Peony/ Pæon

Paeonia officinalis

These popular, gorgeous hardy perennials are commonly called Peony. The herbaceous Peonies are the most popular. They are mostly natives to Asia Minor and Europe. They are valued for their beautiful flowers and usually colorful foliage.

Paeonia officinalis is spread in gardens all over the country. It was introduced to Denmark from Middle- and South Europe as a medicinal plant and was attributed all sorts of charitable properties. The Silk Peony, Paeonia lactiflora, which origins from China and Korea, followed the track of the Paeonia officinalis and spread from the Danish vicarage-gardens to private gardens.
 
Other Danish names are Tandbær (= Toothberry) and Bonderose (= Peasant-rose)

Medicine:
The Latin officinalis says that the plant was a recognized medicinal herb, which among other things cured epilepsia.  And the peony was used against epilepsia. The crushed root or seeds were extracted in wine and drunk in stomach trouble, jaundice, kidney-disorders etc. Hippocrates recommended root and seeds against menstrual pain,  hysteria and bladder disorders. Plinius mentions the plant as a means against insanity, and the flower stirred in syrup was taken for migraine.

The medical parts contain a substance called peregrin which can be cleaved in glucose - and a fragrant substance pæonol. Flowers and seeds cause vomiting and diarrhea. The plant contains also tannins.

Peonies were cultivated in the old closter gardens. They are often seen in paintings with Virgin Mary.


Superstition:
Peony-seeds worn around the neck of small children prevented toothache and epilepsia. If you wanted to pluck peonies, then it had to happen in the night, for if a woodpecker saw it, then he would peck out your eyes. The plant got its name after Paeon, a healer who appears in the Iliad. According to the legend he healed Pluto with the roots of a peony - and Asclepius became so furious that he killed Paeon. Pluto transformed Paeon into a peony, and since then was the plant used as a medicinal plant by the Greeks. They used among others the fleshy roots in liver diseases and at childbirths. If you wore a piece of peony-root around your neck, it would bring you strenght and power of love.

In another version of the legend is it Zeus, who saved Paeon from the wrath of Asclepius by turning him into the peony flower.

The peony is among the longest-used flowers in ornamental culture and is one of the smallest living creature national emblem of China. It is a traditional floral symbol of China together with the plum blossom. The ancient Chinese city Luo yang is a cultivation centre for the peonies. In Japanese medicine was the root used as a treatment for convulsions.

Peony is the state flower of Indiana from 1957.

Peonies tend to attract ants to the flower buds. This is due to the nectar that forms on the outside of the flower buds, and is not required for the plants' own pollination or other growth.


Peonies are a common subject in tattoos, often used along with koi-fish.

Source: Anemette Olesen, Danske klosterurter ,2001.

photo June 2011: grethe bachmann

What Children Say.....

 
First here's Søren and Jimmy:

I'd rather have a pet than a girl-friend. I think cats are prettier than girls.
Søren, 8 years

....rabbits are prettier than girls too.
Jimmy, 9 years.

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Boys don't look like angels. Not even when they smile.
Cornelia, 7 years.

Every time you get married you'll have a ring. So you can only get married ten times.
Kirstine, 7 years.

A grandma is someone the whole family has come through. It is not so strange that she's got a  slabby skin.

Fainted people are often very relaxed.

Ladies are softer in their corners than men.

If you've got nosebleed you'll stop bleeding if you stand on your head until your heart stops beating. 

If you are out walking and the brain falls out then you cannot find home for then you cannot think any longer. 

The brain is swimming around inside your head.

Grandmas have large bottoms, for they have had so many on their lap that their lower parts have been squashed out.

If your skin is itching, then you'll just have to smear it in Tiger Balm. It works at once, for a mashed tiger is very strong.

If you had no bones you would be very flat and as soft as a snail or a soft ice.

Body language is when you fart.

The lungs are protected by the bra.

