The flower thread II – June 2021 Jul 4 2021

This is post number two of ny little hobby project: Looking for new flowers on bloom.

The most photos I made through a cheap magnifier because my macro lens is in Tromsø – out of reach for me here in Sweden. This explains the colour fringes, reflections and other artefacts on many of the photos.

I used the website Pl@ntNet identify for the most flowers for identification. Some classifications were done manually, so there is no guarantee that the names are correct.

The rules:

I check only flowers on our property and the marshland between our property and the sea.
I do not differentiate between wild and domestic flowers.
I do not wait for the most beautiful blossom. I just make a photo of the first occurrence.

The statistics:

New flowers in April: 1 — New flowers in May: 19 — New flowers in June: 39

The flowers in June

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Names are in English, German, Swedish, Norwegian. The name can be the species, family or genus. Especially in English there are many different names.

¹ or another phlox
² or common cow-wheat
³ or another forget-me-not
⁴ or another cinquefoil

Great diving beetle Jun 20 2021

Today I discovered a special guest in our garden, a Great diving beetle. It looked tired and so I brought it to the nearest fresh water brook where it directly used its large back legs to swim away and hide in the mud. Hopefully I chose a good place.

The photo: iPhone and plastic magnifier since my macro lens is unreachable in my tiny room in Tromsø.

Translation:

English	German	Swedish	Latin
Great diving beetle	Gelbrandkäfer	Gulbrämad dykare	Dytiscus marginalis

The flower thread – April and May 2021 May 31 2021

This year I started a small hobby project. Since I saw the first blooming flower – a crocus – on 17 April I have been outside almost each day and looked for new flowers in bloom.

I used the website Pl@ntNet identify for the most flowers for identification. Some classifications were done manually, so there is no guarantee that the names are correct.

The rules:

I check only flowers on our property and the marshland between our property and the sea.
I do not differentiate between wild and domestic flowers.
I do not wait for the most beautiful blossom. I just make a photo of the first occurrence.

The flowers in April and May

The last photo is a June preview:

31. May: Globeflower | Trollblume | smörboll | ballblom – lawn

___

Names are in English, German, Swedish, Norwegian. The name can be the species, family or genus. Especially in English there are many different names.

Marsh marigold May 29 2021

Just an iPhone photo from today

Marsh marigold growing on a sandbank in a brook

Gratulerer med dagen from abroad May 17 2021

Today is syttende mai (17th of May), the Norwegian national day. On 17 May 1814 the The Constitution of Norway that declared Norway to be an independent kingdom was signed. That’s why Norway turns 207 years today. Gratulerer med dagen – Happy birthday!

The first time that I was in Norway was the turn of the year 2003/04 together with a friend. Although the weather was really miserable – storm and rain – I was so fascinated by that country, that I travelled there one month later again to find a job as a developer.

Dec 2003, Telemark: Tenting with a friend

Well, I didn’t find a job. I couldn’t speak Norwegian, didn’t have much programming experience and the dot-com bubble was still present.

2005, one and a half year later I visited Tromsø for the first time of my life after a week of hiking on the Hardangervidda. I had less than two days to discover this town but since then it has been my favourite town in Scandinavia.

Anyhow I didn’t think about moving there. The same year I had been in Northern Sweden twice and preferred the colder winters there. In addition to that I was a bit scared of mørketiden – the seven weeks in winter, where the sun stays below the horizon. Five years later I moved to Sweden.

This year however I was sure that I will be in Norway for syttende mai, since I’ve been working in Tromsø since last October.

Well, at least on the papers. Due to Covid 19 we were strongly advised to work from home, which I can better in our house in Obbola/Sweden than in my tiny room in Tromsø. On 22 November 2020 I took the plane to Oslo, another one to Stockholm and a third to Umeå. Since then I’ve been working and living home in Obbola. In five days I’ll have been here for half a year.

It feels a bit like a dream. Did I really work in the office of the Norsk Polarinstitutt in Tromsø? Together with others? Walked the 1.7 km from my shared flat? Enjoyed the first snow in the mountains? Took a kayak course?

Only when I miss my down sleeping bag (in Tromsø), my macro lens (in Tromsø), my rain parka (in Tromsø) I realise that I still have my flat there. And of course when I have to pay the monthly rent. And that’s a lot because it is ridiculously expensive to live there.

