The Walkway

This is the walkway at Nederstaleden in Västerhaninge. The winter version is how it looks today. The green version is how it looks in July. July is my favorite. I use this walkway year round and have shot a couple of portraits here over the last few years.

Winter Construction

There has been a lot of construction work in Haninge during this long, cold and snowy winter. Here are a few photos of that presented in a slideshow. The photos shows a few building sites in Tungelsta and Västerhaninge as well as two new bridges in Tungelsta and Västerhaninge. You can mouse-over the photos to choose to see the description on the individual photos.

Still Winter

As I'm typing this the sun is shining and the temperature is around 0C, but it will probably be a few days before I can enjoy coffee outside at home because when I do that I normally use this table.

That Old Tree

After a few weeks with a severe cold spell and temperatures as low as -20C, Friday started much warmer. I took a walk to the old tree and it was around 0C and not much wind to speak of. Looks like spring could be on its way after all. I wonder how many more snow photos of the old tree I will have to shoot this winter.

The old water tower

Back in 1912, a few years after the first plant nurseries opened in Tungelsta a water tower was built at the Rocklösaån stream at Gideon Wolmer's property. For many years the tower provided water for many of the greenhouses in the area. They used a "vindmotor" to pump up the water to the water tank. Today everything associated with the water supply is long gone and the building is used for storage. The Wolmer greenhouses are also gone. I took a photo of the sad remains two years ago and they are also gone now.

The Chef

The Chef was out shovelling snow today. He has done a lot of that this winter. Bosse was a truck driver for many years, working for the local flower freight company which meant delivering flowers from all the plant nurseries in Tungelsta to the wholesale distribution centre at Årsta in Stockholm. Before that he was a chef at sea, which sounds more exciting. The second photo shows the path he was shovelling and the house where he lives, I shot that photo a few winters ago.

Closed For Go(o)d

No idea what is happening here. A snowed-over car at the pentecostal church in Tungelsta. I have never been inside the church. I noticed a removal van here last week. If you check out their web site, a blinking message informs that the members have been locked out of the building by Filadelfia Stockholm, whatever that means!

The Old Stationhouse

Another look at the Tungelsta Station House, along the Nynäsbanan railway line. It's been there since 1901. The architect was the famous Ferdinand Boberg. Back then the trip from Nynäshamn to Stockholm took two hours with the steam train. These days it takes one hour with the commuter. Today there's a handicraft boutique in the beautiful old building, but the former train dispatcher still lives on the second floor.

A Study in Elegance

On my long winter walk yesterday I noticed a familiar face near the library in Västerhaninge. It was Sara, the priestess. She always looks great so I tend to ask her for a portrait whenever I see her. On this occasion Sara was on her way to the brick church in Tungelsta, where she was to perform a baptism in around 40 minutes time. The bus was still 20 minutes away so she had to call for a last minute taxi. Probably not a good idea to arrive late to the church when you are the one performing the baptism, wouldn't look good! We had time for a chat and Sara even told me a secret before heading into the library and the warmth in there.

Any Carrots?

I took a 12 km promenade today. A cold day, around -8C but with a clear blue sky. Stopped at Mulsta for a few horse photos, where I also talked to a guy who was taking some snaps of the horses with his iPhone, and I told him about the zoom lens for the iPhone.

Winter Sky

Had you walked down this road at Skogsekeby in Tungelsta a few years ago you would have seen the greenhouses at Rosenborg. The first gardener at Rosenborg was Hjalmar Pettersson. He later sold the business to a man called Englund. After that the Stockhaus family took over the plant nursery. The last gardener to work here was Mårten Strandell, who today lives with his family in the red house. Today a number of new houses are been built here and the area is known as Ekeby Villakvarter. The two houses you see in this photo were built two years ago. I have a photo of that here.

Skywatch Friday.

Where did you park the car, honey?

I have said it before, it is going to be a long winter...

Rosenhill

These greenhouses at Rosenhill in Tungelsta are no longer in use. I think there's an old car parked inside one of them.The property belongs to Rolf Andersson who lives nearby. I remember seeing a for sale sign here last year, but I don't know if he has sold or not. This part of Tungelsta is undergoing a lot of change at the moment. New houses are being built here and there, and I noticed one new house on my walk today.

A Tastier Coffee?

On a recent visit to Coop Forum I noticed this coffee ad. Apparently Sweden has a new favorite coffee brand. I did not know that. I guess I will have to change to Löfbergs Lila now. Listed on the map of Sweden here are some of the places that serve this coffee, but I think I will stick with Gevalia.

Winter Parking

I am still suffering from the Delhi-belly, so here is a recent photo from my flickr archives that I haven't shown you. It's an update from November. A very fine auto-mobile parked at the abandoned filling station here in Tungelsta. The car is probably completely covered by the snow now as we have had a lot of snow in the last week. Weather wise I can tell you that we had -20C (4 ºF), last night.

