X Y og Z

Ⓐ - Ⓩ

Every day in April a new A-Z post goes live at noon. The theme is Echoes, finishing touches, half done projects and endings. But I would not be MotherOwl if these posts would not contain more than a fair share of new beginnings and plans.
Just as two years ago I'm using the letters Æ, Ø and Å from the Danish alphabet. 
   Today we've made it to Ø.

Ø for Økologi  = Organic

Økologi betyder at man roligt kan bruge løs af planter, frugter, grøntsager og bær i Uglebo. Der er ikke fare for sjove stoffer, men måske en enkelt lille orm eller bladlus. Det er Uglemor glad for, når hun laver morgenfrueolie.
     For snart længe siden var der en post:  Morgenfrueolie del 1, men der kom aldrig nogen del to. Den kommer så her.

-- 🌸 --

Organic means that MotherOwl grows her garden following organic principles; this again means that you can eat berries, fruits, vegetables and anything else (well, not the poisonous plants of course) without fearing stranger substances than the occasional worm.
  MotherOwl is very happy for this when being in her soapy corner. Long time ago a blog post called  Marigold Oil - part 1, went live. Part 2 never appeared. Here it is:

Morgenfueolie del 1, de tørrede blomster   --   Marigold Oil part one, the dried flowers.

Part 2

De tørrede blomster og olivenolie  --  The dried flowers and Olive oil

Et glas fyldes med tørrede blomster. Det skal ikke presses sammen, kun fyldes næsten op  
--
   A glass is filled with the dried flowers. Do not pack them closely, just fill in almost to the top.

Fyld så glasset med olivenolie. Der kan være meget i, og nu skal der fyldes op.
Bagefter skal der låg på, og så skal det stå køligt og ikke for lyst og trække i 6 uger.
Så er den klar til at blive brugt i morgenfruesæbe og til salve.
--
Fill up with olive oil. All the way to the top. It takes more oil than you imagine.
Afterwards a lid is put on, and the glass put in a cool, darkish place for 6 weeks to infuse / steep.
Then its ready to be used for soaping and un-petroleum jelly.

Sunday Selection - Søndagsbilleder & TUSAL

Håbet om have og sommer er stadig grønt så det er stadig relevant at linke til HeyJude @ Travel Words.

--  💚  --

The hope of gardening and Spring - and Summer is still green. So I can still link to HeyJude at Travel Words. Where the colour for March is green!

Citronchilispirer fra egne frø
Lemon chili sprouts, my own seeds

Spirer er grønne og ny sæbe er også grøn, og denne her sæbe er oven i købet også svagt grønfarvet.

--  🌱  --

Sprouts are green, and analogous to green cheese, new soap is also called green soap in Danish. Apart from that this soap actually has a green tinge:

Hampefrøsæben er kommet ud af formen og skåret i sæber
Hemp seed soap, now demoulded and cut.

I går var det nymåne, TUSAL dag - jeg har en eneste stump at vise frem - og den er grøn!

Yesterday was new moon day, TUSAL day. I have one ORT to show off - and it's green!

Sæbe - Soap

     På indkøb var der tilbud på hampefrøolie. Det skulle jo være sundt. Og det er det nok også, men for mig smager det som bunden af et papegøjebur, så det måtte blive til en sæbe i stedet.
     Først måtte jeg dog lave en ny sæbeform, for jeg havde en idé. Jeg havde købt en silikonegrydelap med bitavlemønster. Den skulle bruges i bunden af formen. Jeg ville skære den over, og komme den i bunden af min normale sæbeform, Men efter at Skribenten havde overbevist mig om det fornuftige i det, byggede jeg altså i stedet en ny form rundt om grydelappen.

-- 🍯🦜 --

  A new soaping mould was necessary. While shopping, I bought some down priced hemp seed oil. It is very healthy, people say. I tasted it. It might be healthy, but it tastes like a parrot cage smells. Uff. No, not going to happen. I turn it into a soap.
  Some time ago I found this pot holder. Made from silicone and with a bee hive pattern. In the beginning I wanted to cut it in half and place it in the bottom of my old soap mould. The Writer convinced me that building a new mould round the pot holder was the better part of wisdom.