When someone dies, he'll be put into the earth and the vicar says: "Earth to earth and you'll have to stay there." And then he empties a bucket of earth down on your head.

I know a lady who is so Christian that it is called religious. She is as pious as a cat.
Anne Merete, 8 years.  

The muscles are small balloons filled with spinach.

Some women have beard, but you must not say it loud, as they react.

Some women have large breasts, others are almost topless.

Some men have got hair on their back, especially criminals and life guards.

When my mum found a boyfriend she invited him home. Then he stayed for a little while, until he found a girlfriend.
Kim, 7 years.

I never understood why my ears have to be washed that much.
  
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And here we meet Jimmy again, this time together with Claus: 

If you go and ask them if they'll be your girlfriend, then they say either "yes" or "no".
Claus , 8 years
 
..........or they don't answer at all.
Jimmy, 9 years.



I have taken this from a Danish source, and if I have translated it in a clumsy way, then please forgive me. I hope it is understandable after all!
Grethe ´)

Lindenborg River Valley in Himmerland

A corner of Lindenborg River Valley

father and son on  canoe tour

Lindenborg Manor

Lindenborg Å (river)

Lindenborg river is a 47 km long river in East Himmerland. It has its source south of Rold skov, which is also  the source of the waters of Simested. Simested river runs south, while Lindenborg river runs north, where it passes Lindenborg manor and runs out into Limfjorden.



                                                                                                                                                                 

Blåkilde

Both rivers are good fishing places, but what is especially interesting about Lindenborg river are at least 16 spring-areas in a stretch of about 15 km along the river. Two of these springs are Lille Blåkilde and Blåhøl,  the water-richest springs in North Europe - they both give 150 liter pr.second. The reason for the many  springs is the chalk just below the surface. The rain water seeps down through cracks in the chalk, from where it gradually is being pressured from the chalk above. Upon weak spots like in river brinks is the water pressed out like a spring. Even in the hardest winter has the water a temperature all year of 7-9 degrees Celsius, the plants grow along the springs and the water is clean and drinkable.

chalk in the land

Lindenborg river vally is a part of the designated Natura 2000 area nr. 18 (with Rold skov, Lindenborg river valley and Madum lake), and  Habitat-area dn bird-protection-area,  total 8.748 hectare. 

Lille Blåkilde is an impressive spring, it has three types of springs. They run together into a large brook, which gives 150 liter water pr second. By the help of radiotopic isotopes was measured that the water from the brink fell like rain about 50 years ago.

the river valley at Gravlev

path along the river

flowers on the river brink

Everywhere in this large calcareous area in Himmerland is an important and interesting flora. The orchids love this calcareous soil, and there are many rare orchids like the rare lady-slipper in Rold forest - and on the cliffs and banks along the river is a flora worth a study for an avid botanist. There is also a rich bird-life, and  the clean, fresh water is a fine habitat for a rich, varied macro-invertebrate community. (An invertebrate that is large enough to be seen without the use of a microscope).

Yellow Bedstraw

Yellow bedstraw/ Gul Snerre ( Galium verum) is also named Virgin Mary's bedstraw. In the old days, before the Catholic church had changed the heathen plant names, it was called Freja's bedstraw. Before Christianity was it considered sacred and dedicated to Freja, who was the goddess of love, marriage and home. Therefore was the flowers put in the bed under women giving birth. After Virgin Mary took over the name, people believed that she had plucked the soft flowers for the baby Jesus to put in his crip.

But in daily life was the plant also put among the bedstraw in order get rid of fleas. The house wife hang it in the ceiling of the living room, partly as a decoration, since its yellow colour stays firm like an Eternelle, and partly for its spicy scent. When children had scabies they were given a bath with a decoct of yellow bedstraw. The plant was also used earlier for spicing beer. It contains an enzym, which makes milk run together. The Latin word verum means milk-running herb. The root was used for dyeing linen krap-red, and the flower tops to dye a yellow and olive green.

