the september garden

september 4

september 9

september 17

september 24

it's honestly still this green, but tomorrow is october 1, so a new month starts. the temperatures are still unseasonably warm and not cold at night, so no frost in sight. at least not in the forecast for the next week or so, so i haven't moved the citrus fruit inside yet. the mango plant (it's still a plant and not a tree - i grew it myself from a mango seed) is still very happy out there as well. i'm leaving them as long as i can.

the august garden

i'm not sure how it's already september 10 and i haven't posted the august garden, but better late than never. 

august 7

august 12

august 20

august 26

the light is fading fast in the evenings. the pumpkins and winter squash are ripening. the beans are done. and as i write this, we're finally having some quite warm days, so maybe i'll get a few ripe tomatoes from that jungle of tomato plants in the greenhouse on the left. 

the june garden (and a little bit of july)

june 4

june 6

june 9

june 11

june 20

june 24

july 2

what a long way it's come in just one month! lots of sunshine and some recent rain has made everything take off. i think in next sunday's shot, the sunflowers (which i should have thinned) will obscure the bench. 

scenes from a weekend

what a weekend. one of my work besties was let go on friday. it was such a shock and i felt so badly for her that i didn't sleep that well on friday night. but it got better on saturday - i went with a friend to moesgaard museum, a sort of extension of the danish national museum, near aarhus. only it's much better. their exhibits present bog people and pottery shards and bits of gold and bronze dug up from the ground in a new light. literally - the exhibits are lit so well. it's actually quite dark in the museum and then well-placed light shines directly on the objects, highlighting them perfectly. we had lunch there as well, then went for a walk on a nearby beach.

this iron age bog man - grauballemanden - looks more well-lit than he actually is thanks to my phone's light compensation. he's really wonderfully displayed - in a circular room, with very subtle light, which feels quite like a sanctuary. you can sit on the bench and contemplate him. instead of feeling like some kind of exploitation of someone who has no choice in the matter, it feels like a reverent and respectful space. 

husband managed to find someone who was giving away a greenhouse if you were willing to take it down yourself, so we spent sunday morning dismantling our new greenhouse. it's one that had plastic panels, rather than glass, and they were extremely fragile and sun-damaged. but we're going to cover it in netting and use it for growing brassicas and hopefully keeping away those pesky caterpillars that eat up all the leaves in the late summer. 

the wind is rising outside and in the coming week, it will already be february. interesting to see what it brings. 

daily delight - february 21

husband dug out this foundation for the greenhouse this weekend. and while he was digging away, i trimmed the oak "hedge" we have in the garden, weeded around about half of the fruit bushes - until my hand cramped up, and pruned the pear espalier. i brought in all those branches i trimmed off in a vase - i hope they open into spring blooms. but even if they don't, those sticks look surprisingly fetching on the kitchen table. it was so nice to be outdoors all weekend, moving around, breathing in fresh air, listening to the spring chatter of the birds, drinking coffee in the garden and discussing our plans for a whole greenhouse village. we've already sourced a second used greenhouse, so we'll have two for this season. i'm already planning on having a table and chairs in one of them, so we can enjoy being in the garden even on rainy days. garden dreams are definitely today's delight. 

100 happy days :: day 85

it's a long holiday weekend here in denmark, the last of the spring holidays. our child is off to copenhagen for the weekend with her friends. as one does when one is 14. tho' it's still a bit chilly and working outside requires a heavy sweatshirt and scarf, we've been working in the garden (husband didn't wear a scarf). husband has once again changed up the greenhouse. this time, we used waffley plastic roofing as a covering and he built a back wall with repurposed wood he brought home from the harbor. me, i planted beans and onions and leeks and a couple of squash. in the greenhouse, there are now tomatoes and cucumbers and chilis and a couple of aubergine.

color me green thursday

locations: copenhagen. ireland. dublin. dublin. dublin. home.

