106 years later

The railroad track Nynäsbanan opened for traffic back in 1901. It's one track all the way between Västerhaninge and the port town of Nynäshamn. Now work has begun for a second track from Västerhaninge to Tungelsta, a five kilometer stretch. In Tungelsta that means a longer platform and a couple of new bridges. I will be following this work with my camera.

View from a bridge

Another one of my photo projects. The view from the bridge at the bird park in Handen. Try the slideshow, now with 33 photos with this view. On this visit the Coot family was there again.

Photo Mosaic Me

I have a few photo mosaic's software on my computer. Every now and then I have to update the databases as I'm out taking photos on a daily basis. This mosaic of me at Lake Rudan was created with photos taken this year. Bigger photo. If you wanna have a go at this, try Andrea Mosaic.

That Old Swedish Whitebeam

Over the last couple of years I have been documenting the old tree thinking it was an oak. A few people have told me that it is an Oxel, (Sorbus intermedia). Today it happened again as I met Henrietta, who was out shooting butterflies at Välsta. So I guess they are correct. It's a Swedish Whitebeam.

Girl with flower

A path in the forest

Time for another look at the Path in the Forest. It's a shortcut at Håga in Västerhaninge. Popular among dog owners as you can see here. This time I met and talked to two dogs and their owners. I have met one of the dogs before. Best viewed as a slide show.

Cow Art

I came around the corner at Mulstavägen today and saw this arty cow on the lawn in a garden. Bigger photo. So I jumped off the bike and entered. The artist was sitting on his veranda so I asked if I could take some photos. He had been inspired by all the Roundabout dogs that can be seen all around Sweden these days. All gardens should have a cow like this one, It's way cooler than those scary garden gnomes!

Grasshopper preparing to jump

A few years ago I joined a flickr group called Long Line. It never took off which is sad because it's a great photo idea. I have a set with Long Line Photos. The photos have to be cropped to a square and have one and just one clear line running through it. Genista had an application that you could use to make very cool mosaics. Still I try to find photos that fit the description and here is the latest one. Shot in my back garden a few days ago. Bigger photo.

Well hello there, nice to smell you!

A woman in Västerhaninge sees a cute dog and asks the owner if she can say hello to the little dog. Bigger photo. My new photo hobby. Everyday People. Shot this from a bench at the commuter station a few days ago. Figured it would look best as a triptych.

At the Beach

It looks like it will be raining all week, starting tomorrow. Luckily the weather was great today so I jumped on the bike for a ride down to my favorite beach. It was crowded. This cyclist from Fredrikshof accompanied me from Tungelsta down to Årsta Havsbad . We had time to discuss everything from fed up neighbors along Södertälje Road that have been throwing out gravel on the asphalt road to keep the motorcycle's from speeding (accident there today), to the fact that some members of his bicycle club are known as those crazy organ donors.

This used to be a Volvo

I live close to a school. Two weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night by shouting and laughter. The next morning I walked over to the school gymnasium to have a look. Found a stolen Volvo 850. It's been reported to the police. They have notified the owner. He has been told to have the wreck removed. That hasn't happen. By now all the local kids have been there having a go at destroying the car. Here's two photos to show you their progress. I made a set with photos, but I'm hoping this will be the last. Friday evening a police car drove up. They stayed for ten minutes. But the car is still there.

One Cool Dude

I was staking out Jordbro yesterday. Took a bunch of photos. This guy stood out a bit. Bigger photo. He had Cool written all over him. The beard. The sunglasses. Hairstyle. Cool headphones. Groovy sneakers and a wrist watch that I wouldn't mind wearing myself. And how about those pants. There are pockets for everything! The only thing I can complain about are the plastic bag from ICA Maxi (Supermarket in Handen), but I guess even a cool dude have to eat.

Coming to take me away?

Recently as you might have noticed I have been busy shooting photos of strangers. Great fun. Yesterday a woman living in Belgium reminded me that it is illegal to publish photos of others, at least according to Swedish law, (privacy protection law). So maybe these guys are coming to get me? All photographs published on the web are considered personal data and you need a permission from the subject. Unless you are a journalist/artist and your work are considered journalistic or artistic. I believe all my photos are artistic and that all daily photo blogs are journalistic. The security guards on the photo work in Handen at the mall btw.

