Dove on a limb

This dove lives in the forest here at Bergdalen. We did have a problem some years ago when they nested on the roof but as long as they stay in the forest I'm happy. Over the last week this dove has been moving closer and closer to my veranda. The cat, Tindra, who originally lived with the neighbours, but who now lives here, is very upset, but I like it as I can get some good shots of the bird. What you can't see (or hear), is Tindra under the tree. When the dove finally flew away she ran after it. Normally I will link to a bigger version of my shots, but I made a very cool Out Of Bounds photo of this so try this link for that.

Blooming Chestnut Tree

I have shown you this before and here it is again. This is my grandfather Harald Fredrik Jansson's tree. It's a Common Horse-chestnut. He planted it on his twentieth birthday back in 1922. I take a photo here every now and then. Bigger photo. Or the slideshow.

Picture Postcard

Summer colors at Sommarvägen (Summer Road) in Handen. If you walk really slow from here, it will take you several minutes to get down to Lake Rudan. If you're on the bike like me it's a sixty second ride.

The address is:
Sommarvägen 12
136 40 Handen
Sweden
That is if you would like to print this as a postcard and send it to them.

Bigger photo.

That old tree at sunset

The days are very long this time of the year in my part of the world. Today's photo is from one of my photo projects, the old oxel at Välsta. From a couple of nights ago. It was a beautiful and warm (17C), summer evening, so I decided to walk up to Välsta and watch the sunset from there. I never get bored by this view and as the sun set behind me I was looking at this beautiful old tree. Took this at 08:45 PM.Bigger photo.

One Thousand Years...

...is how long this rune stone has stood at the side of the Blåkulla Road at Ribby, the oldest part of Västerhaninge. The inscription reads: Sven had this stone raised after his father Rodisl. Sven was a very common name around that time, whereas Rodisl probaly had come over from the island of Gotland. Bigger photo.

Hello!

The other day, when I was on my way to a Cow Pasture at Kapp Ekeby that I have shown you before, I arrived at the Nedersta Farm (on the way), just as a sheep herd was being led out to a nearby field. So I had to stop and talk with the owner of the sheep. Her sheep dog posed for a few photos as did the sheep. After this short visit I continued to the pasture, where I was expecting to see and photograph the farm animals, but I was a few days too early and had the place to myself.

The Toothache Tree

In Sweden a "naturminne" is a protected object, area, or as in this case, a tree. It was known as the Toothache Tree in the local folklore. To cure a bad toothache you walked up to the lonely tree on this field in Österhaninge, and as you stood there the magic happened. Probably a better deal than going to the local dentist /blacksmith back then. There are many trees like this all around the country and the way you cured the toothache differs from place to place. Bigger photo.

Birch Forest

Is there a better feeling than walking through a birch forest in the summertime? This is a birch forest and also the Pet Cemetery in Västerhaninge. Just across the corner from where I take photos for the A Path in the forest project. This area is very popular for walking, jogging and running. I meet many dog owners here as you can see in the path set. There are benches and tables here and there, so if you feel like a picnic, this is the place for you. Bigger photo.

Carl von Linné

The swedish botanist Carl von Linné was born on this day 300 years ago. Today known as the father of modern taxonomy. To celebrate that I give you this mosaic created with some of my flickr flower photos from around Haninge. At UppsalaUniversity where Linné was a professor, they celebrate in style with a visit by The Japanese Emperor and swedish royals. Some of the celebrations can be seen here.
Carl von Linné. Botanist. Father of modern taxonomy. Born on this day 300 years ago. Bigger mosaic.

1. Smultron, 2. Svalört, 3. Perennial Spiral, 4. Fibonacci Spiral, 5. Flower Spiral, 6. Dandelion, 7. Go Brazil!, 8. Hepatica, 9. fibonacci spiral, 10. Vitsippa, 11. Blue and Yellow, 12. Tussilago, 13. Tussilago Farfara, 14. Dead or Alive?, 15. Fibonacci Spiral, 16. Tussilago, 17. Fibonacci Spiral, 18. Hover Fly on a Strawflower, 19. Sunflower, 20. Fibonacci Spiral+Green Fly, 21. Fibonacci Spiral+Lygus lineolaris II, 22. Fibonacci Spiral+Lygus lineolaris, 23. So, what is it?, 24. A Green Spiral

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

A Summer View

If you ask me, summer arrived to Haninge two days ago. If you know me, you will know that I have a few favorite places. So to celebrate summer, I visited one of them, the nature park Slätmossen, in Handen. At the park I took my usual photo from the wooden bridge. I often stop and talk to people I meet at the park. Nature lovers, bird feeders, photographers and dog owners. But this time the place was deserted. All I did see was a coot couple that have built a nest in this pond. If you want to see the changing seasons from this bird park, have a look at the slideshow, now with 30 photos.