     Her er så formen med grydelappen nede i bunden. Lige parat til at hælde sæben i. Den er super-enkel. En plade, som de to af siderne er skruet fast på. Det er dem til højre og venstre på billedet her. De to andre sider er så skruet fast på de faste sider, og kan tages af.

-- 🛠 --

  Mould ready for soap. It's a super simple thing A bottom with two sides fastened with screws; those are the ones right and left in this photo. The other two sides are fastened to those two - also with screws - and can be taken off.

     Ingredienserne: Kaustisk soda til sæbelud (der skal tilsættes vand), kokosolie med bivoks på toppen, den ækle hampefrøolie og svinefedt i gryden.

-- 🍯🩸💧 --

     Ingredients: NaOH for lye (add water), cocoa oil, the two yellow 'muffins' on top are bees wax,  then the nasty hemp seed oil and tallow in the pot.

     Så smelter alle de glade olier nede i gryden. Medens sæbeluden køler af under emhætten.

-- 🥄 --

  All the happy oils melting in the pot while the lye water is cooling down under the hood.

     Hæld luden i de smeltede olier, bland godt, rør, rør igen og rør lidt mere. Og hæld så den stadig flydende sæbemasse i formen.

-- 🧼 --

  Mix the lye water into the oils when they have melted, mix well, stir, stir again and stir some more. And pour the raw, still liquid soap into the mould.

     Den dufter godt! Og ikke spor af papegøjebur. Jeg glæder mig til at se resultatet om et par dage.

-- 🧼🦜 --

   It smells nice! And not from deceased parrots at all. I wonder how it will look when I demould it.

Naughty Soap 2

I see from the comments to yesterday's post, that I am taking for granted that everybody knows how to make soap. It is professional blindnes or whatever it's called in English.

-- 🗨 --

    For en forklaring på dansk, se min sæbeblog om vulkansæber.

Here is the photo once again. It is a soap, I'm making.
I start by mixing lye (NaOH) and water (in this case woodruff tea) in one pot, and melting the fats, beeswax and oils in another
Then those are combined, stirred and poured in a mould when they begin to thicken.
After being put in the mould, the soap will heat up somewhat. This is the chemical process of turning fats and lye into soap, known as saponification. Sometimes the process runs a bit wild. That is what is happening here. The soap is overheating, becoming liquid and also darker, just like a volcano making ready for an eruption.

This photo, taken half an hour later, clearly shows how liquid the soap has become. I stirred it, because the corners do not normally heat up, leading to funny markings on some of the soaps.

This process is known as gelling, it is a sought after occurrence because the soap is then ready for use after de-moulding and cutting. This will happen tomorrow.
The soap will be better, have more longevity, after curing and dehydrating for 1 to 6 weeks. But I can use it tomorrow, only it's still kind of soft and bendy.
Photos of de-moulding and cutting will follow tomorrow.

Bare for sjov - Just for fun

     I dag lavede Uglemor bukkarsæbe. Den var meget uartig. Mon ikke den burde vaske munden med sæbe.

-- 😝 --

Today MotherOwl was soaping. Making cold process soap with sweet woodruffs for the smell. It was a naughty soap. Soap go wash your mouth with soap ..

Reklame

     På Uglemors sæbeblog Sæbekonen viser hun sine nye sæber frem. Her er en lille forsmag.

MotherOwl has been soaping again this spring. Here you can see the soaps. For a  closer look you can pop over to my soaping blog. 

Clockvise: Black soap wiht stripes from bevelling white soaps' edges.  Calendula soap,
White soap with black stripes from the bevelling of the edges of the black soaps.
Last, but not least coffee soap with ground coffee on the top.

Småting - This and That

     Så er Uglemor færdig med #RDG21-udfordringen. Men er er nu også sket mange andre ting.

