Piv Archives • The Prodigal Stranger

27th January 2020

Best Pictures of 2019

My health has not allowed for a lot of opportunities to go out and take beautiful pictures lately. Nonetheless, I did manage a few in 2019 that I am particularly proud of. These are it.

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I have a thing for cobalt blue glassware. The way that it captures the sun, causing patterns of blue to dance and flicker across my living room floor, the intensity of the shades. There is something deep and mysterious about these lights and patterns, and I can sit and look at them for hours. Fortunately, these bottles and vases are pretty hefty, too, because the cats regularly push them off the sill. Because cats.

I snapped this one last spring while I was still surprised at just how much water the Spang Å river system detains when the sluices get closed in winter. The entire valley floods. That line of fence poles? That’s the river. Everything else—is not. Supposedly.

Low key photography is a skill I have yet to master. On this one occasion, though, the Sun and Piv conspired to create a tableau of flame and darkness and all I had to do was click the button.

Another river valley picture, also from spring. The colours and sharpness of this one amazed me; I had only owned that camera for a day and I was so very fascinated with what it could do.

Here is to hoping that 2020 will be a little kinder health-wise. I mean, I have a camera, I want to go out there and use it.

12th March 201911th March 2019

New toys are great!

Getting to know my new camera is great fun! Here’s my best first shots.

Startled kitty is startled! Piv is not convinced that the camera lens can be trusted..

I'm still not trusting that, says Piv. — I’m still not trusting that, says Piv.

There are surprising amounts of water in Spang Å at this time of year. Technically, the river is the part inside the fences. The rest is dry pasture. Technically.

This one is the favourite of the day. I do love my blue glass bottles so when they catch the sunlight.

Begonias like flowers on fire, with blue glass in the background. Fantastic colours!

The resident swans decided to check out what I was doing.

11th April 2018

The Murderkittenz meet the sun room

This past week was kind enough to sport a few days of bright sunshine and high temperatures. We promptly took the chance to introduce the terrible two, the murderkittenz Miv & Piv, to the sun room of our new house here in Pjedsted.

The sun room has been closed off since we moved in in November last year. It’s essentially ‘just’ an outdoor area fenced in with tall glass windows and a roof, with no insulation or heat of its own. But now April is here, and it’s time to start enjoying it!

Piv loves high places. The higher up she gets, the better. It didn’t take five minutes before she jumped around and explored the rafters.

But of course she also needed to explore on the ground level.

The previous owners of the house left various pieces of oldfashioned tea sets sitting around the rafters for decorative purposes. I think it looks rather neat so I didn’t remove them. Piv has not disappointed me: Of course the littlest murderkitten is too dainty to push things off shelves.

Miv, on the other hand, is keenly aware of his own eight kilos, and has not even made the attempt to get up into the rafters. He explored ground level carefully instead.

The kitchen window opens up out into the sun room. The kitchen window is now cordially known as Miv’s personal cat door.

This is how Piv gets up there. Sproing!

Even the top rafter, with almost no crawl space, was thoroughly explored. Many flies were caught. The sun room is also now guaranteed spider free.

Cats aren’t the only people who love basking in the spring sun. The husband and I took lunch out there while the kittenz explored.

Gotta admit it. Miv may not be small and elegant like his sister, but in his own steamroller fashion, he’s a handsome cat.

Piv remains the porcelain doll of the house, though.

That window really is fascinating. You can be outside in the sun and at the same time keep an eye on everything in the kitchen. This means you can sunbathe and beg for treats at the same time. Awesome!

Pictures by me, myself, and I.