My Left Eye

Woke up yesterday morning looking like this. My left eye must have been involved in some early new-year party without my knowledge. I spent the next 24 hours sleeping only to wake up every now and then for a bite to eat. Hopefully I will be up and shooting again in a few days time. Until then Happy New Year!

The Off Season

It's the off-season for a lot of activities. Spotted this horse wagon at Skolvägen a while back. A sleigh would work better this time of the year I think.

Park Life

When the park in Tungelsta opened back in 2002 it soon became popular, and even won an award for park of the year in Sweden. I have blogged about the green park 15 times, mostly showing the art, the museum, the music festival and the annual Christmas Market. The municipality is responsible for keeping the park open for the public. But during the winter they couldn't care less. It used to be a popular place to walk your dog, or just to take a short cut to the grocery store, or the commuter station, something not recommended today as there's half a meter of snow on the lawn, benches and walkways.

it's going to be...

...a long winter. This bike and a few others next to it have decided to spend the winter outdoors at a bike rack near the commuter station in Västerhaninge.

The Winter Hammock

This is Santa's Winter Hammock. I did not know that when i took the photo, but two of my flickr contacts assured me that that was the case. Sadly the bearded fellow wasn't around for a photo-op, so a portrait of him will have to wait for another year.

Oh and this is now the coldest winter in recorded history in this part of the world.

Sunny Hill

Another photo from Solakullen (The Sunny Hill),in Tungelsta. And no, you are not looking at a snowed-in couch on the roof, but a snow covered balcony railing in the form of the rising sun! And as you obviously don't believe me I promise to go back in the spring for an updated snow free version.

Five Years With The Old Tree

It was on this day five years ago (second photo), that I started my That Old Tree project. After eating a little too much Christmas dinner I decided to go for a walk and ended up on a path that led down to a tree clad hill. Despite living in Tungelsta nearly all my life it was only the second time I had been here. Little did I know about the feedback this visit would generate from around the world. For one year I took a photo of the tree once a week for a flickr group. When the year was up I decided to stop, but I was quickly told by photographers from around the globe that I would have to continue with my documentation of the Swedish Whitebeam. When I started posting photos of the tree at this blog I quickly realised that the City Daily Photo community people also liked the tree. So here it is again on the five year anniversary. I had to walk through deep snow to get to the tree this time, so it was a good workout.

Skål!

Today I will probably enjoy a Guinness or three. I will also be eating many prinskorvar. And whatever else you might find on a Julbord. Merry Christmas.

Winter Solstice

December 22 was the shortest day of the year. Supposedly the Winter Solstice is the first day of winter. I would have to disagree about that as winter arrived a long time ago. But from now on the days will only get longer and I'm all for that sort of thing. So to celebrate that here is the UFO-like sunset I spotted at 14:27 yesterday.

The Joy of Winter

Coffee in the garden at Solakullen (The Sunny Hills), has been postponed until further notice. As has the activity around the birdhouse.

Winter Collision

A common sight this winter. A car collision. Luckily no one was injured here. The grey van came down the very icy Hammarbergsvägen in Tungelsta and the driver told me that he couldn't stop. The woman in the blue Audi was driving uphill along Allévägen, apparently talking on her cell phone. Result, a busy day for the tow truck driver, because as you can see both car had to be towed away. It took everyone involved a while to work everything out with insurance papers and phone calls. The police arrived after thirty minutes and they left when the tow truck arrived.

Tired of Winter

Pre-school kids sure are lazy these days. If they wanted to, I'm sure they could clear the playground and swing set from the snow in just a few days.

It's going to be a White Christmas

And possibly a White Midsummer as well. This is how Bergström's place at Hammarbergsvägen in Tungelsta looked this snowy Sunday afternoon.

A Horrible Christmas

Last night I suddenly heard a helicopter flying low over Tungelsta. A fire had started in a house at Kulgränd. Someone apparently left a candle burning while taking a dog for a walk. The horrible result, six burned-out row houses. Miraculously no one was injured in the blast. Firefighters from three different stations worked for a couple of hours to contain the fire. This morning I walked over to have a look at the scene. The fire fighters were still busy working and police were about to start their investigation. I talked to a few people and they told me about a terrible night. People were evacuated to the nearby soccer pitch and today some of them will have to find another place to live for a few months. I really feel for these families, what a horrible start to Christmas they got.

A Winter's Tale

The demise of The Postal Service.

In 1636 Count Axel Oxenstierna, The Lord High Chancellor of Sweden was the man responsible for the creation of the Royal Postal Agency. He was a genius. A little more than four hundred years later, when I grew up, we had a big post office in Tungelsta, and as that worked perfectly for many years someone decided to close it down. These days you will have to visit the small kiosk/fast food place for any postal matters. That obviously doesn't work as well as it did in the good old days, so now some anonymous moron in the company that today goes under the name Posten, and that claims to be the worldwide leader in service quality and delivery performance has decided to close down the only parcel delivery centre in Tungelsta, Sassa's that you see here. So from February next year anyone who needs to use the postal service will have to travel to Västerhaninge and wait in line at the already crowded delivery office at the ICA Supermarket there.

The End.

Gone Skiing

Two skiers crossing a field at Nedersta in Haninge yesterday. The red stable in the background belongs to the Nödesta farm. As I'm typing this it is snowing like crazy all over the country, and several big roads have been closed because of the snow storm and the many traffic accidents.

The Bike Rack

A few of the locals have been lobbying to get new bike racks at the Tungelsta Commuter Station. I'm happy to report that the bike racks are now in place. Unfortunately no one will be able to use them for a while!

