I wish...

that the terrible looking tower the moose hunters have erected right in the opening I made to have a better view of The Field will be moved! As you know, The Field is very special to me and the area where I see the most animals but those having the hunting rights have also discovered this and erected a tower right in the middle of my line of sight. I have talked to one of them and he promised that they will move it but I do not know when.

This is what it looks like through a wide angle lens.



And this is what it looks like through a tele lens.



Secondly, I wish that these tall trees are cut down or I am afraid that they all come down on my shed a day when the winter storm is blowing from the north. They are all dead due to an attack by European spruce bark beetle (http://www.invasive.org/species/subject.cfm?sub=888)

F R O S T !

It has been minus 1.6 C tonight. It is not unusual that we have this kind of temperatures mid October but it is still nothing I look forward to. It means that the wonderful foliage we have had is soon over and will in a few months be replaced by naked trees covered in snow. Time to move on !

Autumn

The wet weather has made our "garden" a heaven for mushrooms of all sorts. Some you can eat, some you cannot. I wish I know but I do not and stick to the very safe, yellow ones :)





I am a great fan of lichen and admire their ability to live on the hardest of surfaces with hardly anything to survive of.



As I have reported earlier, most of the apples were attacked by various insects and the few that have survived are now taken take care of by the birds.

Keeping warm

It is getting cold in Sweden and Svångemåla. To be able to keep the little house warm I have installed two different kind of heaters. The first one is run purely by solar power. A panel generates electricity for a fan that forces hot air from the panel into the house. The panel manages to increase the temperature of the air to about 25 degrees C above the general air temperature when the sun is shining. Perfect to keep the house ventilated without using any energy from the grid but useless when it is cloudy or the sun is down. (www.solarventi.com)

Solarventi



The second heater is much more efficient but uses some electricity. It works, more or less, like a freezer but backwards, i.e. it takes warmth out of the surrounding air, increases it and transfers the heat to a heater inside the house. It is very efficient and one unit can easily keep the whole house warm and comfortable without too much noise.

So far, so good but the real test will be in the winter when the temperature is far below 0 C.

Air to air heat-pump

Black Grouse (Tetrao tetrix)

All big birds in the forest are not birds of prey. In a few, relatively remote and unpopulated forests like the one around Svångemåla, you can still be lucky and spot a Black grouse or a Capercaillie although they are not very common. I was therefore very happy when I today came across a young Blackcock and managed to get picture of him.

September

It is the time of the year when drizzle is more common than sunshine, the temperature is falling by the week and we all start to prepare for the winter. Many birds have or are preparing to leave for warmer regions. The hunters are getting their weapons ready for one of the biggest events of the year in Sweden, the moose hunt and I wonder if these two will live to see next spring? The couple showed up some hundred meters away from my cottage and I wonder if it is the same couple I once met eye to eye?

http://svangemalanews.blogspot.com/2008/06/absolutely-amazing-meeting.html

Two is just perfect!

Two is just perfect. Lots of space but still someone to warm you!



Four is possible but it is getting a bit crowded.




Five is just one too many! Please find some other friends!

Mist

Although I do not really like or enjoy the cooler weather we are experiencing, I cannot deny that it looks amazing when the mist covers the field in thin layers. It is easy to understand that many can see the elves dancing around in white, long dresses. Mystical!

Cattle invasion

The new road has now been tested by our neighbor's cattle. We heard a loud "muuuuu" and saw a small herd of cattle walking slowly pass our plot. It was headed by a big bull who looked a bit like my favorite "Ferdinand" but he did not stop to smell our flowers but showed some interest in a Mercedes parked not far from us. Maybe the owner will get a Smart some months from now?

August 2010

August 2010 is almost history. Nothing much has happened in Svångemåla. Surprisingly few animals have showed up around my house and no other major events have taken place. It is slowly getting colder and darker. The dew makes the grass glitter in the morning and the well known August moon is as bright as it always is.



As you know, my apples were early destroyed by insects but a few were spared and made into a delicious apple pie.

There are berries in the forest and we made a couple of blueberry pies and have seen, but not picked any lingonberries.



The most typical Swedish tradition this time of the year is the eating of crayfish and fermented herring (smells like it is rotten!) called "surströmming".

Despite all the rain we have had, there are not as much mushrooms as usual but it is still not too late for them so we just have to be patient.