Ad Campaign Humour

We all know the pope joke used as a metaphor. Over here a broadcasting company called Viasat decided to use this kind of humour in their latest ad campaign. Two typical Finns (if you like stereotyping that is), are talking. In this one (there are three versions), the dialog goes something like this: Is the sauna warmed up Jarmo? Does the Pope sleep on his back? When you're done laughing head over to the next joke. There has always been a love/hate relationship between Finland and Sweden. As is the norm between good neighbours! Swedes see finnish men as heavy drinking sauna types always wearing a knife. Whereas finns thinks of the swedish man as a big sissy. Me, I don't have a sauna, but I do drink, and I own a knife, but it's just a Swiss Army Knife.

Macro Setting

Summer arrived to Tungelsta today. At least if you ask me. We had 20 C. A bit windy, but with a blue sky and fluffy clouds. For normal people with a garden that means that it's time to get out the lawn mover. For me it means that it's time to start using the macro setting on the camera. I spent an hour walking around shooting bugs, flowers and spiders. Bigger photo. Or have a look at the same view with the normal setting.

New Apartment Building

This is Haninge Park in Handen. The second phase of construction of these apartment buildings are under way here. I visit with my camera every now and then. From here it's only a few minutes walk down to Lake Rudan and even shorter to the Handen Mall. What you probably can't see from this picture is that I took two photos in the portrait mode, and then stitched them together using Autostitch. That was the only way to get the whole building site with the big crane in one shot. Pretty good job if you ask me! Bigger photo.

The Photographer

Hello there! It's Self Portrait Day at Tungelsta Daily Photo. I was sitting outside reading a Haruki Murakami novel called Sputnik Sweetheart and decided to photograph what I could see. Tricky to decide which photo to use so I picked the self portrait. I made it from three photos, stitched it, and added the frame. It looks better on a white background. The other photos I took was one macro with the Canon point and shoot. I then heard an airplane heading for Arlanda and reached for the Digital Rebel. Then I saw the neighbours crazy dog Benny move in on me in his search for food, and had time to get a few decent shots of him and his owner Danuta.

Elephant Rock

This rock is known as Elefantklippan, or Elephant Rock. Situated at the northern part of Upper Lake Rudan in Handen. If you enjoy wallclimbing or bouldering this is the place for you. Kolartorp, just around the corner from this rock is the most popular area for bouldering in Haninge. More info about this in english here. Hopefully I can time my next visit a bit better as there was no one here climbing today...

Bigger photo.

Rural Alby

A horse farm at Alby, an old rural part of Österhaninge. Bigger photo. Part of a zooming sequence. Zoom in on the yellow house HERE or out HERE, to see the rapeseed field. There are many things to see in this area including two old hill fort that I havent visited yet. If you want to see more photos from this area i have a flickr set called Vikingland.

New House

Not the best weather for putting up a new house. It was raining on and off all day. This is the third house being lifted in place at Solsäter in Lida. All the houses are prefabricated and arrive on trucks. It can take up to a day to unload all parts including the roof. Then depending on whether you do the rest yourself or hire a professional anything from a month to four months before you can move in. This one of the many building sites around Haninge that I try to follow with my cameras.

Bigger photo.

Falu Red

My mother calls this place Särla. For many years Särla was hidden up a gravel road at Ålsta in Tungelsta. No one could see this house from the road. That's going to change now as new roads and many houses will be built around here. I don't think the owners are wery happy about that, but that's life. Falu Red, if you havent guessed it is the red paint. I meet one of their closest neighbours on my visit. I belive he could be a Badger Face Sheep.

Bigger photo.

Do you use Google Earth?

If so, follow this link to see some of my geotagged flickr photos via Google Earth.

My Grandfathers Tree

This is my grandfathers tree. It's a Common Horse-chestnut. He planted it on his twentieth birthday back in 1922. I take a photo here every now and then. Try the flickr slideshow.

