Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Another Walk ...........................



You'll have to put up with me in another walk, if you like! It was a beautiful weather, a little windy - but the sun was shining and it was too tempting. I really had to bring my camera today. Usually I walk in order to get some training - fast and steady, and usually I only bring my camera out in the week-ends. My daily walk is often down to the beach, where I pass the Races, Marselisborg Castle with the queen's garden, the forest and the Memorial Park, which is between the castle and the beach road. There was a butterfly I wanted to find - it has not been seen in many numbers this year, and I hope it would be in the herbaceous borders in a garden corner of the park. Among the first houses I pass on my way is this one. I call it The Italian House. I think it's charming. I love the tiles by the door.


I took a little break by the horses, but only one was out today. A cute little swallow was curious, looking down to see what happened.


Marselisborg Castle, queen Margrethe's summer-house, somewhat bigger than the summer houses I have rented in my holidays. From the big lawn in the park is a view to the sea and to Skødshoved, Mols and Helgenæs on the other side of the bay.


The park is filled with trees and bushes and fine hedges. To the right a walnut tree which drops walnuts in numbers on the ground. I have used some for snaps. Walnut-snaps is one of the best among snaps, almost like a cognac.


Crows walk two and two. These two had a crisis. One walked to and fro and to and fro. Was it the female, looking like she had got a perm of the neck-feathers. The male was sitting by the nearest tree philosophing over, why she had got that perm. Was she flirting with some young fool? He was really sad. (click the picture to see the perm)


Much rain and much sun. Lots of berries. Here hips from a rose, flowering with the most wonderful scent in May-June. I don't know the name, but I guess it is a tea rose. To the right rowanberry, and like the elderberries I told you about, there was one year where I experimented with berries from nature. Gathering, cleaning, cooking, it took a h... of a time, but the rowanberry-gele was absolutely fine. I had made a large portion and my friends all got a part. They loved it. I had put cognac in it!


I was very excited when I finally came to the herbaceous perrenials. Each year they have various flowers and colours in the park. Last year were the colours more vigorous, this year lighter. But they are beautiful. My mother had a lovely garden with such flower beds.


Here is the butterfly I wanted to find. Underside to the left. And like other butterflies it has a pretty English name. I'm sure the man who was sitting there many years ago, deciding the names of the butterflies, was a real romantic. Painted Lady is the name of this one. I'll write about it in my blog Flora and Fauna.


Painted Lady with underside (Cynthia cardui)


The Red Admiral and the Peacock


Small White and Small Tortoiseshell


The heavy rain last week caused problems in many places, here it has created a "ravine" in the walking path and in another path through the forest section it was necessary to wear waders. .


Two Whites were sitting for a long time "looking" at each other before they got closer. They were flirting I think.


They look like Green-veined White? A jogger came running and they disappeared.


There are two small houses in the park, "Donbækhusene", now uninhabited. They once were homes for servants from the Marselisborg Castle and for foresters in the 1900s. The Poplar Avenue along the edge of the Memorial Park is a lovely shadowy place when it is hot. But I don't need a shadowy place, so I walk on across Kongevejen (King's Road) to.........


Forsthaven or Forstbotanisk have with trees and bushes from all over the world. A bench by a small pond and the well by the pond. In spring are lots of frogs.


Mushooms in the grass by some beech trees upon a hill.

In some places the decay is supported, here a tree overgrown in ivory and leaning up another tree, a good place for the squirrels! Large fungus at the foot of an old tree.


This plant is named Dansk ingefær (Danish ginger). I can only give you this explanation from Wikipedia: Arum alpinum is a member the plant family Araceae. Certain occurrences of Arum in Denmark were previously labelled as the subspecies A. alpinum ssp. danicum, but these are now recognized as Arum cylindraceum. The picture to the right is from the small brook in Forsthaven. (click to enlarge all the small pictures)


In the corner og my eye I saw a movement. It was a squirrel. It is so quick, so quick that little guy! Disappeared in the ivory up a big tree.

At the foot of the same tree was a nuthatch and a great tit.


It is so majestic this Sequoia-tree. Just look at the strong red bark. And this one is small compared to the Sequoias in their native land in USA.


I came to the small lake in Forsthaven and saw this dragonfly at once. It was very busy and sometimes stopped in front of me! I'm sorry I could not take a close-up photo of this "dangerous" creature. Imagine there was once a dragonfly with a wing span of 70 cm ab. 300 million years ago - before the dinosaurs. This one is a Southern Hawker, with fine metallic blue-silver.


The dragonfly took care of its territory in a very agressive way. Two Small Whites tried to come near many times to get to some flowers by the lake, but the dragonfly chased them away each time, and it followed them across the path where I was and returned to the lake, where it stood like a little shining helicopter. In between it took a quick turn and stood in front of me, and I felt it was staring. "What are you doing here?"


In many gardens it is IN to have Hortensias. They are beautiful, but they do not attract much life. To the right some villas behind the Memorial park.


There are many grand white villas at the beach road, but I like this one, because it has kept some of its old charm.


The Marselis Marina. Lots and lots of yachts and masts - only one boat out. In the week-end I have noticed almost the same picture. Why do they "park" all those fine boats instead of getting out on the sea. Are they afraid of getting seasick?