Hoary plantain

                                                                                                                                                                  The cyclist lady by the bridge told us that a cat had come down to her and her husband in the morning when they passed the brink by the river and placed a  dead mouse in front of her as a gift.

Meadowsweet

                                                                                                                                                                         

Spiked Speedwell

Spiked Speedwell/Aks Ærenpris (Veronica spicata) grows in Scandinavia and across Middle and South Europe to Asia Minor and East Asia. It grows in dry calcareous soil, often on cliffs, hills, pastures and often along the coast. In Denmark it grows here and there along the coast of Limfjorden and Kattegat and at the island of Bornholm, but it is rare in other parts of Denmark. It is a popular cultivated plant in the garden.

Parsnip

Parsnip/Pastinak (Pastinaca sativa) is  wild in Denmark,where it is common along roads and in meadows.  It is a very old cultural plant which earlier was used largely, but it was later supplanted by carrot and potato.
It has been cultivated for several thousand years in Central- and South Europe and was  an important part of everyday food. In Denmark was parsnip known since the Middle Ages, where it was used in medicine. The parshnip is somewhat similar to Hamburg parsley, but is larger and coarser. The parsnip, which grows wild, is not the same as the well-known parsnip roots we cultivate for food. The wild parsnip has a lesser root, but it is not edible. The parsnip contains a vegetable poison, named psoralen, the same as in Giant Hogweed, but it is not as strong in parsnip. The sap can in combination with sunlight give blisters and wounds of the skin, which remind about burns.

Wild Mignonette

Wild Mignonette/Gul Reseda (Reseda lutea) is a species of fragrant herbaceous plant. Its roots have been used to make a yellow dye called "weld" since the first millenium BC, although the related plant Reseda luteola was more widely used for that purpose. The wild Mignonette grows in dry calcareous soil and is much visited by bees. It is rare to see other insects than honeybees in wild Mignonette, which is rare in other plants.

Sct. John's Wort

Sct. John's Wort/Prikbladet Perikon  (Hypericum perforatum) grows wild everywhere in Denmark. It grows in a dry and poor soil, where it is doing well among grass and other plants. The plant contains substances, which have inhibitory effects on depression. It is valuable a valuable bee-plant. The blooming buds are fine for a pretty and well-tasting snaps. The plant is used in herbal medicine as an adjunct or replacement for Prozac. Use of Sct. John's Wort can make the skin sensitive to sunlight.

The use of  Hypericum is not a proven treatment for depression. If the depression is not treated correctly and enough, then the state of the disease might worsen. Combined with certain  antidepressants hypericum can worsen side-effects like nausea, anxiety, headache and confusion.

The name Sct. John's Wort origins from the Middle Ages, where the tradition was to burn the flowers of the herb on Midnight's Eve (Sct. Johns day = 24 June). The superstition said that itiwas possible to drive away evil demons ( insanity) from the family, if they burnt the flowers of Sct. John's Wort. Later was it known that brandy with Hypericum was good for depressed persons.

Small Burnet

Small Burnet/Salad Burnet/ Blodstillende Bibernelle (Sanguisorba minor) . The Latin sanguis means blood and sorbeo means absorb, referring to the wound-healing and blood-purifying properties of the plant. It was used to heal many diseases in the old days, like the dried root was used against cancer. The Small burnet grows in dry, grassy soil, often on limestone soil. The leaves have a fine taste like cucumber and can be used in salads, soups, drinks etc.  The young leaves are considered interchangeable to mint leaves in drinks. The plant has a respectable shistory, it was called a favorite herb by Francis Bacon and was brought to the New World with the first English colonists.





 photo June 2011 and June 2010: grethe bachmann (please enlarge the small photos)

Folklore - Mermaids and Mermen and the North Sea,

They lived in the deep blue sea, in magnificent homes, they lived a life almost like humans on earth.