- o 0 o -

The #RDG-challenge is finished. But MotherOwl has been doing other thing as well.

☆✨☆

     Uglemor har lavet sæbe igen. Dette er årets 3. omgang. Hvid sæbe med sorte strimler i. Årets to andre sæber har været omvendte, sorte med hvide strimler.

- o 0 o -

Soaping. The third soap of the year. The two first ones were black with white cut-offs in them Now MotherOwl had collected enough black cut-offs to make a white soap with black inserts. 

      VI har spist avocadoer og Uglemor har farvet garn med kernerne. Skallerne giver bare kedeligt brunligt, så de er opgivet. Men hvis man piller hinderne af kernerne, hakker dem og koger dem op et par dage i træk, farver de pink til rødt.
     Elletræerne står med gamle kogler og nye rakler. Begge dele kom også i farvegryden.

- o 0 o -

 We've been eating avocado pears. MotherOwl used the pits for dyeing. If you peel them, chop them, boil them for three or four days in a row they'll give pinkish to dark red colours. The skins give an uninteresting brownish hue. At least when MotherOwl tries.
The alder trees are right now carrying old cones and new catkins. Both went into the dyepot.

Green letters: Alder cones 1st and second bath. Orange letters: Elder catkins 1st and 2nd bath.
Blue letters: Avocado pits 1st and 2nd baht.

   Forleden var Skribenten på indkøb og kom hjem med nogle gør det selv-svampe. Vi har troligt vandet dem, og nu er de spiret eller hvad svampe nu gør.

- o 0 o -

The Writer went shopping and brought home some grow at home mushrooms. We have been faithfully watering them, and now mushrooms start to show.

Østershatte - Oyster mushrooms

Vindrueolie i sæben -- Soaping with Grapeseed Oil

      Eftersom de tørrede nældeblade er sat over at trække i vindruekerneolie, var Uglemor jo nødt til at prøve at lave sæbe med denne olie. det skulle så være i dag.
      Efter en hel del regnen og regeren, for nye olier kræver nye opskrifter og da den gamle computer døde, tog den Uglemors gamle WordPerfect 5.1 med i graven. Og dermed er også de trofaste gamle regneark væk. Men til sidst kom der en brugbar opskrift ud af det.
     Endnu en hindring var, at den plasticindsats, der forhindrer sæben i at sætte sig fast i formen, jo stadig var optaget af kaffesæben fra i går. Den er ikke hård nok til at blive taget ud. Uglemor havde læst, at man kunne bruge bagepapir. Så der blev målt, foldet og klistret. Endnu et forsøg. 
     Det gik fint, både opskriften og bagepapirsindmaden ser ud til at virke.
     Vindruesæben gelerede, og for en gangs skyld huskede jeg at tage billeder undervejs. Der mangler kun et billede af, hvordan den så ud til start, da den lige var hældt op. Der var den smukt lysegul over det hele, som i kanterne på billede 1.  De små tal er billedets tidsspempel.

- o 0 o -

Having started the infusing of nettle leaves in grapeseed oil, MotherOwl had to soap using this oil. And today was the day. It was a bit - no actually much - of an obstacle race.
First obstacle: New oils call for new calculations, and my old computer died, taking with it the old WordPerfect, with its wonderful spread sheet functions. MotherOwl have not yet mastered Excel. So by means of a pocket calculator and MillerSoap, an new recipe was made.
Second obstacle. MotherOwl has to space her soaping, the mould can be re-used after some hours, but the lining can only be used once every 3 days, when the soap has hardened enough for the lining to peel off. It is made from a plastic place mat, bought from a liquidating shop, and of course it was the last one.  Baking paper should do the job as well. Let's try. Measuring and three-dimensional thinking are not MotherOwl's strongest sides, but perseverance (you may call it stubbornness) is.
Everything went just fine, the baking paper lining was actually better than the place mat one. The soap gelled as if it has read the how to on gelling. And MotherOwl remembered to photograph the process  - only not the very beginning. The soap started out all yellow as the edges in the first photo below.
 The numbers are the time stamps from the camera.

