Rold Forest, Lakes and Highwaymen

Poppies on a road bank

Rold skov (Rold forest)  is named after the village of Rold, which lies in the southern outskirt of the forest. Other towns in Rold Skov include Arden, Rebild and Skørping. Rebild National Park (Danish: Rebild Bakker), a Danish national park consisting of heather-covered hills, is located in a part of Rold Skov. Rebild National Park was founded in 1912 by Danish Amercians as a gift to Denmark. The park is known for its 4th of July celebration, the largest held outside the United States. Rold skov is a natura 2000 area and it is both habitat-area and bird protection area.

Store Økssø

Lille Mossø

Store Økssø

Vandnavle/ Marsh Pennywort

Water-Lilies

Mermen?

This day in a sunny weather with a few showers we visited a couple of lakes in Rold skov where we have often found interesting plants and insects. The small lake is Mossø (there is another lake in Denmark called Mossø, it's a big lake near Silkeborg) The big one is Store Økssø, the second largest lake in Rold skov. It is 33 ha with a depth of 8 meter. It is a genuine forest lake, surrounded by forest and moor. The water is clean, but the lake is nutrient-poor and acidic, so the water is brown from the dissolved huminic substances. The lake is owned by the Danish State, so the fishing is free. Bass and eel are common fish here. The lake attracts many birds in the migration period and big flocks of Goldeneyes are seen. If you are lucky you can see the osprey diving after fish. A special thing by Økssø is that there is a possibility for horse-bathing. There is a bridle-path down to the place where the horses can have a bath on a hot day. There are also bathing places for humans! But they are elsewhere!

We were a litte late for the butterflies we usually see in this place in July, but when we got out of the car by the little Mossø, a rare butterfly flew up from a tree. My son got a photo, before it disappeared. It was the Iris (English: Purple Emperor). It is rarely seen in Jutland (more often at Zealand). Here on this place there is no info about it. It was very a very special sight. I couldn't get a phto before it disappeared. Later we went back to watch, and again it flew up from the same tree - and again I couldn't get a photo. Pity!

Well, it was a lovely day out. July has been so rainy and stormy . I hope August and September will be better .

Lingonberry/ Cowberry

At Mossø  were many lingonberries, also called cowberries, and then there were some berries which are not so common, namely the Cornus suecica, Swedish cornel or Bunchberry (in Danish and Swedish called hønsebær = hen-berry).  They flower i May-June - and now in August they have got some fine red berries, which remind about the lingonberries, only they are bigger.

Swedish cornel/ Svensk Hønsebær

Swedish cornel: 
 Swedish cornel grows in moist acidic soil, typically together with cranberry, dwarf birch, bog bilberry, cloudberry, yellow rattle and hare's tail cottongrass. The Swedish cornel is native to cool temperate and subarctic regions of Europe and Asia, and locally in extreme northeastern and nortwestern North America. They are herbaceous perennials, growing to 5-15 cm tall. The flowers are small dark purple in a tight umbel, sourrounded by four white petal-like bracts. The fruit is a red berry.  The Swedish cornel 's habitat is wet woods and rocks. It is nearly circumboreal. In North America the species is found in Alaska, in British Columbia (Canada), and also eastern Canada (Labrador, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Quebec as well as Greenland, but it is absent in the intervening region.
Where Cornus canadensis, a forest species, and Cornus suecica, a bog species, grow near each other in their overlapping ranges in Alaska, Labrador and Greenland, they can hybridize by cross-pollination, producing plants with intermediate characteristics.

Lingonberry/Cowberry

Lingonberry 
The lingonberry or cowberry (Danish: Tyttebær) was known for thousands of years, but it was rarely cultivated. When the Bronze Age grave of the Egtvedgirl was opened many years ago, they found rests of lingonberry wine in the grave. The bush is fine everywhere in the garden, because it covers the ground with a pretty evergreen layer with flowers and berries. The taste of the berries is a little bitter, but they are excellent for pickles. The high content of benzoic makes them very sustainable. The berries contain many vitamins and minerals, and they are said to counteract urinary infections (like cranberry). The seeds are rich in Omega-3.

