We have thunder in the area, not especially close at the moment but one can clearly hear it. The day started sunny and cool though so we were out on our morning walk around 7 am. It was unfortunately not  cool enough to keep the flies calm so we had a black cloud flying around us. I wore a hoodie though so they never got the chance to visit inside my ears and for some reason wearing a hoodie also prevents them from trying to go inside my nostrils as well 🙂 🙂
It didn’t take long before the rain arrived again so we have mostly stayed indoors and went outside when the rain had a temporary stop. So I did the laundry and baked a bread in between 🙂  I also took a long nap in the sofa and this time both dogs decided they should sleep beside me in the sofa 🙂 🙂 🙂 Alma by my feet and Malkolm by my side with half his body over my stomach. I’m surprised that I managed to fall asleep but it could have been the lack of oxygen since it was a bit hard to breathe that was the cause 🙂 🙂 🙂
We did have sunshine for a while but now we’re back to rain and thunder is not far away. It is much warmer than they guessed it would be so I hope the thunder passes by and cool things down a bit. It’s rather quiet in the village, some birds sing and one dog is yapping a lot. Normally that starts most other dogs as well but I guess they don’t have the energy now when it is so warm 🙂 I think someone on my gravel road is trying to repair an old moped because I could hear how they were trying to start it up the road but then just slid down the slope quietly. It has happened several times this week so I guess they aren’t especially successful 🙂
I have the day off tomorrow because I need to go to the bank to see if they can help me renew my digital bank id without me having to get something called an international id card or get a new passport. A new drivers license doesn’t help at all for some reason. So I’ll also buy a couple of big bags with soil and on the way home make a visit to my old workplace and the grocery store in the same village. it will most likely rain anyway so it’ll be a nice little trip to do.
It is time for a pot of tea and perhaps something to eat as well.
I always take a test photo when we’re going out for our walks and it is usually this one 🙂
It has been raining all night and almost all day since I went to bed yesterday night.but there was a moment when it didn’t early this morning so the dogs and I went out for our morning walk. Didn’t last for long though before the misty rain arrived and later on just before we arrived at home we had heavy showers 🙂 🙂 🙂
We did at least have a walk and despite Alma trying to rip off my arm while passing the new neighbours she behaved really well 🙂 🙂 No screaming at all and only a quiet whining 🙂 I had hoped to see the fox cubs again so I brought a bigger lens but had no such luck plus the misty rain stuck to the glass on the lens like it was velvet  🙂 🙂 🙂 it was a nice walk though because it looks like misty rain is a mortal enemy to flies as well, almost no flies fly around when we have misty rain, I guess their wings just sticks together when those small droplets fill the air.
I had to save a lot of the potted plants from the rain water today, normally it’s saving them from not getting water but today I had to remove all the plates they stood on because the rain just kept filling them up. I always feel a bit torn placing pots directly on the ground because small red ants tends to move in, small red ants with a good ability to sting and the pain is quite gruesome. Also lots of other animals move in as well and as long as they are outside and those animals can come and of they do no harm but when I bring them in during winter they tend to start eating on the plant because they have no other place to go.
I have also had a long nap, Alma and I took a long nap in one of the sofas and Malkolm decided it was a bit crowded so he had the second sofa to himself. Alma is rather big so I must say it was a bit uncomfortable but we shared that two people sofa rather well to be honest and since the air is a bit damp and cool today it helped me to stay warm 🙂
I really should bake some bread today but I just don’t have the energy to do it. I am rather glad I mowed the lawn yesterday because it would have been impossible for my mower to cut it the next time we have sunny or at least dry weather, it wasn’t exactly pleased to do it yesterday as it was, I hadn’t mowed the lawn in one and a half week and ad water to that and I think it would have died 🙂 I like this mower so I really don’t want to have to buy another one 🙂
Potato flowers are actually quite beautiful.
It is time for a pot of tea and perhaps I will read one of all the books I’ve started to read but never finished 🙂 They are all really good, I just haven’t had the energy to read for quite some time but it feels like that’s slowly changing now 🙂
Lots of the photos will be bait fuzzy today because the lens I used doesn’t have that anti-shaking thing.
