Category: Folklore.

September 30, 2025 · Leave a comment ·

Today is slightly less painful so we went out on our morning walk out to the bog this time. A bit chilly but the sun shone and no winds blowing so it was quite pleasant and even Alma stayed really calm for once. We could hear animals walking away from us and as always some Jays screaming in the trees 🙂 It’s not for nothing that their Swedish name is nut screamer 🙂 🙂

We even saw some morning mist in the distance but today there was none in the forest. As soon as we came back home I went to the supermarket to get what I written down on my note plus a few things I realised I would need sooner or later, like a ring spanner set. Since I can’t find what I actually have when it comes to tools I thought I better start all over again 🙂 🙂

So the first thing I did after coming home was to tighten all the nuts with the right ring spanner and it was really needed. I had used a wrench trying to tighten them but it really was too big so some of those nuts were way too loose and would most likely have vibrated enough to fall off if the wind would become strong 🙂 🙂 After that I’ve done very little, had lots of coffee, eaten a Småländsk cheesecake (a bit different than the American cheesecake) with strawberry jam 🙂 and we’ve also had a long nap because the weather isn’t that nice any longer.

The wind is cold and the sunshine is gone, it’s actually cold enough for me to have to start a couple of radiators now. Thankfully they’re guessing that we’ll have sunshine all day tomorrow and even if the temperature won’t rise especially much the sun will warm up the cottage and it will be nice to stay outdoors as well. Sunshine can really make a big difference, especially here since I sort of live in a pit where the air warms up much. It also makes it colder at night since all the cold air sort of flows down to my garden and stays there during winter 🙂 🙂 🙂

It is time for a pot of tea and after that it’s time to feed the animals.

Have a great day!

I’ve started to use those wood chips I’ve made.

September 13, 2025 · 4 Comments ·

I was expecting a sunny morning and I hoped for morning mist again. We had sunshine but the mist wasn’t here but closer to the mountain. It was a bit chilly when we walked down to the creek and my shoes got drenched in the morning dew and Malkolm who always wants to walk in the grass and follow tracks was even worse 🙂 He had no ticks walking around on him though so that was a good thing 🙂

Lots of small birds tweeting and Jays arguing but there were now bigger animals around. Once I saw a pure white wild hog and I have to admit that it was really beautiful. I didn’t manage to get a photo of it and have always hoped to see another one. Turns out that they are quite common, perhaps not pure white but with spot or markings of other colours on them. Since we don’t have white moose in this area I really think I deserve to see a white wild hog again 🙂 🙂 🙂

I’ve put up the new LED light ramp in the cellar so this morning I started to clean up down there. Lots of soil and sea leafs and twigs on that floor so it took its time. I knew that the monster pooped down there when she had sucked in when I didn’t notice it and therefore locked her in for hours sometimes 🙂 I did however not know how much until I had that light put up, on the plus side though is that I didn’t find any moose droppings which I see as positive 🙂 🙂 🙂

I took some photos to show what my garden looks like at the moment. This shows the south side east corner.

North side towards east where the cottage stands.

And the north side towards west corner where my Pawpaws grows.

Lots of smaller lorries have been driving up and down to where the latest neighbours live, looks like they’re moving out today. Too bad I liked them but I fully understand them, the owner of the place is just too greedy. So now we’re waiting for new tenants or perhaps someone from a big city buys it, they usually have no idea. what places like that costs here, anything is cheaper here than I the big cities. I’m not even sure if they could buy a two bedroom apartment in a big city for what they want for this place but it is still too much. Lets hope that who ever comes here are just as nice as the ones moving out.

This is one the other side of the cottage, the northern side looking towards west.

And this is the opposite side towards east. Big and thorny roses on both sides of the entrance 🙂

I’vedecided to plant those five Pawpaw seedlings I have, I can’t trust the cat wanting to go down in to the cellar so I think it is best that they’ll stay outside and I’ll cover them as good as I can instead. The biggest threat to their lives are the dogs running around playing with each other 🙂 🙂 So I’ve put up sticks so the dogs can avoid running in to them. Oddly enough the dogs actually tends to avoid those sticks but can happily run in to smaller trees so hard that they break them 🙂 🙂 According to our folklore the winter will be harsh if the Rowan trees have lots of berries, this year they have almost no berries so it should be warm, almost hot here 🙂 🙂 🙂 Unfortunately it doesn’t show anything more that if they have lots of berries the spring was absolutely perfect for them.

