A Very Viking Spring
“Lo, the Feast of Equinox is nigh”, the Village Elder said. “Let us celebrate”.
And there was much rejoicing and feasting, and many games were played.
Only the bravest dared try “Let’s-Wake-Ursåal, the Sleeping Bear”…
…this was enthusiastically followed by the Tradiational Slapping of the Frozen Lutefisk.
The lovely village maidens did a splendid dance around the Purple Pole of the Fallen Skull-Warrior. The men watched on, shouting much encouragement.
Finally, the day drew to a close, with the mandatory burning and pillaging.
A good time was had by most.
Explore posts in the same categories: Friar's Grab Bag, Those Vikings...Tags: equinox, humor, lutefisk, may-pole, spring, Those Vikings..., warriors
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March 24, 2009 at 1:35 am
@Wee Friar
Enjoyed your intro to Spring. Your drawings haven’t changed much in forty years, you still love to draw fires and explosions.
Ahhhhhhh. I was hoping you’d give your Village Elder an authentic Viking name.
Will your Vikings celebrate Earth Day?
March 24, 2009 at 7:33 am
Hey, the village maiden on the left looks just like Wendi
…and what’s that dog doing on the fire?
March 24, 2009 at 9:46 am
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahh
Ah-hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahhahahahhahahahahah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love this, do more!
I love the elder in the last one, A total “D’oh!” moment. You captured it perfectly, so perfectly you don’t need to put “D’oh!” in a little word bubble. True talent Mr. Friar!
Eyeteaguy
March 24, 2009 at 9:48 am
P.S. I am waiting for Kelly to comment on the “Purple Pole of the Fallen Skull-Warrior”.
March 24, 2009 at 10:32 am
Brother Fry,
Tooooo funny. My absolute favourite is watching the bear antics. Chasing, drinking beer, peeing on Viking-Henge.
“Tradiational Slapping of the Frozen Lutefisk.” HA!
Nicely done!
March 24, 2009 at 10:50 am
I think that last frame actually happened in my back yard last time Friar & I had a bonfire.
March 24, 2009 at 11:27 am
Hmm, slight difference of opinion here. Is that a bear or a dog peeing on the Viking-Henge?
Friar has a Seestor. Hmmm, is this the kind of sister that helps, loves and supports her brother, or one that endlessly mocks him until he is a quivering heap of tears on the floor.
Its important to know if I shall suffer the slings and arrows or the Friar.
Eyeteaguy
March 24, 2009 at 11:46 am
@Eyeteaguy,
Definitely a Viking bear. Viking dogs have tails.
March 24, 2009 at 11:52 am
My dog didn’t have a tail… maybe he was a bear. That would explain all the missing children in our neighbourhood.
Eyeteaguy
March 24, 2009 at 11:53 am
The Viking lady with the big axe looks just like me! I’m actually wearing that orange and red outfit right now. Veldig morsom og flink, Mr. Tiggermunk
March 24, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Are you sure it is a bear? I mean, once the Viking dogs meet the Viklings with their “Little Viking Pillage Swords”… no tails to be found!
March 24, 2009 at 12:49 pm
We might just call this an early spring bar be que!
Very funny and clever – love the drawings!
Your guest post is up and running at bikingarchitect.com hope my intro was not embarrassing! Thank you
March 24, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Friar,
I love the title! So… retro-chic. So ironic-absurdist. *So* Deep Friar.
The lutefisk is my favorite. ROFL.
Eyeteaguy,
Because you asked: It was funnier before I scrolled down to see the drawing. While I was just reading about the dance. Even though I knew from previous writings where he was going with it, that didn’t stop my poor, one-track brain.
Ahem.
Regards,
Kelly
March 24, 2009 at 4:47 pm
@ Kelly,
Did you do your Google research on “lutefisk”? I did becaue my Danish friend eats a similar delicacy. I learned much about the tedious preparation of this food. I also gleaned the following:
Tradition holds that lutefisk originated during the Viking pillages of Ireland, when St. Patrick sent men to pour lye on stores of dried fish on the longships, with the hope of poisoning the Vikings. However, rather than dying of poisoning, the Vikings declared lutefisk a delicacy. There is however about three centuries between St. Patricks time in Ireland and the Vikings arrival in Ireland. Yay! Vikings rule!
p.s. Some people liken lutefisk to rat poison.
@ Wee Friar,
Just thinking. Wee Friar, once fishing season starts up, maybe you and Brett can get together on a Thursday and start a batch of lutefisk.
@ Brett,
While Friar is out fishing, you can chop down a few birch trees with your Viking axe and make the necessary “birch ash”.
March 24, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Hey! I just wrote about you on Davina’s blog, which just popped off my finger tips…I think I embarrassed you?
http://www.shadesofcrimson.com/2009/03/23/a-vision-of-fulfillment/comment-page-1/#comment-872
I forgot to mention your painting!…the rites of spring I suppose?
March 24, 2009 at 5:32 pm
@Friar’s Mom
The Viking Elder’s name is Clöst Erfokên.