The most famous and popular was the mermaid, also known from H.C.Andersen's fairy tale about the little mermaid with the tragic life. The mermaid appears in various connections, often as the beautiful elf-maiden with long hair, or equipped with a fish-tail - or only her feet looking like fish-tails, while the rest of her body is human like in the fairy tale. One of her baits is her voice. She's able to stand in the water and sing as lovely as any elf-maiden.

She comes up from the waves and try to lure the fishermen and the sailors to sail longer out into the sea. They lose landfall and end down in the depth together with her, like the in the similar tale about the elf-maiden in the moor. The mermaid does not mean any harm, she has followed a fisherman on his lonesome sailings, she has fallen in love with him and wants to live with him forever. She is also able to catch a farmer on the beach. The result of a romance like this was the island Bornholm's protection figure Bonavedda, a vætte (a spirit), who had inherited the mer-people's psychic talents from his mother.

Ship in the waters by Ærø

The legends describe the mermaid with sympathy. There was a secret understanding between her and the sailors, because she knew the mood of the ocean better than they did - and she could warn them, when a storm was on its way. Upon the island of Ærø is a big stone on the beach, named Havfruestenen (the Mermaid Stone). The sailors and captains of Ærø went to this stone, where a mermaid gave them advice before they went to sea. If a mermaid showed in front of a ship, she was the cause of alarm. The sailors considered this as an omen of bad weather. Women did not like the mermaid. A woman in the fishing village Harboøre in West Jutland complained that a mermaid was in bed with her and her husband each night.


Although people usually considered the mermaid sympathetic, she had one fault - and this was a big one in those days. She was not a Christian, she belonged to the people of the vætter (spirits).  But maybe the clerics were most troubled by that?

Mermen hated priests, and they tried to drown them. Maybe that's why sailors do not like to have clerics onboard.

Galloway bull at Strandkær

The mermaids could defend themselves if they were offended. A mermaid drove her cattle up upon the beach at Tisvilde (Sjælland) and let it graze on the Tibirke field. The stingy farmers drove her cattle into a pen  and would not give it back to her, unless she gave them her shining belt. She did, and she got back her cattle and drove it towards the beach. She told her mer-bull: "Muddle up now!" And the bull muddled up earth and sand from the beach with its mighty horns, and the north wind blew up, and the town and its fields were buried in sand.

The merman was not as popular as the mermaid. He could be both evil and dangerous. A merman once kidnapped a beautiful fisher's daughter, Gertrud, on the beach outside Lindeskovgård's field. Her boy-friend Eskil took a terrible revenge. He sailed out in his boat, covered his head in a horse-tail and began playing music. The merman appeared from the water, lured by the music. Eskil grabbed hold of his hair and cut it off and threw a spear at him. Since then the merman was never heard of again.  But a few years later Gertrud's brother Thorvald was enchanted by a singing mermaid; he changed his behaviour, he was no longer as he used to be - or else he was the most sought after bachelor in town. One evening he sailed out in a quiet weather to do some fishing - and he never came back. His body was found later. The mermaid had taken him.


A legend from Husby.
The body of a man drove in at the beach of Husby in the western coast of Jutland. He was sucking his thumb, and he put it back into his mouth, when people tried to pull it out. He was buried in the church yard, but a violent sand-drift began. A wise man said that the buried man must be a merman -  he was then un-buried, and they saw that he was still quite fresh, so he was really a merman. They brought him back to the dunes, and the sand-drift stopped.  Since then all washed-ashore bodies were buried in the dunes.

It was common belief that there was magic in the air if a body had not decomposed. The detail about sucking the thumb might origin from an Irish myth about the god Finn. He was given a holy salmon, full of wisdom, and as he pressed his thumb upon the fish, he burnt himself. He put his finger upon the tooth in the back of his mouth - and he had now the wisdom transferred from the salmon. Everything was clear to him after that. Maybe the expression "wisdom-tooth" origins from that.

