The Wagtail is back !

The probably most typical bird around our house is the Wagtail. I have posted serveral pictures of them and was almost a bit  concerned when they did not show up until a week ago. Everything seems to be OK now and they are busy building their nest. Lovely and very sociable bird!

Beasts!

I have written many times about the wild pigs that seem to be everywhere in and around Svångemåla. They destroy gardens, paths and fields but are difficult to see since they are mostly moving around during the night. My neighbor told me that he had seen a group of them a couple of evenings ago so I changed the settings on my camera to ISO 24,000, put on a long lens and went off at about 10 PM. Just outside our plot two big pigs were slowly walking along the road. I stopped and managed to take some pictures although I felt a bit nervous when I saw how big they are. When they eventually spotted me, the ran off at full speed leaving me with a good memory and some shaky photos :)

Crane chicken!

The cranes have spent a lot of time looking for food in the field and I was happy to see a small yellow head next to them. Unfortunately the farmer, who owns the field, had to cut the grass and I am still not sure if the chicken survived or not. Click on the picture to enlarge it!

Tiny white flowers

Svångemåla is right now full of tiny white flowers. They might look very similar when you look at them from a distance but when you look very closely you will see that they are very different. If you can identify all four flowers below you are a real expert!!

Drama in the field

When I opened the door the other day one of the two cranes living in the field was out looking for something to eat. Nothing unusual about that but when I looked a bit closer I saw a fox only a few meters away! 

The fox did not pay much attention to the crane and walked away slowly realizing that it would not have much of a chance catching the big bird with its large and sharp beak.

Crazy !

It is almost mid May and it is snowing in Svångemåla! Crazy and depressing. Birds and flowers are suffering even more than I do. It might look beatiful in a picture but don't be fooled, it is just awful when the winds from the Arctic come down on you this time of the year.

Frog

A European common frog (Rana temporaria) was hiding in the grass. Not the most beautiful animal I can think of but an important part of the ecosystem.

Grizzled skipper (Pyrgus malvae)

Even a butterfly can be hairy!  Good idea when the temperature is only 8 C although the sun is shining. Click on the picture to see the details!

Spring ?

Easter, spring... time to open up Svångemåla for the season!  Plenty of water in the well, heating system up and working in no time, no signs of unwanted guests but suddenly it is

winter again :(  Snow in the air, the birds almost stopped singing so we decided to cut our stay short. I managed to get some pictures before the snow but don't you agree that the flowers look a bit sad ?

Wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa)

Cowslip (Primula veris )

Unspotted Lungwort or Suffolk Lungwort  (Pulmonaria obscura)

Lent Lily (Narcissus pseudonarcissus )

Van Sion (Telamonius Plenus) ?

Some form of Scilla. If you know the exact name, please let me know!

The wind can be destructive!

The road to Svångemåla, not far from Grötsjö.

The wild pigs are destroying our forest path :(

Not far from our house is a small, abandoned house / homestead  called Goliatmålen. From what I have heard one of the owners was a tailor and so was one of the owners of our place. Anyway, the small road leading up to Goliatsmålen is now not more than a path but is still the only way to get there. I was therefore a bit surprised when I saw that the pigs have dug a fairly deep hole and cut of the path completely! Amazing how they manage to dig up big stones and make this kind of hole in the ground that is full of roots and stones.