Using the Inner Eye

Struggling along the icy streets in town today, it occurred to me that I almost feel I don’t believe in summer any more.

Please tell me I’m wrong…?

“… blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”.
John 21:29

Now Covered In White

Advent Calendar / 3 December

Now covered in white
are the paths I used to walk
watching butterflies

End Of Summer

It’s not over yet, but nature is beginning to bear witness to the change of season…

One thing I like about the rose hip bush is that it sometimes has fruit and new fresh flower buds going at the same time.

What really speaks of the turn of season is the Rowan berries turning red:

 
28 July

 
17 August

Hot Dogs and Crying Ladies

Do you celebrate Name Days where you live?

In Sweden, from the 18th century onwards, names used by the royal family were introduced to the Swedish list of name days, followed by other common names. The monopoly on almanacs, held by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, expired in 1972 and so did the official name day list. Competing lists began to emerge. However, widespread dissatisfaction with the confusions of different lists prompted the Swedish Academy to compile a new two-name list which was accepted in 2001 and in nation-wide use since then.

By old tradition, the week just gone by, 19-24 July, has six female names in a row: Sara, Margareta, Johanna, Magdalena, Emma, Kristina. (My middle name is Christina.) So it has been called Women’s Week, and also names like Tear Week, since it also has the rumour of often being wet and rainy.

We’ve had some rain this week, but also sun. Today the Crying Women’s Week is officially over. (Name of the Day is Jakob). But I woke up to 10°C (the coldest we’ve had in a long time) and heavy rain all morning. So obviously men cry too! I’m not putting too much trust in the old folklore…

So what about the dogs? Well, I learned yesterday from Ginny’s blog that in English this time of the year – not just last week but about a month onwards - is often referred to as Dog Days. I found this piece of information fascinating, and further research resulted in a post at my Harry Potter blog Through My Spectrespecs: Dog Days and Sirius Black. The connection is that the name “dog days” go back to Greek and Roman traditions, referring to the star Sirius, also called the Dog Star. And for those not familiar with the Potter books, Sirius Black is a character in the HP books who sometimes takes on the shape of a dog. For details, go read the other blog!

In Swedish, we also have a name for this period corresponding to the English Dog Days, but in our language and tradition it does not refer neither to dogs nor the star Sirius; but would simply be translated “rot month”. The month when things tend to go bad, one way or another. Especially before the days of refrigerators and freezers, it was difficult to keep food fresh during this often hot and humid period of the year. This also led to infections and diseases; the connection perhaps not always clear to people in the past. I guess it was also a critical time for harvests, which could either get too much water from above or too little. In folklore, it was also said to be a month when all kinds of sinister omens might occur -  like calves being born with two heads.

One hot dog who gets hot when it’s hot (and wet when it’s wet…) My brother’s cairn terrier, Harry. You can also see him at my brother’s blog Cutting Edge Easy Listening. As my brother pointed out in a comment: The dog’s full name is actually Harry Potter, but I had nothing to do with that! (He was named by the children at the kennel where he was born).

Still Hot

Photo from last year (town park).

We’re still having afternoon temperatures a bit over 30C /~90F in the shadow.  Indoors in my flat now 27C/ 80F.

Towards evening yesterday there was some thunder passing by, but at some distance – only a few drops of rain here. Today’s morning paper however told me that the fire brigade had a busy afternoon yesterday, with no less than nine fires started by lightning in the area.

Ginny asked about air conditioning. That’s not standard in the average private home here. For the most part of the year we are a lot more concerned about keeping warm than keeping cool...!

I have two fans going to circulate the air but they do not cool it down.

Luckily since I live on the 2nd floor I’m able to leave windows ajar at night (and when I go out in the day). Would not dare do that if I lived on the ground floor.

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Dad was transferred today to a short-stay nursing home across town from me.

And my brother called from dad’s house in the afternoon to say he had arrived there, after a long and hot drive (~300 km).

Tomorrow morning I’ll call the nursing home again (talked to them briefly today) to make an appointment for us both to see the nurse there to exchange some more information. The timing of my brother’s visit is as good as can be. He’ll also be able to help bring some clothes and things from home for dad. I might go out to the house some day this week too, while my brother is staying, so that we can look over some things together.  We’ll see how it goes. The heat wave does not really inspire to a whole lot of “activity”.

