Home of a Tomtenisse

In Swedish folklore a Tomtenisse was a tiny, very strong, elderly man with a big beard who looked after your farm and family. He would guard and protect it during the night. You would almost never see him as he could turn himself invisible. During Christmas it was very important to give the Tomte a bowl of porridge. It is also believed that he was the original owner of the farm. Today the Tomte has become the Scandinavian Santa Claus.

That time of the year again

It started to snow last night. So the snow plows were out and about this morning. Spotted this guy along my street Södertäljevägen, the yellow building in the background is the old station house at the Tungelsta commuter station.

ICA Supermarket

This is the only photo I have taken this week (it has been raining non-stop for several days). If I want to use the Swedish postal service, this ICA Supermarket in Västerhaninge is the closest option, around 5 kilometres from where I live. The rain have caused all sorts of problems. I passed an accident on my way to the post office. A car had crashed into a street-light for no obvious reason, so I guess it was because of aquaplaning. I heard on the radio that a few local roads had been closed this morning because of flooding. And they say that it is snowing in Stockholm as I'm typing this...

Bronze Age Grave

This is a cairn at the burial ground in Jordbro. Supposedly the oldest grave,it is said to date back to the Bronze Age. It is eleven meters wide. Walking through the forest/field you will find up to one thousand graves from around 500 BC to 500 AC. The weather of late have been horrible, at least if you are a biking photographer. Mostly rain and grey skies. That might change tomorrow, stay tuned!

Infranord Inspection Car

Infranord claim to be the leading railway contractor in the country. For the last couple of years they have been busy constructing a second rail-track between Tungelsta and Västerhaninge. Traffic will start on both tracks on the third of December. Seen here is an inspection car from Infranord, shot from the newish bridge crossing the railtrack at the Tungelsta commuter station.

Industrial Space

The industrial park in Jordbro is now filled to capacity. The municipality took a decision to create a new industrial area in Alby a few kilometres away from Jordbro. Work on that has already begun, so I was a bit surprised to see that someone had found a property at the Jordbro site that was unused. Not sure who will move in here, but this must be the last new business to open here.

Lets build a mall

If you ever decide to build a shopping centre you might need one of these. It is a Scissor Lift, although the construction workers at the Port 73 mall in Handen might call it a Saxlift as they probably speak Swedish.

Gated Entrance

Earlier this year I took part in a photo project called 5 Days. The idea was to shoot five photos of the same scene on five different days. I decided to shoot the tree lined avenue at the 200-year old Hammar estate in Tungelsta. One reason was that they were redoing the entrance by adding a gate as well as laying asphalt on the driveway (although they don't use it). That took some time to finish, but this is how it looks today.

The Red Nest Boxes

Two red nest boxes near Söderby in Handen. Shot this from a pedestrian bridge. No idea what type of bird the nest was made for. Most of my flickr photos are organized in sets. I realised that I didn't have a set for birch photos, so that has been fixed now!

The Cultural Centre

This is the library at the cultural centre at Poseidon's Square in Handen. The Cultural Centre celebrates ten years in December. The celebrations takes place on 12.12.12. You can expect to see and hear some local artists including R & B-star Mary N’diaye and watch air acrobatics from Cirkus Cirkör.

A Very Public Bathroom

Swedish proverb of the day: Nöden har ingen lag. Or, in English, when you have to go you have to go. A very public bathroom at the Fredrika Bremer secondary school. A couple of old buildings are being demolished at the moment. They will be replaced with new ones.

A jubilee

A bit of a jubilee at the blog today as I took my 300th photo of the old tree two hours ago. I had to shoot it a bit different today as I wanted the moon in the photo. Over the years I have visited the Swedish Whitebeam in Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. I have seen the sunrise, watched the sunset. Met numerous people at the tree. Walked here during rain a few times. And twice during snow storms! It's been a fun six years. Hopefully I will make many more visits in the future. If you have the time, sit back and enjoy the slideshow.

A Figure in the Mist

Who is that ghostly figure?