Oh, I think maybe the Vikings will celebrate Earth Day…but probably not in the same way everyone expects!
@Brett
Well, I suppose the maiden COULD be Wendi….(I’ve only ever seen her from the neck up, based on her Avatar).
And it’s the BEAR playing with the fire.
@Eyeteaguy
All we need is for Wendi and Janice to join Kelly…then…WATCH OUT!!
@Seestor
Wild animals, bonfires, maidens, and fish. What more could a viking want?
@Eyeteaguy
Oh, you’ll have to quip and repartee with Seestor, and figure out for yourself what kind of worthy opponent she might be!
@Friar’s Mom
Yes….it’s a BEAR!!! Thank you! (Everyone else seems confused).
@XUP
Of COURSE she looks like you!
(Actually, it that’s true, that means you’re pretty hot!)
@Brett
Viking dogs are tough…they wouldn’t put up with any tali-slicing crap from any Vik-lings.
@Patricia
Hey, I checked out my guest post! The blog looks great! (And thanks for the kind intro).
Let’s hope I can generate more than 5 comments, like you mentioned.
@Kelly
Notice I made sure the pole was PURPLE!!!???
@Friar’s Mom
If I catch trout of walleye, I’ll fillet them and fry them up in the pan. They’re too tasty to waste on Lutefisk. (that would be for herring and such)
March 24, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Hey! I recognized the bear. He is my favourite character!
@ Eyeteaguy. Mocking Friar and reducing him to tears defines “pipe dream”. Just think what would come back at me if I even started. No, I just outsmart him.
March 24, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Hey Friar, know any physicists?
I watched a show on the Bose-Einsten Condensate. They got it to go by releasing the hottest particles out the top of the “cup”. They said the same thing works for a cup of tea. The hottest particles are in the vapour rising out of the cup.
I have a habit of leaving my tea to steep too long and by the time I get to it its cold. So I figured I’d cover the top and keep the hot vapour in. But it didn’t work. I know a metal spoon in the tea will help it cool, but how to keep it hot… other than to drink it earlier.
Totally off topic but you know all the answers.
Eyeteaguy
March 24, 2009 at 6:44 pm
@Friar’s Seestor.
Outsmart him? Is that possible? That is why I tease him ceaselessly. Its all I got. After that I resort to fire bombing houses and DoS attacks.
Eyeteaseguy
March 24, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Well *I* think it is a Viking dog-bear.
So there.
Prove me wrong.
(Friar, if you agree with me, I’ll bring you a 6-pack of that kick ass cider… heh heh)
March 24, 2009 at 7:12 pm
So bribes work but threats don’t. Hmmmm. I’ll have to remember that.
March 24, 2009 at 7:19 pm
@Eyeteaguy,
Try the cider and you’ll know why…
March 24, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Booze in it?
March 24, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Yeah yeah, I know you’re not drinking anymore.
But honestly, cider with no alcohol is like taking a bath with your socks on.
March 24, 2009 at 7:43 pm
I’ll have to wait until the 1st of July.
What’s it called?
March 24, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Stowford Press – it comes in a 660 mL bottle
Magners is actually better (tastier and more kick) but hey, a 660 mL bottle seems quite the thing!
March 24, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Friar: I love when you illustrate! And I’m really loving them in colour. Everyone’s expressions are priceless. You’re so good at this!
PS. What do *we* have to do to bring spring around here??
March 24, 2009 at 11:45 pm
My favorite is the bear. It reminded of the summer day I was hiking with my sister in Rocky Mountain National Park, and we actually saw a black bear up the hill. I, of course, wanted to stand there and stare at it and keep it from making its way to the stream to drink, but my sister said, “Jesus save us!” and beat it down the trail, despite having just complained that she was tired.
March 24, 2009 at 11:49 pm
@Seestor
Oh, I’m a Wiley Friar. You’ll have to work hard to outsmart me.
March 24, 2009 at 11:58 pm
@Eyeteaguy
Putting a spoon in your tea effectively makes it act like a radiator fin…Metal is a great conductor: the heat from the tea easily flows up into entire spoon conduction. Then it gets dissipated to the ambient air by convection, through the increased surface area of the spoon handle that’s sticking out from the cup.
It takes lots of energy to turn water to vapor So the hot steam from your cup dispersing into the air removes a lot of the heat from your tea.
ON the OTHER hand, condensing back to water gives OFF heat. (Betcha didn’t remember it also works in REVERSE, eh?)
So when you cover your tea…you’re continually evaporating and re-condensing the water in that water/vapor space just above your cup. It forms an equilibrium, that removes/releases heat, and you’ll see water drops condense on the lid of your cover.
It’s basically the same principle as a single stage in a distillation column, but I digress here.
But yes, there is value to covering your tea, because you keep the water/vapor in a closed system, and prevent the heat energy from the vapor from dispersing into the room.
But…I would hazard to guess is that the greatest heat loss is out the sides your cup (makes sense…hot tea cups are often uncomfortable to hold..which is why they have HANDLES…!)
To keep the tea hot…by all means, cover the top…and then INSULATE the sides with something. (Maybe a sock…like the one Brett says you wear while taking a bath, if you drink cider with no alcohol).
