Growing up

If we walk in the footsteps of our parents what do trees do? The grow in the stumps of their parents!

Free as a Bird

If the feeling of being privileged is the most overwhelming when I meet wild animals, I yesterday felt envy when I watched a young fishhawk hone his flying skills above my head. He was hurling abuse at me at the top of his voice since I was too close to nest and I did not stay long to avoid up-setting him. The saying “free as a bird” was on my mind when I struggled back to the car through the very thick and remote forest still contemplating how effortless he circled above my head, going up and down as he wanted without hardly moving a feather. Homo Sapiens might be at the top of many ladders but not of all!

"Fred the Fox"

As some of you might remember, I had an extraordinary experience a couple of weeks ago when I met two moose calves. I have thought about the emotions that I felt and why and was happy when one of the most famous Swedish photographers, Mattias Klum, described an encounter he had had with a rare kind of lion as being “privileged”.

That is exactly what I also feel when I come very close to wild animals. Privileged. Today it happened again when “Fred the Fox” inspected my garden. I was sitting in my kitchen, surfing the web when he passed by my window. Since he did not seem to be in a hurry, I got my camera, walked outside and took the pictures below. I think he looks as happy as I am to have such a friendly visitor on an early Sunday morning!

Good morning Svångemåla!



Getting ready for the day...



Breakfast ??

A Flower to Celebrate that it is Friday

Going nuts

The time for “going nuts” is coming closer. In more than one way! It seems as if Fred the Fox has got a son who is using my plot as his play-ground. I have seen him sneaking around a couple of times but unfortunately it has been too dark to take a picture but he is definitely getting a bit too brave and has even dared to go all the way up to my door and dragged away one of my shoes! I found it about 25 meters away with one of the shoestrings torn off. He could choose between different brands, Adidas, Nike and Geox and for some reason he chose Adidas. The big question is now why foxes prefer Adidas? One of the big questions I will probably never get a good answer to.

Books 2

I have just finished reading two books written by Michael Holman and would like to recommend them to all who have either lived in Kenya and/or would like to know a bit more about life in one of the largest slums of Africa, Kibera in Nairobi. The first one is “ Last Orders at Harrods” and the second one is “Fatboy and the Dancing Ladies”. Although Holman makes fun of politicians, aid workers in general and Scandinavian in particular, he gives the readers a good insight into the lives and problems of those who live in a slum. It is a very hard life they are living and Holman describes it in a way that brought me back to my many experiences from one of the other slums in Nairobi, Mathare and the good and even happy memories I have. Overall, the books are very funny and can take away some of the pessimism and despair many feel regarding Africa. Read and laugh!

Pictures

I have received some questions regarding my pictures. First of all, I would like you to know that you can watch the pictures more in detail by just double clicking them. They are taken using a Nikon D200 with either a 18-200 mm VR or a 80-400 mm VR lens. If you have more questions, please put them in a comment and I will try to answer them or pass them on to someone who might know.

North and South in Svångemåla

The road passing my house is a narrow gravel road. It is, most of the time, so narrow that two cars cannot meet and small meeting places have been made so that you do not have to go off road when you meet someone. These meeting places are clearly marked with a sign with a big M on it. Today I noticed that the signs do not just show where you can safely meet but also in which direction you are going! The trick is to see on which side of the sign the moss and lichens are growing since you only find it on the northern side and not on the southern. It is a piece of knowledge that we learnt as kids in school since it is part of the survival skills you have to have to live in the deep forests of Sweden. No compass, no GPS needed in Svångemåla!

South...


North ..

Red berries

It is today one week since I met the two moose calves in the woods but I still get goose bumps thinking about it. A lot of people have asked me if I was not afraid but to be honest, I never even thought about the cow / mother coming back to protect her off-springs. I was just so moved by their curiosity in me and their believe that I was as friendly and harmless as they were. It will not take long for them to learn to avoid humans and fear them as much as we fear a grown up moose.

The picture below is a good example of something that looks nice and even tempting to eat but is, I have been told, very poisonous. Unfortunately, that is all I know so if you can give me some more information about these berries, please make a comment below.



And the cranes are back for a short visit...