The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

They were making their way down the yellow brick road yesterday. It was The Scarecrow. The Cowardly Lion, and the Tin Woodman. I decided to follow them, and a little bit later I spotted Dorothy and her friends. They were performing a few songs from their version of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. If you want to see the show, there's still time. More info in Swedish at Rojteaterns web site.

Anything With Wheels

This is Sebbe. A teenager from Västerhaninge. He was riding this unicycle when I noticed him at the shopping center yesterday. He told me that he likes anything with wheels, be it his uncles unicycle, or his own moped. He spends much of his time at a local bike park, and does a lot of BMX-riding/competing as well.

Little Lake Reflection

A couple of times every year I will walk down to the waters edge at Little Lake in Jordbro for a few photos. This is an early spring view, but it will not be long now before everything turns green. Weekend Reflections.

Under wraps

One of two apartment buildings currently being constructed at Poseidon's Square in central Handen. I took a photo here one year ago. Back then all you could see of this project was a big crane. Skywatch Friday.

No Longer Stuck in the Ice

It was only one month ago that I walked out onto this pier at one of the lakes at the Rudan nature reserve to take some photos of a big tree branch that was stuck in the ice. On this visit it looked a bit different. Funny story here, as I was trying to get the perfect angle for this shot two workers from the municipality arrived. They were replacing broken planks and had to climb over me to get out onto the pier, you can see one of them on my second photo. Oh, and here is a link to the ice photo.

Emelie

I am always on the lookout for that next portrait. I was on the bike yesterday when I spotted a girl dressed in black leather and a pair of black wellies so I rode up to her and said hello. Turns out that it was Emelie, whom I met two years ago. She was in no hurry so we talked for a bit before I took a few photos. She had recognized a couple of the people that I had photographed two years ago, that's always fun. Two years ago she was a student and that was the same today. Back then she said that she had just quit cheer-leading. Now she told me that she had gone back to that, and then quit it again! In the future she might want to work in fashion, or with animals. She used to go horseback riding in Tungelsta, and was thinking about taking up that hobby again. Emelie needed a portrait for her CV so I emailed her one of the portraits I took yesterday.

The Dragon Gate

This is the new and very impressive wrought iron gate at the Handen Museum. You have seen photos from the museum a few times before. It is owned and operated by Agnes & Martin, who have a Viking festival here once a year. Martin, who works as a Blacksmith have now created this fantastic work of art, that shows a Dragon fighting with a Viking warrior. I believe that David, the apprentice from yesterdays post have helped out a bit.

The Apprentice and the Dragon

This is David Flack. I met him at the smitty and museum in Handen today. He is a student at the Hantverksakademin. An upper secondary trade school. David is a future Blacksmith/Artist. He has a keen interest for the Viking Era and the Middle Ages, and will often travel around Sweden to Medieval markets. David has been an apprentice with Martin Ahlsén for three years now, and has one year left before he can call himself a journeyman. He told me that he designs knifes, but he hasn't started selling anything yet.On his free time he is a DJ, and arranges a lot of drug free rave parties in forests around Stockholm.

A slighly new view

I took a very short walk today. The weather is still horrible and I'm still under it. This yellow house along Södertäljevägen belongs to Leif Gustafsson. This part of Tungelsta has undergone a lot of changes in the last few years. New roads and houses have popped up here and there, and there's more to come. On the panorama photo you can see that the greenhouses on the neighbouring property Rosehhill, now are history. The big sign explains that in a near future seven new homes will be built here. I showed you the greenhouses in a winter photo one year ago.

The Winding Road

The new road between Hammarbergsvägen and Stav in Tungelsta. It would be interesting to do a traffic count here because there's not much traffic here at all. The road opened for traffic when the bridge crossing the railroad at the commuter station was finished last year. I like how they have gone with the winding road here instead of just a straight road across the fields.
The Weekend in Black and White.

Two coots heading my way

Two snaps from a recent visit to the nature park Slätmossen in Handen. It was a beautiful day and as I was shooting this familiar scene the two coots decided to check me out. Skywatch Friday.

That Old Tree

My most recent visit to the old tree. It was the day after the snow storm. It was a quiet day at Välsta.

And the winner is...

I'm in bed at the moment. Feeling a bit under the weather, so I don't have any fresh photos to show you. So instead you will have to do with this.

The municipality arranged a photo contest a while back. The theme was wild animals. I added four photos that all made it to the final. Two of my photos that you can see in this post finished first and second. The day after the contest I visited City Hall in Handen where I picked up my prices. A clever bike mug from Aladdin. A bird book with 150 bird songs that you can listen to while reading and looking at the photos. Jamie Oliver's Recycled Glass Water Bottle (with one water glass). Two towels made of bamboo. Free tickets to Skansen. And also a great photo book by the famous nature photographer Claes Grundsten, about the Tyresta national park, a place that I visit every now and then. Here is the book. Not bad at all!

Impressionist reflection

Took a short walk at one of the lakes at the Rudan nature reserve yesterday. This is one of the old buildings remaining from the time when there was a farm and laundry business here. I have shown you this little building a few times before.

The day after the snow storm

In true spirit of the word Aprilväder most of the snow from Saturday was gone on Sunday. I decided to go for a bike ride. It was 10C, sunny, but a little windy. On my way home I stopped at oak hill in Tungelsta where I noticed the first blåsippa of the year. I spotted the snow cones at Nedersta, the structure in the background is the collapsed barn at the Nödesta farm.

