Bye for now....

A friend wrote to me today and said that this summer was the shortest he has ever experienced. I think he is right and I am sure the next will be even shorter. The longer we have lived the shorter they get. Or feels like it at least. On the other hand, I have never experienced so many truly remarkable meetings and “wild” experiences as I have this summer thanks to the moose calves, the fox and the fish hawk. I hope you have enjoyed visiting my blog and I look forward to sharing more news from Svångemåla next year! Until then, take care and all the best from a sleepy Bear.

Elves

Summer is definitely over. The children are back in school, the animals are preparing for the winter and the elves are dancing on the meadows. You have to look long and hard to see them but they are there, hidden in the mist that forms in the evening. Beautiful but also a reminder that it is getting time to leave Svångemåla to go south for a little bit of more warm weather and sunshine.

From Austria to Svångemåla !

Today's Feeling

PS Did you spot the lonely bird?

Diamonds on the Leaves

Lingonberries

Slowly, slowly, nature is getting ready for the long rest it needs to gather energy for the outburst of energy and life we call spring. The leaves are turning yellow, brown and even red and cover the ground like a blanket of gold coins. The summer is not over yet but the signs are there for all of us to see.



At the same time, the transformation of the summers’ flowers into berries is in full progress. It has been a dry summer and the blueberries are fewer than usual. Similarly, the wild raspberries are difficult to find. Even the most important of all berries in this part of Sweden, the lingonberries are small and far in between. This means that the most used jam of all, lingonberry jam, will be more expensive to the disappointment of all who like to put a spoon of this particular jam on their meat balls, pancakes, fried herring, or cold rice porridge. No, I am not joking, we eat lingonberry jam to a lot of very different dishes and can hardly live without it in this part of Sweden.

Growing up

If we walk in the footsteps of our parents what do trees do? The grow in the stumps of their parents!

Free as a Bird

If the feeling of being privileged is the most overwhelming when I meet wild animals, I yesterday felt envy when I watched a young fishhawk hone his flying skills above my head. He was hurling abuse at me at the top of his voice since I was too close to nest and I did not stay long to avoid up-setting him. The saying “free as a bird” was on my mind when I struggled back to the car through the very thick and remote forest still contemplating how effortless he circled above my head, going up and down as he wanted without hardly moving a feather. Homo Sapiens might be at the top of many ladders but not of all!

"Fred the Fox"

As some of you might remember, I had an extraordinary experience a couple of weeks ago when I met two moose calves. I have thought about the emotions that I felt and why and was happy when one of the most famous Swedish photographers, Mattias Klum, described an encounter he had had with a rare kind of lion as being “privileged”.

That is exactly what I also feel when I come very close to wild animals. Privileged. Today it happened again when “Fred the Fox” inspected my garden. I was sitting in my kitchen, surfing the web when he passed by my window. Since he did not seem to be in a hurry, I got my camera, walked outside and took the pictures below. I think he looks as happy as I am to have such a friendly visitor on an early Sunday morning!

Good morning Svångemåla!



Getting ready for the day...



Breakfast ??

A Flower to Celebrate that it is Friday

Going nuts

The time for “going nuts” is coming closer. In more than one way! It seems as if Fred the Fox has got a son who is using my plot as his play-ground. I have seen him sneaking around a couple of times but unfortunately it has been too dark to take a picture but he is definitely getting a bit too brave and has even dared to go all the way up to my door and dragged away one of my shoes! I found it about 25 meters away with one of the shoestrings torn off. He could choose between different brands, Adidas, Nike and Geox and for some reason he chose Adidas. The big question is now why foxes prefer Adidas? One of the big questions I will probably never get a good answer to.

Books 2

I have just finished reading two books written by Michael Holman and would like to recommend them to all who have either lived in Kenya and/or would like to know a bit more about life in one of the largest slums of Africa, Kibera in Nairobi. The first one is “ Last Orders at Harrods” and the second one is “Fatboy and the Dancing Ladies”. Although Holman makes fun of politicians, aid workers in general and Scandinavian in particular, he gives the readers a good insight into the lives and problems of those who live in a slum. It is a very hard life they are living and Holman describes it in a way that brought me back to my many experiences from one of the other slums in Nairobi, Mathare and the good and even happy memories I have. Overall, the books are very funny and can take away some of the pessimism and despair many feel regarding Africa. Read and laugh!