I’ve started to fill up the area around the English walnut with the wood chipping I made from what I’ve been cutting down. The layer is around 20 cm (eight inches) thick. Just remember when using fresh chips they will when slowly decaying steal a lot of nitrogen from the ground. No bigger problem with a walnut though since they have taproots.

The Pawpaws are small and while living in a pot they were eaten by slugs. So far I’ve never seen a slug in this part of the garden, there’s just too little to eat for them I guess.

It is time for that last cup of tea and perhaps a bowl with corn flakes. Nothing on tv at all so I have no idea what to do for the rest of the evening 🙂 🙂

Have a great day!

Traditions and folklore.

June 21, 2025 · 6 Comments ·

Sand cherries, so tasty but it’s hard to get any because of the birds 🙂

So yesterday was midsummers eve and that’s a big day here, treated like a holiday even though it’s midsummers day that is the holiday. Still very few work on midsummers eve and most of us is payed as if it was a holiday. Also the last holiday here until Christmas.

Eastern redbud. Doesn’t like it here at all.

Back in the days everyone danced around the midsummer pole and many still do but mostly because of the children. We dance around it while singing almost the same songs we do when dancing around the Christmas tree, like the little frogs, the priests little crow and Anders Persons house is on fire (he has actually existed and is said to have been a truly nasty person and no one was sad seeing his house burning down). The history of the midsummer pole is and has been under debate a very long time but I think it used to be a German tradition.

If You want something that spreads happily, smells rather strange and will flower until frost comes the Nepeta sibirica should be You choice 🙂 🙂

After dancing around people went home to have the traditional lunch/dinner. We swedes aren’t that uneventful when it comes to the food so it is more or less the same as what we eat all other holidays 🙂 🙂 You can’t celebrate midsummer without freshly boiled new potatoes and they should be boiled together with lots and lots of dill. Five gazillions of different pickled herring and either pickled or smoked salmon. For us that can’t stand the herring (and we are really few people) there’s always meatballs, a couple of different sausages, oven omelet with mushroom stew and perhaps some chicken as well. Naturally we also have different kinds of hard bread and normal bread plus different kinds of cheese, both the regular one and blue cheese and brie/ camembert. What never is missing is the cream-layer cake with Swedish strawberries. If You would happen to have strawberries from another country (mostly because the Swedish ones are nasty expensive) You will be seen as a person with little or no value to mankind 🙂 🙂 🙂

When the evening comes the old folklore comes to live. So if You are young and not married yet You can actually learn to whom You one day will be married to. This must be done while being totally quiet of course. You’ll have to take a walk in nature and, depending on from where You come, either climb over seven or nine walls/ fences and at each fence You need to pick a flower and of course it needs to be different flowers all the time. When the walk is done You’ll have to go to bed, putting the flowers under Your pillow and go to sleep so it is best to be one of those that actually remember Your dreams 🙂 🙂

My citrus trees was damaged pretty bad during the last frost but now they show new growth again.

The beings are also very active that night so never go close to a flowing water if You hear someone play the violin because that could be Näcken. They say he’s longing for company but ig he catch You he will drown You so I’m not so sure about the company part 🙂 🙂 He can also show up as a horse (Näckahästen), usually pure white, and trick mostly children to climb up on him. Once they are he’ll run strait out into the river and drown the poor kids. They do say that no one can play the violin like he so I’ve learned that one actually can ask him if he want to teach how to do it, there’s always a price to pay though.

Can’t be seen much but this basket is starting to fill up with nasturtium and peas.

The English walnut is growing slowly but steadily.

This is also the time to think of the coming winter and ones health. It is important to collect as much morning dew as possible this night because that can help You survive the long and hard winter. I’ve come to understand that dragging a sheet over the wet vegetation is the best way to collect as much as possible. When that is done one must save the dew in sealed glass jars and when winter comes and one feel a bit poorly just either add some dew to the bath water or perhaps mix it with lemonade/ tea/ coffee and that will make You better. I’ve never tried that but perhaps I should considering everything 🙂 🙂 🙂

One of the few Greater sea-kale that germinated and now I better protect it so the bugs don’t eat it.

This year the Rapunzel looks great. A bellflower where there once were several varieties for food. I think they taste like radishes.