It started to drizzle some while I mowed the lawn, I started as soon as I had come home and thought we could have our walk after I was done. But as soon as I stopped mowing heavy showers arrived So we stayed at home instead. The dogs did try to go outside during the rain but turned around and came back in instead 🙂
They say we’ll get plenty of rain the coming four days as well and we need it but it would be nice if it rained while I was working and the sun then shone for the rest of the day 🙂 So far we haven’t had lots of mosquitoes or other biting flies but I think this rain will change that. These last days I’ve had two mosquito bites and one from a horse fly I think. The horse fly bite is worst because the itching after stays for so long.
During the months when I was unemployed I never had any leg cramps but lots before when I had a job. Now they are  back. I drink lots of water at work and at home so I don’t think I can drink any more than I do so I wonder why I get them? I guess one thing could be that I stand up all day at work but then again shouldn’t every one who do get those leg cramps as well? It is ok if it happens during the day but I really hate when it happens when I’m deep asleep and quite often while I try to stretch the cramps away I get it in the other leg as well and that’s horrible because when I try to remove it from one leg it makes the other leg hurt even more 🙂 🙂 🙂
The survivor and the two seedlings from this years Pawpaw seed sowings.
I have a soft spot for Fuchsias but now days I only have this one and the Hardy Fuchsia.
I’m sort of glad it will rain a lot tomorrow because then I can’t do anything outside, so I’m already planning on having a long nap 🙂 🙂 🙂 well I might bake a bread but there still would be lots of time to take naps while it rises and when it is in the oven 🙂 It is time for that last cup of tea for the day and after that I’ll see if there’s anything to watch on tv but I doubt that 🙂
It’s a Scandinavian hot day today, 27C (80,6F) and I’m not too happy about it. Too warm for a walk, the dogs just ran in to the garden and laid down on the grass when I came home. They tried to play some but gave up 🙂 I covered all windows before I left this morning with the result that it was only 24C (75,2F) indoors. Still pretty warm upstairs so I might spend the night in a sofa in the livxingroom instead.
Tomorrow will be even warmer, possibly 30C (86F) but Thursday it will fall down to just below 20C (68F) and it will also rain quite a lot if they’re guessing it right. This is still nothing compared to how hot it is down in Spain and Portugal, temperatures there reach well over 45C (113F) so I really don’t have a lot to complain about to be honest 🙂 🙂 🙂Â
I should have mowed the lawn yesterday but it was already warm so I skipped it, so I really should have mowed the lawn today but it was even warmer so no. Tomorrow will be nasty so I won’t even think about it 🙂 🙂 🙂 The good thing is that the dog house is placed on the north side of the wood shed so it was actually quite nice in there, so the dogs were naturally not there but in the garage instead. To be honest even though the old garage is made with tin walls and roof it still is quite cool there during hot days, can’t explain it really because it, by logic, should be hot as h..l in there, plus the dog yard is shadowed most of the afternoon by big trees just outside the fence so it wasn’t too bad there either, it will be tomorrow though.
This Pawpaw is most likely four years od and sown from a seed (bought it so it isn’t any of my seedlings) and it grows much better than the name variety, just as old and bought at the same time. The name variety is said to have earlier ripening fruits so it should be ahead of the other one. The White mulberry tree I bought sort of died but now a new shoot comes from the roots. I haven’t seen any place It’s grafted so if I’m lucky it will still give good tasting berries.
It is time for something cool or cold to drink and then maybe some ice cream 🙂 By the way, I couldn’t get any sound coming out of this computer I bought last autumn. I’ve really tried to because it has a camera so why should it not have sound. Turns out on had to go deep in to the settings to start the speakers and now I have it 🙂 🙂 🙂
Lots of sunshine, very few clouds and totally rain free today. Thankfully we have a strong wind blowing so all flies were blown away. I really should have mowed the lawn but the energy just wasn’t there in my body. For once I had problems falling asleep yesterday night, I guess because I had that long nap earlier in the day and perhaps that last cup of tea a bit late as well.
I did wake up early though, just before 5 am so not many hours of sleep to be honest. We went out on our morning walk quite early as well and walked down to the creek again. Alma was thankfully rather quiet when we passed our newest neighbours so their dogs stayed quiet as well 🙂 🙂 I think they too are morning people since they horses, dogs, cats and chickens but it is still nice that Alma could stay reasonable quiet 🙂
Nothing special happened during our walk until we were almost at home again, one of the fox cubs stood beside the gravel road and this time I could get a few photos of it. It didn’t notice us because it was looking at the other direction and we stopped rather early so we wouldn’t scare it away. Alma started to whine loudly but for once she listened to me and just looked at the fox. It still has its baby fur but has grown rather large so I guess it won’t be long before it is time for it to find its own new home.