The lingonberries were actually once a main essential element to keep people healthy in Sweden through the long winters, where they could not get fresh vegetables. A porridge with fat, salten pork and pickled lingonberry was a classical meal in winter. Because of their high content of benzoic it was possible to make the berries durable without cooking them.
 .

The Highwaymen in Rold 
 Rold Skov lies in Himmerland. It is Denmarks largest
coherent forest complex with 8.600 ha. The forest

was through centuries connected to robbery and violent assaults. Up til the beginning of the 1800s highwaymen were an unpleasant reality for the wayfarers. The big forest lay as a barrier across Himmerland, and the road around it was long and difficult, so people had to use the main tracks through the forest, a piece of the old Hærvejen and another road called Roldvej. Close to Roldvej was the highwaymen's den. There are many exciting storeis about these highwaymen or robbers. A large gang of robbers was uncovered in the 1830s and the trial against them took seven years. Several hundred people were involved in the robberies. One of the convicted was called Bettefanden (Littledevil) and the Jutland author Steen Steensen Blicher wrote a funny short story about him in 1846.

                                                                                                 

















 Røverhulen ( the Highwaymen's den) lies close to one of the old roads Roldvej, which is now a bridle path. It is an impressive hole. According to legend it was a well-hidden resort for the highwaymen . They lived here in shelter of wind and weather and they stretched strings with little bells in the trees, which told them  about the traffic on the road and the eventual loot. The "Robbers of Rold" were stopped  for good -  and so were some highwaymen in another large forest area, Jyske Aas, where another gang was uncovered and punished. From this trial origins the expression "norden for lands lov og ret" ( north of the country's law and order). The forests back then were considered the darkest, darkest Jutland, where it was dangerous to travel.


Today there is a resturant at Rebildvej called Røverhulen and at the same address a smaller place called Bettefanden.




photo 4 August 2012: grethe bachmann

 

What Children say - about School

I've found something for you about the funny kids. The children have now began school after the holidays - they have began school this week here in Denmark - I don't know if it's the same in every country, but nearly almost I presume.
The stuff about kids below shows how their brains work, and I think they are wonderful. I'm sure we could all have selected material from our own children and their friends and from our grandchildren - if only we wrote it down!  But some people write it down for us to see and for us to have a little fun.
So have fun!
Grethe




Just before school begins: 

I' m looking forward to math because it makes me smarter and smarter. I'm not looking forward to recess because I'm afraid I'll be out of energy before I get home.
Molly, 8

I'm looking forward to math. I like numbers. I'm not looking forward to lunch, especially the chicken nuggets. They're usually burnt.
Katie, 8

I'm not looking forward to math and homework because I can't watch TV.
Julia, 7

I'm looking forward to writing in cursive. I want to learn it because I only know how to write my name! I'm not looking forward to a new teacher. My teacher is having a baby so I will have a substitute for almost the whole year!
Kari, 8

I'm looking forward to meeting some new friends. I'm not looking forward to the rules there are so many to remember, and bullies.
Finbar, 7

I'm not looking forward to being bad and getting sent to the principal.
Emily, 8

I'm looking forward to math because I like adding. I'm not looking forward to science because I don't like making stuff.
Kiley, 7

I'm looking forward to seeing my friend Jordan because I haven't seen him all summer. I'm not looking forward to homework.
Nathan, 7

I'm looking forward to going back to school. It's cool. There's nothing I'm not looking forward to. I like it all.
Kian, 12

I'm looking forward to meeting new friends. I'm not looking forward to homework because I have to stay up almost the whole night.
Darian, 7


Proverbs

A Virginia teacher presented each child in her class with the first half of a well-known proverb, a different adage to each child, asking that they complete the adage at home. The following were among the replies she received.