Her gelerer sæben smukt.
Gelling after the book.
17.14

     Spirillen var flere gange ude og kigge for at lære, hvordan det ser ud, når det går hedt for sig og sæben ikke bliver til en vulkan. Hvis man holder en hånd hen over, kan man mærke varmen fra sæben.

- o 0 o -

Marsupilam was called out to have a look more than once. He had to learn how soap is behaving when gelling normally and not turning into a volcano. It still gets real hot, a hand held over the gelling soap can feel the heat waves.

Voldsom gelering, men ikke en vulkan.
Gelling violently, but no volcano happening.
17.35

Så er den færdig med at gelere, den er stadig flydende og varm.
Gelling's done. The soap is still liquid and quite hot.
20.17

Og helt færdig i gang med at køle af. færdig. Kaffesæben fra i går ses øverst.
And all done, and cooling down. Yesterday's coffee soap is the topmost one.
21.29

Næste dag kunne bagepapirsindmaden let fjernes, men den strimmel af dækkeservietten, Uglemor havde lagt i bunden sidder stadig fast. Måske er bagepapir vejen frem, selv om det kreperer Uglemor med ting, der kun kan bruges en gang.

- o 0 o -

Next morning. The baking paper lining peeled off nicely. Not so the place mat strip that MotherOwl put in the bottom for added stability. Lining made form baking paper is way better, and MotherOwl has to consider using this in the future. Even though she's bothered by using disposable materials.

Nye forsøg -- Soaping Again

      Til jul købte vi en pinjekogle. Den skulle så stå og lave små, hyggelige lyde medens den åbnede sig. Det eneste den opnåede var at Uglemor troede at der var en mus inde i stuen, en aften jeg var alene hjemme. Det larmede sådan.
     Da vi så i dag pillede koglen fra hinanden for at få frøene ud, lagde vi mærke til at vores fingre blev sorte og velduftende. Uglemor samlede det sorte støv sammen og lagde det i vindruekerneolie sammen med et par kogleskæl og hvad der ellers fulgte med. Olien blev helt sort og duftede en smule, nu må vi så se, hvad der sker.

- o 0 o -

This Christmas we bought a pine cone. It is supposed to stand in a warm place and make small cosy sounds and smell good. The only thing that happened was that MotherOwl looked after mice one night as she was home alone. The cone was the guilty one, but this was first discovered several days later, as it fell to the floor in many pieces.

As we picked out the seeds, our fingers turned black and smelled good. MotherOwl collected the dust like substance and mixed with grape seed oil. The oil turned black and vaguely pine smelling. Time will show what happens.

     Det blev også til en kaffesæbe. Det er bare så længe siden, at Uglemor havde glemt, hvor meget formen kunne indeholde. Hun valgte den gale kolonne af tal, så det er altså kun en halv portion. Heldigvis er sæberne lige gode, hvilken facon de end har, for de må så skæres i dobbelt så brede stykker. 

 - o 0 o -

Today MotherOwl also made a new coffee soap.  My, it was long time ago. MotherOwl had forgotten which amount of oils etc. was the right for the wooden mould. It turned out she picked the wrong column, it's only half a portion. Well the soap will be cut into chunks instead of slices, and it is just as good that way.

