The crow was attacking the kite like a spitfire until the kite disappeared to another more peaceful place.
photo july 2008: grethe bachmann
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
The Kite and the Crow
The crow was attacking the kite like a spitfire until the kite disappeared to another more peaceful place.
photo july 2008: grethe bachmann
A little Bouquet of Butterflies
Silver-washed Fritillary/Kejserkaabe/Argynnis paphia
Bjerre skov, Horsens
Flying Large White/ Stor kaalsommerfugl/ Pieris brassicae
The Map/Nældesommerfugl/Araschnia levana
Boller Slotspark, Horsens
Peacock/Dagpåfugleøje/ Inachis io
photo july 2008: grethe bachmann
Roses - Boller Castle Park, Horsens
Boller slot
The rose park at Boller Castle
Horsens, Jutland
photo July 2008: grethe bachmann
The rose park at Boller Castle
Horsens, Jutland
photo July 2008: grethe bachmann
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Ground Elder/Skvalderkål
Aegopodium podagraria
Ground elder in the edge of a ditch
Ground elder is found in many forests, in the edge of ditches and in fences. In gardens it is not very popular. This weed is very difficult to eliminate as it is usually growing among other plants. In some areas it is considered among the worst of weeds, since it is extremely invasive and crowds out native species. It is also known as herb gerard, bishop's weed and snow-in-the-mountain. It
Ground elder was introduced to northern Europe by monks from the south in the Middle Ages -and to Britain possibly already by the Romans , as a pot-herb and a medicine against rheumatism and gout (hence the common name). It has a long history of medicinal use and was cultivated as a food crop and medicinal herb in the Middle Ages. The plant was used usually as a food that should counteract gout, one of the effects of the rich foods eaten by the monks, bishops etc at this time. The plant is little used in modern herbalism.
All parts of the plants are antirheumatic, diuretic, sedative and vulnerary. An infusion is used in the treatment of rheumatism, arthritis and disorder of the bladder and intestines. Externally it is used as a poultice on burns, stings, wounds, painful joints.
The plant is harvested when it is in flower in late spring to mid-summer and can be used fresh or be dried for later use. The leaves can be boiled like spinach, or fresh young ones can be added to a salad - too much has a laxative effect. The dried root can be grounded into a flour for baking.
So maybe we could eliminate some of this weed by using it in our kitchen - and it is for free!
It was probably introduced to Denmark by monks in the Middle Ages as a food and medicinal plant. It was used against indigestion, it was used as a spring fodder for the cattle and the pigs and small leaves for the chicken. In the kitchen it was used as a cabbage. A special dish at Easter 'Skærtorsdagskål' (Maundy Thursday Cabbage) contained 7 or 9 kinds of cabbage, and ground elder was one of them.
Nicholas Culpepper, a famous 17th century's physician said about ground elder:
'Upon experiment it is found to heal the gout and sciatica. It is also used for aching joints and other cold pains'.
Ground elder in the edge of a ditch
Ground elder is found in many forests, in the edge of ditches and in fences. In gardens it is not very popular. This weed is very difficult to eliminate as it is usually growing among other plants. In some areas it is considered among the worst of weeds, since it is extremely invasive and crowds out native species. It is also known as herb gerard, bishop's weed and snow-in-the-mountain. It
Ground elder was introduced to northern Europe by monks from the south in the Middle Ages -and to Britain possibly already by the Romans , as a pot-herb and a medicine against rheumatism and gout (hence the common name). It has a long history of medicinal use and was cultivated as a food crop and medicinal herb in the Middle Ages. The plant was used usually as a food that should counteract gout, one of the effects of the rich foods eaten by the monks, bishops etc at this time. The plant is little used in modern herbalism.
All parts of the plants are antirheumatic, diuretic, sedative and vulnerary. An infusion is used in the treatment of rheumatism, arthritis and disorder of the bladder and intestines. Externally it is used as a poultice on burns, stings, wounds, painful joints.
The plant is harvested when it is in flower in late spring to mid-summer and can be used fresh or be dried for later use. The leaves can be boiled like spinach, or fresh young ones can be added to a salad - too much has a laxative effect. The dried root can be grounded into a flour for baking.
So maybe we could eliminate some of this weed by using it in our kitchen - and it is for free!
