Djursland - on the first Week-end of March

 

The fields are definitely more green now, this first week-end of March. It's lovely to see the snow has gone - until further notice. You'll never know when it comes back. You'll just have to enjoy this day with almost 10 degree Celsius. The horses are out in their grazing fields , but they are still wearing an overcoat, except the small ponies and the Icelandic horses with their thick woolen fur. They don't need an overcoat, they never freeze. Denmark is not a challenge to them, they are used to something colder. Well, most of them might be born in Denmark. Iceland will not have other horses "imported" than the purebred Icelandic pony; they want to keep the unique Icelandic horse "clean".

We came to a place after a  village Stabrand where we suddenly discovered a large dolmen out in the field. There are lots of dolmens and hills in this district, but this one was unique. The table told us it is  called the Ildbjerggård-dysse. It's 5.000 years old, from Stone Age,one of the finest in East Jutland. What is also interesting today is that the earth in the dolmen has mostly not been touched since Stone Age, which might result in interesting finds. Between the village Stabrand and Nødager is another dolmen close to the road,  called "Mejdkirken", from the old Danish word Meje, meaning midday time. It is told that the priest of Nødager and Feldballe parish, which belonged to the same priesthood, always passed the dolmen at midday , therefore the name Mejdkirke. This round dolmen is a fine representative of the Danish Megalithic tombs 

A very short summary from a very long report from Naturhistorisk Museum, Århus:  Among many other finds was a new insect species discovered in a Bronze Age grave hill at Skelhøj in 2003. The only place in the world it has been found is in Denmark in a couple of gravehills. This indicates that these insects are prehistoric relicts, which have survived since the hill was digged 5.000 years ago. The soil conditions in the gravehills are unique in the Danish landscape, and the gravehills are therefore  worthy of preservation of the highest degree.

More stones, this time used to build a stable. I like that pretty stone wall. Yellow is a good colour for a house. People in the town of Skagen are familiar with yellow houses. The halftimbered building in black and white is  a stable, it's a well-know building people pass on the country road. It belongs to Skærvad manor. The pretty main building lies close behind the stable. Skærvad origins from the 1300s, and the owner since 2007 is Lone Moldrup, who's a very nice and creative person, not a usual "Lord of the Manor". She lives at Skærvad Hovedgaard with her husband and 6 children. She's a very energetic woman, who has started various activities, also for children. I have included a photo from Skærvad  in 2009, when it was being renovated.

 

The farmers were busy, there were tractors out on each field, they had to use the good weather.  Two buzzards were on their wings, it was a good day for them too, they could rest and sway upon the windy air. And here was a very old house by the edge of the forest. Odd to imagine that someone lived there once, maybe it's a forester's house. It will soon be completely demolished, and no one will be able to see that here lived people, maybe a family for many years.  In a bush out in the next field was a light buzzard, or should I say a blonde buzzard?  Well, the birds' migration has begun little by little, but it's not the big day yet. It might be a migrating bird this one. The photo is blurred, sorry.

 

 

Some horses next to a church were dressed very warmly, overcoat and more than that, one horse had some strange clothing around the neck. I think it was embarrassed, the other horses were laughing, I'm sure! The red house was my grandparents' house once. It is now neglected and dilapidated, and I don't like to look at it. I don't know the people who live there, and the village in itself is not the wonderful village I remember, so there is no reason for a stop. The district has numerous gravehills and there are moors from Stone Age with finds indicating that sacrifice has taken place here.

A stop by a blue lake, Ramten sø. Here were some birds, goosander and great crested grebe, and further away a flock of  white seagulls in the blue water. It was very blue today. The lake is listed together with a joining lake, Dystrup sø. There are many breeding ducks and grebes in these lakes. In the moor district east of Ramten sø were valuable finds from Iron Age.

  

 

 

And a few photos of the landscape on the way home. The twilight is coming a little later than before, but sooner now than later on! ´)

See you soon!
GB


photo Djursland, 3. March: grethe bachmann