Dinosaurs

Helping our little dinosaurs survive the winter cold.

Flower Power

I have an ongoing battle with Dandelions.
They must be the most successful, virile and irritating plant (weed!) that lives around these parts. Anything you do to them just makes them come back stronger. They start out a pretty yellow, but soon afterwards - if you're not fast enough with the lawnmower - they grow a white afro which would put Don King to shame. The white "afro" consists of countless seeds designed to fly around your garden and build green nests where they spawn new flowers to continue their campaign. The Campaign of taking over our lawn completely.

I swear these little guys actually duck when they see the lawnmower. If I mow the lawn in the evening then sure enough they're back again the next morning. In fact, yesterday one of them spontaniously "puffed" all of it's seeds towards millions of different potential nesting sites just seconds before I shredded it with my 4-stroke 125cc Stiga with a mulcher function. Coincidence? I think not. It did it just to irritate me. To have the last word.

Last year I made a point of pulling them out by their roots to rid myself of them for good. Well guess where most of them grow now?
I give up. Yellow is a nice colour isn't it?


Help...!

The Running of the Ants

Try panning your camera on one of the more erratic little creatures around. Run 5cm stop, change direction, stop, run back 5cm, repeat...
Besides being under attack by their little buddies running up my legs and looking like an idiot to neighbours who happened to see me, it was a lot of fun too!




Their red bodies are lit up by the sun

Calypso

A temptress in Homers story of Ulysses, the name of Jacques Cousteau's ship and also the name of a very rare orchid which grows in Brynje, a neighbouring village to ours. I first heard about it almost three years ago. Last year I went looking for it but I was too late since it had already finished blooming. Finally this year with the help of Vivi-Ann our local flower expert, I managed to photograph it.

Flowers

Does anyone know the name of this flower? Please leave a comment if you do. All I know is that it grows from a bulb in spring.

Macro

Lately I've enjoyed using with my macro lens because it opens up all sorts of possibilities since there are literally thousands of subjects all around you almost wherever you are. That's a dream come true when you are a father of two with a full time job! All you need to do is lie down in the grass with a macro lens to discover a whole new world right around your feet.

Anemone hepatica


My son Henrik holding the same flowers


A "bug"...

On Our Own?

No matter where you are you're never on your own. There may not be a single other person or signs of human civilization for miles, but all you have to do is look up and it won't be long before you see jets tearing across the sky.

Ghost of a Tree

Unfortunately I don't know who wrote this:

Let us pause for the taking of inventory,
To measure the debt we owe the tree.
For the searching root that knits the soil,
The cooling shade for those who toil,
The air we breathe, nature's greatest gift,
And the leaf that heralds each season's shift.

Forget the not the fruit that feeds man and beast,
The branch that burns to prepare the feast.
That sturdy frame that builds our home,
And the paper on which you read this poem.
The tree gives all and asks no prize,
Even making the axe that ends it's life.





Take care of our trees.

Spring Sign

First sign of spring is the Flower "Colt's Foot" or Tussilago farfara
Today we saw our first one this season breaking through the roadside.

COPYRIGHT!

It has come to my attention that some of my images are being printed. While this is flattering, I ask those who wish to have printed versions of my pictures to contact me first. I own the copyright of all the images on this website and even if you print images with the noblest of intentions you are still using my material without permission.
I always reduce the quality of the images to make them unsuitable for print so if you would like a copy then all you need to do is contact me for a more suitable version.
From now on I will also add a copyright logo before uploading images.

Right Now

It was Mark Twain who said: "Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first."
We live on credit and we have lived on credit for a long time now. I'm not talking about bank loans, but the other much larger credit that we all share. We owe the world.
For example: If you make a fire to warm yourself, do you also plant a new tree to replace the wood you burned? Probably not. I know I don't. We should, but somehow it becomes someone elses problem although -ultimately- it is up to every single one of us to take responsibility. Don't wait for your governement to do something because it probably won't. Instead give a thought to what actually happens to all those things you throw away, where does it all go? Is there any way you can create less rubbish by shopping differently? Do you really have to use your car as much as you do? If you do, then how do you drive it? And what kind of car do you drive?
I believe we were meant be the gardeners of our world and not the rulers of it.
If you want to change but don't know how then find out! There are two great resources at the bottom of my webpage. Take a little time and click on them to find out what you can do.
Life is always right now, this moment. Don't waste it, do something. Now.

Fog

As long as "Storsjön" (or the "Great Lake") hasn't frozen, the cold brings about a thick fog from time to time which dresses everything in a frosty lace. It's often so thick you can look directly at the sun without hurting your eyes.
It reminds me of a sandstorm, but without the wind and ice crystals replacing the sand. The fact that it was -20 C today takes away the last of the likeness to a sandstorm I guess.
The image below: A sunny day in Lit if the fog over the unfrozen river hadn't erased the sun almost completely.
Those petrol prices look good, but unfortunately I think the sign was broken. Perhaps it suffered from frostbite?



The central heating plant in Östersund works hard trying to ward off the cold for the households connected to it. I feel there is a global warming issue somewhere in this image.