1. Don't change horses - until they stop running
2. Never underestimate . . . the power of termites.
3. You can lead a horse to water but . . . How?
4. Don't bite the hand that . . . looks dirty.
5. You can't teach an old dog new . . . math.
6. If you lie down with dogs . . . you'll stink in the morning.
7. An idle mind is . . . the best way to relax.
8. Where there's smoke there's . . . pollution.
9. Happy the bride who . . . gets all the presents.
10. A penny saved is . . . not much.
11. Two's company, three's . . . the Musketeers.
12. Don't put off till tomorrow what . . . you put on to go to bed.
13. Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and . . . you have to blow your nose.
14. There are none so blind as . . . Stevie Wonder.
15. Children should be seen and not . . . spanked or grounded.
16. If at first you don't succeed . . . get new batteries.
17. You get out of something only what you . . . see in the picture on the box
18. When the blind lead the blind . . . get out of the way.
19. A bird in the hand . . . is going to poop on you.
20. Better late than . . . Pregnant

 History
It has been reported to us that the creativity you read in this box came from an anonymous 6th grade class during various history tests throughout some academic year. If so, we are sure that the names have been withheld to protect the guilty. You might think some enterprising teacher collected these mistakes over a longer period and collated them in the collection below. Even if this is the case, the ring of authenticity from them is true and in perfect tune.

• The greatest writer of the Renaissance was William Shakespeare. He was born in the 1564, supposedly on his birthday. He never made much money and is famous only because of his plays. He wrote tragedies, comedies, and hysterectomies, all in Islamic pentameter. Romeo and Juliet are an example of a heroic couple.

• Writing at the same time as Shakespeare was Miguel Cervantes. He wrote Donkey Hote. The next great author was John Milton. Milton wrote Paradise Lost. Then his wife died and he wrote Paradise Regained.

• Delegates from the original 13 states formed the Contented Congress. Thomas Jefferson, a virgin, and Benjamin Franklin were to 2 singers of the Declaration of Independence. Franklin discovered electricity by rubbing two cats backward and declared, "a horse divided against itself can not stand." Franklin died in 1790 and is still dead.

• Abraham Lincoln was America's greatest precedent. Lincoln's mother died in infancy, and he was born in a log cabin which he built with his own hands. Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves by signing the Emasculation Proclamation . On the night of April 14, 1865, Lincoln went to the theater and got shot in his seat by one of the actors in the moving picture show. They believe the assinator was John Wilkes Booth, a suposingly insane actor. This ruined Booth's career.

• Johann Bach wrote a great many musical compositions and had a large number of children. In between he practiced on an old spinster which he kept up in his attic. Bach died from 1750 to the present. Bach was the most famous composer in the world and so was Handel. Handel was half German, half Italian, and half English. He was very large.

• Beethoven wrote music even though he was deaf. He was so deaf he wrote loud music. He took long walks in the forest even when everyone was calling for him. Beethoven expired in 1827 and later died from this.

Science class:

"Water is composed of two gins, Oxygin and Hydrogin. Oxygin is pure gin. Hydrogin is gin and water."

"When you breathe you inspire.  When you do not breathe, you expire."

"The body consists of ghree parts -  the brainium, the borax and the abominable cavity. The brainium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart and lungs, and the abominable cavity contains the bowels, of which there are five: a, e, i, o and u."

" HO2= is hot water and CO₂ is cold water."

"The pistol of a flower  is its only protection against insects."

"A myth is a female moth".

Dark Mullein/Mørk Kongelys
 Verbascum nigrum

Vokslev Kalkgrav, Dark Mullein

Vokslev Kalkgrav, Dark Mullein

Dark Mullein is a wild perennial with a strong upright growth. It forms first a leaf rosette, and from there sprouts up the tall stem with many yellow flowers. The species is drought tolerant and often used in drought plant beds. The stem is square in cross section , pale reddish and almost hairless. The ground-leaves and the bottom stem-leaves are egg-shaped, the other stem-leaves are elliptic. All leaves have a sinuous toothy edge, dark green and almost shiny upper side, but light grey-green and hairy underside. The flowering is in July -August where the flowers are gathered in the upper part of the single stem. The single flowers have yellow petals and violet stamens.The fruits are capsules with many seeds.    