It was probably introduced to Denmark by monks in the Middle Ages as a food and medicinal plant. It was used against indigestion, it was used as a spring fodder for the cattle and the pigs and small leaves for the chicken. In the kitchen it was used as a cabbage. A special dish at Easter 'Skærtorsdagskål' (Maundy Thursday Cabbage) contained 7 or 9 kinds of cabbage, and ground elder was one of them.
Nicholas Culpepper, a famous 17th century's physician said about ground elder:
'Upon experiment it is found to heal the gout and sciatica. It is also used for aching joints and other cold pains'.
Common Blue Damselfly/ Almindelig Vandnymfe
Enallagma cyathigerum
The common blue damselfly is widespread and common. Adults can be seen from May to the end of August. It is a common species typical of lakes especially deep open sites. It has been recorded at greater altidtudes than most other damselflies.
Old English country names 'horse-stingers' and 'devil's darning needles' suggest that they were once feared. Neither dragonflies nor damselflies have the capacity to sting although they are predatory insects both in the larval and adult stages.
photo Vest Stadil Fjord 070608: grethe bachmann
The common blue damselfly is widespread and common. Adults can be seen from May to the end of August. It is a common species typical of lakes especially deep open sites. It has been recorded at greater altidtudes than most other damselflies.
Old English country names 'horse-stingers' and 'devil's darning needles' suggest that they were once feared. Neither dragonflies nor damselflies have the capacity to sting although they are predatory insects both in the larval and adult stages.
photo Vest Stadil Fjord 070608: grethe bachmann
Black-tailed Skimmer/ Stor Blåpil
Orthetrum cancellatrum
Black-tailed Skimmer/ Stor Blåpil
Vest Stadil Fjord,West JutlandBlack-tailed skimmer is common in North Africa and the most of Europe. In Norway it is considered extinct. In Denmark it is known from all districts. Since Denmark is on the northern border of its area of distribution it is possible that the Danish occurence of black-tailed skimmer might be influenced by climatic changes.
The male has a blue abdomen with a black tip and transparent wings and the female has a yellowish brown body with black zigzag marks along the abdomen and the transparent wings. It is an active skimmer that patrols its territory aggressively frequently resting on patches of bare ground or stones although it will occassionally rest up in vegetation. It favours open areas of still water that has a hard not muddy substrate.
Leave patches of bare ground around the edges of larger water bodies and leave cut grass and other vegetation to dry out in ‘habitat piles’. These pale areas will attract basking dragonflies. Skimmers hunt from low perches, so placing a few sticks or twigs close to the water’s edge will also encourage them.
photo Vest Stadil Fjord 070608 : grethe bachmann
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Sea Kale/Strandkaal/ Crambe maritima
Sea Kale by the beach, Jernhatten, Djursland
The salt-air tolerant Sea Kale/ Strandkaal grows wild along the coasts of Europe from the North Atlantic to the Black Sea. In old garden books the use of sea kale is often described. The young pale shots were popular in dishes in the early spring, often mixed with the winter leftovers of curly kale. The plant contains lots of C-vitamins and was also used as a means against scurvy.
In England sea kale was a common plant until a botanizer in 1799 mentioned its good qualities. Then it was used so much for food that it became almost extinct. The stems taste a little like asparagus, but also the leaves are good with a taste a little milder than curly kale. The young flower shots taste like broccoli. The plant was earlier cultivated in gardens by manors and eaten as an early asparagus. In Denmark it was called 'Herrremandens asparges'. (Herremand = Lord of the Manor).
By the early 18th century sea kale had become established as a garden vegetable and it was very popular in the early 19th century where it was served at the Prince Regent's Royal Pavillion in Brighton. The shoots are fine served like asparagus, steamed with either bechamel sauce or melted butter , salt and pepper.
photo 310508: grethe bachmann, Glatved Strand, Djursland
Sea Kale by the beach, Jernhatten, Djursland
The salt-air tolerant Sea Kale/ Strandkaal grows wild along the coasts of Europe from the North Atlantic to the Black Sea. In old garden books the use of sea kale is often described. The young pale shots were popular in dishes in the early spring, often mixed with the winter leftovers of curly kale. The plant contains lots of C-vitamins and was also used as a means against scurvy.
