Ice on the Water - Snow in the Sky.

A Taste of Denmark

Winter

Once again a visit to the small island Alrø in Horsens fjord, the latest couple of visits for the same reason, to see the white tailed eagle, who's always in another place anyway, when we're there - probably sitting on the island of Vorsø, which has got public access for birds only. But it's good to be out in the countryside to get some fresh air instead of the black city air, and the narrow country roads are not very traffic. Although it's a part of our neighbourhood close to Århus then there are still places, we haven't seen yet. In the winter season we take relative short trips. As you can see the day is dark, and the day is short too . The light is quickly disappearing in the afternoon, and it is cold to be out for long.

Two horses in a field often walk together. I think they like company. I feel pity with a horse who's quite alone. Maybe I'm wrong?  Well, two friends, those two horses. The landscape shows that the snow is still here. We've got rid of it in town, this happens quickly, already while it is snowing - and often in the middle of the night.  I can hear the snowmen driving through the streets and in front of our building to remove the snow. They really have to get up early. In the country the snow stays put except on the traffic roads. I wouldn't be able to live in a house in the country. Furthermore there are no shops.

But in this district there is one little village after another, and I took some photos along the way of farms and houses - it was funny, because there were so many halftimbered houses in black and white. Maybe they copy each other. The big halftimbered black and white house is a vicarage. Many priests live in a pretty vicarage, but it's not sunny days always to be a priest. They've got many obligations. A priest is dependent on the parish council and what they decide. If the council don't like their new vicar they can make life difficult for him. I can imagine it's not an easy job to be a priest, and his wife has to be an outgoing and social person. No, the pretty vicarage might be dearly bought!








































                                                                                

what about some weight-control?

There were two fields next to each other, one with a lonely pony with a heavy forelock covering one eye and one with the nice friendly cattle with belts - the belted Galloway. They origin from Scotland, they are hornless and  the earliest British cattle, and the opinion is that they came from the hornless cattle of the Scythians from year 485-425 B.C. The fur is traditionally black-brown. The Galloway cattle has outer and inner fur with long cover-hair and a curly woolen under-fur, which isolates against both cold and heat. The cover-hair is water-repellent. The original Scottish Galloway is lesser than the Amercian. The Scottish bull weighs about 700-800 kilos. The Galloways are peaceful and easy to deal with, but if the flock is threatened,  they stick together and form a united front against the enemy.

listening with one ear...

Then we were passing a couple of white washed churches by the road, and opposite a church was a little village house with an outhouse with the same simple decoration of small red bricks. Three ponies stood in a thick layer of hay. It's important to have warm feet. Everyone knows that!  And not far from each other two buzzards in top of a tree. One was very "light-headed". They were waiting for a traffic victim! Well, yes they actually often are in the winter season. If an animal is run over by a car, it won't last long before it has disappeared, if there's a  predator in the neighbourhood. The birds of prey are among  Nature's garbage men. 

the black stripe is birds

looking for birds on the ice.

the first sight of the frozen sea ...

And now we came to the island Alrø which I have shown you a couple of times. I could see from the first sight when we reached the dam that the water in Horsens fjord was completely frozen. Everything was white, land joined water. I was a little surprised about the difference between this sea and the sea at Århus, where we came from. The sea at Århus was blue and shining like a mirror this morning. Some of the ice on the fjord had been pushed into frozen waves and looked like whipped cream. There was not a bird to see anywhere, not even geese and swans on the fields. There was nothing to eat. The grass was frozen too. Only one car when we came out to the only parking place in the southern end of the island. A young couple tried to take a little walk.  The wind made it colder and they gave up after five minutes. I gave up after almost the same and sat in the car drinking thermo-coffee and eating the traditional Wiener-Pecan-cake. Many birds gathered along an opening in the ice far out. The white-tailed eagle was probably on the next island,  also too far away.

two men with telescope

then outermost farm

the village street

Two men were walking along the coast with a telescope, when we drove back to the main land. They were probably on their way to a place, from which they can watch across and over to some small islands, called the Alrø Poller. The island Alrø is an eldorado for birds of all kinds. The low water and the protected area give optimal conditions for the bird life. Alrø is EF-habitat area, EF-bird protection area and Ramsar area. This means that plants, animals and nature types are largely protected. Hunting is forbidden in a section of the sea, and walking about on the small islands Alrø Poller is forbidden most of the year.
























As you can see from today's photos the day was dark and with snow in the sky. The colours had a dark blue, which grew darker and darker with the vanishing light, the darkest of ultramarine.

No matter if it was cold and I was freezing my feet, I enjoyed being out to see how nature was now on this day in February. But I'm looking forward anyway to some sunny day in March and April, where the first signs of spring are coming. March is not far away.
GB

going home now...

photo February 2012: grethe bachmann

two landscapes just before the town Odder. 

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