Butterflies

I am not the only one who is attracted to Mrs Bear. Today, when painting windows, a butterfly landed on her arm, rolled out its trunk and started to "nibble" on her arm. It seemed very secure and comfortable and did not move until I had fetched my camera and taken some pictures. If you click on the picture, you will get an enlargement and can see that it has a small droplet on its trunk. Is it sweating?



Half an hour later, a second butterfly landed on her hat and spent some time just sitting there, enjoying the nice weather we have. The trunk was now rolled up or is it a ring in his/her nose?

Holes

The badger has not done any damage to the lawn for a while but I strongly suspect that he has started to dig big holes in, at least, two places. I am not sure why but guess that his search for food has made him go much deeper than he used to. They are big enough to be dangerous if you happen to stumble into one of them so I have had to fill them to prevent people from breaking their legs.

Hops

My hops pole is a constant source of joy and reflections. First it is amazing how fast the plants grow and the intricate way they wrap themselves around the pole. Secondly, when the top is reached (4.4 m !) they continue out in thin air until gravity brings them down or at least sideways. Just like we all do when we have climbed fast thanks to solid support and suddenly are on our own.

Drying the foot?

Why do swans put one foot on the back when they rest? I noticed this when looking at the swans but have not managed to find out why? Anyone who knows? It was not just this one but almost half of them did the same thing. Cold water?

Örarevet

When the air is not moving at all in Svångemåla and the forest feels a bit too dense, it is only a 35 k trip to the sea and a nature reserve called Örarevet. It is only a tiny piece of land with a few places to bbq and a lot of bushes to hid behind if you just would like to rest in the sun. There are plenty of birds in the area, mainly sea birds and a few rabbits and some cows keeping the small bushes at bay. Peaceful is probably the best word to describe Örarevet and that is why we like it so much and have done so for more than 30 years.

Happy Midsummer !

Today is Midsummer Eve in Sweden. It is very special day since it celebrates the longest day of the year. The sun never settles in the northern parts of our country and even as far down as Svångemåla you have almost daylight until 23.30. The celebrations are a bit strange to most non Swedes and include the decoration and raising of a maypole, eating herring (no it is not really raw fish but almost) and drinking too much alcohol. The latter is of course not compulsory but when you read the reports from Öland and Dalarna, you might think so. All un-married females can this particular night find out who they will marry by picking seven different kinds of flowers and put them under her pillow. Her husband to be will the come to her in her dreams. I think she might just as well get dried flowers in her hair but that is me, an old grumpy Bear!

Rhododendron

As I wrote earlier, our Rhododendron is now in full bloom. When I looked in Wikipedia, I learned that the name comes from "the Greek: ροδον, rodon, meaning "rose", and δενδρον, dendron, meaning "tree". It is a large genus with over 1000 species and most have showy flower displays. It includes the plants known to gardeners as azaleas. It is the national flower of Nepal, the State flower of Sikkim, India and the State Flower of both West Virginia and Washington in the USA."

Insects

I have had the privilege to live many years in Africa and one of the most common questions from my friends and relatives in Sweden was about all insects they were sure we had to fight. I thought about it today when swarms of flies and mosquitoes took turn attacking me depending on where I was. In the shade, the mosquitoes were the most active while the flies came in full force as soon as I got out in the sun.



All is not bad. The Rhododendrons are now in full bloom and we have had no rain today!

Air crash in Svångemåla!

A loud bang almost made me drop my coffee mug in the middle of Denmark v. Holland. I rushed to the window to see what was going on and saw a very groggy looking Woody the woodpecker sitting on the ground. It is the first time I have seen a woodpecker sitting like that and realized immediately that he must be in very bad shape but since he was still sitting, I let him recover and to my relief, he managed to fly away after 15 anxious minutes. Sometimes it is good to have a brain that is well protected and can manage a head on collision with a window without major injuries.

Has Twiggy got acne?

Suddenly my teenager Twiggy the Linden tree has got something looking like acne. Or is it too much sun? Not possible this summer but its leaves are getting reddish and has got small bumps that makes it look at bit unhealthy. After a bit of research the conclusion is that she is suffering from Phytoptus tiliae. It is not going to harm her too much but I am still a bit concerned and wonder what needs to be done to remove the small, very small animals.