Foto

4 Wheeler

Father and daughter with matching helmets. Heading home after a visit to the grocery store at the shopping center in Västerhaninge. Lots of accidents with these 4 wheelers in Sweden lately. Just an hour after I took this photo there was a collision involving a 4 wheeler in Länna a few kilometers from here. Not so strange as that's where you can buy one! There are three different types on 4 wheelers. One for off road driving, Terrängfyrhjuling. And two that you can drive on the road, one of which you need a car driver license for Gatufyrhjuling, and one that is popular with the younger drivers, Mopedfyrhjuling. The moped version has a speed limit of 45 km/h. Do you know any teenager that would be okay with that? Not one. And if you are good with engines it's easy to adjust it. So the average speed is more like 80 km/h. That's one reason for the 5 fatal accidents this year. In total there are 30.000 4 wheelers in Sweden according to the latest statistics.

Busking

A street musician from eastern Europe (entertaining the crowds?) at the mall in Handen. Playing a tune on his accordion. We see more and more street musicians here these days. Last week I stopped and listened to a guy who was doing his best to murder a flute. He didn't get much money.

Carry Me Down

A girl deciding to carry her bike down the steep stone stairs at Poseidon's Square in Handen. Bigger photo. Probably a smart move. There is a bike path that she could have taken. It's also steep and it is circling around the Cultural Center. And you pass a rune stone on your way down. I spent half an hour or so on a grassy lawn at the square eating fruit that I bought at a fruit stand, and decided to stake out the place for some good Everyday People photos.

Black & White (with a touch of red)

Over the last couple of days I have been taking a lot of photos of Everyday People. Bigger photo. It's great fun. The trick is to shoot without them noticing, which can be difficult today when we all have a camera at hand. I have been staking out two places. The commuter station in Västerhaninge and Poseidon's Square in Handen. On nearly all the photos I have taken there's at least one small detail to discover that you don't see the first time. On this picture of a good looking woman walking at a brisk pace crossing Poseidon's Square it was her red wristband.

Ruff!

I'm guessing you don't have any Roundabout Dogs where you live! Bigger photo. It all started in the city of Linköping last year when an installation by the artist Stina Opitz was vandalized. A few days later a new dog appeared in the roundabout. That was all it took to get this new phenomenon going! Since then they have started popping up all over the country. This one can be seen in Handen. My fourth Rondellhund.

Preying Mantis nymph

One of the best things with my little Canon Ixus is the macro function. I took this cool shot of a preying mantis nymph while sitting on the bench outside one summer evening, reading a book and looking at the newly painted house. I posted this photo in a few flickr groups and within a couple of days it had more than 4000 views!

Original size.

Horse Farm

Do you like horses? Bigger photo. Don't mind living in a forest with nature and a little lake as the next door neighbour? Well this is your lucky day. I took a bike ride through a few places like that the other day. This is Dåntorps Hästgård (horse farm), in Dåntorp. Close to lake Öran at Riddartorp. Havent been to the lake for years. Many new houses in this area over the last years. A good place if you like horses and don't mind the gravel road. You enter Dåntorp from a small road at the Jordbro industrial area or, like I did from Lida, between Tungelsta and Västerhaninge.

Golf Babes

There are 9 million Swedes. 500.000 of those can be seen and heard (Foooore!), on the 500 golf courses around the country this time of the year. Golf has become one of the biggest sports here over the last 20 years. With the help of Annika Sörenstam, Jesper Parnevik, Henrik Stenson and all the other Swedish golf pros. In Haninge you can choose from quite a few good courses. This is Fors golf club in Västerhaninge.

A Lakeside View

A couple of days ago I took a bike ride around Lower Lake Rudan in Handen. It was a beautiful day. Early afternoon, and I didn't meet that many people. Normally this time of the year the place is crowded, but as it was raining earlier in the day only a few anglers could be seen on the rocks. I have shown you photos from this lake before. Very popular recreational area with different path through the forest. Mountain bike trails, a beach and much more.

Hanky Panky

Insect Love. In a flower bed at Bergdalen. Two beetles having it on. Better at the original size.

Road Construction

Road 73 at Stav just outside of Tungelsta. With only two lanes. There's heavy traffic on this road to and from the ferry port at Nynäshamn. The road sees many trucks coming from the ferrys from Gdansk (Poland), and Ventspils (Latvia), and also tourists heading to and from Gotland. In the background they are working on the new road that will have four lanes. It will be finished in a couple of years time. Hopefully the number of deaths will go down then. This part of Road 73 has a very bad accident record to say the least.