The first potatoes are ready to be picked 🙂

It is time for that last cup of tea for the day, I feel I’m slowly coming back to normal after a week with evening work. Tired as h… but I think by tomorrow I’ll feel fine.

Have a great day!

So now the snow falls again.

March 11, 2025 · 4 Comments ·

Not the best photo but it is at least Cranes, they were flying to the other small lake we have in the nature reserve.

It is snowing again and will continue for a day or two more. How much we’ll get is hard to guess since they change the amount on the web sites all the time. It will most likely stay for the rest of the week but after that they’re guessing we’ll get warmer temperatures again. I’m not surprised though because as the first Crane arrives here we usually get at least one more snow storm before spring really arrives.

The two days previous to this one was quite wonderful though, a bit chilly in the mornings but sunny and temperatures rose to 10C (50F) and above. Lots more Cranes have arrived though so now I can hear them every morning as soon as I go outside 🙂 I’ve also heard the Larch and the Eurasian curlew. The last one has become a bit rare so I always enjoy hearing it again. So even if spring has reached a temporary halt it feels good to know it’s just around the corner.

I’ve been a bit busy now, well busy isn’t perhaps the right word but I have been to an interview at a staffing agency for a job in the same village as where I worked before but for another company. I must say it did feel like a good meeting so now I’ll have to wait and see what happens. The staffing agency will now recommend the people they think will work well for that company so all I can do now is to wait and hope for the best.

A while ago the employment agency asked if I wanted the help from a job coach and I said why not and today I met her for the first time. She asked me what I had done so far to get a job and it turns out I’m doing what they want me to do. I’ll have a talk with her over the phone every second week and meet her in person the other weeks. When I returned back home she had mailed me some links to companies looking for hiring people. So tomorrow I’ll send an application to each place, as long as the orange idiot doesn’t disturb the world too much I might have a chance.

I would say that the cold is gone but the coughing isn’t. Still very little coughing during nights thankfully. Lots of people have that cold or flu or what ever it is at the moment so I guess I should be happy about having it early especially now when we’ll get winter weather back. I could at least go outside to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather, those having it now just have to suffer through it and not have anything to make the day better.

Can You see the back of the wild hog in the middle of the photo?

Our morning walk was quite nice though, despite the cold wind and dark skies. We walked out to the bog and stood at the end of the peninsula. Alma is behaving so much better now, even the whining is quieting down. We stood there at the end looking out over the bog, all quiet, when we suddenly heard something walking towards us in the thicket. Two wild hogs that must have known we were there suddenly showed themselves to us. This was a bit too much for Alma so she started to whine a lot, so they slowly turned away from us and walked in to the thicket again. I did however get a photos of one of them, even if it only was the back side of it 🙂

It is time for something to eat, haven’t had dinner today. Thinking something easy like sausage and baked white beans. I’ll have my last cup of tea for the day after that 🙂

More croci are showing up just before winter comes back.

Also some spring irises show now. They are built to survive some time of winter returning.

Dying needles on the Himalayan cedar, lets hope it just sheds of the old needles and not dies.

Have a great day!

So dark outside.

December 2, 2024 · 2 Comments ·

Time just flew away yesterday and I blame that on the only sport I watch on tv, Biathlon. For those of You who don’t know what that is it is cross country skiing combined with shooting with a rifle on targets. To be honest it is strange that I am so fascinated in this sport because I’m a Conscientious objector and really dislikes cross country skiing 🙂 🙂 🙂 I never sleep as well as I do in front of cross country ski competition 🙂 🙂 🙂

They normally have these competitions in the mornings but for some reason they had them in in the afternoon this time, so I forgot to check the clock and when I finally did it was too late to start writing anything. Well nothing much had happened anyway and it was much the same today. The weather isn’t anything but fun. So dark and gloomy today that I had to use ISO 5000 to be able to take any descent photos. If You don’t know what ISO one usually use it’s normally around 200 on a bright day.

My hardy Rosemary. So far it has managed to survive down to almost -13 C (8,6 F).

It took some time before we could have our morning walk today, it rained around the time the sun is supposed to show itself and the clouds were so thick that very little light managed to reach us here on the ground. They did thin out some thankfully, otherwise I would have stayed at home 🙂

I saw a picture of a Werewolf earlier today and came to think of how our folklore describes them. I can’t find anything that if someone was bitten by a werewolf they too became one. There were some other ways that I’ll describe later on but mostly it was because someone had cursed a person to become one or if one knew ones way with magic one could transform to one by oneself. Usually they did that if they by looking like an animal would kill an enemy but it wasn’t only a wolf they could transform too, a bear was also something they could become. When someone had become a werewolf or (were) bear they usually had a lighter color than normal bears or wolves.

