Sixth Weekend

Jeff was "on duty" this weekend, so we were around a lot rather than leaving town for very long at a time. His friend Henning, whom he met at a folk school many years ago, came to visit. We decided to stay home Friday evening and make spaghetti for supper, and then we watched Disney Sjov. Anders is still disappointed that it always starts with a different episode of 101 Dalmations. But they enjoy pulling out the huge beanbag chair and settling in to watch it together.

I also worked a lot on knitting my scarf, which turned out to be very fat and rather short. However, that can be used to an advantage because it makes a very nice collar that would fit under a coat or sweater. I'll pretend I did it that way on purpose. I still need to get a large button to keep it closed. It's very thick wool, so I know it will be really warm, and I'm quite excited about it.

After I finished my knitting project, Anders asked if I could start on his scarf. I did half the number of stitches, so it should be a good width this time -and that will mean it can be longer as well! Still using wool from the recycle shop, so our colours are limited, but he really liked the red so it will be half-red. He wants the other half to be blue, so I'm going to have to look for some blue wool. Torben wants a multitonal blue for his. Right now I have just a bit of that, so we'll see what it looks like and what colours he wants added to it.

On Sunday after brunch, Bolette -one of the other teachers- invited the boys to come over to play in the garden with her twins. They are 7, and the four kids have a fun time playing together. They live across the street, and I could hear the laughing and playing from inside the house, while they were outside over there. It's fun to hear kids playing freely.

Sunday afternoon we took a short drive to walk part of the Kongeå path. It is a 67Km path that winds along the river, and for centuries this river was the border between Denmark and Germany. There are marked footpaths (read: not stroller-friendly) along the entire 67Km, and it's designed to be taken in in small doses, so you don't have to do all of it at once. We decided to start at the Knag Mill, which is near one end of it and is closest to where we live.

 This map depicts the area and also tells the story of the Knag Mill. It was built in 1780 and was a mill for grain and bone meal. It is now a residence, but the path exists right alongside the river here.

It was a gorgeous day and perfect for taking pictures. Svea wanted to take some too, apparently. She sort of looks like a baby pterodactyl here. (nice, I spelled that correctly the first time! No annoying red squiggly lines)

Jeff and I discovered the challenge of taking a selfie on a sunny day...do you stand in front of the sun and turn into shadows, or do you face the sun and squint? Those were the only two options, if we wanted the river in the picture as well. We chose option B.

The river really is beautiful here. There was one guy backpacking his way along it, and another was fishing. It seems like a good place to fish -very quiet and peaceful.

 The boys love just being able to run. There isn't much traffic out here, so they got a lot of opportunities.

 At this point, the river looks quite similar from both directions. This photo seems like it would at some point be a background for a picture with kids sitting along the railings with home-made fishing poles of sticks and string, just passing the time, kicking their feet back and forth in an effort to sit still.

 The directions in the guidemap say that as long as you follow these red-topped trail markers, you will find your way through the fields and marshes and along the river path. It really is a well-marked and well-thought-out system. They are clearly visible, but also they are not intrusive.

 This is one of my favourite pictures from this afternoon. I love how the sun is reflecting off the water, and you can see the sunbeams in the top of the picture but the sun itself isn't there. I hope that the image is large enough and good enough quality that I can print an enlargement -I took it on my phone. It seems like it should be the cover of a travel book.

 The path winds through many fields, so we were quite close to the cows at this point. Svea thought that was fantastic -though she calls most animals "doggy" still.

 This is the front side of the mill.

 Anders was enjoying the serenity of looking into the river as well. We didn't see any fish, but the plants were moving with the current and that looked pretty neat.

 One of the only times Torben stood still long enough to get a clear picture. I like that he's standing still and staring off over the water.

 They were a little too far apart to get a good angle here, but I like this one of the two of them standing and staring at the landscape. It really is beautiful to look at.

This one really makes it look like we're out in the boonies. We weren't actually very far from the road, and the river is just past Anders. I wish Jeff could have been on this side of the camera as well -but there wasn't anyone else around to take a photo for us. It's a cute one of me and the kids, though. 

 Here, Anders and Torben are exploring what's around the next bend of the path. The cows are on the right, just outside the frame, and there are horses in the field just in front of the boys. I think there is a fence between them...maybe.

 I'm not sure what she was pointing at...the cows and horses are behind us here. But I like that it's an action-still.

 At some points, you could hardly see the kids through the brush. It really wasn't a good place to bring a stroller! We made it about 20 feet with it, and then abandoned the stroller and carried Svea for a while. It ended up being sort of a short walk this time (and we picked up the stroller on the way back). We decided that we will go to another scenic stopping point on the path another time, and bring her carrier instead of a stroller because the paths really are meant for just foot traffic.

 As we were leaving, we noticed a Christmas tree farm off to the side of the road. It was kind of fun to see -it might be a few years before this one is ready to harvest, though. The trees were all about the height of the kids' knees.

All in all, it was a fun weekend. It's hard to believe the sixth weekend has passed already! Time really does go by quickly.