The Black Sheep

There's a new black sheep at the Nödesta farm. And it turns out that it is a very sociable sheep. I only had time to jump off the bike and take two photos before it ran towards me as happy as I have ever seen a sheep. Unfortunately my camera malfunctioned mid-shoot so I only got a couple of snaps. Luckily for me it is close to home so I will be sure to drop in again for more photos of the black sheep Bää.

Halfway There

Biking past the construction site Sjögläntan/Parkstråket in Handen recently I decided to stop for a photo. So I sat down on the bench from where you get this view. I didn't have the wide-angle lens with me, so I tried a panorama using the 60mm lens. Which is 96 mm on the 77D. After snapping sixteen photos I realised that from where I was sitting it would be a lot of blue sky in the photo so I gave up. With my preferred aspect ratio this would have been the final result had I kept shooting. This will be a six-storey apartment building.

Lökblandning

That is the name of the big tulip bed near Poseidon's square in Handen. Definitely the most photographed area in Haninge the last two years. In the background some of the new apartments currently under construction in the big Haningeterrassen project.

Cheesy Selfie

A woman snapping a bunch of selfies with her smartphone as she arrives to my favorite cafe Malmens konditori on one of the first Summer days.

Aspludd

Last week was all about the aspen seed. The air was filled with the fluffy stuff. Local teenagers soon realised that it burned very easily. There were at least 350 fires reported between Monday and Wednesday. It was so bad that the fire-fighters is Stockholm reported that they were out of vehicles, and that if you noticed a fire relating to the aspen seed you should put it out yourself. all this thanks to the warm summer we had last year.

Forget-me-not

Forget-me-not. Today these plants, (several hundred), grow on a slope next to a bridge in Tungelsta, just a few meters from the railway tracks. But before the bridge was built they were growing in the middle of a little garden. The house and everything else that was once here is long gone today, but the forget-me-not's are still here as a little reminder, at least to the few locals that still remember how it once looked here at what was then Lillhammar.

Dandelion Season

The dandelions bloomed this week.

Random Snaps

Sixteen candid snaps from Handen taken earlier in the week from Poseidon's Square and from my favorite cafe Malmens konditori.

That Old Tree

Finally. The old tree is turning green again, always a slow starter, but it feels extra slow this year. Summer temperatures this week and there are dandelions turning the fields yellow everywhere.

Two Blondes

We opened the outdoor season at my favorite cafe today. Which meant that we had to carry out the tables and chairs from the old raid-shelter. There is a wooden deck were you can also sit, but I prefer the other chairs, and it was nice to shoot a few candids while chit-chatting and enjoying a coffee with a few of the usual suspects in the Summer temperatures.

Lunch Break

Summer arrived yesterday. Around 20C in Haninge. Which was nice. But the best part was that the strong winds have died down. Spotted this couple sitting at Poseidon's Square relaxing and enjoying a light lunch.

Drivved

Swedish word of the day. Drivved. Driftwood. As noted and photographed at my favorite beach a couple of days ago.

A color explosion

Stängt mellan hägg och syren

"Closed Between Bird Cherry and Lilac". A saying first uttered, or written down by a cordwainer that closed shop this time of the year many moons ago. It is a period of about two weeks in the middle of May when everything blooms. It is many peoples favorite time of the year in this country, me included. I found this bench along a historical promenade with info about "Old Årsta" close to Årsta slott in rural Österhaninge

WTF!

Årsta Castle in Österhaninge. It has a rich history. It also has a golf course and this old alleyway, Norra Allén, that is open for the public and local cyclists like myself, until yesterday that is when I encountered this horrible looking wooden gate. I wonder if it is former hockey great Peter Forsberg's fault. His company has taken over the operation of the castle and golf course, and they will build houses and what have you in the area over the next five years.

Odlingsröse

Rocks on the field next to the old tree. I will sit here every now and then, sometimes thinking about all the hard work farmers must have gone through removing these big rocks from their fields with the help of a horse or an ox. As far as I know there are not that many stone walls in this area. Sometimes the rocks ended up at what was known as a odlingsröse, or clearance cairn in English. This is one of those.