We walked in on one of all the small side roads to the gravel road down to the creek and found this small piece of bog.

There were a few different ways to get free from this and the easiest one would be if someone saw You and thought they knew this wolf they just screamed out his name three times. One could also be killed by a silver bullet or the worst one they had to kill a pregnant woman and eat the child, must have been a nasty way for someone who had been cursed to become a werewolf. Life wasn’t easier back in the days 🙂 🙂 🙂

I hope Your First of Advent was a good day and now we’re looking forward to the second 🙂

Have a great day!

July 7, 2024 · 2 Comments ·

A storm passed by today and today it was noticeable even here in my garden, the strong ghusts shuffled the leaves in the trees pretty bad 🙂 The more steady wind was as always more or less unnoticeable here. They had guessed that we at least would have some sunshine in the early morning so I waited for quite some time before I gave up and we had our morning walk.

A good thing with the winds are that almost no flies are out and about irritating us 🙂 and if any mosquito had been desperate enough they still would have blown away really fast 🙂 Also pretty chilly for being a day in July, only 15C (59F) as warmest and that’s now in the early evening. I’ve noticed something, the dogs don’t like to be outside in the garden windy days like this, I think it is the roar from the wind blowing through the forest and perhaps they smell things from far away that they don’t like and believes what ever it is can be nearby.

I’ve been thinking about having a pond again but this time make sure no vole can chew through the rubber.

One being that I think exists all over the world is the Lantern man, When the day becomes night and one looks in to a forest or a bog one sometimes might see a flickering light, sometimes moving fast and sometimes really slow and if one is lucky one might even see the being carrying the light which is a small manlike being usually dressed in grey. It is the lantern man and quite often he tries to lure the human that see him out into the forest so they become lost. Sometimes however he lures them out into bogs or swamps to try and drown them. They will do the latter if they think one has been impolite or rude. However they can also save children being lost if one has been polite to them and also perhaps given them a coin or two (I guess that since silver always work with all other beings he would accept that too 🙂 )

They guess that he’s an evil spirit that, when he lived tricked others so that he made his property bigger at his neighbors cost, therefore he will never get peace after dying. He continues this behavior after death by moving property markings at nights, always saying this is wrong and that is right. The only way he can get peace is if someone follows him at nights moving back all the property markings he has moved. The thing is would one really follow someone that willingly would try and kill You just for fun? 🙂 🙂

It is time for a cup of tea I think and then see what’s on tv.

Have a great day!

Really nice day.

June 23, 2024 · 4 Comments ·

I really hope the birds don't find my Sand cherries. They are really delicious and I rarely get a chance to get any myself. — I’ve found several Sand cherries this year 🙂

I slept late, for me this morning. I didn’t wake up until after five am. The weather was just as grey as they had guessed and it was actually pretty chilly when we finally came out for our walk. So instead of wearing my mosquito hat I just wore a hoodie and it was enough to keep the flies away from my face. Also I did spray the entire hoodie with that anti tick, horsefly and mosquito spray that works for both animals and humans and that could have helped more that I thought it would. So today both my dogs and I smell like an old lady in the sixties that didn’t understand when to stop spraying her perfume 🙂

I do like ferns! The Grape Elder is early this year.

We have actually had much more sunshine than they guessed that we would so the kitchen door has been open most of the day but I really need to buy a new mosquito net for that door, I’ve taped it together in some places 🙂 🙂 Dogs never walk though slow and carefully, they run through ripping of the magnets keeping it together but every time I’m out on the internet I tend to forget to order any. From now on they’re guessing that we’ll have sunshine and hot weather for the rest of the week so I didn’t mow the lawn today as I had planed because the grass is still very wet since it has grown so high. I’ll start doing it tomorrow after work and just take small areas each day until it is done. So I won’t write anything here tomorrow.

I've never seen either a toad or frog here so I guess the Källrå might stay in the lake itself :-) — No unusually big toads or frogs here so I guess there isn’t any Källrå living here.

Lots of Lingonberries this year, I might even go out and pick some myself this year.

Squirrel berries in bloom still.

