Total Make Over

You have probably seen several TV series showing ”before” and ”after” of women, men, apartments, houses, cars and what not but I am sure that you have not seen a total make over of a Wagtail? As you know, one of my favourite birds is a wagtail that lives under a roof tile and has done so for several years. Today, when I was sitting enjoying the sunset, it sat down and started to prepare itself for dinner or an evening out, I am not sure. Anyway, it is just amazing what a difference a few minutes of cleaning and grooming makes. Have a look below and tell me what you think!

Before ......


Work in progress ....



After and ready to party !!!!

Rhubarb !

Many sportsmen, politicians, actors, and other officials never get the credit they deserve. Instead of becoming famous and appreciated they struggle in the shadow of the already well known and established “stars”. The same is true for flowers! Roses, tulips and a few more are always in the vases in movies, in the hands of the brides and when someone is being thanked for doing this or that, while other are simply forgotten and never given a chance to be in the spotlight although they are just as wonderful and special. I have just discovered one such flower; rhubarb ! Look at the picture below. Isn’t it wonderful? So the next time you go to a flower shop, why not ask for rhubarb flowers for your date / wedding / dinner etc. ?

Food delivery

Mother Starling is very busy. Her children are demanding and let her know when they are hungry but luckily the mosquitos are here in full force.

Birds

If anything, Svångemåla is a paradise for all kinds of birds. Some of you might remember the woodpecker I saw last year. This year, a family of starlings occupies this particular nest. Wonder what kind of rent agreement they have agreed on?


Not far away, a Pied Fly Catcher has moved into a nest I have put on the wall of a shed. A Wagtail first took it but she was resolutely chased away by the Fly Catcher. The fight lasted only a few minutes but was fierce while it lasted.

"Forget me not"

OK, ok, I know. The correct name of "Tiny Blue" is "Forget me not". You don't have to tell me. Some might wonder why I have not learnt more about common flowers and birds etc and the truth is that that I do not know a lot about music and a lot of other things but still enjoy them. I even think that too much knowledge about something can actually hinder us from enjoying them. Just think about movies. If you know a lot about movie making, it can be difficult to fully enjoy a movie and instead focus too much on technicalities instead of the story. Or what do you think?

"Tiny Blue"

In the middle of the darkest part of the forest I found this tiny flower, shining like a distant star. Truly wonderful. If you know its name, please let me know or I will simply call it "Tiny Blue".

More good news!

Fred Fox showed up when I went to collect my mail! He saw me but just sat down and looked back at me while I noticed that he has (also) a lot of gray hair. Otherwise he looked healthy and I hope Frida Fox has not left him.

Wet

Sweden in general and Svångemåla in particular are very green places during the warmer time of the year. Chlorophyll must be one of the most common substances in the country! If you do not like the colour green, do not come to neither Sweden, nor Svångemåla. One of the reasons for this is that the sunlight is limited and the plants therefore must be able to utilize it as much as possible to survive. They also have plenty of water or moisture all the time that makes it possible for them to survive. The draw back is that you get wet most of the time when you sit on the ground or just walk around in the morning. It is difficult to illustrate this but imagine that each and every white dot is a drop of water and you understand what I mean.

If you would like to enlarge this or any other picture, just double click the picture!

Good news!

Mrs and Mr Crane are back! I just saw them walking around not far from my house. When I sneaked up to them I could see that they are in good shape and their body language told me that they are as much in love as they were last year. Hopefully I will soon be able to take some pictures of the lovely couple and share with you all.

Twig

Almost exactly a year ago I took a picture of a small linden twig. This is what it looks today. It makes me a bit concerned since I realize that it will take a loooong time before it is strong enough for even a small bird to sit on, a child to climb on or to hold a swing. I might have to put some manure around it and talk to it even more often than what I do now.

First butterfly ! or is it a moth ?

Slow down ???

Wheelbarrows are very useful. I have a couple to be able to transport everything from stones to grass. The latest is a foldable one that is mainly for grass, leaves and so on. Unfortunately, I have just discovered that it might not be able to handle the speed at which I work :)

Back in Svångemåla I can report that the badger has already started to destroy my lawn, birds are busy preparing their nests and very little has changed sine I left almost nine months ago. And that makes me very happy! It is just soooo beautiful and peaceful. The contrast to the news I see and hear from Myanmar and other places I know well are unreal and I feel blessed and, sort of, guilty at the same time.

The picture is taken some 10 k from Svångemåla but the wood anemones are just as wonderful here as they are on the photo.