The Birds

Watery Wednesday

On a cold winter day, the river might look  deceitfully peaceful.

Beware though… If you get close to the water, and start fiddling with the zipper on your bag, the hungry ducks are expecting something a lot more appetizing than a camera to appear!

Help… I’d better get away from here before I find myself in a scenario resembling The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock… Some of the ducks actually flew up at me; and at the same time doves were beginning to move in from above… I fled!

Livin' on the Edge

After a few days of thaw and rain, yesterday we had a snowstorm going on all day again, leaving a new layer of snow on top of the freezing slush beneath. Today after a cold night the sun was back, but the temperature has stayed below zero all day (at least in the shadow).

Not having set foot outside my flat for three whole days (since my fall on Friday!) I gathered up my courage to get myself out again today, and on a bus into town to get a few groceries. In the town centre there are some streets and pavements kept ice-free (by heating pipes under ground). No such luck between my flat and the bus stop... But - not to keep you in suspense! - today I managed to stay on my feet.

Isn't my life exciting?!

(Mind you, grocery shopping can be as dangerous an activity as many others these days. I've mentioned before that the unusual amounts of snow have caused several roofs of big buildings like sports centres etc to cave in lately. Yesterday, this also happened at a big supermarket in another town. Luckily everyone inside managed to get out and no one got injured.)

I'm not sure I dare write it down, but for Thursday I actually have Plans. Unless new snowstorms or other calamities happen to find us in between, a friend and I are going to make an attempt to go and see an art exhibition. Wish us luck! (Not that it's far to go; it's just one of those things that we keep talking about and never seem to get round to, and now there are only a few days left before it closes.)

The photo at the top is not from today but might as well be.

Rise and Fall

Since last night we've had a rise in temperature. A bit of rain on top of the snow. Not nearly enough to wash it all away though. Just enough to cause more problems with collapsing roofs, falling icicles, icy roads, delays in public transport etc...

Not having been out for two days, I still ventured out for a short walk to the nearest convenience store. Stupid idea. For the first time this winter, I slipped and fell. Didn't break anything, and luckily I landed in a heap of snow, and mainly on the part of my body designed for the purpose (sitting down). But also took a thrust with my right shoulder/arm (the bad one) with a shot of pain all the way up to the most painful spot in my neck.

So - foreseeing more time flat on my back* over the next few days, and less at the computer...

*PS. Reading this post over, the morning after, I feel that I should perhaps add that I was referring to lying flat on my back on my bed or couch - not out on the streets! ('Cos I'm not going out there again this weekend, unless some dire emergency forces me to!) LOL

A Sunny Snowy Countryside Walk (2)

Behind the Mill, a path goes on over a small island, embraced by two different arms of the river. We continued our walk across it to the next bridge. The area is a nature reserve. In the summer, the island is a sort of meadow, with quite a few rare plants. This winter, it is a vast white field.

Hopefully the information on this signpost was not too important.

Half way across the island.

The other arm of the river.
This turned out to have its own set of ice formations.

On the other side of the river, the path leads on into the wood.

We did not go further this time, but turned around...

... and walked back towards the Mill.

A Sunny Snowy Countryside Walk (1)

On Sunday, while visiting our Dad, my brother and I went out for a dog-and-camera walk in the afternoon. We were lucky with the weather: Sun shining from a clear blue sky, over vast fields of untouched snow. The snow stays so much cleaner in the countryside than in town!

Usually, it is my brother with the dog, and I with the camera.

It is an even competition who makes more stops:
the dog or the camera.

On rare occasions, the dog and the camera trade places.

The goal for our walk was a nature reserve area at an old mill.

The ice formations at the mill-dam waterfall were amazing.

"Ice pancakes" was my brother's name for these.

. ~ . ~ . ~ .

In another post, I will show some more photos from the little island behind the mill, and the other arm of the river - which turned out to have its own impressive set of ice-art.

I will also be showing photos from this walk at my Picture Book blog this week (starting today).

. ~ . ~ . ~ .

PS 1/ Meanwhile, outside my windows, the sky is all grey and it's snowing again...

PS 2/ This is my second post today. To learn how we celebrate
Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras / Shrove Tuesday) in Sweden, scroll down!

Ice

“Three feet of ice does not result from one day of cold weather.”
~ Chinese proverb ~

It's a dangerous world out there these days.
You have to look down, or you might slip on the ice under your feet.
But you also have to look up, or icicles might hit from above!





The River after the snowfall last week.

Freezing Cold

▲This is why "going for a walk" has been no fun lately.
▼Slush freezing to ice!



In the morning of New Year's Eve, we had -15° C.
Around noon, still around -12°, but sunshine...
I had been cooped up inside too long...



I ventured out for a walk down to the riverside.







It was actually easier to walk where paths had not been plowed.




I was obviously not the first person to have made that discovery,
although at noon on New Year's Eve the place was more or less deserted.

One More Day

One more day, and that will be the end of a year.
It has been a rather turbulent one, in some ways.

2009 included a lot of  worries, sadness, ill health, and death.
Looking forward, I don't seriously expect much better of 2010.
I dare say the new year will have its own share of all of those...

However, 2009 also included inspiration, and kindness. Some of it, surprisingly, from people across the world, who one year ago were still unknown to me. That is something I would not have been able to guess, the day before New Year's Eve last year.

And that brings me hope for 2010 as well:
Not every unknown thing that awaits must needs fall in the disasters and disappointments category!

The cold in the outside world around here loosened its grip just a little bit over Christmas - the temperature going up to around zero for a few days, resulting in wet slushy snowfalls, and absolutely horrid state of roads (including pavements and footpaths) when that froze again. Since yesterday, it is again colder (right now -8 outside my window) and the ground is covered by solid, knobbly, unwalkable and treacherous ice. If you don't slide on it, you're likely to stumble...!

Going out for a walk just for the fun of it is not on the agenda just now. If you venture out, it is on some serious mission, like getting food supplies or medicine, or library books...

The cold inside my head and chest is still keeping its grip on me, too. A little less coughing today than yesterday I think - so far. But still basically hibernating, and drinking lots of tea!

New Year's Eve tomorrow I still hope to be celebrating "traditionally" - which in my case means having two or three friends over for some food and a film in the evening, and watching the inevitable fireworks from the windows around midnight. (Living in town, one thing is forever out of the question on New Year's Eve - any attempt to have a 'quiet night' and just go to bed early!)

.~. HAPPY NEW YEAR! .~.

The Ice Bear

Today I managed to get pictures of the finished ice sculpture. (See the artist in action in previous post). It is a polar bear with a little cub. The Swedish name for polar bear is isbjörn = ice bear.

We also have a thin layer of freshly fallen snow on the ground today. It is of the wet kind though so it might not last long.