Breakfast Contemplations

My favourite summer breakfast! 

This perhaps should not really need any more comment. But one thing in this picture may not be what you presuppose it to be. The strawberries are strawberries, and the cornflakes are cornflakes; but the milk is soy milk, since I’m lactose intolerant.

So the “contemplation” is about how, since the early 90’s, when this began for me, it has become so much easier to find alternatives for ordinary dairy products – not in every little corner shop, but at least in  bigger grocery stores and supermarkets. Soy milk, oats milk, rice milk, ordinary milk that has been made lactose free...  And ice cream too! :) There is a whole range of choices now.

Hard cheese, luckily, I can usually eat without problems (most of the lactose disappears in the cheese ripening process).

Back in the mid 90’s there was very little (if anything) to choose from in any shops if you were looking for milk-free. During the first years I used to make my own ‘milk’ from sesame seeds with the help of the food processor and a sieve! It was not so tasty to drink “raw” (a little bitter) but it worked well enough for pancakes and some other things.

By the way, did you know (I didn’t until just a few moments ago) that ‘Open sesame’, the famous phrase from One Thousand and One Nights (also called Arabian Nights), “reflects the distinguishing feature of the sesame seed pod, which bursts open when it reaches maturity.”

 
Picture found on the internet of sesame pods.

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After a week of cooler (but still sunny) weather we are having another heat wave this weekend. Over 30°C (86°F) in the shadow again yesterday. It is also the more humid kind of heat this time…

One problem with this kind of day is that I try desperately to get all kinds of things done in the morning, because I know it will be too hot later. My study, for example, will feel like an oven in the afternoon. Not to mention the balcony. But the best time to go outside for a walk is also in the morning... Not to mention shopping, and… Well, you get the picture.

So far I’ve had my breakfast, washed my dishes, and removed the now very sad-looking pansies from a flowerbox on the balcony. In a few minutes I will have finished this blog post (the first half of which I started on days ago). I think I might attempt a walk next – to a garden centre to get something new for that flowerbox. If I go now… I should get there just as they open… (Hoping they are giving the correct opening time on their website and have not made any unannounced changes for July. You really never know, in July, in Sweden…)

Hot and Sunny

Saturday was the hottest day here so far this summer. I walked into town around 10 am to go to the library and one or two other errands. Putting on my movie star look again - wearing my sunglasses and a wide-brimmed white hat… ;)

In the town square there was a band playing. This is a summer tradition, every year in July some music students are employed by the town to give daily street concerts. I found a bench in the shadow so sat down for a while to rest my feet and listen. I also had ice cream in the park on my way home.

Back home I had a sandwich and ice tea for lunch – and strawberries. Too hot to cook!

In the afternoon the thermometer outside my window on the shadowy side of the flat showed 33°C (91,4 F). On the balcony a lot hotter… I had three parasols up but there were also gusts of wind coming so the one supposed to be standing on the floor kept flying off. It was on its way over to visit the next-balcony-neighbour last time I caught it! Had to take it down, obviously I can’t leave it up when I’m not sitting there. Which I can’t do in the afternoon when it’s like this, but I was hoping to protect the flowers…

Inside I have around 27°C and two fans going. Felt almost cool when I got in from outside, but not if I try to “do” something!

‘They’ say that it’s going to cool off again in a day or two, though. I hope they are right! Not much one can do about it, but I do prefer 23° rather than 33°.

Illuminated

Nasturtium leaf on my balcony.

“There are two kinds of light - the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures.”
~ James Thurber ~

The Gull That Wouldn’t Fly

Very hot today… I really feel most comfortable just lurking in the shadow.

Well, perhaps I should try a little walkabout?

Hmm… That asphalt looks rather hot…

What’s that you’re saying? Use my wings? Are you crazy, I might get too close to the sun…!

I think I’ll just return to my bush!

Summer Solstice

In the previous post about the royal wedding I included among my photos from the TV screen some views of Stockholm and the time of night they were taken. (Compare collage above.)

This caused some comments like “when does it get dark there”?!

