L'aura del Campo

Tvedestrand, Þveitastrond. Den Nasjonaldag i Noreg.

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Þveitastrond

Once pass the sleeping turtle skerries,
where the white tern swoops and tarries,
where once vikings fished these waters,
welcome home to Þveitastrond.

Where the sunshine comes to visit
glistens off Storelva flowing
where the trout and salmon jump
past the golden flecks of sunstone.

Here the clapboards white and cheery
greet the wayward and the weary.
Sit and read and do not worry
among the books of Þveitastrond.

Through the village, up the hill
go where e'er you must for thrills
or stay forever twixt high roofs
close by boats that crowd the slips.

When the water mirrors the lamplights,
as the sun sets in the north
come to Þveitastrond and tarry,
rest before life sallies forth.

KÃ¥re Enga [164.77] 2007-mai-17

I penned this very quickly and realize there are weak stanzas (I want to edit already!). However, it was the national holiday in Norway today and must be posted. Today commemorates their declaration of independence from Denmark the 17th of May, 1814. They were finally able to throw off the yoke of the Swedish king in 1905, choosing a Danish prince as their new King Haakon.

Today there would've been a lot of children dressed up waving flags and having a good time. For Norwegians this day is one of national identity. It is not against anything or anyone (gotta love the Danes and they pick on the Swedes something fierce); it is the celebration of the right to define themselves.

Þveitastrond (Þ is the letter 'thorn', pronounced as a soft 'th' as in 'thin') is an older spelling of a small town, Tvedestrand, in one of the harbors of South East Norway. At 58 degrees north, 'south' is relative, but this is also a fairly sunny part of Norway and a vacationland in the summer. Now it is våren (spring) and the temp was only 12 ( ~ 54) today and damp, but I'm sure everyone had a good day. Modern Tvedestrand is know for it's marinas among its 162 islands, its second-hand bookstores, as the birthplace of Knud Knudsen (one of the developers of modern Norwegian) and interesting rocks: sunstone (the golden flecks are hematite), xenotime (yttrium phosphate), pink rosaline (thulite).

Nearby Lyngør is a well preserved village and a place worthy to visit.

Tvedestrand:
http://www.norwaydirect.co.uk/southern-norway/tvedestrand.asp
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tvedestrand
Photos:
http://www.weather-forecast.com/locations/Tvedestrand.4to6.shtml
(Some of the photos are people, food, odd ghost-like images in the bookstore ... but that says something about the place too. Look at the faces ... they tend to be long and narrow).

My life

Well my back isn't 100% but it is much better and the pus broke out of the abscessed tooth so I'm not in so much pain. I did get out and about this afternoon and will again this evening. comfortable 70s and sunny today.

IMAGES

Yellow hypericum; pink spirea; fragrant sage flowers, purple and white; roses; pinks; orange-yellow daylilies; sunny coreopsis; pink primroses; new plantings of vinca and petunias.

Said hello to <=] ** ~~> ; evie; skzoe. Patricia Oshier Stepp just got a novel accepted for publication! If you want a recipe for beef cheeks or cow face go to this wonderful entry "Invalid Entry"  by jpfarris9; It'll get your lips smacking!

Alert: You have until May 30th to join the teams for kiyasama contest: "Project Write World" . I'm part of Team Scandinavia, along with AL frÃ¥n Sverige, Inga frÃ¥ Noreg og Anne M R Chiles - *published!* fra Danmark. We may only be 4, but how many vikings do you need?

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