A view through the trees

A small house along Tungelstavägen in Tungelsta, Haninge. Bigger photo. Shot from the bike path.
07_07_07. That's the name of a flickr set I created today. There's also a flickr group. With 7777 members. People from all over the world will add their seven photos the the pool during the next week. The weather wasnt that good so I only went for a 12 km ride today.

At the convenience store

The place to stop to buy a salad like I did (a bit pricey at 40SEK), and something to drink if you are out on a bike ride (like I was), before heading out to Gålö, (which I did). Bigger photo. There's a restaurant just to the right if you want a proper meal. If you continue on the Dalarö road, Dalarö is only 10 km away. If you do continue to Gålö you better come prepared because there are no other store to shop in.

Mercedes-Benz 190SL

I was eating pancakes on the veranda when this 1957 Mercedes-Benz 190SL drove up the road and parked outside one of the greenhouses at Blomorado. Bigger photo. The owners had their leather helmets on, and I knew it was time for a photo shoot. The driver told me that he was always working on the car, and only took it out from the garage during the summer month. I took ten photos and if you're interested you can see them as a slideshow here.

I took a walk in a forest yesterday. The first thing I saw was Bambi. At Stav, close to where they are building the new Road 73. Decided to take some photos of the road construction. Turning back I took a shortcut and stumbled upon some blueberries. I filled a water bottle with berries and headed for home! Where I made this pie.

A modern circus act

The Wictoria Circus is back in Tungelsta again. I could see and hear the trucks from my bedroom window when they arrived last night. The particular circus act on this photo is called How to find any unprotected wireless networks while going for a walk. It can be performed one-handed, without any protection. Shot these photos on an early morning walk. The rest of the circus crew were busy raising the big tent. Wictoria tours the northern part of Europe every year. These days horses are pretty much the only animals allowed on a circus. Years ago when they had elephants the circus asked us (my father to be exact), if it was ok to set up a fence on our land and have the animals there for the day which we allowed them to.

Summer Thoughts

Is this it. Is this my holiday. No hanging out with my friends. Will I spend my vacation in this rowing boat, staring down at the water. Hour after hour? Bigger photo.

At least that is my interpretation of what this young girl is thinking. From my resent visit to Gålö, a nature reserve and popular recreational area in Haninge. This is Finkarudd. There's a marina, a camping, a restaurant and lots of nature. What more do you need to relax?

Femfingerört

This is a Femfingerört. (Potentilla argentea), it grows in a flower bed at my home, Bergdalen in Tungelsta.


For whatever reason I couldnt add Haninge to the theme day list for July but here are all the other participants.

Shanghai, China - Mumbai, India - New York City (NY), USA - Manila, Philippines - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Hamburg, Germany - Stayton (OR), USA - Los Angeles (CA), USA - Hyde, UK - Oslo, Norway - Brookville (OH), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Stavanger, Norway - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Joplin (MO), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Selma (AL), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Chandler (AZ), USA - Stockholm, Sweden - Seattle (WA), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Arradon, France - Evry, France - Baton Rouge (LA), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Boston (MA), USA - Grenoble, France - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Hilo (HI), USA - Nelson, New Zealand - La Antigua, Guatemala - Brisbane (QLD), Australia - Singapore, Singapore - Tel Aviv, Israel - Hong Kong, China - Sequim (WA), USA - Paderborn, Germany - Saarbrücken, Germany - Rotterdam, Netherlands - Tenerife, Spain - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Sydney, Australia - Naples (FL), USA - Cologne (NRW), Germany - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Ocean Township (NJ), USA - Mainz, Germany - Toruń, Poland - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Singapore, Singapore - North Bay (ON), Canada - Jakarta, Indonesia - Montréal (QC), Canada - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Baziège, France - San Diego (CA), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - New York (NY), USA - Kajang (Selangor), Malaysia - Sharon (CT), USA - Newcastle (NSW), Australia - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Nottingham, UK - Villigen, Switzerland - Chicago (IL), USA - Torquay, UK - Brussels, Belgium - San Diego (CA), USA - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Cape Town, South Africa - Paris, France - Seoul, Korea - Manila, Philippines - Milano, Italy - Austin (TX), USA - Chennai, India - Madrid, Spain - Seoul, South Korea - Wailea (HI), USA - Toronto (ON), Canada - Ajaccio, France - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Zurich, Switzerland - Sydney, Australia - Budapest, Hungary - Moscow, Russia - Auckland, New Zealand - Torino, Italy