Rhododendron

As I wrote earlier, our Rhododendron is now in full bloom. When I looked in Wikipedia, I learned that the name comes from "the Greek: ροδον, rodon, meaning "rose", and δενδρον, dendron, meaning "tree". It is a large genus with over 1000 species and most have showy flower displays. It includes the plants known to gardeners as azaleas. It is the national flower of Nepal, the State flower of Sikkim, India and the State Flower of both West Virginia and Washington in the USA."

Insects

I have had the privilege to live many years in Africa and one of the most common questions from my friends and relatives in Sweden was about all insects they were sure we had to fight. I thought about it today when swarms of flies and mosquitoes took turn attacking me depending on where I was. In the shade, the mosquitoes were the most active while the flies came in full force as soon as I got out in the sun.



All is not bad. The Rhododendrons are now in full bloom and we have had no rain today!

Air crash in Svångemåla!

A loud bang almost made me drop my coffee mug in the middle of Denmark v. Holland. I rushed to the window to see what was going on and saw a very groggy looking Woody the woodpecker sitting on the ground. It is the first time I have seen a woodpecker sitting like that and realized immediately that he must be in very bad shape but since he was still sitting, I let him recover and to my relief, he managed to fly away after 15 anxious minutes. Sometimes it is good to have a brain that is well protected and can manage a head on collision with a window without major injuries.

Has Twiggy got acne?

Suddenly my teenager Twiggy the Linden tree has got something looking like acne. Or is it too much sun? Not possible this summer but its leaves are getting reddish and has got small bumps that makes it look at bit unhealthy. After a bit of research the conclusion is that she is suffering from Phytoptus tiliae. It is not going to harm her too much but I am still a bit concerned and wonder what needs to be done to remove the small, very small animals.

Mrs Wagtail

As always, Mrs Wagtail is busy in the garden. Click on the picture to get a closer look of her latest catch!

The Twig 2010

Do you remember "the twig"? Well, this is a recent picture of it. No big changes and it is obvious that the soil is not very fertile and that it will take a looooong time before I can use it for a swing :)

Baby moose has grown up!

One of the calves I saw 2008 (I think) has now grown up and was peacefully grazing on the Field when I woke up this morning. A wonderful sight early in the morning.

Back in the wild forests of Svångemåla!

I am once again listening to the birds, watching the fox, the moose and the rest of "my" animals in Svångemåla. Nothing has really changed since I left last year although the winter was unusually long and hard with lots of snow and very low temperatures. It was really nice to see Fred the Fox sneaking around when we arrived and it did not take long before the cranes flow over our house. It is still cold with only 10 C during the day and even less during the night. Despite the cold weather the mosquitoes are big and plentiful. Mrs Wagtail only has to fly around a bit with her mouth open to have a full dinner.

In the next days I will try to take some pictures of the flowers that are making spring such a special time of the year.

Extra, extra... update directly from Svångemåla!

A quick trip to Sweden made it possible for me to make a short visit to Svångemåla. The snow covered ground was full of spoor from deers, foxes, rabbits, moose, a cat, dogs, birds, and many, many more of my more or less wild neighbors.

In addition, you could, if you just squinted a bit, see thousands of diamonds ! Unfortunatly they all melted when I picked them up.

Vienna Neews !

Svångemåla News has got a sister blogg in Vienna. It is called Vienna Neews (yes, it had to be two "ee" or blogspot would not accept the name) and its url is

viennaneews.blogspot.com

Welcome!