Two more weeks until the vacation starts 🙂 Those two weeks will feel like years because when it is hot outside it’s even hotter in the factory. The one standing at the paint ox it can quite often reach 44 C (111,2 F) and no matter how much waster one drinks it’s not enough. Hopefully the painter working there will work every day, otherwise it might be me they think should do that job and after 16 years of it I truly hate it. So cross Your fingers and hold Your thumbs for good luck so he’s healthy both weeks 🙂 🙂

Japanese climbing rose in bloom, lots of flowers this year. — I can’t remember that I’ve seen as many flowers on the Japanese climbing rose as I have this summer. These are above my head now making a roof together with the apple tree and a grape elder.

I think the flowers are quite beautiful and these have no thorns 🙂

Red leafed rose, self sown. — The self sown Red leafed rose has been planted and grows really fast now.

Today I’ll write about a slightly more nasty being, the Mara. She’s the one that gives us nightmares But also from how I interpret it anxiety attacks at night. She crawls up on a humans chest at night and squeeze out all air and will to live. If she has been visiting You Yo’ll know it since You will wake up cold sweating and have the feeling of being suffocated. She cab squeeze through any crack she can find so it is more or less impossible to keep her out of any place. Thankfully the Mara suffers from obsessive thoughts so it is fairly easy to occupied until it is morning. One can for instance put a bible with lots of hair in between the pages because she must count them all before she can do anything else. Another way is to spread lots of tiny seeds around the beds because she must count them as well. I guess that not cleaning the floors if one has dogs could help a lot as well because of course she would have to clean before doing anything else. I’m pretty sure she hasn’t been around my place for ages because my floors are just as dirty as they were the night before 🙂 🙂

Old Nova, 18 years old and still going strong :-) — She’s hanging on the old lady 🙂

No one really knows where the Mara comes from but it is usually a female and some think it is the soul of dead unmarried women who tries to get the warmth from the living. It could also be as simple as a curse is put upon her because their mothers, trying to not have as much pain giving birth and therefore used black magic by crawling through amniotic membrane from a new born foal. If the woman would give birth to a boy that boy would later on become a werewolf. Now our werewolfs are slightly different than the ones we have seen on films or read about but more on that another day 🙂 🙂

I asked Malkolm what he was doing and then he covered the hole and looked so innocent 🙂

This beetle doesn't seem to do any harm in the garden so it is a favorite of mine. — This is a favorite beetle of mine.

It is time to prepare something to eat at work tomorrow, I really don’t have anything at home so I’ll just make a couple of sandwiches and bring some yogurt too.

Have a great day!

Väettir.

June 20, 2024 · 4 Comments ·

Today is actually the real midsummer but they’ve made sure that it always is celebrated on the first Friday after summer solstice. Midsummer eve isn’t a holiday (Midsummers day is though) but most people working in factories and offices still have the day off and it’s also a payed free day. This is the last holiday we have before Christmas. I would say that it is as big or perhaps even a bigger holiday here than Christmas. The bad traffic started already today because everyone wants to be where ever they are supposed to be already today.

This is an unusual Plantago major since it is variegated. Normally they are seen as somewhat irritating weeds but for some reason they aren't when they look like this :-) — A variegated Plantago is really unusual and if I had liked them I would have brought this one home. Normally they are seen as weeds but for some reason not when they look like this 🙂 🙂

I’ll write more about the celebrations and folklore the coming days. Today I’ll tell You about Vättar (Väettir). They are usually small beings dressed in grey clothes but they can easily change to something else like toads or little mice. Like all beings they can be rather grumpy but we rarely know that we have them around us since they can change what they look like. There are several different kinds of Väettir, it all depends on where they live, like lake väettir, mountain väettir and forest väettir. It isn’t unusual that they live just beneath our cottages and if there are unusually many toads hanging around in our gardens it might be because they actually are Väettirs 🙂

Bumblebee beetle. Some years there are plenty of them here and some years one is lucky to see one.

The Blue vetch grows everuýwhere here and I like it a lot.

So if one lives a calm and orderly life and don’t disturb them they might become Your friend and then help you with the animals or perhaps give you and unusual amount of good luck. They really don’t like warm water so if one would toss out some from the home one should always warn them before one does. If one would meet a Väettir that needs help and help with what ever it is they usually give you a gift. It might look like an old pine cone or a stone, always take it and thank for it because they day after it can have turned in to gold or gemstones. If you don’t help them or disturbs them in any way they then instead might give You some terrible disease.