Dette indlæg er også udgivet på Uglemors Sæbeblog

Haveplaner -- Garden Plans

     Mandagens svada om havearbejde - eller mangel på samme - betyder jo ikke, at Uglemor slet ikke vil dyrke haven i den kommende sommer, snarere tværtimod. Snarere end at forsøge på at ligne en drøm fra et engelsk haveblad eller en illustration til en af John Seymours bøger, kommer Uglemors have nok snarere til at ligne heksemutters have.
     Haveuglen kommer som sædvanligt til at skælde Uglemor ud mange gange her til sommer. Men i stedet for at forsøge at forsvare sig eller undskylde, vil Uglemor nu tage skændene med oprejst pande og svare: "Ja, Haveugle, sådan er Uglemors nye haveplaner nemlig bare, ja!"
     Uglemor han endelig indset at vi lider af et par problemer udi havedyrkningen. Det første er plads: Vi kommer aldrig til at blive selvforsynende på vores knap 1.000 kvadratmeter. Der skal nemlig også være plads til at slå kolbøtter, skyde med pil og bue, træne med ninjastave og kastestjerner, save og hamre, drikke kaffe midt i solen, en masse bærbuske, og hvad Uglemor, Skribenten og 4 opfindsomme Ugleunger nu ellers kan finde på. Det andet problem er energi, og vel også lyst. Uglemor ved godt, at porrerne skal luges og kålen dækkes til, men når solen skinner og fuglene synger, er det sjovere at tage i skoven eller på stranden med Ugleungerne, farve garn eller karte uld, når man nu kan være ude med det der sviner, eller også falder Uglemor bare i staver over et eller andet midt i solen. Det er vist også et spørgsmål om prioritering.
     Der kommer til at gro urter i rå mængder i Uglemors have til sommer, og så morgenfruer, nælder og mælkebøtter (Ja, Haveugle, de har også lov til at gro her!), hør, nogle kartofler, bønner til at spise og til at farve med,  noget kål - hvis altså ikke dræbersnegle og kålorme æder dem som sidste år. Inde i domen gror der også som sædvanligt chilier, tomater og agurker. Piraten siger at der skal være majs og gulerødder, så det kommer der nok også. Hvalrossen elsker bønner og ærter, så jo. Og så ukrudt, alle vegne. Hønsene (som vi forhåbentlig snart kan få igen) spiser masser af det, og noget af det vil nok igen i år vise sig at være spiseligt eller spændende indvandrere, valmuer, baldrian og kvan er for eksempel indvandret. Og der skal være bær, oceaner af bær. Nok til at vi kan spise friske bær hver dag og lave syltetøj til hele vinteren til os alle sammen. Vi elsker friske bær og syltetøj, og brombær er altså så meget dyrere end kartofler.

      Dette indlæg bliver skrevet nu, fordi Uglemors have er altid bedst her i januar-februar. Der ser den nemlig helt perfekt ud - inde i Uglemors hoved!

Tilgroet og meget utilfreds Haveugle i juni måned
Overgrown and grumpy GardenOwl in the merry month of June.

This Monday's gardening rant does not mean that MotherOwl has given up gardening. No way! But rather than trying to make her garden look like something from Country Living or an illustration for one of John Seymour's books, MotherOwl solemnly swear to make her garden look like a witch's garden.

That olde, grumpy GardenOwl is going to grumble a lot this Summer as is his wont, while MotherOwl is forgetting the leek (once again) or is carding wool instead of weeding the kale. But instead of explaining away or trying to defend herself, MotherOwl is going to raise her head and answer: "Yes, GardenOwl! That's the way MotherOwl's garden is now!"

MotherOwl has finally realized that there's no way we're going to be self sufficient on 1000 square metres and we're not going to have an old English country garden as long as MotherOwl and the Owlets are turning somersaults, sawing and hammerng, practicing staff figths, bow shooting and throwing shuriken, drinking coffee in the sunshine with the Writer and the Walrus, going to the beach when it's hot, to the woods when the woodruff is ripe, and what else come to the mind of one MotherOwl, one Writer, and four inventive Owlets.

MotherOwl is going to have herbs, marigolds, flax, nettles (yes, GardenOwl, they are growing here too!),  some potatoes, beans for eating as well as dye, kale (if the slugs and butterflies do not get all of them), chilis, cucumber and tomatoes inside the dome, and weeds, weeds everywhere. Some of the weeds turn out to be edible as usual. Poppies and squash for instance. And berries, lots of berries. We love fresh berries and jam in the Owlery and berries are way more expensive than potatoes.

