Rain

Large parts of Sweden are suffering from very low ground water levels. Svångemåla is no exception but thanks to a well that goes down about 20 meters, we have not had any problems. All in all we only got about 220 mm of rain this season. To make sure that we would collect as much as possible, I put a chain to guide it from the gutter down to a large drum.  Worked well and look good :)

Fall

The summer in Svångemåla and Sweden in general has been unusually cold. The highest temperature in the whole of Sweden was around 28 C and that has almost never happened before. The chilly temperatures made the trees stay green longer and even in late August only a few yellow leaves can be seen.

Probably the most hated, unwanted and dangerous animal i Svångemåla!

OK, I don't like the wild pigs that are all around our plot but thanks to an electric fence they do not cause any harm but these little creatures do!  Luckily the mosquito have not been too bad this year but the ticks have been. At least 20 times I or my wife have been bitten. Usually they are easy to remove but you can never be sure, until after a week or so, that the little bugger has not infected you with either TBE or the Lyme disease.  I cannot see any reason for them to even exist but if there is one, please let me know.

Just the look at them makes me cringe !

This one is still alive when I took the photo but has now gone to sleep for ever...

Mushrooms

This is the time of the year when mushrooms suddenly just appears in the most unlikely places. Some are poisonous while other are real delicatessen.
This one looks cute but I did not dare to pick it...

while this one is a very tasty and famous Parasol mushroom (Macrolepiota procera) This example is a very young one but since we were about to leave Svångemåla I picked it and enjoyed it after a few seconds in a frying pan with some butter :) 

Rowan berries

It is an old belief in Sweden that a lot of rowan berries is an indication that we will have a cold and long winter with plenty of snow. If that is true, we can look forward to or be afraid of what is coming!

The lime / linden tree mid August.

Spotted flycatcher (Muscicapa striata)

This little fellow has been around for a few days. I think it is a Song Thrush but if I am wrong, please let me know. Some of my most trusted readers suggest that this is a Spotted flycatcher (Muscicapa striata) and considering its size, I tend to agree. Even a very young Song Thrush would be larger.