Snow Circles

There's a Swedish word that I really don't like. The word is Aprilväder. April Weather. It means that you can expect anything from Summer temperatures to snow storms in April. And we sure got a snow storm yesterday. 18 000 homes without electricity in the greater Stockholm area. Chaos in the traffic with accidents all over the place. I took a short walk and came home with a few snow circles. The letter A stood out on the manhole cover. The mirror at the commuter station is always worth another photo. Surprisingly I didn't spot any kids near this tyre swing.

VildirHeart

There was a lunchtime concert at the Cultural Centre in Handen yesterday. On stage were the band VildirHeart from Haninge. They describe their music as Alternative Pop. It's a family affair. On grand piano and vocals, Karin Dietrichson. She started the band three years ago, and when she asked her children to join her in the band, they said yes. On vocals then is Maria Dietrichson who you can see on the second photo, I liked her look, and figured I needed to take another portrait. On bass and vocals, Fredrik Dietrichson. Also in the band, but not playing today is drummer and percussionist Christoffer Lindgren. The band released their first album last year. It is called The Core.You can hear four of their songs at SoundCloud. A few songs also available at Spotify. On Friday they played a few cover songs from Hästpojken and Eldkvarn, and of course material from their debut album. If you want to see them check out this video. I got a copy of the album and after a first listen I have to say that I like it. It has a nostalgic feel to it. And what is a bit unusual, they sing in both Swedish and English. And if you want to buy a copy of The Core you can do so at CD Baby.

Stuck on the Wire

It's been more than a week since I last saw a blue sky. Or the sun. Noticed this leaf from the bike a while back. Below it was a fence that was filled with autumn leaves.

Skywatch Friday.

Geometric Beauty

If you walk up the stairs that I showed you yesterday you will see this. Behind the concrete walls of the stairs is a parking garage, and this is one of the windows, shot from below. I can't say that I am a fan of concrete buildings, but it's nice to see that the architect decided to add some geometric beauty (and a splash of color), to the garage building.

Available Seating

Seriously bad weather the last few days. Cold, grey, windy and rainy. Not really the best weather for photography if you ask me. On one of those grey days I found this scene near the commuter station in Handen. Three empty seats and an ashtray. When the smokers sit there and slowly kill themselves I imagine that they comment on the people that pass them by going up and down the stairs. At least that is what I would do as People Watching is one of my hobbies.

That Old Tree

My latest visit to the old tree. No one around but me. No signs of spring on the Swedish Whitebeam. I had a chat last week with a woman whose family owns the land here and we discussed the broken tree branch and that it was time to remove it.

Chevy Impala

Another sign of spring. I see more and more vintage cars out on the roads again. The top photo shows a 1959 Impala, spotted at the Port 73 Mall yesterday. Imported from the US just two years ago. We import around 5000 classic cars from the US to Sweden every year. And for good measure I added a second photo. Another Chevy Impala, but this one is the 1960 model, I shot that photo last Summer.

Three Years In A Row

The bike path between Västerhaninge and Jordbro runs parallel with the industrial park. If I turn my head to the left when I am heading towards Handen I can see a few boring fences. But there's a photo here as well. And for the last three years I have stopped to take a spring photo of this rusty fence with the yellow Tussilago behind it. And here's the proof.

Concrete Corridor

Took a photo promenade in Handen with my buddy Jim this afternoon. We shot mostly concrete. Walking down this corridor near the commuter station you will find doors leading to a school or two, a restaurant and more.

The Weekend in Black and White.

The Lost Cap

A while back when Upper Lake Rudan was still frozen someone left a cap behind.


Skywatch Friday.

The old Burial Ground

I took a walk at the big Iron Age grave field in Jordbro earlier this week. It is the biggest such grave field in Sweden. It has around 660 graves in different formations, including tumulus, stone ships and stone circles. This is one of 22 Standing Stones at the field. Another name for this is a Menhir. The graves here are from between 500 BC to 500 AC. The people that lived here were hunters and fishers. A couple of thousand years ago this was the coast line. Today the coast is several kilometres away. For a better view I added a panorama that I shot here a few years ago. Today the field is part of a popular nature reserve, and the old Viking Era road that goes through the grave field is a popular path among the locals. I pass by here on my bike almost every day.


Taphophile Tragics.

Påsklilja

Just in time for Easter. I spotted this wild daffodil near the old tree the other day.

Autumn Vs. Spring

Time for another different seasons diptych. This is the Dahlgrengårdens farm house at the Tyresta village in the national park. I shot the autumn photo in October of 2010. The somewhat duller early spring side of the diptych is from my visit last week. The farm house is old. It was moved to this location back in 1750. Before that it was up on a hill a few hundred meters from here. No one lives in this house today and it is part of the national park and anyone can go in for a look around. A few winters ago I did just that when they had a Christmas market here.

Distances

Spotted at a horse farm in Kalvsvik in Österhaninge. No one ever said that spelling should be easy.

Busy Bee

Zooming in on a hard working bee. This was the scene at my place a couple of days ago. A bee pollinating a crocus. Since shooting this scene we have had two cold days ,and yesterday it was snowing when I woke up!