The motif with the finger in the mouth is also known from the Swedish runestone at Eskilstuna, where the hero Sigurd burns his thumb, puts it into his mouth and is able to interprete the bird-song.  

The North Sea at Ferring in a storm

The North Sea is not just a sea. It was a mighty personal power in the old days. It is not idyllic and friendly, although it might look like that on a sunny summer's day.









There is a deep respect among people for the immense powers of this wonderful ocean, for its capricious moods, for its greatness and for its wild beauty. There are legends of yearly human sacrifices to the North Sea in order to ease its mind.


Each Easter morning the fishermen at Ferring had a custom to walk down to the North Sea at Bovbjerg before sunrise. They were of the opinion that they were able to see, how they would manage in the year to come. Their experience showed that the omen was true. In the old days was said in Ferring that the North Sea claimed a human life each year. In return the sea would not break into land. A small child was therefore sacrificed each year. The child was put out into the sea in a barrel - or else would the sea cause a terrible damage.

Skarre Klit, Bulbjerg

The god Ran, Ægir's daughter, ruled the oceans, claiming sacrifices in the form of drowned sailors. In the magnificent Icelandic drama "The Loss of His son", we meet Egil Skallagrimson, where his son has drowned; we meet his deep hatred towards the god, who took his most precious possession, but we also meet his despaired powerlessness towards the enormous powers, he is facing. All his bravery is worth nothing, for he is not able to take revenge.




Source: Mads Lidegaard, Danske søer og vandløb fra sagn og tro, Nyt Nordisk Forlag, Arnold Busck,1999

photo: grethe bachmann

A Small Moor in Rold Skov, Himmerland

A tour to Lindeborg River Valley from the morning ended with a visit in the afternoon to a small moor in Rold Skov north of Madum Sø, where we have been before. It is a peaceful lovely place with Cottongrass, Heather, Bell heather, Blueberry, Crowberry, Cowberry, Cranberry, Bog rosemary and Sweet gale - and there is a spicy scent of all these herbs and bushes and berries. There were many butterflies in the air, but some of them vanished quickly across the moor, and it's better to study this place in the hours just before noon. So we'll come back. The whole Himmerland district is a wonderful place to visit.

NB: The presence of Cottongrass is a useful indicator to hikers of potentially dangerous deep peat bogs to be avoided.


This little moor is a so-called fattigkær (= poor marsh), which is a sour and nutrient-poor moor. Today most of those poor marshes and the raised bogs are listed in Denmark. (raised bog: Portland Mose, Lille Vildmose).

Every garden owner knows the spaghnum or the peat litter, which is for sale at garden centres, but few might know that it comes from a little leaf-moss, which is found in the poor marsh and the raised bog -and it might be up till about 10.000 years old, when it is sold. 


The flora in the moors is rather homogeneous, since only few species can live in the nutrient-poor and sour environment. Many species are also found in other light-open and nutrient-poor biotopes, like upon the heaths.

As for the fauna the moor is a very monotonous society with life-conditions demanding a high grade of specialization. Thousands of years of stability in the spaghnum-moors have made the connected species well-qualified to survive here, but not in other places. Changes in the moors might imply that species die out very quickly. Three breeding butterflies, the Large Heath, the Cranberry Fritillary and the Cranberry Blue are directly tied to the open fattigkær/poor marsh. They are rare species as a whole in Denmark, but often common in the Jutland localities, where they live. Many other insect-species have their main habitat in these moors (dragonflies, beatles).    

Bell heather

Klokkelyng/Bell heather, also named Cross-leaved heath, is common in Denmark in low, moist parts of heaths and moors, especially in Jutland where it was earlier called "kopatter" (cow teats) , but it is rare in the rest of the country. It was also called karbørstelyng (=a brush), since the stalks of the plant were used for fine hair-brushes. Bell heather is used as a bottom-plant in acidophilus-beds. The honey from Bell heather is dark and aromatic.