Pictures

I have received some questions regarding my pictures. First of all, I would like you to know that you can watch the pictures more in detail by just double clicking them. They are taken using a Nikon D200 with either a 18-200 mm VR or a 80-400 mm VR lens. If you have more questions, please put them in a comment and I will try to answer them or pass them on to someone who might know.

North and South in Svångemåla

The road passing my house is a narrow gravel road. It is, most of the time, so narrow that two cars cannot meet and small meeting places have been made so that you do not have to go off road when you meet someone. These meeting places are clearly marked with a sign with a big M on it. Today I noticed that the signs do not just show where you can safely meet but also in which direction you are going! The trick is to see on which side of the sign the moss and lichens are growing since you only find it on the northern side and not on the southern. It is a piece of knowledge that we learnt as kids in school since it is part of the survival skills you have to have to live in the deep forests of Sweden. No compass, no GPS needed in Svångemåla!

South...


North ..

Red berries

It is today one week since I met the two moose calves in the woods but I still get goose bumps thinking about it. A lot of people have asked me if I was not afraid but to be honest, I never even thought about the cow / mother coming back to protect her off-springs. I was just so moved by their curiosity in me and their believe that I was as friendly and harmless as they were. It will not take long for them to learn to avoid humans and fear them as much as we fear a grown up moose.

The picture below is a good example of something that looks nice and even tempting to eat but is, I have been told, very poisonous. Unfortunately, that is all I know so if you can give me some more information about these berries, please make a comment below.



And the cranes are back for a short visit...

Absolutely amazing meeting

30 meters away...

Mother Nature never stops surprising me. I have just had the most incredible experience just a couple of hundred meters away from my house and I am still shaking a bit. This is was happened.

It has been a typical Swedish summer day with a bit of sunshine and a bit of rain and I was feeling a bit bored. To get out of my mode, I took my camera and went for a walk up a forest path that I use to go when I have not particular goal, just want to get some fresh air. Suddenly I hear a laud noise to the left of me and I can see the back of the moose I have already written about. Or at least it is very likely that it was the same. I realized that it was gone and that it would not be possible to get any picture of it this time but that is normal and nothing to get too upset about. Then, about 40 meters ahead of me I can see two brownish, tiny backs and realize that there are two calves coming across the path. I froze and aimed the camera towards the point I guessed they would come to. Slowly, slowly they raised their heads and strolled up the side of the path. They were now within the reach of my zoom lens and I fired away, confident that they would run away but to my amazement, they just looked at me and started to walk towards me!!!

Two meters away.

I hardly dared to breath but kept the camera firing and did not realise that they had now come so close to me that they were actually too close for the camera to focus properly. With their necks stretched, they looked like curious, friendly dogs and I felt a wave of emotions coming. They really wanted to connect with me, felt no fear and behaved in the same way babies do when they stretch their hands towards anyone who smile or looks interesting. I popped the flash and took a few more pictures without the calves reacting at all until I moved my arm a bit more and they slowly walked to the other side of the path and disappeared among the threes. I felt that I had tears in my eyes and walked slowly back to my cottage to share this moment with you.

Great News!

As celebrities threw an early 90th birthday party for Nelson Mandela in London's Hyde Park on Friday, U.S. lawmakers erased references to the former South African leader as a terrorist from national databases. (Reuters)

What took them so long???

Madiba 90

We are all the time told that the ”world is shrinking” and when you are living in a remote little place like Svångemåla this is more obvious than in most other places. Two, maybe three cars pass my house every day but I am still in touch with the furthest corner of the world all the time through the internet and a satellite dish on my roof. The only difference to living in a big city is that I am the one who decide when I would like to be “in touch” and when not.

Today I read BBC World on the internet and saw that some had been asked about “when I met Mandela”. BBC did not ask me but since it is one of my best memories I will give you this “exclusive” story.

Mandela, or Madiba as he is more commonly called in southern Africa, was for a year chairperson for an organisation I worked for and came to visit our office to get a bit more informed about the progress we were making and the problem we had. It was a really big thing and we were all very excited. Smart looking your men with dark sunglasses and funny hearing aids came the day before “the day” to make sure that no bombs or other “problems” were hidden in our small HQ. A plan was made about how to receive the great man and for unknown reasons I was chosen to stay on the stairs outside the entrance to greet him. A secretary with flowers and a few other colleagues were also there and we agreed to stay there until our boss had properly greeted Madiba. The big limousine came and my colleagues could not contain themselves and rushed down the stairs to greet him. I was now alone and it was a bit awkward when the big man came up the stairs, extended his hand to the only person standing at the door, me, and I stuttered a welcome.