McDonald's

Last time I visited a McDonald's was in 1987. If I remember correctly it was in Germany, probably in Munich. We had bought InterRail tickets and were heading for Paris and needed a breakfast. We enjoyed the burger at a square. We had a big boombox with us and found a radio station that were broadcasting from that same square. Not sure why I haven't visited the chain again as I do eat quite a few burgers. I guess I should visit this "Donken" as Emelie works there.

A Cold Day For Fishing

A cold day for fishing, but it is just a short walk from central Handen so a warm cafe is only a few minutes away.

Lights Out

From a distance I noticed something new at one of the entrances to the Haninge mall. I couldn't see what it was so I decided to have a closer look. If you can't figure out what it is head over to flickr and have a look at a zoomed out photo.

4 Cranes at Port 73

It is tricky to get to and from the Port 73 shopping centre in Handen at the moment. The area is one big construction site. New roads are being constructed. A new filling station is opening. A new car wash is also being built. And if you arrive via bicycle like me, you have to go through a fenced-in part of a former parking lot where they are constructing a new mall building on one side and a roundabout on the other.

Asphalt Roller

A team from NCC laying asphalt concrete on the newly constructed bridge at Nedersta. The bridge, crossing the railway line Nynäsbanan at Krigslida will be called the Mulsta Bridge. It will open for traffic in January.

In The Winner's Circle

Solvalla is the biggest racing track for harness racing in Sweden. This is Naleen Flame. Owned and trained by Peter Strage (in the sulky here), and Jenny Olsson. The horse won a race at Solvalla a couple of days ago. I met them at the old tree on Sunday.

Railroad Mist

Careful now, don't walk on the railroad tracks!

My Winter Look

This will probably be my Winter look. The brother visited Iceland earlier this year. He borrowed my camera for the trip, and when he made a stop-over in Sweden before flying back home to Cyprus I got a pair of mittens and this cool laugar hat as a thank you. He also took this portrait of me.

Red and probably delicious

Once upon a time this apple tree stood in a garden at Bäckvägen in Tungelsta. I'm sure the owners have made both apple pie and cider from the apples over the years. Then came a letter explaining that the land they lived on was needed for the construction of a new bridge. So they moved out. All that is left of this property today are two apple trees. Skywatch Friday.

Cottage in the Mist

A little red cottage at the 700 year old Nödesta farm. I have shown you many photos from Nödesta over the years and here is another one.

Mystery Tombstone

Vesterin 1824-1927. The most known Westerin (spelled with a W), was the teacher and sexton Gustav Adolf. He died in 1927, but he was born in 1862. He was adopted by the tailor Samuel August Westerin. The records show that his step-sister Ragnhild Svea Forsell should be buried here. She died in 1953. The last Taphophile Tragic.

That Old Tree

The old tree on a misty autumn day.

Misty Day

It started to rain yesterday morning. When the rain stopped I took the bike for a spin. When I arrived to one of the lakes at the Rudan nature reserve the mist started rolling in.

The Hood Face

Spotted this Cadillac from 1951, parked at the shopping centre in Västerhaninge the other day. Last time I took a photo of this car it was summer and the convertible was filled with people arriving in style to a car meet in Handen.

Ice Bubbles

Noticed these ice bubbles on the partly frozen path to the old tree a couple of day ago. The one to the left looked very much like a foot so I had to stop and take some photos.

Sergei The Dog

Out shooting some autumn scenes in Tungelsta a couple of days ago I noticed a family at a playground. They took no notice of me, but their dog saw me coming. He decided that I might be fun to play with, and had a go at biting my hands, so it was a good thing that I was wearing my new gloves. Meet Sergei The dog, not pug, thanks Malin and Mike.

Water's Edge

Theme Day. Water's Edge means my favorite beach Årsta Havsbad at the Hårsfjärden Bay, so here is a collage of photos taken over the last few years. I try to visit all seasons and take all sorts of normal, different,fun and impossible photos.