At time I’m forbidden to travel to Norway even though I have a job and a shared flat there. It’s unclear when I’ll be allowed there again. Until then I have the blog articles as memory of my two months in Tromsø to remember, the knowledge that I’ll be there again but most of all a wonderful time home.

Breakfast to go May 13 2021

About transporting breakfast in a wheelbarrow and hunting kayaks by the sea.

Some of you may remember the picture taken three weeks ago:

Martin’s answer in the comment was right: We have two kayaks now! Annika bought hers three weeks ago, a new, bright yellow one. Since then it has snowed several times – last time six days ago but today the weather promised to be calm and sunny. Because of Ascension Day Annika and I had a free day today and as usual we started it with a breakfast. Almost …

We didn’t put the breakfast on the terrace table, but in a wheelbarrow. In addition to food and drink there was a camping mat, clogs, sun glasses, caps, my camera and a sponge. While I pushed the wheelbarrow to the shore, Annika took two paddles, for today we would kayak to a beach on the island Bredskär and take our breakfast there.

The air was warm but the sea is still icy cold, so we both were dressed in drysuits. Gloves and such however was not needed any longer.

We paddled counterclockwise along the island Bredskär. Wind as sea were calm and the sun warmed us. We circled a small stony cape and then we turned sharp left to enter a small bay with a sandy beach. There we got out of our kayaks and dragged them up the beach.

Almost 11 o’clock. Both of us were hungry and eager to start breakfast – or better said brunch. We carried the food up the rocky cliff of the cape that we just had gone around by kayak. Time to roll out the camping mat, pour orange juice into the plastic cups and start our brunch.

Starting the brunch (Photo: Annika Kramer)

Brunch (bread and chocolate not in the picture)

After eating bread with cheese, egg or herring in mustard sauce and some chocolate (Marabu with salted almonds) we just sat there and enjoyed. We watched the agile terns fly, we spotted three tiny sail boats leaving the shore. We heard a loud HOOOO! from the air horn of a ship, but we couldn’t spot it. The three sailing boats headed for the open sea getting smaller and smaller. And finally we saw the cause of the air horn: The Wasa ferry to Finland that at time docks in the industry port and has a bit of longer way to the sea. Slowly it approached and passed our observation spot.

The waves of the Wasaline ferry came nearer and nearer. No problem – we sit on land.

I cannot remember whether I heard the waves running into the sandy bay or if I saw them. Anyhow, I turned my head and could watch the waves that had reached our kayaks and started to pull them into the sea. I climbed down the cliff with my cheap plastic clogs as fast as I could, ran over the sand and waded into the water to fetch the first kayak I could reach. It was mine. Now I was a bit more relaxed. We could use my kayak to fetch Annika’s that already has been pulled out into deeper water. Annika however had still her drysuit on and waded to her kayak until she could grab it. Now the waves had started pushing her kayak back and soon both were on dry land again.

2 people: ✔︎ / 2 kayaks: ✔︎ / 2 paddles: ✔︎ – good luck!

To our learning for today: Even when the sea is calm – put your kayak on land properly! Now with the kayaks being save again we returned to the cliff, we sat down onto the camping mat again and watched the ferry on its journey to behind the horizon.

There we sat for a while, but then we put our things together, entered the kayaks and paddled home. After less then 2km of paddling we landed at the shore in front of our house where the wheelbarrow waited for that food that we hadn’t eaten. I still feel being extremely privileged, that I may live at such an outstanding place together with Annika.

Later that day we were in town where we got the warmest day yet: Up to 23 °C (or 24? I don’t remember) were shown by the car thermometer and when we bathed in the lake Stocksjön it was no winter bath any longer. Yes, there is still snow in the forest and even a larger patch of it beside the house but this will not last long.

Springtime!

Another April winter day Apr 24 2021

Yesterday round 8 o’clock it began to snow. Wind increased and it snowed twelve hours nonstop. The violet coloured crocus, that Annika found some days before was gradually snowed in.

After work I took a winter bath at Vitskärsudden.