Djursland, Dark Mullein

The root system is a strong deep taproot with many side roots. The seed dispersal is very effective.

Dark Mullein has a natural spread in Sibiria and most of Europe. It is common in most of Denmark, but rare in West Jutland. The species is connected to open or lightly shaded habitats in a soil, which is lightly  moisty or a little dry and rich in humus, calcium and nutrients. It is therefore often found in uncultivated land, banks and pastures.In the heat-characterized oak woods like in a National park west of Warsaw the species is found together with Vincetoxicum hirundinaria, Festuca, Anthericum ramosum, Lilium martagon, Digitalis grandiflora and Silver birch




Great Mullein/ Filtbladet Kongelys 
Verbascum thapsus
 

Jydelejet, Møn, Great Mullein.

Great Mullein is a biennial plant with an upright growth. The first year the plant forms only a leaf rosette and the second year a stiff and strong stem sprouts up with propelled leaves and flowers in the upper part of the stem. The leaves ( both the ground-leaves and the stem-leaves) are egg shaped -elliptic with down-running  stalks, which brings the stem a "winged" look. The edge of the leaves have round points, and both sides are very grey-feltet. The flowering is in July-August, where the yellow flowers are gathered in a plume, which covers the outer half of the sprout. The flowers are a little irregular with three white-haired short and two long, almost hairless stamens. The fruits are capsules with lots of tiny seeds.  

The root system is a strong and deep taproot with many strong side roots.

The Great Mullein is naturally spread in a large area between the Canary Islands and West China and from the Mediterranean and up to Scandinavia and Sibiria. It is naturalized in North America, where the colonists introduced it as a medical plant, and in Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Amercia. It prefers light-open or quite naked land without competition from other plants, and it grows best in raw and gravelled soil. At Gudhem klosterruin in Sweden the Great Mullein is found together with fx Common Columbine, Common Soapwort,  Common Toadflax, Satureja acinos, Mugwort, Lady's Bedstraw, Viola odorata, Perforate St. John's Wort, Rough Comfrey and Greater Celandine.  
 
The word Verbascum is possibly from the Latin barba which means beard, referring to the hairy leaves. The Danish name Kongelys refers to that the plant was used as a torch or to the similarity to a big candle. Konge means rising high.



Folk Medicine
Unconscious people were brought to life by sniffing to the smoke from the burning leaves of Verbascum. An essence from the flowers were used to bathe the body. Flowers were used in some expectorant "cough-tea", which among other things contained a sugar, which made the tea well-tasting. According to Henrik Smid (1546) the juice is good for smearing into the face "because it chases away those wrinkles which are in the forehead of old maidens". Henrik Harpestrens (+1244)  recommends it to cleanse evil liquids and Simon Paulli (1648)  was of the opinion that it was an excellent means when "the back of the intestinal goes out". 

 Superstition
The de-flowered stem was used for torches in order to keep the devil at a distance. The seeds contain a substance, which works as an anesthetic on fish, and monks used the stem as a fishing rod. The fish came up with the belly up and was easy to gather with the bare hands. The plant was used in love-charms. A finely divided plant, which had grown in the churchyard, gave the best medicine.

Today's use
The yellow flowers contain a softening mucus for the skin, and flowers and leaves are used in a tea to cure a dry cough.Modern examination and research have proved tuberculosis-retardant properties in extracts from the plant. The flowers can brake exema and heal wounds. The oil from the seeds soothes frostbites and cracked skin. Decoct from the root works diuretic - and when it is used in homeophathy it helps migraine and earache. 