This post is written now because MotherOwl's garden is at its finest now - inside the head of MotherOwl. 

Krydderuglen - The HerbalOwl

     Dette var i den grad ikke det indlæg, jeg satte mig ned for at skrive for to dage siden, men sådan endte det.

     Det her er hvad Uglemor har lavet i det dejlige solskins- og snevejr: Fortsat oprydningen af Uglehulen - der begyndte med kassen til frø - med at rydde ud i det store lager af urter og olier, lave salve af den færdige morgenfrueolie. Samtidig blev der sat ny morgenfrueolie over, og sat nælde- og mælkebøtteolie over til forårets sæbeproduktion.  Jeg fandt også et forsøg med kryddersalt tilsat nældefrø. Det skal prøvesmages i den kommende tid.
     I løbet af denne proces er det gået op for Uglemor at hun er en Krydderugle (som min blog jo hedder), og ikke en Grøntsagsugle (der også er en slags natsværmer). Jeg finder stor fornøjelse i at spise mine nye kartofler, friske bønner og bær, masser af bær! når der er sæson for det - og lave syltetøj ... Tomater og chili fra domen er også herligt, og tomater kan henkoges og chilierne kan uden problemer strække til hele året som chilisalte og -sukker, tørrede eller frosne. Det nyder jeg, og vil gerne gøre en indsats for at det lykkes.
     Men det at planlægge og spire så tidligt som muligt om foråret; luge, vande, tænke og hitte på om sommeren og om efteråret; dække og grave ned om efteråret og frygte frosten om vinteren for at have supertidlige eller mange kartofler, kål nok til hele året, eller salat midt om vinteren, det er en form for slaveri for mig. Det er ikke fordi jeg ser ned på folk, der kan og gør den slags. Tværtimod, jeg følger med åben mund og beundring Karna Majs haveblog. Det gik bare op for mig at folk er forskellige også på dette punkt. Og det gik op for mig hvorfor det er at lige meget hvor meget, jeg synes jeg prøver, så bliver mine porrer kun til græsstrå og kålsommerfugle og dræbersnegle æder de fleste af mine kålhoveder. Og grunden er ikke, at jeg ikke ved hvad der skal gøres eller at jeg  mangler energien til det, men ene og alene at hjertet ikke er med i det.
    Krydderurter derimod, det er en helt anden snak. Jeg holder troligt liv i laurbærplanter og timian ude i badeværelset hver vinter. Prøver - indtil videre forgæves - at få de japanske shiso til at spire, helst den røde; hæger om fem forskellige timianbuske og to salvier, og flytter pebermynterne hver sommer. Desuden sår jeg  mindst 1.000 forskellige morgenfruefrø og plukker morgenfrueblomsterne hver aften inden duggen falder og det ikke lige regner. Blomsterne bliver omhyggeligt tørret og viderebehandlet til olier, sæber og salver.
     Det begyndte at dæmre for mig, da jeg gik og sorterede frø. Der var lige så mange krydderurtefrø, hvis ikke flere, end grøntsagsfrø. Og helt sikkert flere sorter. 5 forskellige slags dild for eksempel, ud over de tyske, jeg ikke kan huske, hvad hedder, men som overtager drivhuset, hvis de får lov - og det sker jo ...
     Til sommer skal Uglemor dyrke nælder, høste nældefrø, lave nældesæbe og nældefibre, bage nældebrød og meget andet.
 

    Hvis nu jeg var Archimboldos arvtager, ville jeg lave et ugleportræt med morgenfrueøjne og persilleører osv. Med det er jeg ikke, så jeg må nøjes med dette billede af en fin vindueskarm med funklende olieglas. 