it's color week. do join me if you want to share the colors of your world.

just another manic monday

wow, this day got away from me. i worked feverishly on finishing my outline of the articles for the upcoming issue of "my" magazine, after spending a week doing research and reading background materials. i can tell you that i've got a lot of work to do! but it's all exciting, so it's all good. i love digging into environmental issues and learning something new. will share more of all that later.

it's the beginning of easter week and although today-wednesday are work days here, many people are taking days off since the new vacation year begins may 1 and people have to use up the last few of last year's vacation days. so, while i was working away and staring out at the sunshine, husband was cleaning the greenhouse and getting it ready for the season. here's a before picture (i didn't get the after taken yet).

and yesterday, i managed to finish #39 in the year of creativity...a table runner for our dining room table. it's even reversible:

see, maps on the other side. we do love maps around here (another post for another day).

i did manage to sneak in a batch of nigella's brownies. the recipe i used today isn't among those on the link, but there are plenty to keep you busy/inspired. i baked them a titch too long, so they weren't quite as chewy as they should have been, but pretty good nonetheless. especially after a really good burger, the first of the grill season at buresø.

after the happiness of saturday's wedding, sadly, we have a funeral to attend tomorrow, so i'll likely catch you on wednesday. i hope that we will get to go down to møn's klint afterwards, because the funeral is down on møn. walking on the beach and communing with nature and the music of the stones would be a glorious way to pay homage to a wonderful woman, who was one of the first who made me a real, traditional danish meal when i first came to denmark. she will be missed and fondly remembered.

a perfect autumn day

i arrived home very early this morning. another of those jarring transitions from 30 degrees, high humidity and smog to the clear, crisp, sunny fall weather in denmark. it's about 15 degrees, light breezes and sunshine. THE perfect weather for donning my new gap sweatshirt (from the boy's section, why don't they make non-zip hoodies for women anymore?), some walking shoes and going mushroom hunting in the forest.

i had to take some pictures of the last of the summer flowers using my new macro lens. there was already frost once while i was away, but in the greenhouse, it only got down to 3 degrees, so the dahlias are still going strong.

i doubt the melons will really get a chance to be ripe before the real frost comes, even in the greenhouse, but they look pretty now anyway.

the hydrangea are finishing up, but i absolutely love them at every stage. they're wonderful!

the chocolate cosmos look so autumn-y:

the little japanese acer is a blaze of color:

and the rowan trees are loaded with their berries. i love to pick these clusters and make an autumn wreath for the door and this year it feels like i have the time and energy to do things like that again.

but first, a whole mess of these are going into the freezer so we can have an apple pie at thanksgiving:

i just love fall, don't you?

what i've been up to this weekend

much progress has been made inside the house this weekend. we sanded and oiled the new oak floors. yes, we did this previously in the kitchen, but now that the floor is laid in the addition as well, the boys decided to sand and treat it all again.

i think the way they joined the old house and the addition is just beautiful!

a single moment to rest and photograph after the first batch of oil treatment.

the entire addition floor after being treated with oil.

we wiped it all down by hand.

that was not easy.

i hung 14 colorful tealight holders in the greenhouse.

they were magical when it got dark.

why is the greenhouse, which has been made of all the odds and ends from the rest of the project, our very favorite place to be?

i made four trips to ikea (3 on friday, 1 today)

one of the results was these new karlstad chairs in an orange & red pattern that's perfect in the kitchen.

i can scarcely believe it, but when i just looked up that link to the chairs, i found out that they are actually about $50 CHEAPER in denmark! it must be the ONLY thing in the world that's cheaper here.

although the windowsills are all still full of painting and sanding supplies,

it starts to looks like people live here!

note my fabulous skinny la minx eep towel on the stove!

ignore the box-laden hallway and the stairs that need painting.

it's starting to be a home again!!

but we have a busy couple of weeks ahead, closing in on the big party on aug. 30!