Other use:
The hairy leaves from the Great Mullein were put into shoes to avoid frostbites

Source:  Anemette Olesen, Danske klosterurter, Aschehoug 2001. 

photo: 2007, 2008, 2011: grethe bachmann.

Black-veined White/ Sortåret Hvidvinge

Aporia crataegi

The Black-veined White is one of the large butterflies in Denmark. It has a wing-span of 50-65 mm. It looks at a distance like a Large White, but is known for its sailing flight and for the rounded white wings, which are almost without drawings, except the dark veins. The male has black veins, the female brown.

Light males of Green-veined White might superficially remind about the Black-veined White, but they are much smaller. There is little variation, except that the wing scales can be almost transparent.

The butterfly  flies from late May until late July. Its habitat is heath, pasture, moor and open forest and thicket with growth of hawthorn, rowan and similar plants and trees.

The half-grown caterpillars overwinter together in a flock on the host plant in a solid web of silk and leaves. The fodder plants are Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), Hawthorn (Crataegus) Sloe (Prunus spinosus) and other bushes and trees.

Behaviour: the flight is calm and sailing, mostly in a few meters height. The butterfly seeks eagerly to fx Sticky catchfly ( DK: tjærenellike),Field scabious ( DK: blåhat)  and Marsh thistle ( DK: kærtidsel). The females are often courted by many males.

habitat: field Gl. Rye, Mid Jutland

Frequency and propagation: The Black-veined White was seen in many places on the Danish Isles until ab. 1950, buf after this time only in Jutland, where it was rare until ab. 1965. It has spread since and is now common in several sections of Jutland. However it is missing in large parts of South Jutland, West Jutland and North Jutland. After 1990 it has began showing at Zealand, and it is probable that it will appear again at Bornholm and maybe at Funen and Lolland.

The number of the Black-veined White varies greatly. The first specimens appear around 20 May and the butterfly disappears again around 1. August. The Black-veined White is mostly seen in Jutland, east and south of Limfjorden, while it was almost 50 years ago it was seen on the Isles -but it is in progress and is now found on the island of Samsø, (east of Århus), from where there is a short distance to the northern part of Funen. 



Source:
Michael Stoltze: Dagsommerfugle i Danmark, 1997.  Danmarks fugle og natur, Felthåndbogen, Aug. 2012.

The Orangery at Gisselfeld

The world exhibition in London in 1851 sent a wave of inspiration through Europe with its impressive glasshouse "Crystal Palace". In the second half of the 19th century several glasshouses were built in the big coties of Eueope. In Denmark the tendency was marked. Copenhagen's fourth and present Botanical Gardens was laid out in 1872-1874 - it had a spectacular greenhouse complex in cast iron, glass and wood.

Gisselfeld, manor at Zealand (history about G. see blog Church and Manor )

Greve Danneskiold Samsøe acceeded as director at Gisselfeld in 1869. His wife was from England, and his heart was for flowers and plants. He started a great modernization at the estate, fx. the two wooden bridges leading across the moat to the castle were replaced by walled bridges, Peder Oxe's old defense wall and the Bråby Gate were broken down and the Paradehuset was in 1876 built after a sketch by architect Herholdt.

The Paradehuset is built up upon a long wall, which reflect and absorbs the sunbeams. The glass clad main facade is facing shouth and leans with with its supporting iron constructions up against this wall. The house as a whole is protected.

Paradehuset today: 
In the orangery is the plant collection of Gisselfeld and a sale of plants and pots, primarily the emphasis is placed on historical plants, which all grew in Denmark when the house was built.

In the earlier orchid room are now plants for sale. The selection varies acc.to season and it includes:
little myrtles
scenting geraniums ( 25 various types)
unusual begonies
exotic orchids
winter-flowering camelias
white and blue Agapanthus
olive trees with fruit
several spiceherbs, medical herbs and perennials.