Later, we were all asked to explain to him what we were actually doing and why. His normally very jovial mode had changed and he was more like a stern grandfather who would not tolerate any vague explanations or arguments and I was not the only one who was a bit nervous. I tried my best and got a nod of approval as well as a comment that “this is a bit of news to me” and “I appreciate what you are doing”. Better endorsement than that is, to me, not possible and supported me for the rest of my time at that organisation and is still, sitting here in Svångemåla, a great memory that nothing and no one can take away from me.

Jasmine

Fragrances are important to me, as I have already written some time ago. The one that I most probably associate the most with my plot / garden is the one a huge Jasmine fills the air with when in full bloom. It can almost be a bit overwhelming when there is no wind and the air a bit moist after a hot day but I love it. It only last a few days and when there is a hard rain its white petals looks like snow on the ground. It is also a haven for bees, bumble bees and other insects feeding on its nectar.I wish someone could invent an add-on to your browser that would make it possible for you to fully understand what I am trying to convey but maybe the picture below can be of some help.

Book

The weather in Svångemåla has gone back to ”normal” after a long dry spell before Midsummer. Normal means a little bit of sunshine, some rain, lots of clouds, around 18 C and gusty winds. I don’t mind since rainy weather gives me time to sit or lay down in the sofa with a good book as my companion.

I have just finished one that I can recommend to all who are interested in other countries and cultures. It is written by Unity Dow, who is the first female High Court Judge in Botswana and a well-known human rights activist. The title is “Far and Beyon” (yes, it is spelt that way) and it gives a fantastic insight into the lives and thinking of a young girl in rural Botswana. Powerful and sad, but still with a lot of hope. I just love it.

Midsummer

It is soon midsummer in Sweden, one of the most important holidays and times of the year. The sun is visible 24 hours north of the polar circle and even in the southern parts of the country, it never gets really dark. For me it is kind of half time and time to take stock of what I have seen and noticed in my small part of the world called Svångemåla.

First of all some sad news. The cranes did not stay to start a family. Their visit was short, but sweet, and I hope they will come back next year. In stead of the cranes, a Canadian Goose made a short stop but moved on due to lack of water. This is now a growing problem due to the very dry weather that we have had to endure since the beginning of May. The grass has gone brown and many flowers and even trees look a bit sad and dehydrated.

On the positive side, a young moose has showed up, calmly grassing the area the cranes used to be. S-/he is a one year calf that the cow has let go / abandoned when she got a new one to take care of. I hope and pray that it survives being alone and the yearly moose hunt in the fall. The dry weather has also meant that the mosquitoes are not as many as they normally are.


The meadow where the cranes have been replaced by a moose.

Swedish National Day 2008

Today is our National Day. It used to be the day when we celebrated the flag but this changed some time ago and today it is a public holiday and we are trying hard to establish our own traditions, similar to what Norway and many other countries have had for a long time. It is unusually hot and my lawn is brown and hard. Even my badger has realized that it is not the right place to hunt for worms and has gone to other and wetter areas. A general ban to light fires is in place and the use of water is restricted in many towns and municipalities. It feels a little like Africa and it was fun when a typical winter bird, a Great Tit, started to sing just beside me as if to remind me that it will be snowy and icy in just six months or so. Brrrr….

Lily of the Valley

Most of us associate certain music with special moments, persons or places. Smells, fragrances and scents are also often linked in the same way. The smell of burning leaves and grass is for me closely associated with Africa and the strong fragrance of lilies of the valley is for me, as well as most Swedes, the end of school since most of us had some of them on our desk on the final day. It is a really special and easily identifiable fragrance that evokes memories of relief, a well-known psalm, new clothes, and a bit of sadness that all schoolmates would be separated for almost three months. This year, most of the lilies will have faded before school ends due to an unusual warm May but I am sure many of the visiting parents will nevertheless smell lilies of the valley and remember their own exams.

Lunch

I have always admired waiters who can bring several plates full of food all the way from the kitchen to my table without dropping anything. The birds are even more impressive since they can keep several wriggling worms in the bill and at the same time catch a mosquito.