In England sea kale was a common plant until a botanizer in 1799 mentioned its good qualities. Then it was used so much for food that it became almost extinct. The stems taste a little like asparagus, but also the leaves are good with a taste a little milder than curly kale. The young flower shots taste like broccoli. The plant was earlier cultivated in gardens by manors and eaten as an early asparagus. In Denmark it was called 'Herrremandens asparges'. (Herremand = Lord of the Manor).
By the early 18th century sea kale had become established as a garden vegetable and it was very popular in the early 19th century where it was served at the Prince Regent's Royal Pavillion in Brighton. The shoots are fine served like asparagus, steamed with either bechamel sauce or melted butter , salt and pepper.
photo 310508: grethe bachmann, Glatved Strand, Djursland
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Honey Buzzard/ Hvepsevåge
Pernis apivorus
Honey Buzzard, Jernhatten, Djursland
The Honey buzzard, sometimes known as the 'pern', is despite the buzzard-name related closer to the kite than to the true buzzard (Buteo). It is a summer migrant to most of Europe and western Asia, wintering in Africa. In Denmark were ab. 650 breeding honey buzzards in the year 2000.
It is mainly living on larvae and nests of wasps, although it will take other small prey. The Danish name hvepsevåge refers to its eating wasps. The Latin apivorus means bee-eater.
It has larger and longer wings than common buzzard, a longer neck with a small head and a longer tail.
This week-end was a big migration of honey buzzards in the wellknown migration places in Jutland.(esp. Skagen & Djursland)
photo 310508: stig bachmann nielsen, Naturplan Foto
Honey Buzzard, Jernhatten, Djursland
The Honey buzzard, sometimes known as the 'pern', is despite the buzzard-name related closer to the kite than to the true buzzard (Buteo). It is a summer migrant to most of Europe and western Asia, wintering in Africa. In Denmark were ab. 650 breeding honey buzzards in the year 2000.
It is mainly living on larvae and nests of wasps, although it will take other small prey. The Danish name hvepsevåge refers to its eating wasps. The Latin apivorus means bee-eater.
It has larger and longer wings than common buzzard, a longer neck with a small head and a longer tail.
This week-end was a big migration of honey buzzards in the wellknown migration places in Jutland.(esp. Skagen & Djursland)
photo 310508: stig bachmann nielsen, Naturplan Foto
June - John Clare
JUNE
Hawthorn
Now summer is in flower and natures hum
Is never silent round her sultry bloom
Insects as small as dust are never done
Wi' glittering dance and reeling in the sun
And green wood fly and blossom haunting bee
Are never weary of their melody
Round field hedge now flowers in full glory twine
Large bindweed bells wild hop and streaked woodbine
That lift athirst their slender throated flowers
Agape for dew falls and for honey showers
These round each bush in sweet disorder run
And spread their wild hues to the sultry sun.
John Clare, (June)
photo: grethe bachmann, Mindeparken, Århus
Hawthorn
Now summer is in flower and natures hum
Is never silent round her sultry bloom
Insects as small as dust are never done
Wi' glittering dance and reeling in the sun
And green wood fly and blossom haunting bee
Are never weary of their melody
Round field hedge now flowers in full glory twine
Large bindweed bells wild hop and streaked woodbine
That lift athirst their slender throated flowers
Agape for dew falls and for honey showers
These round each bush in sweet disorder run
And spread their wild hues to the sultry sun.
John Clare, (June)
photo: grethe bachmann, Mindeparken, Århus
A Sunny May in 2008 - 347 sunny hours
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Yellow Fields - Rapeseed/Raps
Brassica napus
Rapeseed, a large oil crop with a bright yellow flowering is a member of the Brassica family and related to mustard, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and turnip. Rapeseed (Brassica napus) is also known as rape, oilseed rape, rapa, rapaseed . The name rapa derives from the Latin for turnip = rapum or rapa, and is first recorded in English at the end of the 14th century.
A golden oil from golden fields.
Rapeseed is grown for the production of animal feed, vegetable oil and biodiesel. Processing of rapeseed for oil production provides animal meal as a by-product which is a high-protein animal feed for cattle and pigs, and a little less for chickens.
There is a big production of cold-pressed rapeseed oil (otherwise known as canola-oil) and rapeseed oil is now the third most important vegetable oil in the world after soybean and palm oil. Rapeseed oil contains omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids and is one of the most heart-healthy oils. It has been reported to reduce cholesterol levels.
Rapeseed is a heavy nectar producer and honey bees produce a light coloured but peppery honey from it, usually blended with milder honeys.