In the old pot room is a selection of handmade pots, antique as well as new and other things like:

reprints of 1800s botanical maps
little books about medical herbs and historical plants from fx New York Botanical Garden
handpainted botanique porcelain from France
scented candles with plant-scent from all over the world

baskets from the Mediterranea like Syria and France 
and maps and envelopes in gift boxes.

History in short:
An orangery is a building from the 17th to the 19th centuries in a classicising architectural form. The orangery was similar to a greenhouse or conservatory. A place where citrus trees were often wintered, though not expected to flower and fruit. The orangery originated from the Renaissance gardens of Italy, when glass-making technology enabled sufficient expanses of clear glass to be produced. Orangeries became symbols of status among the wealthy. The glazed roof, which afforded sunlight to plants that were not dormant, was a development of the early nineteenth century. Today it is a rare thing to fine an orangery and they are mostly in othe old castle gardens.

As early as 1545 an orangery was built in Padua, Italy.The first orangeries were not as well thought-out or as ornate as our modern versions; most had no heating and in the very cold nights had to have open fires to keep them warm. In England, John Parkinson introduced the orangery to the readers of his Paradisus in Sole (1628), under the heading "Oranges". The trees might be planted against a brick wall and enclosed in winter with a plank shed covered with "cerecloth", a waxed precursor of tarpaulin. "For that purpose, some keepe them in great square boxes, and lift them to and fro by iron hooks on the sides, or cause them to be rowled by trundels, or small wheeles under them, to place them in a house or close gallery" — which must have been thought handsomer than the alternative.

The Orangerie at the palace of the Louvre 1617, inspired imitations that culminated in Europe's largest orangery, Louis XIV's 3000 orange trees at Versailles, whose dimensions of 508 by 42 feet (13 m) were not eclipsed until, from the development of the modern greenhouse in the 1840s, were quickly overshadowed by the architecture in glass of Joseph Paxton, who was notable for his design of the Crystal Palace, and his "great conservatory" at Chatsworth House, which was an orangery and glass house of monumental proportions.

The orangery, however, was not just a greenhouse but a symbol of prestige and wealth and a feature of the garden, in the same way as a summerhouse or a "Grecian temple". Owners would conduct their guests there on tours of the garden to admire not only the fruits within but the architecture without. Often the orangery would contain fountains, grottos, and an area in which to entertain in inclement weather.












photo Gisselfeld, Zealand, Paradehuset, June 2012: grethe bachmann

The Mask in the Stone

Viking Age
The Sjellebro Stone/
Sjellebrostenen. 

North of Allingå river stands a special stone. It is easy to recognize from the country road, and when you go up to it in the meadow you can see a carved troll-like image with plaited beard on the flat side of the granite stone. Opposite to the runestones from that time - which were removed from their original place -  this stone still stands in its original place, where it has marked an old crossing point by the river. It was probably coloured in the Viking period, and it was possibly meant as a protection for the wayfarers against evil powers.

The Sjellebro-stone

The stone was found in 1951. It rested with the mask image downwards upon the same place where it had been for time immemorial, until the owner of the meadow sent for the National Museum; he had observed strange lines on the stone. The secret of the stone was revealed, showing a carved male head, a grotesque mask with a pointed chin, large round eyes and a clumpsy nose and a plaited beard. A bogeyman? A troll? Or was it the merman?

Four Prehistoric Roads
The find lead to an archaeological excavation in the meadow, and 4 well-preserved road-layouts from prehistoric time were found. The excavation revealed timber and heavy oak planks, a  road which was placed close to the Sjellebro Inn, plank by plank. It is wellknown that there were skilled engineers in the late prehistorics, and the four uncovered roads  increased the respect. From Iron Age was a paved ford, a solid road of timber from the middle of the 700s and an even better bridge from ab. 1000. The roads have replaced each other through centuries. The meadow was probably under water in winter and sludge has covered the soil. When one road was buried in sludge they built a new one. Other and later roads are seen in the shape of raised and grassgrown  road dams between the mask stone and the present high road dam.