Red Cowberry and Black Crowberry

Tyttebær/Cowberry grows especially in dry or moist heaths and moors in light-open softwoods or birch woods. The berries are used for jam and marmelade, while the leaves were earlier used in teas.The plant has been known for thousands of years. In the Egtvedpigen's grav (Bronze Age) were found rests of cowberry -wine. Cowberry was once a main ingredient in keeping people healthy in Sweden through the long winters, where they had no vegetables. A porridge with salt pork and cowberry jam was a classical meal in winter.

Tyttebær/Cowberry was from the beginning of the 1800s a big commodity during the season. The right to pluck the berries were either according to custom or belonged to the landowner. The berries were sold to the city-people in Jutland  or  sent as far away as to Copenhagen. A family on the heath could make much money by plucking cowberry. This was an important part of the family-economy, especially in areas far from manors and taxation-authorities, who could not collect taxes from the family's profit.

Revling/Crowberry has been a vital addition to the diet of the Inui and the Sami.  It is regaining its reputation as an edible berry. It provides a steady crop and the gathering is relatively easy.The berries are usually collected in the fall of the year but if not picked they may persist on the plant and can be picked in the spring. The Inuit and Native Americans mix them with other berries, especially the blueberry. Cooking enhances the flavor. They make good pie and jelly. Crowberry is also fine in a homemade snaps.

Bog rosemary

Rosmarinlyng (Bog Rosemary) is rare and listed in Denmark. The name derives from the superficial resemblance of the leaves to those of the unrelated shrub Rosemary. Bog Rosemary is mostly found in Jutland. The pale pink flowers grow in clusters. The whole plant, which contains the substance andromedotoxin, is poisonous. Leaves and twigs are used for tanning in Russia.  

Cranberry Fritillary

Moseperlemorsommerfugl/ Cranberry fritillary has a wing span of 32-42 mm. It flies quickly and whirringly and seeks especially the flowers of Bell heather, but wanders around to find good nectare plants. The fodderplant of the caterpillar is cranberry. The Cranberry fritillary has disappeared gradually because the raised bogs were destroyed. It is necessary to protect this butterfly.

Small Blue

Dværgblåfugl/Small Blue has a wingspan of 18-24 mm. The small size makes it easy to recognize. It flies slowly and whirringly in low height, often down among the vegetation. The male is territorial and often sits upon low plants with outspread wings turned to the sun, making the silverblue sheen distinct. It is common in most of Denmark but declining upon the Isles. 

Meadow Brown

  Græsrandøje/ Meadow brown. This is Denmark's most common butterfly. It has a wing span of 36-52 mm. It has a slow hopping flight in low height, but sometimes it flies quicker and seeks up in the air around trees.  The fodderplant of the caterpillar is grass.

So - Goodbye to  the moor in Rold Skov and to Himmerland! We'll soon come back! I had a fine talk with this sweet pony. What a fine colour. No need for a hair-dye! 

photo Himmerland 9. July 2011: grethe bachmann
 

In His Father's Golfsteps...

Let's see, how is it.....

 Skanderborg golfklub is situated in a pretty landscape close to Skanderborg lake with a fantastic view across the lake to the town of Skanderborg.

It was on an early spring day and some golfers had started the season. What was most entertaining was a little boy who was practising on the training area with his father. He noticed nothing else but being a golfer. He did well. 

first the ball.....

The traditional golfers looked very relaxed. I don't think they were out to win a contest or something.

No! the boy took it seriously. He'll be good!

then I'll have to hit it...........

oh! I hit the ball, how far did it go........

I'll try again, this is better than Play Station............

At Skanderborg Golfklub

All this heavy equipment needs some muscles....

I can wait as long as you want....

Business meeting perhaps?

the clubhouse

photo Skanderborg golfklub 2011: grethe bachmann