raps!

the danish name for rapeseed is much better than the english one - raps. i absolutely adore this time of year and i go out of my way to take the back roads to enjoy it. it also smells amazing and i recently found out it tastes great too! i've been "foraging" small shoots from down low on the stalks in the fields in my area, they're not quite open yet and they taste so much better than broccoli, which must be the most boring vegetable ever.

i made a beautiful ramen with broth i had in the freezer, soba noodles, some fish from the fish guy, eggs from our hens, bok choy from a nearby farm and some of the rapeseed shoots. i brushed the fish with noma projects' delicious dashi rdx. it was honestly perfect. i'm sad i discovered the joy of the rapeseed shoots so late in the season, as i want so much more and they're almost done. but maybe it's good to have those things that you can only eat during those few weeks when they're in season. this fall, i'll be planting some in the garden so i don't have to "forage" them next spring. 

the path ahead

so much turmoil and uncertainty in these times. the daily onslaught of revelations from the corrupt cheeto and his merry band of trumpanzees, power grabs and information vacuums at work. it seemed fitting today as i came across this gorgeous, fragrant field of canola (rapeseed), that the visible path was only visible for a little ways. who knows what lies ahead? we humans like to think we can control our outcomes, but perhaps we cannot. i think of all of the times where being pushed onto another path steered me somewhere amazing, and i wonder where i am being steered this time? i can catch glimpses of so much that's awesome, but there are roadblocks along the way. i'd like to navigate them differently than i have traditionally done, but it's hard for me to see how to do that. perhaps by following the opposite impulses. we can and do continue to grow as people, even as we age, we can learn and we can be even more amazing than we thought possible. it's just a matter of clearing the path to get there.

100 happy days :: day 80

cloudy, windy, blustery, but the sun broke through a few times and i was ready with my camera.

definitely a happy. 

a day of nothing much at all

it's that time of year again. the rapeseed fields are in full, buzzing bloom. it's that yellow that makes you feel a bit dizzy if you look at it directly. they speak the language of danish summer. short, fleeting, but intense.

today was filled with slow tasks. picking violets to make violet cordial. getting enough of them takes time and there's no way around it, you just have to pick them, one at a time. it was cloudy, but still and warm, so picking them was a pleasant, rather meditative task. it worked rather nicely to clear my mind and funnily enough, i didn't really think about anything at all in particular. some days, that's precisely what you need.

the road ahead

the way is clear, the light is good, i have no fear, nor no one should.

it has been a rather long and winding road, at times blocked by obstacles and obscured by fog, but it seems to suddenly have cleared and things are picking up speed. i've got my seatbelt on and i'm ready for the ride. 

i don't want to go all new agey on you here, but honestly, it seems that the best thing you can do in life is surround yourself with people who give you energy instead of taking it away or trying to smother it when they see it in you. i got wind of some of those people today, but because i've built up a new wall of energy-giving people and experiences around me over the past few months, it had no effect. and that was a new experience for me. one i definitely want to have more often.

it also seems that putting out positive energy brings more of it your way. a new project came our way out of the blue today and it's full of positivity. even rainy, cloudy days can't hold us back now, the road ahead is clear.

a weekend of contrasts

oh what a weekend. highs. lows. sorrows. satisfaction. relaxation. tension. irritations. delights. wind. sunshine. clouds. laughter. tears. all of the contrasts you can imagine.

at the end of it, we are tired in a good way from working outdoors.
we have 15 rows of potatoes planted.
all of the kale we seeded is up. and so are the beans. the squash are showing signs of bursting forth.
the strawberries are loaded with blooms.
the garden is prepped for planting as soon as those pesky cold nights are gone for good.

we are down one more bunny (don't ask).
we are very angry with one tiger cat (see above).
there were tears. many tears. and soul-wrenching screams.

we have new old cups and a new old teapot.
i love how my needlepoint pillow looks on the bed.
i used the new bowl to mix the eggs for my salmon tart, even tho' it was a bit shallow for that.
i loved it anyway.

bates can't really be guilty on downton abbey, can he?
and it's good that kate won australian master chef 2011. she seems like a good person.

i didn't get the stalls cleaned,
but i did move the kittens into a new nest in the straw, since they're starting to toddle around.
i did wonder if their little legs would be able to hold up their fat bodies.
but it looks like it's going ok.

i'm ready for the week ahead.
it's a short, but exciting one.
short because of kristihimmelfart (that's my favorite name for a holiday) on thursday.
exciting because of new projects and not-so-old ones that are progressing well.

happy sunday evening, one and all.

taking the back way

i meandered the back roads yesterday, deciding that although there was a very fine rain and it was a bit grey, i wouldn't let it stop me from getting some shots of the rapeseed fields, which are in their full glory around the danish countryside right now. sometimes, you just have to stop and enjoy the scenery.