Besides the cub the day has been rather uneventful, The food for next week at work is cooking at the moment, the laundry is done and it dried up really fast in the wind and sunshine. Also I’ve repotted my tomato plants in to bigger pots, one has flower so with a bit of luck I’ll have a tomato or two by the end of next month 🙂
I think it is time for a bowl of cornflakes and I’ll skip that last cup of tea for the day. The dogs and I had pancakes for dinner and even if I gave them half a pancake extra I still feel a bit too full 🙂
To me this has been a rather nice day, no sunshine but still rather warm, mostly misty rain but every now and again it changed to a nice summer rain, You know the kind that isn’t too heavy and not drenches anyone outside.
So the fox cubs were playing just by the gate but the lens was covered in misty rainwater.
We took a walk rather late today down to the creek. Both Alma and Malkolm behaved so well until we had passed our new neighbours, then we met them just after their home and both Alma and Malkolm were so excited that Malkolm for some reason started yapping, yes it did sound just like that and Alma started bawling like insane 🙂 🙂 The good thing was that their dogs did the same 🙂 🙂 They all really wanted to meet but sort of scared each other at the same time so we had to just keep walking 🙂 🙂 🙂
I just like how difficult it is to see that there’s an opening to a path in to the forest that is really hard to see just in front of us.
That’s when the misty rain arrived and unfortunately misty rain sticks like glue to everything no matter what direction it comes from so I couldn’t get any photos of the two fox cubs that played on the gravel road in front of us, they didn’t have the patience to wait for me to clean the lens from rainwater. So I was sort of relieved when the nice summer rain started to fall instead.
Almost no wind today so we were surrounded by forest flies almost all the way. I’ve realised that it is enough to wear a hoodie to keep them away from both the ears and nostrils. I mean they do no harm at all but they have this idea that they need to go inside there to see what they can find and I hate it 🙂 🙂 🙂 Still no biting flies here and that sort of builds up hope that they might be very few this summer but I’m sure that’s a false hope 🙂 🙂
The Fireweed in bloom just outside my livxingroom window.
This weather also removed all ideas that a nap would be wrong, not even the dogs wanted to be outside, so I had a nap in the sofa together with Alma, Malkolm decided it was too crowded so he chose the other sofa and the floor. I’m pretty sure the sofas would be great to sleep on during hot days when the bedroom would be like an oven but it tends to be too crowded with me and the dogs but I think I’ll try it next time the temperatures rise too high, after all I might be able to convince the dogs that they can share the other sofa instead sleeping close to me 🙂 🙂
Can You see the spiderweb?
I’ve just baked a bread and for once I let it rest and not take a slice or two just after bringing it out in to the world 🙂 So as soon as I’ve done this blog I’ll have a slice or two together with that last cup of tea for the day 🙂
We had rain and rather cool temperatures this morning when we woke up but just before I was going home from work the sun broke through and now it’s warm and nice and thankfully still a strong wind that keeps most flies away in the forest. The few that tried to follow us didn’t have the chance to try and get inside our noses or ears. Sometime I do like strong winds 🙂 🙂
Surprisingly few ticks in the grass as well today even if it still was quite wet after thew rain. I only found one walking on Malkolm and none on Alma. Alma seems to slowly accept the new neighbours, the ones with the horses. She didn’t scream at all when we passed, just sort of very loudly whining when we passed and it didn’t feel like she was trying to rip of my shoulder either. Small steps but I’ll take any steps forward 🙂
If we aren’t walking on the paths and small roads in the forest the grass will grow really high. I’ve avoided to do that because of the ticks so the grass is now waist high in many places. No one else seems to be walking there and on one hand that’s nice because no one will sir up Alma to high level excitement 🙂 On the other hand they do miss some wonderful walks in there. All birds singing, sometimes a fox or some deer pass in front of us and the badgers of course, then again most people believe badgers are dangerous so perhaps it’s a good idea that they stay away 🙂 🙂 🙂
It’s time for that last cup of tea for the day and today I’ll have some chocolate covered Hobnobs with the tea. I think I’ll sit myself down on the kitchen stairs while drinking it so the dogs can run around and play as they please for a while. The forest dove is still nesting in the Ginnala maple so I try to avoid being close to it for as long as they are there, I don’t wan’t the monsterkitten to know they are there.