Bigger photo.

Kielo the Clown?

For all I know, this could be Kielo the Clown wearing his chapeau clack. What I do know is that Circus Wiktoria are on the road again. Last night they performed their show in Västerhaninge.

Bigger clown.

A new view

A new view, but not for very long. I talked with the last gardener here, Jerry Ullgren for a few minutes. When all the greenhouses here are gone, in a weeks time, the land will be cut up to a number of new properties and new houses will be built here. Some 80 years ago my grandfather Oscar Andersson helped build the red house here at Ålsta in Tungelsta. I have been following the changes here for the last three years. More photos in my Kryddgården set. I shot a big panorama from here. If you wanna see it large, try this link. If you have broadband try the original size!

Bigger photo.

Footpath to where?

From here it looks like this footpath leads right up to the little red house. But to get there you have to walk over a farmers field and then through a tunnel under the freeway before you finally end up at Kalvsvik in Österhaninge. Shot this from the hill at Gullringskärret.
Bigger photo.

Life at the farm

A rural scene I just had to shoot. From the Nedersta Farm that I have shown you before. I pass this place every day and often stop to photograph the tree lined avenue, the animals or some of the buildings.

Wobbly Pier

The wobbly, and old pier at Östnora. Behind me is what I call Barbeque Hill. A great place for, you guessed it, a barbeque. Better view of the pier and sea. Bigger photo.

Farm House

This newly renovated building is part of one of the old farms at Östnora. From here you can walk down to the sea, beach, camping and marina, in a few minutes. What you don't see here is the road that passes by only two meters from the fence. It's the dangerous, Road 73. Construction of the new road has started, and there will be a big bridge in the forest behind this farm, so the traffic will then be down to cyclists and tractors. There are many old farm houses in this area. Some of the gravel roads here dates back to the Viking era. There are also a hill fort overlooking the bay not far from here and I'm planning to climb up for a photo shoot soon.

Bigger photo.

Why we need the new road

Road 73, the most accident prone and dangerous road in the country. People die here in fatal accidents all the time. Construction of the new road has started and will be finished in a few years so there's probably a few more accindent waiting to happen. Shot this on my way home from a visit to the beach at Östnora. Photo taken at Utlida.

24 hours of flickr

Over at flickr we are busy today, adding a photo to 24 hours of flickr, a new group where members can add one photo from this day. There will be a book and as I'm typing this the group has over 22.000 members. Still time if you would like to join in the fun. I decided to use this photo. From Stavs Road (Stavsvägen), in Tungelsta. I was on my way to the old oak and could here the cyclists behind me. I stopped and had time to shoot this photo. I often meet big groups of cyclists like this one when I'm out on the roads around here.

Clean House

Artwork. Believe it or not. It's called Clean House, or Rent Hus. You will find it in the middle of a roundabout in Vendelsömalm in Haninge. Made by Peter Johansson in 2002. Peter lives in Malmö. He made the poster for the Gothenburg film festival a few years ago. All he wanted in return was to see all the movies for free. He got what he wanted. Not sure how much money he made from this.

Lake Reflection

I took a walk around Lower Lake Rudan before heading up to Upper Lake Rudan for some cool reflection shots of the old cottage. Some of the buildings here dates back 300 years. A bit greener compared to a photo I took four months earlier. This area is a popular recreational spot in Haninge that I visit every week. Great for walking, jogging, running, biking, skiing, orienteering, sunbathing, fishing, frisbee golf and more. All depending on the season of course. There's also a theatre here. All just one minutes walk from the commuter station.

At the Nature Reserve

The old Viking road at the ancient grave field in Jordbro. There's a nature reserve here called Gullringskärret that I enjoy walking around in. I took this shot just so that I can go back in a few weeks time for the summer version. Last summer I met a Hedgehog here.

The Chicken Cottage

A bit of a mystery this. From Sanda in Österhaninge. Sanda is an old farm across the road from this red cottage. Today a poultry farm and a bit famous because swedens first aviator Carl Cederström was born at Sanda. In the summer time you can't see this little cottage from the road. But there is a small sign that says Kycklingstugan, or Chicken Cottage. It's like a time machine, everything here looks like rural Sweden 80 years ago. More photos from Kycklingstugan.