Upon the wooden roads rested the planks of the driving road upon longtimber, which again rested upon cross-timber. For more support were poles driven in or downburied - each was securely strengthened. The poles stood three and three with regular intervals, but they did not support the timber foundation of the road, they supported instead the planks of the roadway. The stone roads,which rested upon layers of timber and branches, were edged with heavy field stones.

Through many centuries there was a road here at Sjellebro, and when one road decayed they built another. The tecnique changed and they built a bridge in 1860. The road was still placed between the mask stone and the present country road, the bridge was oak timber, but in 1928 the last rests of this road disappeared, which at least came from Chr. IV's time. Today the country road is asphalt, the bridge is granite and concrete.

The mask stone belonged presumably to the upper plank road. It was placed in the roadside bringint its message  - whatever it was  - to the wayfarers. 

The Århus-Stone, (Mammen style)

Similar Mask Stones

There were no runes on the Sjellebro stone. Similar mask images are known from other stones, both in Denmark and Sweden, and they all have runes. The most wellknown and the prettiest of all mask stones is the Århus stone with an inscription saying:  "Gunulv og Øgot og Aslak og Rolf rejste denne sten efter deres fælle Ful. Han fandt døden ... da konger kæmpede".

English: Gunnulfr and Eygautr/Auðgautr and Áslakr and Hrólfr raised this stone in memory of Fúl, their partner, who died when kings fought.


Market
It is not that long ago the passage was difficult and dangerous. Sjellebro was then a place where people stopped and met, and the Sjellebro Inn still lies  here, but it is now a boarding school. Far back in time there was a market at Sjellebro which was celebrated up till the 1920s. People traded horses, cattle, pigs and especially sheep. There was entertainment too, like a medival market. The trade was mostly in open air, but there were tents and sheds for the incomers.The Sjellebro Inn and the trading life at Sjellebro might go as far back as to the Viking period.

The Merman, Elsinore

The Merman
At Sjellebro it was in the old days important to beware that there was a merman in the river - and he claimed an annual human sacrifice. Sometimes it took years before accidents happened; once it took 6 years, but in the 7th year a waggon with 7 people crashed and they all perished in the river. The merman had got what belonged to him on back payment.

Various legends and sinister stories went from mouth to mouth through generations. An old woman told in the 1950s what her parents and grandparents had told her, about a married couple, who drowned in the crossing point on their way home from market in Randers. She knew their graves on the church yard in the village Lime.

 Today the country croad at Sjellebro is broad and safe, and the merman has died - or at least disappeared, but both the legends and the finds from the excavations remind about the traffic of the past in the meadow downside Sjellebro Inn, west of the present Randers- Ebeltoft road. The place is quiet. Cars are quickly passing upon the road without noticing the ancient stone in the meadow or the pretty river valley, but the Merman is still waiting down there, speaking his old words: "Time has come - but the man has not yet come....."




Source: 
Danske Fortidsminder, Danmarks Kulturarv Forening; Skalk, nr. 4, 1957, Sjellebrostenen, Georg Kunwald ; Danske Runeindskrifter, Natiolnalmuseet.

Umbrellas and D-vitamin........

Umbrella's death 17 July 2012.

It seems that we were really lucky with some good summer-days  in our vacation in June. July has been very rainy and with moisty heat and thunder and lightning  - and today the weather-prophet said that if you want to see a water spout, then there is a possibility for it today. I don't imagine it is a tornado? because this is something much worse, isn't it. I once saw a water spout coming from the sea on a summer's day by the beach many years ago, it looked very threatening. But it is not a usual thing here. Yet.  I've seen TV-broadcasts from US  where you've got some large dangerous tornados, which cause some terrible damage.

Well I'll return to the present situation. A doctor was in the radio this morning telling us that we have had too little sun this summer - this means that we'll be easier exposed to diseases this winter. "So go out and find the sun", he said. Oh yes, that's easy for him to say. I'm always looking for the sun, but I can't remove that big cloud coming there pouring buckets of water down upon my innocent head, and a capricious wind tearing my umbrella apart. I came home wet as a drowned mouse the other day with running hair and a torn umbrella and a shopping bag with wet food and newspaper.