Rural Bus Stop

If you need to take the bus to and from Dalarö, bus 839 is a good choice. Especially if you find yourself at the bus stop near Tjursta in rural Österhaninge. The design of this "busskur" is pretty straight forward but it is windproof and rainproof and that is all you need.

Snörom

Today a little horse farm at the end of the road. Before that a "torp", cottage that belonged to the bigger estate Solberga in Österhaninge. First mentioned around 1730. The name Snörom is said to come from the fact that the old road that passes by close to the house made an acute turn here. Since around 1950 the property belongs to the Åkerblom family. The "offering stone" sits on top of the nearby hill. If it in fact is an cup and ring mark, I don't really know, but I have met a few people that say so.

Mystery Stones II

I showed you one of the conical mystery stones at Sanda a while back. Here are two of the round stones. All in all there are six stones. The round ones sits on top of the rock closest to the road. The conical on a rock a few meters away.

Not sure what they want

Not sure what they want. The EU election is only two weeks away now.

Tulpanfestival

Last year we had a very popular tulip festival in Haninge. Unfortunately the warm weather made the tulips bloom a week early. No such problems this time. This years festival took place earlier today. I didn't go this time but took a bunch of tulip photos yesterday and here are three of those photos.

Harley-Davidson

Seen and heard at Lövhagen a while back on a chilly Spring day.

That Old Tree

The month of May have been cold and windy so far. Biking home earlier in the week I made a quick stop at the old tree. The Swedish Whitebeam stands unprotected from the weather, and I can't remember the last time I experienced such a cold bike ride. It was horrible, and it took me an hour to warm up after I got home.

It has been a very cold May so far

Too cold for the anemones. Swedish word of the day. Nasti. Nyctinasty.

Vandalised election poster

Local racists seems to disagree with Centerpartiet's stand in the upcoming European Parliament election as they have vandalised these election posters. As seen at the commuter station in Tungelsta yesterday. I took a party quiz the other day and I came out as a Centerpartist. That would have made my grandfather and my great grandfather proud as they were both members of that party.

Östnora

Östnora. As a kid this was the number one beach for all the locals. As a teenager this was a place you would visit for an alcohol induced evening with your friends on one of the cliffs, well on the cliff because there's only one. As a grown-up it has been the place to stay away from. Another fitting name would be bird poo beach. There's a very popular, (?), camping here. And a little marina. On my visit over the weekend people were already sitting outside their caravan/tents enjoying an early morning cup of coffee in the chilly weather. I took a walk along the beach and it looks like they are preparing to add more sand to the beach. I guess it is possible that it is a nicer place these days so I guess I will come back for a Summer visit later in the year.

Staring Squirrel

Squirrel high up a hazel with a nut in it's mouth.

Bofink

Coffee and a waffle in the Spring sunshine at Lövhagen in Nynäshamn a few days ago. This "bofink" flew in for his treat and looked happy enough with it's seeds.

The bonfire that never was

Last year it was the strong winds that caused a few problems with the bonfires during Walpurgis Night. This year it was the very dry weather. There has been fires burning uncontrolled all over the country in the last few weeks. This was supposed to be the bonfire at Stav in Tungelsta, but in the end everyone agreed to burn a smaller bonfire just to the left of the real bonfire. So this was how the bonfire that never was looked yesterday.

Tjäderslingan

The little urban area Segersäng in Nynäshamn. Around 1000 people call this home. Funny note, before the Nynäsbanan railway line was constructed, a little over a century ago, one possible route was via Sorunda. That plan was abandoned, but at the time of the construction the commuter station here was first called Sorunda. These houses dates back 10 to 15 years. The 1000 kilometre long Sörmland trail passes through here and I spotted a few hikers sitting by the side of the trail looking at their map.

Next Stop Lövhagen

The old road to Nynäshamn used to be known as the road of death. So eventually a new road was built for all the heavy traffic between Stockholm and the port city of Nynäshamn. Which also means that these days the old road is only used by a few locals and a lot of cyclists, like this bunch that I spotted at Ösmo on Sunday, and half an hour later when they arrived to Lövhagen.