I woke up in the middle of the night by an awful screaming of fear (and the barking sound of an older deer), sounded like a small baby deer was attacked by something, probably a fox. I thought it must have been the young one that the doe in the cow patch was the mother too. I found the doe walking in the cow patch when I left for work and thought that she might look for her young one and felt so sorry for her.

She was still in the cow patch when I returned home (almost impossible to see her here) and she was completely calm. So either it was another animal screaming or she managed to scare what ever it was away 🙂

Väettirs are guardians of the area so I wonder if they live where gnomes doesn’t. Normally gnomes lives at farms while Väettirs seems to be more adaptable and live even close to poor people. They are my favorite beings to be honest just because they more often are kind than evil. Have I mentioned that there lives an unusual amount of toads in my garden? 🙂 🙂 🙂

Have a great day!

Mösakäringa.

June 18, 2024 · 5 Comments ·

Foxglove to the right.

We’ve had everything from cloudy weather to sunshine to rain and thunder today.It rained when I came home from work and after that we had so dark clouds that I though more thunder was on the way so we stayed at home and in the garden. I and my dogs once got caught in a thunderstorm where I had to chose from being the highest point in the fields or standing between the trees in the forest 🙂 🙂 It was one of those fierce storms so the lightning flew all over the sky above us but none hit the ground here in the village.

Grape vines grow like weeds. — I apparently still have two grapevines in my garden 🙂 I thought I had removed this one several years ago but here it is 🙂

The broken old wheelbarrow. I always sow different poppies and morning glories in it.

The poppies will soon open up, the Californian poppies however is far behind.

I sowed this Mock orange around 20 years ago and it flowers nicely every year and has become pretty big. — I sowed this Mock orange well over twenty years ago. It is now huge and flowers nicely every year.

They are guessing that the weather will stabilize towards Midsummers eve and after that become warmer and more sunny but You all know by now that they aren’t too good at their work when it comes to guessing what the weather will be like here 🙂 🙂 🙂 I know that in some folklore the beings doesn’t like to be out and about in daylight but very few is like that here in our tales. Like the Skogsrå, a forest nymph. She has lots of local names and I think that when people talk about here in this area they call her Mösakäringa (would be something like the Bog hag, personally I call her the Bog Lady just in case I ever should meet her 🙂 ). Everyone knows that when the fog rolls in over the fields from the forests it’s the Bog hags that has poured water over their nightly fires.

I have more roses than I can remember and I really can't say I like roses :-) — Found another rose that I remember I brought home after a plant swapping day. It has had a tough life fighting with wild roses I now have removed.Turns out it was lying flat on the ground so I’ve now helped it up again.

Persimmon shoots. — New shoots from the roots of the dead Persimmon hybrid. I’ve read that it is easy to make those shoots grew new roots so I’ll try that with some of them.

The Wisteria that I’ve tried to remove so many for years now but cut off a big piece of root is now growing in the Lathyrus, Golden shower. They have leafs looking very similar so if I’m lucky I’ll have both yellow and blue flowers in that tree 🙂

She’s the one that reigns over the forest /bog and all the animals and if she likes a human she will allow them to hunt in her area. In this region she’s always described as very beautiful and tries to lure men to follow her and, if she wants to, kill them or seduce them. Her backside looks different when it comes to where she lives, Here she looks like a hollow log on her back but further north she look just like a human but has a tail. In the Norse beliefs the god Odin hated her and often hunted her like an animal but she’s hard to kill, only a silver bullet could do that (and I guess that since there were no bullets back in Odins days he must have used something else made by silver. If one would meet any kind of beings when walking around in the forest it’s always a good idea to have some pieces of silver, either as an apology if one has done something stupid or a way to become friends with them Preferable that silver should be begged while walking on a pilgrimage 🙂 To be honest I don’t think they are that picky now days since so few wear pieces of silver in their pockets while walking in the forest 🙂 🙂

Rosa multiflora. Forbidden to have in many states in the US. — Rosa multiflora, Japanese climbing rose. It is still behaving nicely up here in Scandinavia but can spread fast and tends to push away other wild roses. Forbidden to have in many states in the US.

Have a great day!

Don’t try to catch a hornet.

