Early but not angry birds

The Crane (Grus grus) survived the snow and cold weather in March and walked happily around the Field.

A Bullfinch ( Pyrrhula pyrrhula ) enjoy the sunset from the top of a tree.

I am not sure, but think this is a Willow warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) .  As always, if you know for sure what kind of bird it is, let me know!

Even the Wagtail enjoyed the sunset from the roof of the house.

I added a few small birdhouses late last year and at least one of them has already a tenant!  It will be interesting to follow the Great tit couple (Parus major) and see if they stay on or move to another location.

Flowers and butterflies

Suddenly it was almost summer in Svångemåla!  Warm air from the Sahara came all the way to southern Sweden and we could all enjoy a couple of really sunny and warm days. Flowers, butterflies and birds transformed nature from almost one day to the other. Here are some pictures from just two days of sunshine.

A Common brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) enjoyed the many Siberian squill ( Scilla siberica ) that are all over the garden every spring.

The Common hepatica ( Anemone hepatica ) are almost finished but a few, growing in the shade, were still nice and colorful.

A Small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) joined the Common brimstone.

This very small flower is unknown to me. If you know what it is, please let me know!

The Daffodiles (Narcissus pseudonarcissus ), that we planted late last year, seemed to look at the sun with a lot of appreciation :)

It will take a while before the Rododendrons are in full bloom but the buds look promising!

The Field as it looks today.

The February Daphne (Daphne mezereum ) has spread and can now be found all around our plot. It looks nice this time of the year but its bright, red berries are poisonous.

The Wood anemones (Anemone nemorosa )  can cover large areas of the forests in and around Svångemåla. This one has a different coloration compared to the more common that are bright white.

Easter 2018

Easter 2018 will be remembered for a long time. Not only was it unusually cold in southern Sweden, we also got a lot of snow. Normally you can pick the first spring flowers this time of the year but not this time :( 

Svångemåla looked more like Christmas than Easter and we left quickly after having had a quick look to make sure that no roofs had caved in and that everything else was in good order.

The daffodils have not realized that it is not time for them just yet. 

I could hear some birds and to my big surprise, the crane couple were walking around in The Field. Can they really find enough food to survive two - three weeks before the temperature is what they expected it to be? 

Bye, bye 2017 and welcome 2018 !

2017 has gone and 2018 is here. Nature is resting although a few birds are around trying to put some life into an otherwise sleeping Svångemåla. It is no real winter but the ground was covered with frost at the end of 2017 and one day a few flakes of snow reminded me of the winter that might come.  It is therefore nice to find a bright blue lesser periwinkle (Vinca minor) hiding under a tree. Its leaves will stay green but the flowers will be gone as soon as we get some really cold weather.

November 2017

It always surprises me to find fresh flowers in November. All trees have, more or less, lost all their leaves and nature looks ready for the first snow and then... a beautiful clover flower! 

or a somewhat tired but still wonderful daisy...

and a very spring-like dandelion...

or a geranium bud that will hardly have time to blossom before it is taken away by the frost.

Our whole plot is surrounded by lesser periwinkle that stays green all year round. Flowers are,  however, not very common this time of the year.

As you might remember, parts of Svångemåla has been made into a form of protected biosphere which means that fallen trees are not cleared. It looks a bit untidy but the birds and the insects love it.

The hunting season for moose has just finished and a spoor of a running animal could clearly be seen on the gravel road leading to our house.  I hope it managed to flee and hide!

Sadly I discovered an old car wreck not far away from Svångemåla. Can you identify what make it is? Very common in Sweden some years back.

Örarevet November 2017

Not far from Svångemåla is a small nature reserve at the Baltic Sea called Örarevet. It is one of our absolute favorite places! In the summer one can see a lot of different birds and flowers and in the winter the landscape is just stunning. 

Early October

Svångemåla is a very quiet place all year round and particularly this time of the year. A few birds can be heard but not much else. A couple of deer came close to our house and enjoyed a bit of sunshine before they took off into the forest.

Not all apples have fallen off the trees and most of those that are left are damaged by various insects. They are still nice to look at and hopefully they can become food for the birds.

These berries look nice but I have been told that they are poisonous. Looking them up ( Berberis vulgaris ) it says that they  "can be used for culinary purposes in ways comparable to how citrus peel might be used". Not sure I want to try them out :)

This time of the year is also the time we look at fantastic pictures from Vermont and other places where nature is turning into a cascade of colors. Some leaves in Svångemåla are also displaying incredible colors, like this one but most look like the next photo..

Nice but not spectacular.

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...