Winter at Ängshagen

On a recent promenade I stopped at Ängshagen along Vädersjövägen for a photo. It is an old farm close to where my mother grew up. Today it is a horse farm. Seven years ago I took a photo of a very old shed here,PRESS HERE to see that photo. Sadly the last two winters was too much for that building as you can see on my second photo.

Winter Road

In a few months time I will stop here again for a spring version. This is the road I usually walk down once a week when I am heading for the old tree. To get there you turn right up where the fence turns to the right. This photo is a couple of weeks old, I have been going back and forth between the bed and the bathroom for the last 24 hours or so.

Woke up this morning...

...to more snow, and complete chaos in the traffic. All bus traffic cancelled, most commuter trains delayed indefinitely. We are still waiting for the snow plougher to fix the road leading up to Bergdalen. To the left you can see my morning workout. I shovelled snow for a few minutes so that I could get the morning paper from the letter box, but the letter box was empty. Hurrah! More news in English here.

Any Nuts to Spare?

One of the local squirrels (we like to call them ekorrar), came over for a visit today. There's an empty bird feeder on this birch tree next to the veranda at Bergdalen. That can be very upsetting for a hungry squirrel, hence the stare down, which was won by the squirrel I might add, as I have now refilled the feeder. As I took this photo it started to snow and I'm guessing we will get a few centimetres of snow now.

That Old Tree

I stopped by the old tree again yesterday for the 233th time. The forecast had predicted snow (from a snow storm in the south of the country), but luckily we didn't get any more of that white stuff.

Taxi!

An IFR equipped Bell 206-3 Long Ranger III from Arlanda Helicopter. They have a heliport at Gamla Stan in Stockholm. I could hear the helicopter closing in and it landed just a few meters from me in Handen yesterday. I'm guessing someone called for a helicopter taxi and needed to get to Arlanda in a hurry. This helicopter is also used by the armed forces as an ISF trainer.

A Day on the Bay

The sun was shining from a clear blue sky on Sunday so I jumped on the bike and headed for the beach. After shooting a panorama from one of the piers I sat down on the big bench near the water and started talking with Gunnar and Annette. They are from Haninge and have a summer house here at Årsta Havsbad. We talked about this and that for a few minutes as we were enjoying the sunshine and looking at the ice skaters out on the frozen Hårsfjärden bay. Skating on natural ice is a big winter sport in Sweden so I decided to get a portrait of one of the skaters. This is Elisabeth who lives and works in Stockholm. And just like Gunnar and Anette, Elisabeth has a summer house here near the beach. On this day she was out skating with a friend, (another Elisabeth). She told me that they were rather new to this sport so they decided to stay close to the beach.

Winter vs. Autumn

One of the places I often return to is the bird park Slätmossen in Handen. A former wetland and peat deposit that was made into a very popular park a decade ago. The left half of the diptych is how the park looks today with the ice on the ponds. I shot the colorful reflection photo back on a beautiful autumn day in October of last year.

The first sign of Spring!

This years first sighting of the firebugs, a true sign that spring is on the way. The red bugs live in a tree trunk next to the cellar door at Bergdalen, and I spotted this one as I was getting the bike out.

Ta-da!

My redhead radar detector system kicked into gear in Västerhaninge yesterday, and when I looked around I saw this woman walking towards me. So I stopped her for a chat and a portrait. This is Emelie. She lives in Västerhaninge and is studying to become a nursing assistant. As we started talking I realised that I had met her before, although very briefly, last summer at a rock festival. That time I had first asked her friend for a portrait, but had been turned down. A few hours later I saw them together and when I asked again they agreed to have their photo taken. Today Emelie told me that they were at that festival to watch the band Kill The Parish as Emilie's boyfriend Björn plays the guitar in that band. Despite her looks Emelie prefers to be behind the camera, but as you can see I managed to persuade her to strike a whimsical pose.

A Happy Cyclist

The weather this week has been pretty good. Two day with blue skies and two with grey skies, but it has been warm enough to use the bike. It is still very icy on some of the walkways and bike paths so you have to be really careful. I don't have winter tires on my bike like this guy that I met in Jordbro yesterday. I had just jumped off my bike and was taking photos of a gate with a lot of snow behind it, when he came charging towards me. I had time to take a few quick snaps before he was gone, but I did notice the smile on his face when he passed me. There is a life after the Winter!

Winter vs. Autumn

This is Little Lake in Jordbro. An idyllic place whatever the season, as proved in this diptych. The winter half of the photo is how the lake looks today. The right side of the picture is an autumn view from October of last year.

The History Teacher

It was almost like an early spring day yesterday. At least around lunch time in Handen. And if you have good imagination. The sun was shining from a clear blue sky so I decided to shoot a street portrait. This is Petra. She was out on a promenade, heading for Lake Rudan when I met her. Petra works as a teacher at the nearby Fredrika Bremer secondary school, where she teaches history and religion. I told her that I probably must have photographed one or two of her students in the last three years. Petra is an avid reader and keeps fit by jogging. She also enjoys travelling and one favorite place she has visited is Israel.