Brassica crops may be among the oldest cultivated plants to man. In India Brassica rapa is mentioned in ancient Sanskrit literature from ca. 1500 BC. Rapeseed production has a long history in China. The Chinese word for rapeseed was first recorded ca. 2500 years ago, and the oldest archaeological discoveries may date back as fas as to ca 5000 BC. Brassica rapa seems to have the widest distribution of Brassica oilseeds. At least 2000 years ago it was distributed from northern Europe to China and Korea.
photo May 2008: grethe bachmann
Summer in the Country - Horse Waggon
- the traffic on the small roads is very cosy
A horse waggon on a narrow path through grass and chervil.
photo Strandkær, Mols Bjerge 250508: grethe bachmann
Common Broom/ Gyvel
Cytisus scoparius, syn. Sarothamnus scoparius
All brooms (shrubs) and their relatives are natives of Europe, North Africa and southwest Asia. It is a group of evergreen, semi-evergreen and deciduous shrubs. Most of the species have yellow flowers, a few have white, orange, red, pink or purple flowers.
The most widely familiar is common broom (gyvel) which is a native of north western Europe where it is found on sunny sites, usually on dry sandy soils at low altitudes. It grows fast and is very hardy. It makes plant-societies together with fx common hair-grass (bølget bunke), heather (lyng) and bearberry (melbærris), but else it is almost impossible for other plants to grow where the broom has spread, it changes the soil-conditions and outdoes the natural light-loving vegetation and suppresses the re-planted forest. In some places it has been cleared with machines and afterwards kept down by grassing.
It is difficult to think of these disadvantages when those butter-yellow flowers bloom so beautiful vigorously in the countryside in May. Broom is also widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in the garden with several cultivars selected for variation in flower colour.
In the old days the common broom was used both culinary and medicinal. The flower buds and flowers of Cytisus scoparius have been used as a salad ingredience raw or pickled and were a popular ingredience for salma grundi and 'grand sallet' during the 17th and 19th century. It was also used as a spice and a coffee substitute. Today people are more careful, since broom can be poisonous.
In medicine ashes of broom were used to treat dropsy, and among other things it was used as a cardiac stimulant and was said to be able to neutralise adder poisoning. As for veterinary use it made sheep immune to snake bite. (according to Liber Herbarium)
Dyers broom (Genista tinctora) provides a useful yellow dye and was grown commercially for this purpose in parts of Britain into the early 19th century.
In folklore and myth broom was known have magic power. It could handle witchcraft and was said to prevent fire and lightning and to protect against evil eyes and demons. In Welsh Mythology Bloodeuwedd is the name of a woman made from the flowers of broom, meadowsweet and the oak. Her story is part of The Fourth Branch of the Mabigoni.
It was common to include a decorated bundle of broom at weddings , and in Sussex a traditional rhyme says:
Sweep the house with blossed broom in May
Sweep the head of the household away.
The surname of the House of Plantagenet rulers of England in the Middle Ages was derived from common broom, which was known as 'planta genista' in Latin. It was originally the emblem of Geoffrey of Anjou , father of Henry II of England.
photo 250508: grethe bachmann, Strands, Helgenæs
All brooms (shrubs) and their relatives are natives of Europe, North Africa and southwest Asia. It is a group of evergreen, semi-evergreen and deciduous shrubs. Most of the species have yellow flowers, a few have white, orange, red, pink or purple flowers.
The most widely familiar is common broom (gyvel) which is a native of north western Europe where it is found on sunny sites, usually on dry sandy soils at low altitudes. It grows fast and is very hardy. It makes plant-societies together with fx common hair-grass (bølget bunke), heather (lyng) and bearberry (melbærris), but else it is almost impossible for other plants to grow where the broom has spread, it changes the soil-conditions and outdoes the natural light-loving vegetation and suppresses the re-planted forest. In some places it has been cleared with machines and afterwards kept down by grassing.
It is difficult to think of these disadvantages when those butter-yellow flowers bloom so beautiful vigorously in the countryside in May. Broom is also widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in the garden with several cultivars selected for variation in flower colour.
In the old days the common broom was used both culinary and medicinal. The flower buds and flowers of Cytisus scoparius have been used as a salad ingredience raw or pickled and were a popular ingredience for salma grundi and 'grand sallet' during the 17th and 19th century. It was also used as a spice and a coffee substitute. Today people are more careful, since broom can be poisonous.