June 16, 2024 · 6 Comments ·

The only photo I have of Malkolm today 🙂 He and Alma learned that it isn’t a good idea to try and attack a Hornet, Alma was limping for a while and Malkolm as You can see was stung on the back.

More mixed weather today than what they guessed yesterday. It was sunny and rather cool in the morning while we were out on our morning walk but the clouds arrived much earlier, so by the time we came home the sky had an evenly dark grey color.

No ALT texts today, too tired in my brain :-)

With darker day comes the mosquitoes and once again they attacked my ancles when I was watering the newly planted seedlings. The Dahlias were still there so perhaps the slugs still doesn’t know they are there. The dogs really didn’t want to be outdoors even though it has been warm but I guess they too are a bit sick of the insects now.

The little creek up by the bog is almost dried out oddly enough since it has been raining so much but the ferns shows where it usually flows.

Besides doing my chores it has been a rather uneventful day, perfect really 🙂 I’ve watched some football (soccer) and we took a nap, shorter than I had hoped for because a friend called on the phone. At least I didn’t sleep for too long so that I can fall asleep tonight 🙂 I have a short work week ahead of me because on Friday it’s Midsummers eve and that’s a big thing here.

To be honest I think it is even bigger than Christmas here and even though the church tried to make it a christian holiday (John the Baptist’s’ Birthday) it’s all pagan here to be honest 🙂 According to the folklore it’s a day when the Beings are out and about a lot and if we do it right we can keep us all healthy during winter and also see the future if we want to. For those new to this place but have been following me on post I think I’ve told You about the trolls and perhaps gnomes but there are a lot more to tell. I’ll start telling You more about the beings and how we celebrate Midsummer over here from tomorrow.

I have re-potted the Guava trees today. I think they have been a bit confused with the weather because first it was hot as h..l here, then almost autumn weatherwise plus all the rain, so they haven’t been growing that well, especially the roots have stopped to grow. I can only hope they’ll start growing again now when it has become a bit warmer. All apricots, peaches and pear trees are now re-potted as well. and I had a few seedlings from the Lemonquat seeds I sowed just before the warmth arrived. It takes far less time to get a seed sown Kumquat, limequat, lemonquat and what ever other quat there is out there 🙂 than it takes for orange, lemon or lime trees sown from seeds. For those it can take up to ten fifteen years before they flower but perhaps, with a bit of luck, only four to five years for the quats. It is time for a cup of tea so I don’t fall asleep in front of the tv later. Only four more days before long weekend again 🙂

I totally forgot that I also planted the last potatoes in pots today. The sprouts were so long that I made them follow the inside of the pot 🙂

The Guava trees has changed color to red, normally a sign that they stand in too much sunlight but these doesn’t so I have no idea to why they’ve done that.

I hope the old Pawpaw tree that survived winter here also speed up the growth of the new leafs now when the warmer weather return.

Perennials and trees can take years to start germinate so I’m quite pleased that I now have Giant Sequoias growing.

If You want a flower that will keep on flowering until autumn, smells really odd and would spread like wildfire this is the one for You, Nepeta sibirica, Siberian catmint (our name for it is Siberian dragon flower). It is 5 feet high and smother any other flower to death within a year 🙂 Only just as invasive flowers can keep it in control 🙂 🙂 It is beautiful though.

Have a great day!

Midsummer.

June 23, 2023 · 2 Comments ·

The decaying lilac flowers smell pretty nasty and I have way too many to be able to remove them. But Bullfinches loves to eat those seeds when winter arrives and they are always nice to see when winter is here.

The morning was just cool enough to keep the flies away but still warm enough to let the mosquitoes fly around when we went out on our morning walk at 5:30 am. We couldn’t stand still for especially many seconds before we were swarmed by the annoying insects and now all the dogs have itching bites all over their bodies.

I really wish I was rich so I could buy this area and replant the forest again, now it looks like they’ll let cattle walk there instead. The owner is a bit too greedy and wants way too much money so no one is going to buy it from him.

I didn’t want to walk in high grass or by the creek but Nova decided that we should do both so we were also full of ticks when we arrived here at home. Even I had one climbing up my leg on the inside of my trousers. Alma is always the one worst hit so I removed ten from her and a couple from both the others and one from me. I truly despise those tiny blood sucking animals. It was so warm when we finally came home that the sweat was running down my back 🙂 🙂 It’ll be a warm and sunny day here.