This morning  I went out and enjoyed fifteen minutes of sunshine. Now there are clouds all over again. I'll wait for the sun this afternoon, and if I discover the smallest beam of sunshine I'll run out and catch it.

The problem, he said, the doctor, is that you'll get too little D-vitamin . Don't we all know?  but it is okay to be reminded about it.  So it might be necessary to take some of my cod liver oil with D-vitamin soon. Let's see. We might get an Indian summer. I'll keep an eye on the sun. It won't escape!

The Hills of Høvblege on the Island Møn

Ulvsund Bridge

From the summerhouse at Zealand we crossed the Ulvsund bridge on our way to the island Møn. Close to the coast we took a little break on a bench outside Kalvehave church where we enjoyed the beautiful view across the sound.




















Møn is a  lovely island, this time we went for some special hills at Høvblege, known for their botanic richness. Along the road through the island are many interesting churches, they are especially known for their fantastic colourful and storytelling medieval frescoes, which fill the walls of the whole church, fx the church in Fanefjord, Elmelunde, Keldby and Borre. I have visited these churches some years ago, and if you are interested in the frescoes you can search the churches on my blog Church and Manor.

City Stege at Møn

We went through the city Stege after some shopping and went on south, close to the main road was a pretty golf course, where some sculptures were placed as if they were playing golf, and seen while passing they looked very much alive.
































The hillside at Høvblege lies in a scenic landscape with a magnificent view to the Baltic Sea. That day the sea and the horizon were one blue smoky line. On a clear day you can see all the way to the island Rügen. In the Middle Ages people lived in fear in this district because of the Wendic pirates from Rügen who harassed the southern isles of Denmark. The Danish king had to build fortifications and strongholds to keep them at bay. All those castles and strongholds are gone now and so are the Wendic pirates All that's left are some place names.

















The hillside has a unique biodiversity of plants and insects. There are paths from here to Klinteskoven on the eastern part of Møn or from at place by the road between the villages Mandemarke and Busene. Here is a parking place from where you can walk up into the hills and to the paths.

Dactyhorliza maculata (Skovgøgeurt)

Here is a small section of the plants I saw that day. The Dactyhorliza maculata with pink flowers grows in light-open deciduous forests and in calcareous pastures with spread trees and bushes. It is protected in Denmark.

Sainfoin (Esparsette)

Sainfoin Esparsette grows in calcareous soil (see my post about the plant on blog Thyra from January 10th, 2010).

Mignonette ( Reseda)

Mignonette/ Reseda a fragrant plant, was used for perfume and by the Romans to dye silk yellow.

Greater Butterfly Orchid (Skovgøgelilje)

Greater Butterfly Orchid, (Skovgøgelilje) with white flowers is common in East Jutland and on the Isles but rare in other parts of Denmark. It is protected. A protected orchid must not be plucked, digged up, gathered or destroyed. Some of the habitats of the Greater Butterfly orchid are protected. Flax and Fairy Flax (please see my post about this plant on my Thyra blog from 21. January 2009).

Fairy Flax (Vild Hør)

The area at Høvblege is a large hillside with pastures and grassland , there is a beautiful view across the eastern part of Møn and to the Baltic Sea, and in optimal weather- and wind conditions there are good opportunities to watch the migration of birds of prey in the spring time. The place at Høvblege is famous for its botanic rarities, but also for some butterflies, which are found only in a few localities in Denmark. It is a varied and exciting locality to investigate.

Marsh Harrier

Time passed and it was late in the afternoon when we left Møn -  on the way we saw a marsh harrier by the coast - and suddenly an elegant red kite which was enjoying doing some hovering high above in the air.

Red Kite

 

photo: Høvblege June 2012: grethe bachmann