Since today is also the Summer Solstice, I thought I might make a separate blog post about that.

The time of year does make a big difference at this latitude. Our capital Stockholm is at approx 59°N on the east coast. There today the sun rose at ~3:30 AM and set at ~10:10 PM. I live further to the south-west and here the sun rose about half an hour later, but at sunset the difference is only a few minutes.

At midsummer the sky is not completely dark even at midnight on a clear day. (What struck me after I made that comment yesterday though is that since we are on summer time/daylight saving time, midnight is not actually midnight...)

In the very north of Sweden, close to or above the arctic circle, the sun does not set at all around midsummer.

I have been above the arctic circle once in my life, in Kiruna - it was on a family summer holiday trip when I was 13. Mum had a cousin living there. Her father came from up north and actually she too was born in the north although they moved down south shortly afterwards.  In the late 1970s I made a trip of my own as far north as Piteå (below the polar circle but not very far from); that too was in the summer.  

Someone asked me in an email about the hours of our stores and restaurants, if they stay open as long as it's light. What do I know – I don’t stay up that long… LOL… More seriously, I suppose there are some places in typical tourist towns, especially seaside resorts and such places, that keep open longer than usual in the summer. (I doubt any of them go exactly by the sunset though.) I know some restaurants and cafés as well as some museums and other tourist attractions are only open at all in the summer. But then there are some inland towns that more or less shut down in July (because “everyone” goes away on holiday). In July, by the way, you should not expect to find (m)any of the regular staff in any workplace in Sweden! We are a strange people ;) and we like to take advantage of the short summer that we have...

So yes, even I often stay up a little longer than usual in the summer evenings. But I’m not really a night owl by nature – I need my sleep. In the summer I put up darker curtains in my bedroom (which faces north-east). That helps a little in the morning.

Now it’s really past my bedtime (10.40 PM). Tomorrow the days start getting shorter again… hm… Actually, midsummer often feels more like the beginning of summer rather than mid summer; July and August usually being warmer. This year, we have not had any real heat wave yet; some sunny days, but still rather cool nights and mornings. (For which I’m mostly grateful; hot nights are a worse problem sleep-wise than the light for me.)

 

A Nearly Perfect Summer Day

 

Lilacs (Syringa)

Lilacs for me are connected with the end of the school year, more than any other flower, ever since my childhood. (Because they usually bloom around this time.)

Today was a perfect summer day for all students celebrating the end of the school year and the start of their summer holidays: The sun shining all day from a clear blue sky, and still not too hot – just over 20°C, and with a nice fresh summer breeze.

Before noon I walked into town to get some groceries. When I got home (by bus, because of then having things to carry) I made a salad for lunch and was able to eat it sitting outside on the balcony. In fact I spent most of the afternoon on the balcony, reading, doing a soduko and listening to mp3/radio (using earphones).

 

 

I did not need to use my mp3-player all the time to shut out noise though. It was a quiet kind of day in the neighbourhood. I was also able in between to just listen to the gulls in the sky above, and the wind rustling the leaves of the trees nearby… Relaxing summery sounds.

My clematis plant (photo taken a couple a weeks ago; the flowers are withering now)

Later on I went for short walk just “around the block” (well, a few blocks). Spring was late this year, and we’re still really only just on the verge of entering into summer. There is still a freshness about all the greenery; and a lot of trees still in bloom.

Horse Chestnut
(Aesculus Hippocastanum)

In July it will be two years since I moved to where I live now (this apartment/ building/ part of town). Last spring and early summer was somewhat chaotic, connected to the death of my mother at the end of May last year. But this spring, I’ve been able to pay a bit more attention to my surroundings. Like how many different kinds of flowering trees are actually planted in the park-like area around these apartment buildings.

Crab apple tree (Malus)

From my kitchen window, I can see a horse-chestnut tree, a rowan tree, Swedish whitebeam, and lilacs, all blossoming right now. (Plus a number of “anonymous” trees in the background.) When I go outside, there are also Japanese cherry blossom and crab apple trees, as well as tall birches and lime trees (linden) and maples; and probably several other kinds of trees that I’m not able to identify.