In medicine ashes of broom were used to treat dropsy, and among other things it was used as a cardiac stimulant and was said to be able to neutralise adder poisoning. As for veterinary use it made sheep immune to snake bite. (according to Liber Herbarium)
Dyers broom (Genista tinctora) provides a useful yellow dye and was grown commercially for this purpose in parts of Britain into the early 19th century.
In folklore and myth broom was known have magic power. It could handle witchcraft and was said to prevent fire and lightning and to protect against evil eyes and demons. In Welsh Mythology Bloodeuwedd is the name of a woman made from the flowers of broom, meadowsweet and the oak. Her story is part of The Fourth Branch of the Mabigoni.
It was common to include a decorated bundle of broom at weddings , and in Sussex a traditional rhyme says:
Sweep the house with blossed broom in May
Sweep the head of the household away.
The surname of the House of Plantagenet rulers of England in the Middle Ages was derived from common broom, which was known as 'planta genista' in Latin. It was originally the emblem of Geoffrey of Anjou , father of Henry II of England.
photo 250508: grethe bachmann, Strands, Helgenæs
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Hoary Cress /Hjertekarse
Lepidium draba, former Cardaria draba
Hoary cress is a member of the Mustard family. The Latin draba is from Greek drabe = sharp, bitter. It produces numerous white flowers at the top of the plant which has given it the name of 'white-top'. The Danish name Hjertekarse alludes to Hjerte (Heart), since the seedpods are heart-shaped. The flowers serve as pollen and nectar sources for many insects, and livestock will usually eat hoary cress.
It is native to western Asia and eastern Europe, from where it has spread. Indicating seed may have been in the soil that was used as ballast for sailing ships. It is relatively rare in Denmark but is seen in some coastal areas.
In its native lands it was used as a culinary herb and as a substitute for pepper, and in medicine for diseases as scurvy and as a carminative.
It is a highly competitive weed, and it has become a serious problem in the United States. Idaho has listed hoary cress as a noxious weed.
photo 250508: grethe bachmann , Kalø, East Jutland
Hoary cress is a member of the Mustard family. The Latin draba is from Greek drabe = sharp, bitter. It produces numerous white flowers at the top of the plant which has given it the name of 'white-top'. The Danish name Hjertekarse alludes to Hjerte (Heart), since the seedpods are heart-shaped. The flowers serve as pollen and nectar sources for many insects, and livestock will usually eat hoary cress.
It is native to western Asia and eastern Europe, from where it has spread. Indicating seed may have been in the soil that was used as ballast for sailing ships. It is relatively rare in Denmark but is seen in some coastal areas.
In its native lands it was used as a culinary herb and as a substitute for pepper, and in medicine for diseases as scurvy and as a carminative.
It is a highly competitive weed, and it has become a serious problem in the United States. Idaho has listed hoary cress as a noxious weed.
photo 250508: grethe bachmann , Kalø, East Jutland
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Bird-Migration at Skagen in May 2008
'Flagbakken' Skagen
Birdwatchers at 'Flagbakken', Skagen
Osprey/Fiskeørn
Osprey, sparrowhawk, buzzard
Buzzard/Musvåge
Rough-legged buzzard/Fjeldvåge
Red kite/Rød glente
White-tailed eagles/Havørne
White-tailed eagle/Havørn
Sparrowhawk/Spurvehøg
Photo 100508: grethe bachmann, Flagbakken, Skagen
Birdwatchers at 'Flagbakken', Skagen
Osprey/Fiskeørn
Osprey, sparrowhawk, buzzard
Buzzard/Musvåge
Rough-legged buzzard/Fjeldvåge
Red kite/Rød glente
White-tailed eagles/Havørne
White-tailed eagle/Havørn
Sparrowhawk/Spurvehøg
Photo 100508: grethe bachmann, Flagbakken, Skagen
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
May - Henrich Heine
May
Sweet May hath come to love us,
Flowers, trees, their blossoms don;
And through the blue heavens above us
The very clouds move on.
Heinrich Heine
photo:gb, Mindeparken, Århus
Sweet May hath come to love us,
Flowers, trees, their blossoms don;
And through the blue heavens above us
The very clouds move on.
Heinrich Heine
photo:gb, Mindeparken, Århus
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