The water was as cold as usual, but the gusty wind and temperature round freezing point cooled me down in the short time period between leaving the sea and being dry and dressed with parka and boots. A good opportunity to make a fire in the oven of our uterum –the unisnsulated room beside the living room – and take the dinner there with a wintry view.

This morning is calmer but still round 0 °C. The next snow is expected on Tuesday … .Then it’s only three more days to the first of May, where again some centimetres of snow are expected. Warm spring seems to be postponed for the moment.

Change of subject. What’s this?

Some of you might know, so a question to the others: What’s this? Write your guesses in the comment section. But that’s an easy one, isn’t it?

The first day in spring Apr 18 2021

The sky is blue, the air is calm. Today we will get the first two-digit temperatures of the year.

Scene 1: excursion

After having breakfast outside Annika and I go to the fishing harbour Rovögern hamn by car. It’s pre-season and Kvarkenfisk, the local fish restaurant with sale is still closed. Directly to the west lies the island Rovögern. A woman picks up some guests by boat. We have a look at the small cabins by the sea, stroll along the coast and through the forest. We take a picnic on the wooden terrace by the harbour (frugal, since we forgot the buns at home). It’s a nice place and we have to come back again, when Kvarkenfisk is open.

Scene 2: flower spotting

I drag my kayak from the garden to the coast. For that I have to cross 40 metres of wetland. I lay the kayak upside down and to tie up to a large rock. Now it’s even easier to take a short (or longer) kayak trip. I clean the wetland from the flotsam and jetsam of the winter floods. A tire with an attached rope used as a swing, driftwood, a small buoy, a railroad crosstie too heavy to lift. While cleaning I find the first spring flower home. A white crocus in full bloom.

Scene 3: winter bathing

Just before preparing dinner we head to the beach of Vitskärsudden for a winter bath. The shortcut on foot is still flooded, so we take the bicycles and the longer way. The smooth surface of the sea looks like silk and it looks beautiful to swim through it. Of course the water is still cold– hardly above zero – but the air is warm and there is no wind. So Annika and I do not have to hurry to dry off and throw us into clothes again. We are not the only swimmers. This winter the place has become quite popular.

The surface of the Sea is smooth as silk

Scene 4: paddling

After dinner I paddle round the islet Lillskär. It’s less than a kilometre. Special today: Since I keep close to the land I dare to paddle with “everyday clothes”. What a delight, to glide almost effortlessly through the water and to be able to move the arms naturally without fighting against the stiff neoprene of my waterproof rescue suit that I used the last times.

Bonus: Annika managed to take a picture of me through the old spyglass that we normally use to passing ships, watch seabirds or other animals.

Through the spyglass (Photo: Annika Kramer)

Tussilago 2021 Apr 16 2021

As in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 I post a tussilago image in 2021, too:

I saw the first tussilago flower already on 1 April, but in a ditch by the E12 from the car. Today I searched for the flower and found a lot of them. I saw butterflies, too, hardly imageable considering the snowfall some days before.

Wrote a Tussilago article for the blog ✔︎
Spotted Dancing butterflies (small tortoiseshells) ✔︎
Watched common cranes (100+), whooper swans (250+) and northern lapwings (1) ✔︎
Got muddy boots while taking pictures ;-) ✔︎

Looks like spring will arrive this year, too.

April weather – Olles Spår Apr 13 2021

After yesterday’s snow fall Umeå municipality sent an SMS to Annika today at 8:28: “Olles Spår 5,0 km, Klassiskt preparerad”.

Olles Spår is one of Umeå’s cross country ski tracks. Annika and I planned to ski there after work today. I was however a bit doubtful, because at home the snow was thawing away the whole day and in the afternoon it even rained.

When we arrived at the parking place of Olles Spår only a single other car was parked there. And that is what the parking place looked like:

Deep slush on the parking place of Olles Spår

We planned to ski at least 1 km no matter how it goes, but the ski track was much better in shape than expected and so we skied 5 km.

Perhaps we ski again this week, otherwise it was probably the last time this year. And then spring shall come!

Apropos spring: On the way back we stopped at Degernäs – a bird’s paradise. At least a hundred common cranes flew overhead within minutes and a several hundred whooper swans had been gathering in the shallow waters of the flooded meadows. Not mentioning the many geese. That’s another clear sign of spring.