Early flowers and a bit more :)

The 2019-2020 winter was mild and wet but spring has so far been very dry. The usual flowers are there but my feeling is that they are not as numerous or colorful as they used to be. That can be just an imagination or because the very bright sunshine took away the vibrant colors the day I took the photos. Here are some of them... no names or descriptions, just a walk through our little paradise :) If you can identify all flowers you will get a thumbs up in my next post !

 Our small homestead's proper name is Bäckalund which means the small grove by the stream. The stream is very small and it is only during spring it is filled with water.

 

Ash tree

Ash trees all over the northern hemisphere are dying due to the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) . There are a lot of ash trees in Svångemåla and although some are still looking OK, the one in the picture has not been well for some years. I informed the electric power company (EON) some time back but they did not take any action until it was too late and the tree and the power line had gone down.  I am very lucky that no one was sitting around the fire that we normally have exactly where it hit! It took four days until the power was back on :)

Wood nuthatch (Sitta europaea)

The nuthatch loves an old tree even when a storm took down most of it during the winter. Plenty of juicy worms to be found :)

Fly catcher

The fly catcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) couple must have had a terrible time when a wood pecker tried to get into their  nest. Imagine a big and aggressive intruder hacking on your door!

They are still here and have moved to a new bird house not far away from the one they used last year.

Must be a very special feeling...

to be able to fly like a common buzzard (Buteo buteo) !  A couple of them looked down on me for a few minutes before they decided to go hunting somewhere else. Not the largest of birds but still impressive even when they are high up in the sky.

New year, new posts and maybe a new world?

COVID19 has reached most parts of the world but so far Svångemåla seems to be free of the virus. Life goes on and it was great to be back for a few days to re-connect with nature and in particular with our resident wagtail couple. I spent a lot of time just studying them and marvel over their different poses. This, first post of the year, will therefore be a "wagtail special".  I hope you don't get tired of this lovely little bird :) I know I will not.

Social distancing a la our wagtail couple.