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This post was not what I sat down to write two days ago. That's how long the writing, and the thinking mostly,  took.
This is what MotherOwl has been doing in these crisp, sunny and snowy days. Cleaned out the herbs in the project room, used the already infused mayflower oil for un-petroleum jellies. Set new portions of oil wiht marigolds, nettles and dandelions.
During this process MotherOwl realized she's a HerbalOwl (The adress of this blog means "HerbalOwl"), not a VegetableOwl. New potatoes, broad beans from the pod, and berries, lots of berries fresh and for jam. That's delicious, and I want to do it, but working, thinking and tinkering all summer and all autumn and fearing frost all winter and planning and sowing as early as possible in spring in order to have everything fom my own garden all year round. That's not what I want to do. I greatly admire those able to do this, but it's drudgery for me. Herbs on the other hand can make me rise early and go to bed later because it's the right time to do this or that. In short. herbs have a place in my heart, vegetables only in my garden.

If I was the heir of Archimboldo (yes the link leads to the Danish wiki, but there the paintings are more prominent, and a single click takes you to the English version), I would paint a portrait of MotherOwl with parsley-ears, marigold-eyes and so on. But I'm not that good at painting, ergo a photo from the newly cleaned prject room of the jewel-like oil bottles in the window sill is all you get.

Ja, der ligger en forstening under glaspladen, og Shrek er ovre
i den anden side af vindueskarmen sammen med urterne.
Yes, there's a fossil beneath the sheat of glass.
Shrek lives in the other half of the window sill with the dried herbs.

Frø -- Seeds

     Hver år sent i januar eller først i februar kommer der en dag, hvor Uglemor ikke kan vente længere. Nej det er ikke sommertøjet, der skal luftes eller gardinerne der skal vaskes. Det er frøposerne der skal ryddes op. Ligesom Karna Maj lader jeg også poserne ligge i kassen, der hvor de nu falder, når jeg bruger dem for sidste gang i løbet af efteråret. Men så ...

- o 0 o -

Every year the day arrives, either in the end of January or the beginning of February, where MotherOwl is unable to keep her fingers away. No it's new clothes for spring, or the curtain needing a wash after winter's darkness. Not it's the seed bags calling. Like Karna Maj tells in her blog, the seed bags are just dropped off in Autumn when they're not needed any more. But now ...

Ja, det er en æblekasse fuld af frø. - Og ja, jeg samler selv mine egne frø.
Frøene i plastikposen er nytilkomne.
Yes this is an apple crate filled with seeds. And yes I collect my own seeds.
The seeds in the plastic bag are new from this year.

     Og hvert år tænker Uglemor ... i år behøver jeg vis ikke at købe flere frø - bortset fra lige dem og måske dem her ... de var vist lidt gamle, dem jeg havde. Og vupti er samlingen blevet endnu større. Jeg må vist lave et par kasser i stil med dem Karna Maj har sine frøposer i.

Like every year MotherOwl says to herself that no new seeds will be needed. Except maybe for some of those ... and those, they are maybe a tad old. And oops! The seed collection has grown again.  I have to make some seed crates like the ones Karna Maj has.

 - o - 0 - o -

     Her er billeder fra årets første såning. Det er dels test af spireevnen, dels lyst til krydderurter på maden, der har fået mig til at forsøge mig allerede. 

- o 0 o -

   Pictures of the first seeds sown this year. It serves  a dual purpose. Testing of the germination and giving us some fresh greens for cooking.

24. januar

 Første spirer - 27. januar - First sprouts.

Mere sæbe! -- More Soap!

     Efter at kaffesæben var taget ud af formen og skåret i skiver, kom turen til en brændenældesæbe.

- o 0 o -

The coffee soap was de-moulded and cut, and MotherOwl made a nettle soap

Prøv at lægge mærke til farven på sæberne her. Det lyse hjerte til højre er den samme sæbemasse som toppen af den skårne sæbe - længst til venstre. Man kan se kaffegrumset i begge dele. Men farven er forskellig. Det skyldes geleringen - en kemisk proces der faktisk bare er forsæbningen, der går hurtigt. Det er en god ting, da det gør sæberne meget bedre, men faren for overophedning og deraf følgende vulkansæbe er altid til stede.
Notice the colours of the coffee soaps. The heart to the right and the top of the cut soap to the left are poured from the same pot. The cut soap has gelled, a chemical process, actually a quick saponification, that heats up the soap, speeds the saponification, and generally is a sought after thing. The danger of overheating and volcano soap makes MotherOwl wary.

