COVID19 - how not to use a mask :)

Nuthatch

Nothing special, not particularly cute just a nuthatch on the wall :)

Squirrel

There are many oak trees, hazelnut bushes and other sources of food for squirrels in Svångemåla but they are still not very common. I see only a couple each year and they are very shy and afraid of coming too close to the house. This little fellow looked for something to eat in a big oak just outside our fence. I hope I can come closer another time.

Robin

There are fewer birds in Svångemåla now compared to a month ago.  Some have left fot warmer regions while others have just gone to look for more insects / food around lakes and the sea.

One, very cute, robin is still here and had to find shelter in a Rhododendron bush when the rain was pouring down.

Ecological burning

A big plume of smoke could be seen from Svångemåla some days ago.

It was a controlled fire / ecological burning about five kilometres north west of us. It was lit by the authorities to enable specific animals and plants to survive and thrive. The fire looked omnibus when I took my drone up to about 100 metres but when I later visited the area I could see how carefully the fire had been prepared with ditches,  water hoses etc. 

It has been unusually dry the last couple of months and it was therefore surprising to see how little the trees had been affected while the undergrowth was completely burnt. 

To be able to publish the drone photo I had to get a special permission so that I unintentionally did not reveal any military installations  :)

Autum

The leaves are slowly turning brown and yellow. Even if the temperature is pleasant it is no doubt that summer is soon just a memory and we have to get ready for chiller times.

Autumn flowers

Our plot or garden is a so called "wood land garden" which means that most of our plants are natural to our part of Sweden. We have, however,  a few that are the result of seeds that my wife sowed in the spring.

Ticks

I love animals. Even snakes and spiders but there are two exceptions,ticks and wild pigs. The pigs are kept away thanks to an electric fence but the ticks are impossible to get away from. As soon as you go out you are at risk of getting one or more crawling all over you. Sounds like no big deal but they carry viruses that can give you both TBE and Lyme disease.  Luckily you can be vaccinated against TBE and there are antibiotics against the Lyme disease but it can still be very unpleasant and take a long time before you are cured.

On this picture you can see how incredible small the ticks can be.

Woody is getting ready for a night out!

Woody the woodpecker really prepared himself well for a night out when he sat at the very top of a dead tree while the sun was setting. Don't you think he looks smashing  ?

Lesser spotted woodpecker

This is not a very common bird in Svångemåla and I was therefore happy to spot it just a few meters from where I was standing looking much further away.

I am not sure what it was doing since it is not the right time to build a nest and I could not see it finding anything to eat.