 

Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.
~Martin Luther~

Summer

     

  

  

A more popular name for this sculpture is The Lazy Student because he is resting outside a college building. (He is somewhat larger than normal human size; something which is hard to get across in a picture unless you have an actual live person willing to pose with him. On this occasion I didn’t.)

This week – the first week in June – will be the last week of the spring term for a lot of students. Some of them may be dreaming of taking this position next week:
Just resting, and staring at the sky above…

Wholly Uncovered

This is what was hidden under the canvas on the photo in my Tuesday post. I suppose it might tempt a few climbers, but I doubt it will attract quite the same attention as that red dress with the frogs on it.

In some article or interview, this sculpture (Wholly) was called a Masterpiece. Personally I don’t think I can say this one really evokes very strong feelings with me either way. I find the title rather clever, though. Especially considering that from another angle (why didn’t I take a photo of that?) you can also see a church tower behind it. (Following my train of thought? wholly – whole – hole – holy)

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The froggy dress, by the way, has been made “whole” again, and so have the dogs. Not only that: They’re back in the park! With security guards around the clock. So that way they are “covered”… At least over this weekend (the festival).

They have put the dogs further away from the dress this time. Perhaps they think that will make it look less like a playground?

The giant poodle with its head screwed back on, and brand new bushy tail. I realize now that the tail was missing already when I took my first pictures of it.

Today we had really good weather for a walk around town looking at sculptures. (I will be showing more of them in future posts.)

It was the first day of the year that felt like summer. I celebrated by buying a burger and chips and diet coke to go, and consuming them sitting on a park bench. Don’t do that very often but it’s one of the simple pleasures that put me in a summer holiday-touristing kind of mood…

Speaking of Wholly Uncovered - this little side-event was probably not planned by the Culture Committee: 

 

My guess – stag party, or something like that!
(MÅL means Goal. Start was on the other side of the river; the whole thing took only a couple of minutes.)

Wildlife, Birds and Flowers

I got some "complaints" [hi, Ginny ;)] about yesterday's tourist advice. Seems I forgot to mention that we also have wildlife, birds and flowers! One reason for leaving those out was of course that the Tourist-to-be did not ask about them (only about biking, swimming and dancing). Another reason is that wildlife, birds and flowers can be found all over the country; so without narrowing it down a bit it's rather hard to recommend exactly where to go to find them!

But if you're looking for elks, for example, a deep forest would be a much better choice than a seaside resort. Myself, I prefer the zoo. Saves you a lot of trouble and monotonous tree-watching!

I'm afraid I'm not much of a bird-watcher either, and neither is my camera. I think I made some guess about what kind of bird this was when I took the photo, but by now I've forgotten!

Do butterflies in a town park count as wildlife?

Peacock butterfly (Inachis io) on Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)

Chamerion angustifolium grows wild all over the country in the summer. From ever-obliging Wikipedia I learn that in English it's called Fireweed or Rosebay Willowherb. One of its names in Swedish would translate "navvy rose" because they are very common along the railways.

(Without the blessings of Wikipedia, by the way, I would not know much about anything.)

Dahlias

Just playing around a bit with some photos from last summer...
Feeling in need of some colour as contrast to the frozen white world outside!

For GB: Reminders of Summer

Looking at a post of GB's earlier today, from New Zealand, was such a powerful reminder of summer (in the middle of snowy winter here!) that it got me digging out old pictures from years ago...! Well, it's a project I had been meaning to get started on anyway: I need to back-up some original CD-R's of photos taken with my Olympus XA2 camera, which I do not have copied onto my laptop. (I had them on the desktop computer that died...) I've now bought a mobile hard drive on which I can store them (and more). So I started today with the first of my old picture discs. Among them were some pictures of that walkway along the Swedish west coast that GB's photos reminded me of... South of seaside town Varberg. I thought showing them might be a nice break from all my wintry snowy photos lately!





I did not happen to have any cyclists on these pictures,
but there was this walking couple...





The old 13th century fort today holds restaurants,
museum, and a hostel.




This is a beach right below the fort,
with an old wooden spa building on a pier.



There are other beaches further along the coast.
This is a small one which is very popular both
for bathing and for beach volley ball.