Da brændenældesæben også forsæbede voldsomt - kun gelering, ikke noget med vulkaner - lykkedes det at tage et billede.

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The nettle soap did MotherOwl the service of gelling as well. She snapped a photo of the process.

Gelerende nældesæpe.
Nettle soap in the process of gelling.

Næste dag var nældesæben færdig og der blev straks sat en birkesæbe over.

Next day the nettle soap was ready for de-moulding and cutting. MotherOwl immediately made a birch soap. 

Nældesæbe skåret og stemplet.
Nettle soap cut and stamped.

 Uglemor skulle skynde sig ud ad døren for at hente Piraten. Sæben så fredeligt ud, men Uglemor var mistænksom og besluttede at ringe hjem til Spirillen der heldigvis var hjemme med ondt i halsen, så snart bussen nåede ind til byen.
Spirillen kom Uglemor i forkøbet og ringede medens Uglemor stadig sad i bussen, hun havde glemt huskesedlen sagde den søde Spiril, og løste med større besvær Uglemors og Skribentens ikke letlæselige håndskrift op. Så bad Uglemor ham lige tjekke sæben, og rigtig nok, Spirillen kom tilbage og fortalte at der var en revne ned gennem midten af sæben, og den voksede! Vulkansæbe under opsejling! Uglemor sad jo i bussen og skulle hente Piraten, så ... Spirillen fik strenge ordrer om at passe på sine finger, under ingen omstændigheder måtte han lade eventuelle plask sidde på fingrene, med straks vaske og skylle, gelerende sæbe er ikke helt så ætsende som helt ny sæbe, men det er stadig ikke godt. Helst måtte han slet ikke få noget på fingrene, og ellers hente sæberiset og piske grundigt i sæben hvert femte minut indtil der ikke længere var en sådan revne i sæben. Det førte til en hel del telefonsnak, men Spirillen klarede opgaven strålende.

- o 0 o -

MotherOwl had to go and pick up the Pirate at school. The birch soap looked peaceful, but MotherOwl was ssupecting it's wild nature. She decided to phone home from town. Marsupilami was home from school nursing a sore throat.
Marsupilami was quicker than MotherOwl, she was still sitting in the bus, as Marsupilami called to tell that MotherOwl forgot the shopping list - thoughtful Owlet.
MotherOwl then asked him to go and look at the soap - especially to look for cracks. MotherOwl was suspicious for a reason, and Marsupilami came back to tell of a biggish, widening crack down the middle of the soap. MotherOwl instructed him in stirring the soap, and avoiding getting to touch the raw soap, and immediately wash a lot if it happened - gelling soap is not as dangerous as raw soap, but it still can hurt you. He did as instructed, we did a lot of talking on the phone, and MotherOwl returned to a soap still in the mould.

Birkesæben efter Spirillens redningsforsøg
Birch soap after Marsupilami's good stirrings.

     Vi fik en pose slik og Spirillens yndlingsret til aften.

- o 0 o -

We had some candy, and MotherOwl made Marsupilami's favourite dish for dinner.

Birkesæben skåret. Den er uregelmæssigt geleret, slet ikke i bunden, og der er felter med glycerin. men alt er berde end en sæbevulkan i køkkenet og sæben er god nok - Uglemor er heldig at have modige Ugleunger.
The birch soap cut and stamped. The gelling is  uneven and some glycerine rivers can be seen. But everything is better than a volcano in the kitchen, and  it is still a good soap, almost ready for use. MotherOwl feel thankful for brave Owlets daring to tame a volcano soap.

Denne post udgives også på min sæbeblog, men kun på dansk
This post will be cross-posted on my soaping blog, but in Danish only.