Today we have a day off for celebrating Midsummer. It’s always on the first Friday after the solar equinox (or of cours if the solar equinox actually happens on a Friday). This is a day when all the beings are out and about and we all should be very carefully if walking in the forest. Especially if we’re out walking in the dark they say but since it only is dark for an hour or so and quite late at night I don’t think too many people are out walking in the forest anyway 🙂 According to most folklore most people will be outside picking wild flowers (so they during their dreams can see to whom they’ll marry) or just as the sun rise again because they are collecting the morning dew that is said to have magical powers.

That dew is especially important to save to the late autumn and winter when a bath with that dew in it is said to cure any disease and depressions. If one would meet for instance a troll while doing either one shouldn’t worry too much, well unless it is a mountain troll because we all know that they can be evil and shrewd. The forest trolls however are much like You and I (except for them having a tail) and is nothing to be worried about. There are several stories about how humans and trolls lived close together, helping each other with the daily life and troubles with the farming. However while we live in houses they usually lives in caves.

However all the other beings can be tricky, never accept help from them because they will take advantage of it but if You can help them do it because they will make sure You’ll be safe and perhaps even wealthy. One good thing to know is that it is always good to have some pellets of silver in the pockets, beings loves silver and that will most likely make You safe if You meet any of them. I’m nere worried about beings when I’m out walking in the forest despite never having any silver in my pockets, I do however worry about meeting wild hogs, they are always something to worry about 🙂 🙂 🙂

Some of the flowers in bloom in my garden.

Have a great Midsummer!

Frost.

June 2, 2023 · 3 Comments ·

My seed sown Gardenia (one of four) shows its first flower. Unlike the ones we buy these flowers are single, like they are in nature. The ones we can buy are always totally filled and looks almost like a rose. It smell just enough strong and the scent fills up my kitchen. Two more flower buds and then hope it’ll, and the other ones, will do it again next year.

-1C (30,2F) here last night and the frost damaged my Amur grapevine. Most other plants, except for my tomatoes seems to have made it through without too much problem, even the small pear tree seedlings I replanted yesterday evening. Tonight might be even more cold so I’ve covered most of the plants that I still haven’t planted.

a (8) — If one see lilacs somewhere one knows it once was a cottage there. Lilacs are weeds but they rarely spread far when the cottage is gone.

a (9) — Paris quadrifolia, Lover’s knot, is a favorite of mine. It should really have problems surviving here but it looks like it is spreading instead.

Today was just as chilly and windy but with full sunshine as yesterday. The temperature barely rose to 14C (57,2F) but as long as I could stay out of winds reach it still was pretty nice. I am a bit tired of the wind now but it does at least blow away all the mosquitoes we have right now and we might have more forest flies than I noticed because of the wind as well. I had hoped the forest flies would take some time more to arrive, they really don’t do anything like bit but they hover around the head and every now and again they tries to get inside the nostrils and ears. I truly hate them for that.

In my garden right now. I can’t remember sowing this but I think it is some kind of sage.

Geranium that I also have in white and pink.

I found a tick on my thigh the other day. It couldn’t have been there drinking my blood for especially long since it was almost totally flat but I am now of course feeling all the diseases it might have given me. To be honest I’m feeling fine but it does itch a lot where it bit me, just lime it would if it had been a mosquito. Still nasty animals and I would not have minded if they just died out, who would miss them? Most animals won’t even try to eat them unless they are starving badly 🙂 🙂

The three Venus Fly traps I have survived the winter in my cool cellar 🙂 Also two of the pitcher plants but two died. I hope they sell more so I can fill up the big pot. Anything eating flies is a friend of mine 🙂

Lots of poppies in the old broken wheel barrow.

The potatoes are growing in the potato patch but also those sprouts that always break off from the potatoes when trying to untangle the potatoes from the net bag they put them in. I planted those in pots and buckets and so far they’ve shown above the surface in four out of five pots/buckets. Now I’ll continue to cover them with soil until they are almost completely filled, the more of those sprouts that are covered by soil the more potatoes I’ll get. I need more soil though so I’ll most probably go to the store tomorrow to buy more.

a (14)

I’m having a long weekend again 🙂 It’s our national day on Tuesday so I took Monday off as well. I’ll get a package on Monday and I must stay at home to recieve it otherwise I would have waited until Monday to get more soil I have bought an interesting book about our folklore beings and I’ll tell You more about it when I’ve read it through.

Have a great day!