Thus endeth the Science Lesson for Today.
March 25, 2009 at 12:07 am
@Brett
Aww…sorry. It really WAS supposed to be a BEAR (the same one the Viking idiots work up).
@Eyeteaguy
I just tried the cider last week. It’s AWESOME. Just a tiny kick to it, but it catched up to you. Comes in one liter bottles, and has over 6% alcohol.
Doesn’t feel like you’re actually drinking booze, but it catches up to you, it does.
@Steph
Yeah…I enjoy doing cartoon (since I was like NINE!)
Only it takes considerably longer to write a post when I do this. Depends on the mood I’m in. (Had insonmia last night..so I was in the mood to draw more!)
But I think I’m going to start doing more of these.
@Beth
Yeah, those Teddy Bears are CUTE, but people forget they’re big wild animals. Black Bears can attack people just like Grizzlies. (We get the occasional death in Algonquin Park in Ontario…not too often, but it DOES happen every 10-15 years or so).
I had a great bear experience near Whitehorse (Yukon). A mother Grizzly and a her cub were playing WWF ( wrestling with each other) just 20 feet away from us.
Of course, we were safely parked on the side of the road inside a locked truck). The bears didnt’ seem to even care that we were there…
March 25, 2009 at 1:01 am
@Patricia
Oops. Forgot you there.
Nahh..I wasnt’ embarased on Davina’s blog. (Though I was pleasantly surprised to see Friar’s Mom comment there). She’s starting to make the rounds (outside this blog)
March 25, 2009 at 5:53 am
@Friar,
Oh, I knew it was a bear. I’m just being a Viking dickhead
Regarding Eyeteaguy’s tea – time for him to form a new habit. Whether he’s at work or at home making his tea, it only takes 3 to 5 minutes to steep a cup or pot of tea.
Simple solution? Take a 5 minute break – stand and wait for the tea to steep, then return to whatever you were doing. Better all around I say…
March 25, 2009 at 6:32 am
You and Brett ran amok on the weekend, eh? *grin*
March 25, 2009 at 7:46 am
@Brett
Next blog, I should suggest to Eyeteaguy what kind of crumpets he should use!
@Panther
Wellll….we did have a “Brainstorming” session this weekend, if that’s what you mean.
March 25, 2009 at 8:17 am
@Panther,
It was just wishful thinking – we wouldn’t dare have a real bonfire without inviting you and Lion this time…
March 25, 2009 at 8:35 am
@Brett, yeah I have all kinds of time to stand around and watch my tea steep.
Right now I am on the phone, typing an emial about privacy issues on Skype and commenting on my favorite blog.
Seriously, I don’t have time to do that. Even at home I have 2 kids running amok and work calling.
Maybe I should have become a newkleer engineer so I can work at nothing all day.
Eyeteaguy
March 25, 2009 at 8:47 am
Excellent toon, Friar! I love the colors and shadows, but, like your sis, I love Ursåal’s capers the best. Do vikings keep wild animals for pets instead of domesticated cats and dogs? That would make sense.
March 25, 2009 at 9:26 am
@Eyeteaguy,
You had time to respond to my comment…
(gotcha!)
March 25, 2009 at 10:13 am
@ Eyeteaguy
Here’s the way to keep your tea hot. Get thee to a church bazzar, and buy thyself a hand-knitted or hand-crochetted Tea Cosy to cover your tea pot.
It’s exactly what Wee Friar ordered. Instead of keeping the mug warm (on all sides with a sock), you keep the teapot warm.
Hint, always heat up the tea pot with boiling water before seeping tea.
March 25, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Good idea (about the hot water and the sock), but I only drink it by the cup so I’ll have to find someone who knits…
Does anyone in the Friar Cheeleading section knit?
Eyeteaguy
@Brett, you got nuttin’. I was multi tasking. As I said before, keeping up with this blog is one of my priorities…. now that you no longer post to yours anymore (OUCH!)
March 25, 2009 at 3:01 pm
@Eyeteaguy,
You could always write another guest post!
March 25, 2009 at 5:54 pm
@Rebecca
I suppose the Vikigns had dogs as pets. (But probably the big kind, Great Danes…not the yappy poodles).
I like to imagine they probalby messed with wild animals a lot, like Ursåll…just because they could, because they were Vikings.
@Friar’ Mom
You should tell Eyeteaguy about the time you knitted mitts for Pierre Trudeau.
@Eyeteaguy
Friar’s Mom knits. Ask her.
@Brett
Maybe you and Eyeteaguy could start your own blog together.
“Geeks with Keyboards”.
June 30, 2011 at 10:15 pm
I know its all in jest – but I find it kind of insulting and inaccurate.
Vikings didn’t wear horns. The stonehenge and antler motif looks very Celtic to me. Please don’t perpetuate racist and inaccurate sterotypes about Viking culture.
July 21, 2011 at 5:25 pm
Gee, too bad you didn’t have a blog of your own. Which I could then visit, and verify that everything is perfect and 100% appropriate. As I’m sure it would be.