Have a great day!
The Rapunzel has opened its flowers. I wonder if I should try to eat one of the roots? It is said to taste something like radishes.
The Chinese Wisteria is finally climbing up the Golden shower (Laburnum) It shouldn’t even survive here and it grows beside the cottage where I’ve tried to get rid of it for years but it just refuses to die. So I moved a bit piece of the roots to the laburnum instead.
We’re having a really nice afternoon/ evening. Just below 20C (68F), a weak wind blowing (therefore a lots of flies flying around), birds singing and I’ve had my two first strawberries 🙂 To be honest it would have been better to wait a day or so because they were pretty sour 🙂 🙂 🙂
The cattle are now walking in the fields again so we can’t walk everywhere we want to at the moment, like following the creek down-stream. Also there are so manytickso now that high grass is a no no to walk in. Last time we did I picked eight from Malkolm as soon as we came home and six from Alma. I once had two dogs that had a bad reaction on those drops one drop in the neck so I try to avoid using that on my dogs, especially a stressed dog like Alma. Thankfully I do pick off most of them after our walks.
They say our weather will be on and off when it comes to rain, we do need it but I do hope that the temperature doesn’t drop down to arctic temperatures again, after all it is summer now 🙂 🙂 Last week, the night before midsummers eve the night was clear and it wasn’t dark at all. The sky was deep red closer to the ground, then a thin layer with orange slowly turning to a pale light blue colour. Not a star could be seen and we had so much light that I didn’t need to use the high beam on the lights. Unfortunately that changes quickly now but it was nice to drive home at night without it bring pitch black.
I’ve just pad my bills and I always feel a bit sad doing it but then it changes to happy since I know I won’t have any more bills until next month 🙂 🙂 It is time for that last cup of tea for the day, I wish I had some cookies but I ate the last one on Sunday. I don’t have the energy to bake any new ones and most of the gluten free ones one can by is an abomination to any living thing 🙂 I wonder if they actually do taste what they bake or that they really don’t care because it’s not their fault we can’t eat normal cookies 🙂 🙂 🙂
Scandinavian hot today, 25C (77F), thankfully a wind is blowing to cool it down. Then again warm air dries out the ground even more so it’s sort of a damned if I do damned if I don’t situation for nature. They say we’ll get some more rain tomorrow evening though and the temperatures will drop some as well. The good thing though is that the laundry dried up in less than ten minutes 🙂 🙂
I will be surprised if the peach tree survives next winter, It is hit by leaf curl disease and this time it’s the entire tree. I’ve heard peaches usually can handle it when the tree is older but I’ve had so many peach trees dying because of it so I doubt it.
I’ve tried to remove this rose so many times that even I am beginning to give up now, it’s a garden variety of the Cinnamon rose and happily spreads via its roots.
Soon I’ll have my first strawberry 🙂
I know that for many of You 25C (77F) is like a cool summer morning but up here in the north that used to be as high the temperature rose in summer with, of course, the occasional heatwave passing by a day or two before we had more rain 🙂 🙂 🙂 I can’t remember if it is two or three years ago the temperature never rose above 20C (68F) during the month of July and we had at least some rain every day that month. To be honest I didn’t complain even though I did get bored by it before the vacation was over 🙂 🙂 🙂
The potato sprouts I planted has now grown so high that it was time to fill up the entire bucket with soil. It will now produce potatoes along the stem that was just buried in soil. I doubt there will be many per stalk but they usually grow a bit bigger instead.
Three pots with sown rhubarbs. They are so easy to sow that it would have been surprising if even one seed didn’t germinate. Can’t eat any next year because the plant will need all leafs to grow bigger, but the year after that I can start harvesting 🙂
I’m still rather tired today but I guess it’s the combination of one week with high fever followed by a week with evening shift that sort of takes its toll, plus of course the warm weather itself. I’ve tried to not sit still too much, so I’ve done the laundry, started dinner for next week in the slow cooker and now I’m waiting for a bread to be ready to be taken out of the oven. This time I skipped the cheese but have plenty of rosemary in it. Also today I’m trying Teff flour, a cereal growing mostly in Ethiopia but I’ve heard they now grow it in a lot of places. I have used it once a long time ago but can’t remember how it tasted.
I have lots of the creeping bellflower in my garden, over here seen as one of the worst weeds there is 🙂 They are beautiful though and if too many just eat the roots, works great in a salad like radishes would.