Total Make Over

You have probably seen several TV series showing ”before” and ”after” of women, men, apartments, houses, cars and what not but I am sure that you have not seen a total make over of a Wagtail? As you know, one of my favourite birds is a wagtail that lives under a roof tile and has done so for several years. Today, when I was sitting enjoying the sunset, it sat down and started to prepare itself for dinner or an evening out, I am not sure. Anyway, it is just amazing what a difference a few minutes of cleaning and grooming makes. Have a look below and tell me what you think!

Before ......


Work in progress ....



After and ready to party !!!!

Rhubarb !

Many sportsmen, politicians, actors, and other officials never get the credit they deserve. Instead of becoming famous and appreciated they struggle in the shadow of the already well known and established “stars”. The same is true for flowers! Roses, tulips and a few more are always in the vases in movies, in the hands of the brides and when someone is being thanked for doing this or that, while other are simply forgotten and never given a chance to be in the spotlight although they are just as wonderful and special. I have just discovered one such flower; rhubarb ! Look at the picture below. Isn’t it wonderful? So the next time you go to a flower shop, why not ask for rhubarb flowers for your date / wedding / dinner etc. ?

Food delivery

Mother Starling is very busy. Her children are demanding and let her know when they are hungry but luckily the mosquitos are here in full force.

Birds

If anything, Svångemåla is a paradise for all kinds of birds. Some of you might remember the woodpecker I saw last year. This year, a family of starlings occupies this particular nest. Wonder what kind of rent agreement they have agreed on?


Not far away, a Pied Fly Catcher has moved into a nest I have put on the wall of a shed. A Wagtail first took it but she was resolutely chased away by the Fly Catcher. The fight lasted only a few minutes but was fierce while it lasted.

"Forget me not"

OK, ok, I know. The correct name of "Tiny Blue" is "Forget me not". You don't have to tell me. Some might wonder why I have not learnt more about common flowers and birds etc and the truth is that that I do not know a lot about music and a lot of other things but still enjoy them. I even think that too much knowledge about something can actually hinder us from enjoying them. Just think about movies. If you know a lot about movie making, it can be difficult to fully enjoy a movie and instead focus too much on technicalities instead of the story. Or what do you think?

"Tiny Blue"

In the middle of the darkest part of the forest I found this tiny flower, shining like a distant star. Truly wonderful. If you know its name, please let me know or I will simply call it "Tiny Blue".

More good news!

Fred Fox showed up when I went to collect my mail! He saw me but just sat down and looked back at me while I noticed that he has (also) a lot of gray hair. Otherwise he looked healthy and I hope Frida Fox has not left him.

Wet

Sweden in general and Svångemåla in particular are very green places during the warmer time of the year. Chlorophyll must be one of the most common substances in the country! If you do not like the colour green, do not come to neither Sweden, nor Svångemåla. One of the reasons for this is that the sunlight is limited and the plants therefore must be able to utilize it as much as possible to survive. They also have plenty of water or moisture all the time that makes it possible for them to survive. The draw back is that you get wet most of the time when you sit on the ground or just walk around in the morning. It is difficult to illustrate this but imagine that each and every white dot is a drop of water and you understand what I mean.

If you would like to enlarge this or any other picture, just double click the picture!

Good news!

Mrs and Mr Crane are back! I just saw them walking around not far from my house. When I sneaked up to them I could see that they are in good shape and their body language told me that they are as much in love as they were last year. Hopefully I will soon be able to take some pictures of the lovely couple and share with you all.

Twig

Almost exactly a year ago I took a picture of a small linden twig. This is what it looks today. It makes me a bit concerned since I realize that it will take a loooong time before it is strong enough for even a small bird to sit on, a child to climb on or to hold a swing. I might have to put some manure around it and talk to it even more often than what I do now.

First butterfly ! or is it a moth ?

Slow down ???

Wheelbarrows are very useful. I have a couple to be able to transport everything from stones to grass. The latest is a foldable one that is mainly for grass, leaves and so on. Unfortunately, I have just discovered that it might not be able to handle the speed at which I work :)

Back in Svångemåla I can report that the badger has already started to destroy my lawn, birds are busy preparing their nests and very little has changed sine I left almost nine months ago. And that makes me very happy! It is just soooo beautiful and peaceful. The contrast to the news I see and hear from Myanmar and other places I know well are unreal and I feel blessed and, sort of, guilty at the same time.

The picture is taken some 10 k from Svångemåla but the wood anemones are just as wonderful here as they are on the photo.

Testing, testing...

Spring is in the air and it is time to test if this blogg is still working.... In a few weeks time I hope to be able to report again from the deep forests of Svångemåla.