Rhubarb part II

The 25th of May last year I wrote about my admiration for rhubarb flowers. This time I would like you all to take a minute to admire a rhubarb leave. Is it not wonderful?

Big birds do not fly in dense forests

Yesterday I was out driving on a narrow gravel road in the middle of a very dense forest. The speed was hardly much faster than I would have done on a bike and I really enjoyed the fragrances that came through my open windows when suddenly a big, very big bird appeared just in front of me. It was some sort of eagle but I must admit that I have no clue what kind it was. It continued to fly just in front of me for at least a couple of hundred meters, just like a rabbit that is caught in the headlights of a car. I was wondering why when I realized that it was just not possible for the big bird to veer off into the dense forest since it was too big. The space was not enough. I thought about it later and came to the conclusion that it is the same when you have a big idea. If the environment is full of narrow-minded people, where the norms are standing as close as the trees in a dense forest, the big ideas cannot come in but must follow the open road until they eventually are hit by a car or just fall down due to exhaustion. The Svångemåla proverb is:

"Big birds do not fly in dense forests."

Pigs, lots of pigs!

There are approximately 100,000 wild pigs in Sweden today and the experts predict that the number will grow to 500,000 within five years. It feels like Svångemåla is one of the hardest hit areas since you cannot walk very far in any direction without seeing where they have been digging for food. So far, they have only once ventured into my plot but they are coming closer and closer and my neighbor have had large parts of his garden re-shaped by the vandals. You might remember my fight with a badger but I must admit that compared to the pigs, it was nothing.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to take photos of the pigs since they are extremely shy, mostly move around in the night and have very good ears and noses. The best way to spot one, as is often the case when you are looking for animals, is to drive around and I will do that to be able to maybe spot one without hitting it. Collision between cars and pigs is, however, a growing problem and, considering the size of a full grown pig, I do not look forward to that sort of meeting.

Mushrooms

The rain has made the mushrooms pop up like...well, mushrooms. My absolute favorite is the chanterelle. It is easy to recognize and tastes fantastic. It is also no disadvantage that it is very easy to prepare. Just take some butter, salt and pepper and let them slowly stir for a few minutes before you put them on a piece of brown bread and enjoy them with a glass of beer. Food cannot taste much better!

Albino

It is not always easy to be different. I have experienced this many times, both in Africa and in Asia. One example is when my wife and I arrived in Beijing’s railways station 1987 together with a couple of thousand Chinese travelers. (3.5 million Chinese travel by train every day today!) My blond hair and light skin as well as the fact that I was probably half a meter taller than the rest, made me stand out like a ...European in China. This has also happened many times in Africa when I have been to slums and other places where white / pink skinned people are as common as black people are in Svångemåla. It has never been a real or serious problem but you cannot hide from curious eyes and it is impossible not to be noticed. I thought about this today, when I saw that my albino horseradish plant has once again dared to come up. I do not know how it manages the photosynthesis that I have been told needs chlorophyll but maybe someone can explain that to me? It is,as you can see, much smaller than its green siblings but beside its color, it looks exactly the same. It also made me think about the atrocities albinos in some parts of Africa experience but that is another story.

Amelanchier spicata (Häggmispel)

As I expected, the clouds brought rain, a lot of rain! It is good for most of the plants and trees and in particular the Amelanchier spicata I have planted to hide my garden from the planned new road. Its leaves have a surface that is similar to a newly waxed car and makes the water form wonderful pearls.

Clouds over Svångemåla

It has been a fairly rainy summer so far. I do not mind too much since I have very little that I absolutely must do outside but I do mind when we have lightning too close since it means that all sensitive electrical appliances as well as the phone must be un-plugged immediately or they will, more or less, melt and must be replaced. Cordless phones are particularly vulnerable and I have had to replace three sets as well as two modems. The above cloud is a typical sign that you must be able to read to live in a remote place like this. But on the other hand, it is also beautiful in the same way a poisonous snake or spider can be.

Bluebells or harebells ?

Just imagine if all those bells started to ring! It is the big bluebell season in Svångemåla and it would be absolutely impossible to neither sleep nor hear anything else since there are hundreds or maybe thousands of them around my house. But they don't and I just love them.

African proverb

If you climb up a tree, you must climb down the same tree.

Snails

It has been raining a lot recently and the snails are coming out in full force. I am not too concerned since it is mainly ordinary "forest snails" and not the so called "killer snails" that eat everything that comes in their way. They are still not my favorite animals since they are extremely slippery if you happen to step on one and they also leave long strokes of slime when they slowly move around in the garden, on the terrace and so on. On the other hand, I am sure they are nutritious food for various birds and other animals that I admire and am happy to have around me.