I couldn’t for my life figure out what it was I had sown (name tags of course gone 🙂 ) Then I suddenly remembered it, garden varieties of the purple coneflower 🙂
This is truly surprising! Do You remember me telling You about mice chopping off both Giant sequoia seedlings and my Pawpaw seedlings? All looked dead to me but I saved them just in case it would produce new branches. I’ve mostly neglected this one but watered it every now and again. To my very big surprise this morning I noticed that it actually is alive and is producing new branches again 🙂 🙂 🙂 I will take very good care of it from now on 🙂
Not even the dogs are especially active today, they’ve played some but mostly they’ve been napping. I’ve always wondered how thick furred dogs can survive in a warmer climate than what it is here, most of them are knocked out already in our temperatures. We now have loads of insects here but surprisingly few biting ones, that may change quickly now if we actually get the rain that se we’ll get. Not many butterflies though but plenty of different bees and at the moment they are all visiting my wild roses 🙂
Magpies, beautiful, smart, funny and probably one of the most annoying birds there is 🙂 🙂 🙂
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.
Mock orange.
The potatoes grow well now.
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.
The first day with evening shift works great, the second day really well, the third day is quite tiresome and the fourth is just nasty 🙂 🙂 🙂 So I’m so glad I mowed the lawn yesterday morning and the shopping today otherwise I’m pretty sure the mowing wouldn’t have been done 🙂 🙂 🙂
Today is Midsummer eve and most likely the biggest holiday here, I was planning on writing about it today but I’m so tried that it will have to wait until tomorrow. We have a quite wonderful weather here today, mostly sunny all day, 22C (71,6F) with a wind that actually reach my garden after the heavy pruning of the Hungarian lilac a few weeks ago. It was much needed and I really need to do more but that will be a job for later.
I drove to the grocery store in the village where I used to work at nine am and they played summer music (which must mean music that has been played a lot previous summers, not necessarily about summer though 🙂 I had the windows open and all smells in the world came in to my car. I only drove on small roads so the speed was slow and I enjoyed every second of it 🙂 I took slightly different roads back home just to be able to enjoy everything from the forest to big fields with wheat and corn flowers, no poopies though but I’m pretty sure they’ll be there in a day or two.
Every year since I moved to this region I’ve seen a couple driving around in what I think is a Morgan Plus 8 car. they have always been dressed in a British upper class style and she has worn a hat with a thin scarf holding the hat down (since it is a convertible) So I’ve only seen this couple those time we both have been driving around at the same time but also see them, like me, getting older. I met them early in May the last time and they looked just as happy as always. Today I was happy to see the car again but this time only the man was sitting in it and he looked well not sad but not happy either. I do hope the woman is healthy and living (they must be in their 80’s by now) because the car looked empty without her.
The village is quiet today, only the wind and the birds can be heard, not even the cats up at the farm fights. I noticed that the monsterkitten followed us in the to the wood shed when I was about to drive to the store, she refused to go out with me so she had to stay there until I came home. I left the door to the wood shed stay open when I returned home and let the dogs out from the dog house and naturally though the stupid cat (one of all her names 🙂 🙂 🙂  would run out but now this afternoon I started to wonder why she wasn’t with us pestering me for food. Turns out that she had stayed in the wood shed when I closed the door 🙂 🙂 Well at least she was safe all the time 🙂 🙂
It is time for some ice cream and a soda called Trocadero, a Swedish brand with a taste somewhat close to tutti-frutti. The sugar free is so much better tasting since it isn’t that sweet so it works really well with very sweet ice cream 🙂
Pawpaw seedling. One more is on the way but I think the two seeds I still am eating for to germinate won’t make it. Still two out of five seeds is still better that how it works in nature.
Pawpaw I bought as a three year old tree, seed sown. I also bought a name variety and that one is so much slower to grow.
The Chinese wisteria that I moved because it couldn’t grow close to the cottage seems to have down well during winter. It isn’t even supposed to manage this climate zone but it just doesn’t understand that 🙂
My red elderberry tree is in bloom.
Have a great day!
Strawberries, carrots, beetroot and also peas grow well together in the big box 🙂
Turns out it did work after all, they think it was updating info that needed to shut down the wifi so the updates starts to work. They do it when I usually don’t use the computer. So it started to work at the same time I reached the company 🙂 🙂 🙂
The Cottage by the crane lake. 