April weather Apr 13 2017

It snowed, dark clouds sped past the coast, the sun illuminated the fresh snow and the gusty wind blew it around. The weather changed constantly this morning. The wind squalls made the temperatures of -3 °C appear much colder and I regretted that I went outside without windproof trousers and warm gloves. That’s the post-wintry release of Norrlands April weather.

The easter days shall be wintry as well with temperatures between -8 °C and 0 °C, at least here in Skelleftehamn. In the mountains however they’ll probably drop to -20 °C or even below.

Tussilago 2017 – one day later Apr 9 2017

The last days of ice fishing Apr 8 2017

An ice fisher looking for prey, the halo encircled sun above

Tussilago 2017 Apr 8 2017

It almost became a tradition: take photos of the first local spring flower and share them in my blog. And as every year the winner is tussilago. These samples I photographed yesterday in Skelleftehamn.

What spring flowers blossom at your place?

Early April weather (a short log book) Apr 5 2017

Friday, 31 Mars: I rehearsed for next days jazz concert with AÅO Trio and Hans Åkesson and it was sunny in Skellefteå.

Saturday, 1 April: I played that concert at the very same place and it snowed. April weather!

Sunday, 2 April: It continued snowing and a new layer of 5 cm of snow covered Skelleftehamn. What a nice birthday present for a winter lover like me!

Still Sunday: While the ice fishing season in Skelleftehamn is finally over, the ice fishers on the big lake Burträsket beside the town Burträsk took advantage of the last days of save ice. And it was many of them!

Monday, 3 April: We had a great late winter day with blue sky above our heads and fresh, white snow under our feet, when we took a promenade along the river Skellefteälven. We – that’s not only Annika and me but also my mother who visited me for some days. It was the first time that she came outside of the summer months and I’m really glad that she got some nice winter impressions.

Yesterday, 4. April: Yesterday it was almost 13 °C in town.

Today, 5. April: it was colder and partly cloudy, but we got a fantastic sundown. What a colourful contrast to the dull weather the ice fishers had experienced.

And the weather next weekend? Well, I don’t know and the weather institute neither. That’s two weekend forecasts of the SMHI – the 1st from Monday afternoon, the 2nd from Tuesday morning:

Forecast for the weekend as shown on 3 April, 16:03

Forecast for the weekend as shown on 4 April, 06:42

The Baltic Sea is open Mar 30 2017

The temperatures were quite different in the last days. Sometimes it was -7 °C in the morning and even cold at daytime, sometimes it was warm with temperatures round +10 °C and frost-free nights.

But it wasn’t the warm temperatures that eliminated the ice on the Baltic Sea, it was the stormy and gusty winds that broke it apart and blew it away from the coast. Now I could easily paddle again to and even round the island Gåsören if I only had the time. There are however other things to do right now and so it’ll have to wait a bit.

Ice fishing in Skelleftehamn Mar 25 2017

When it’s as warm and sunny as today many ice fishers enjoy sitting on their little folding stools on the ice, that still covers a small part of the bay Kallholmsfjärden in Skelleftehamn. I guess it’s both the glorious springlike weather as well as the knowledge that there may not be many opportunities left to set foot on the ice and do “pimpelfiske” this season. The open water in the background is quite near.

Some hours earlier: I stand at the very edge of the peninsula Näsgrundet and look at the Baltic Sea, which is partly ice covered and partly open. As it looks, I could both walk and paddle to the island Gåsören. I do neither nor. I don’t dare walking since the ice may be weak and I’m just too lazy to take the kayak today.

Visiting the “Vindelälvsdraget” Mar 20 2017

Yesterday Annika and I went to Vännäsby , 25 km away from Umeå, to view the 30th Vindelälvsdraget which is the world biggest draught dog relay according to the organisers. It started in Ammarnäs in the Swedish mountains on Thursday and ended just in Vännasby on Sunday. That’s a distance of 381 km in three and a half days.

Some of the competitors used a sledge pulled by four to six dogs, but most of them skated on skis and had one or two dogs dragging (more or less). They came along on the frozen river Vindelälven, turned into the river Umeåälven, which they had to leave right after the bridge. Some of the teams managed it perfectly while others had to shout höger! (right) to the dogs several times until they obeyed. The river bank is quite steep and was a real challenge for the discipline of the dogs. One of them just rolled in the snow while the skier tried not to slip and fall, while some others were shortly distracted by the smell of the grilled sausage by the trail. However all teams managed to come up where there were only some 100 metres left to the finishing line.

The speaker at the finishing line was great. His talk was so “adagio”, laid back and completely free of any stress. I really enjoyed his almost zen-like moderation which was the total opposite of the normal sport presenters stressful reporting attitude. My kudos!

Some photos:

Links: Website / Information pdf (both in Swedish)

A short detour near Ånäset Mar 20 2017

On my way back from Umeå to Skelleftehamn this morning some of the birch trees were covered with white frost. At the departure to Ånäset I turned right and followed the frozen gravel path. The sun was blocked a bit by a layer of clouds but sometimes it could break through and lighten the wintry scenery.

Sunny morning at the coast Mar 16 2017

Sunny morning at the wintry coast of the Baltic Sea

It’s a sunny morning today with temperatures slightly above zero. It’s windy too and I was glad that I’d been not too optimistic about the warmth and had a isolating jacket with me when I strolled along the wintry coast of Skelleftehamn today.

The Baltic Sea is covered with a thick layer of ice and snow and it looks like full winter, but when I crouched on the ground to make another photo I heard a bird voice high above me. I looked up and spotted two seagulls, floating high in the air. One of the seagulls cried again. Seagulls need open water and their appearance is one of my favourite signs of spring. When I looked at the horizon I saw a small but clear line of dark blue flickering in the warmed up air. Over there the Baltic Sea is already open. You can see it on the picture too.

À propos warmed up air: My winter garden – unisolated and unheated – has already 15 °C and the temperature is rising with every minute. The March sun has a lot of power.