In the corner of the bay beside Marselis Marina is a place named Tangkrogen. In the old days - when I was a child - it was a bathing beach. It was also called the Fly-Paper, because everyone went there. Tangkrogen means a place with seaweed, and there was much seaweed in the corner today. Here are all the small boats - also in big numbers - all the way along the corner up till the marina. To the left is a small section of the big lawn behind Tangkrogen, which is now used for circus and concerts etc. Behind the young people you see a little of Århus.


This is the last station on my walk. Here opposite the small ice kiosk is the bus-stop where I take the bus home. This ice kiosk has been here for hundreds of years! As long as I can remember anyway.


After the bus-tour I pass a house with this welcoming comité. It's a lovely way to welcome a guest. Notice the dog behind with a bristle on its back to clean your footwear.

And now home for a fresh cup of black coffee and a biscotti! Have a nice day!


photo 31. August 2010: grethe bachmann

10 comments:

Kittie Howard said...

Thank you, Grethe, because I now know the name of that majestic butterfly...Peacock. Yes, it truly is! And Painted Lady is a perfect name...her wings are so delicate, as if touched with a small brush. And I looove the Italian house. How nice it must be to walk to the door and enjoy that beautiful tile...also, the brick walkway makes the perfect mood.

I, too, have wondered why boats and yachts remain in the harbour on weekends. Makes no sense. Unless owners want to brag they own a boat or yacht.

Oh, when Reagan was president he did what presidents can do to give authority for lumber companies to cut down some of the Sequoias in northern California. Since I had been to that area, a national park, I was shocked. The park was not that big to begin with. There was a national outrage at the time. Then, some of the trees were gone and people just moved on. Sad.

Thank you for a sharing your walk with me.

Teresa Evangeline said...

What an interesting walk you took us on. I loved the tale of the two crows. You have such a delightful way of sharing your day, the images you see, in photos and in words. I enjoyed this, very much. Teresa

Thyra said...

Hej Kittie! Thank you! Wouldn't you like to see how The Italian House looked inside. I would.

This is awful what you tell about the Sequoias. They are part of our heritage, aren't they? You just don't plant a new and then it grows up in a hurry. When they're gone they're gone. It's just like when an animal species disappear because of stupidness from politicans and others who cannot see longer than from their nose to their mouth.

I'm glad you liked my little walk. It was the first time - for a long time - I had been out walking for over two hours.

Teresa, thank you so much. By the way, I like crows, they are so funny to look at, busy with their own doings - not noticing you unless you come toooo close. Research has shown that a crow can recognize faces, so now I say hello to the two familiar old crows here where I live. I think they are old! They are very fat. `)

Joan said...

Oh Thyra ..this was such a beutiful walk with you. You are so clever with your camera. I loved the crow with the perm! We do not have crows. English settlers brought many birds to NZ but not the crow..I wonder why? They did not bring squirels either. I was so excited the first time I ever saw one, in England. Thank you so much for the lovely stroll through the park. Joan

Wanda..... said...

You have a wonderful area for your walks Grethe, such a variety of things to take in along the way. The countryside is so fresh and green. I enjoyed viewing it all...from the berries and cheerful cosmos to the butterflies and mushrooms. It's nice that your walk ends and you catch a bus by an ice kiosk, which I'm guessing, is like an icecream parlor here in the U.S. Thanks for the tour!

Marilyn said...

I joined you on your walk today and I thoroughly enjoyed it. You live in a very beautiful part of the world, I wish I had visited Denmark when I was overseas; Norway is the only Scandinavian country I spent some time in. I love all of your butterfly photos, the dragonfly and squirrel, they are wonderful. You have such a lovely blog.

Thyra said...

Hello Ladies! Thank you for your kind comments and for taking time to visit my blog.

Joan, shall we send you two crows and two squirrels to your wonderful New Zealand ? I wonder where the name Zealand comes from. Our largest island with the capital Copenhagen is Sjælland, which is named Zealand in English.

Hej Wanda! Now it is soon autumn, remember the walk by the river!! New word icecream parlor, thanks. That's good. Almost every time I write here there is a word where I cannot fine a translation, not even on Google.

Hej Marilyn, also from New Zealand like Joan. Norway is a magnificent country, and the Norwegians love it passionately. Danes like the "Norsemen" and they like us. They say so! They also roll around with laughter when they see our hightest mountain which is 147 m!! And we name it Himmelbjerget (Sky Mountain!)Self-irony?

I'm glad that you all like my blog.
Cheers
Grethe ´)

Marilyn said...

Thank you for your comments about my photos on Beautiful World blog.

CherylK said...

Oh, Grethe, those butterfly photos are just wonderful! And thank you for identifying the butterfly on my post...the Admiral. You really do take some lovely photographs and I so enjoy going on your walks with you.

Thyra said...

Hej Marilyn! You're welcome. I'm glad to know such nice ladies from New Zealand.

Hej Cheryl! Thanks! The Red Admiral is common here, but we don't see the fantastic Monarch. If I saw one I would jump five feet up in the air!

Have a nice day both of you!
Grethe