Car heater not working

Starting your car in cold weather can be a big problem.

The snow is always tastier on the other side

Spotted this hungry horse on my way home from a visit to the old tree the other day. This is a horse pasture at Välsta in Tungelsta. Not sure who owns this horse, but for all I know it could be Patricia.

A Wintery Christmas Market

On Saturday I visited the traditional Christmas Market in Tungelsta, organised by Folk och trädgård. They have built the greenhouse in the park, and the cafe/museum, the two buildings used for the market. I had a look in the museum that now features an oil painting depicting my great grandfather J.F. Jansson. We donated the painting and some photos earlier this year. Over at the crowded greenhouse they had a lottery (photo number 1), and local handicrafters were selling their produce and you could buy anything from books about bread baking, made by Git Lundin (photo number 4), and mittens made by the pelargonium horticulturist Birgitta Sergler (6). Another familiar face was Marion (7), from Stavhäll. I also talked to The Knitter who told me a fun story. She had met a friend who had bought five lottery tickets and won four prices. And as he was too lazy to carry them home, he gave them all to Anna-Greta. Almost everyone I chatted with mentioned Friday's power outage and the fact that it was only -2C and that it was the first time in many years that we had a snowy Christmas market.

Blackout

Dinner time was quickly approaching on Friday when Tungelsta suddenly turned black. I looked outside and it was pitch dark everywhere. We had us a power outage! So dinner was cancelled. As was everything else. After a few hours the neighbour became worried as the temperature in the greenhouses fell rather quickly, which was bad news for the thousands of poinsettia plants. The outdoor temperature was -10C. Luckily for Ingemar he got some help and together they managed to start up our old diesel heater. His family and employees had to cancel their Christmas dinner at the Inn. Around 2100 hours I used the reenhouse electricity to make some coffee. Ninety minutes after that the power came back. It was a good lesson. I will have to make a list of items to buy now...

Two Winter Skies

Two very different winter photos of a very familiar scene. The Swedish Whitebeam at Välsta. I never get bored with this view as it looks different every time. The top photo is the most recent. I shot that yesterday when everything was very white. The blue sky photo is a week older. On that day it was much colder, and as you can see the tree was covered with frost. On both occasions I had to walk through the snow to get here, as part of the path leading up to the old tree hasnt been ploughed. But I guess that the extra exercise should be considered a bonus!

Skywatch Friday.

Missed Opportunities

A few missed opportunities to report. Earlier in the week the weather forecast said -4 and sunshine so I was hoping to:

A), get on the bike and go for ride and shoot a winter hockney.
B), lift the camera to the sky and shoot a winter halo.

The results are now in and they are a bit disappointing. The bike ride was cancelled as the forecast was incorrect. It was much colder, and the promised blue sky never happened. So instead I can only show you a snowed-in bike from Västerhaninge, and a weather vane in form of a moose. But I have a Halo photo from last winter. And a winter bike ride hockney from a few years ago.

Winter Cottage

Looks very much like the photo I took here back in February. One of two identical cottages at the Hammar estate in Tungelsta.

Mind the Gap!

It can't have been very fun to work outdoors during the last few weeks. Svevia is building a pedestrian bridge over the railway line Nynäsbanan, at Håga in Västerhaninge. So far only half the bridge is in place, so if you were to try the bridge now you would fall down very close to the tracks, so don't try that. The reason for the bridge is the construction of a second rail-track between Västerhaninge and Tungelsta. Two weeks ago I showed you another construction site. That one was in Tungelsta where they are building a larger bridge.

Winter Sky

This is Fridhem in Tungelsta. One of the places I often return to with a camera. One reason for that is that the house was built by my grandfather Oskar Andersson back in 1922. You can read more about that in my post American Timber. Another reason is that the house always looks good on a photo. The name Fridhem means peaceful home, but chances are that it will not stay peaceful for very much longer. Fridhem was sold last year and I think the developers are planning to build a bunch of big houses on the fields surrounding the old house.

You Can't Park Here

This Saab has been parked on the road at Allévägen for nearly two weeks now. I informed the municipality a few days ago when I emailed them the top photo which I took earlier this week. I suggested that they really should move it as it blocks traffic, and that the snow plougher has to drive around it. Also, two cars can't meet here now, and there's the risk for an accident, when I walked past it the other day the car behind me had to wait. The municipality replied three times that same day. Which was nice. Three days later this was the result. Police have used an ice scraper to see if there were some dead guy in the front seat! When that result was negative they decided to leave the car as they found it.

Piling Up

It will be a long winter.

A Winter Sky

These two trees makes for an impressive entrance to a historic place at Mulsta in Tungelsta. Especially now with all the frost. The yellow building dates back to 1893, and was known as a Länsmansboställe, as was the building that stood here before it. For a few centuries many Vassals lived here, among them the police officer in charge of that murder story I told you about last summer. Today it is a private residence. Mulsta as a farm dates back to the Iron Age, that was when Tungelsta was known as Thungirsta.

Skywatch Friday.

A Cold Winter's Day

It has been very cold in Haninge lately. Yesterday we had -18C. But if you are a horse you probably want to spend a few hours outdoors, and if you can enjoy lunch at the same time that's even better. This was the scene at Gråbergsvägen in Tungelsta the other day.

Time

Theme day. Time. As you probably know by now I enjoy making diptychs showing the different seasons, so here is one of my better ones. Summer and Winter at the old tree at Välsta. And for good measure I added the slideshow with the rest of the Different seasons photos.


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