Friday, November 30, 2012

Home of a Tomtenisse

Home of a Tomtenisse
In Swedish folklore a Tomtenisse was a tiny, very strong, elderly man with a big beard who looked after your farm and family. He would guard and protect it during the night. You would almost never see him as he could turn himself invisible. During Christmas it was very important to give the Tomte a bowl of porridge. It is also believed that he was the original owner of the farm. Today the Tomte has become the Scandinavian Santa Claus.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

That time of the year again

That time of the year again
It started to snow last night. So the snow plows were out and about this morning. Spotted this guy along my street Södertäljevägen, the yellow building in the background is the old station house at the Tungelsta commuter station.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

ICA Supermarket

ICA Supermarket
This is the only photo I have taken this week (it has been raining non-stop for several days). If I want to use the Swedish postal service, this ICA Supermarket in Västerhaninge is the closest option, around 5 kilometres from where I live. The rain have caused all sorts of problems. I passed an accident on my way to the post office. A car had crashed into a street-light for no obvious reason, so I guess it was because of aquaplaning. I heard on the radio that a few local roads had been closed this morning because of flooding. And they say that it is snowing in Stockholm as I'm typing this...

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Bronze Age Grave

Bronze Age Grave
This is a cairn at the burial ground in Jordbro. Supposedly the oldest grave,it is said to date back to the Bronze Age. It is eleven meters wide. Walking through the forest/field you will find up to one thousand graves from around 500 BC to 500 AC. The weather of late have been horrible, at least if you are a biking photographer. Mostly rain and grey skies. That might change tomorrow, stay tuned!

Monday, November 26, 2012

Infranord Inspection Car

Infranord Inspection Car Infranord claim to be the leading railway contractor in the country. For the last couple of years they have been busy constructing a second rail-track between Tungelsta and Västerhaninge. Traffic will start on both tracks on the third of December. Seen here is an inspection car from Infranord, shot from the newish bridge crossing the railtrack at the Tungelsta commuter station.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Industrial Space

Construction Site Industrial Park
The industrial park in Jordbro is now filled to capacity. The municipality took a decision to create a new industrial area in Alby a few kilometres away from Jordbro. Work on that has already begun, so I was a bit surprised to see that someone had found a property at the Jordbro site that was unused. Not sure who will move in here, but this must be the last new business to open here.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Lets build a mall

Create a Mall If you ever decide to build a shopping centre you might need one of these. It is a Scissor Lift, although the construction workers at the Port 73 mall in Handen might call it a Saxlift as they probably speak Swedish.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Gated Entrance

Seven Months Later
Earlier this year I took part in a photo project called 5 Days. The idea was to shoot five photos of the same scene on five different days. I decided to shoot the tree lined avenue at the 200-year old Hammar estate in Tungelsta. One reason was that they were redoing the entrance by adding a gate as well as laying asphalt on the driveway (although they don't use it). That took some time to finish, but this is how it looks today.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

The Red Nest Boxes

The Red Nest Boxes
Two red nest boxes near Söderby in Handen. Shot this from a pedestrian bridge. No idea what type of bird the nest was made for. Most of my flickr photos are organized in sets. I realised that I didn't have a set for birch photos, so that has been fixed now!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

The Cultural Centre

The Library This is the library at the cultural centre at Poseidon's Square in Handen. The Cultural Centre celebrates ten years in December. The celebrations takes place on 12.12.12. You can expect to see and hear some local artists including R & B-star Mary N’diaye and watch air acrobatics from Cirkus Cirkör.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

A Very Public Bathroom

A Very Public Bathroom Swedish proverb of the day: Nöden har ingen lag. Or, in English, when you have to go you have to go. A very public bathroom at the Fredrika Bremer secondary school. A couple of old buildings are being demolished at the moment. They will be replaced with new ones.

Monday, November 19, 2012

A jubilee

That Old Tree
A bit of a jubilee at the blog today as I took my 300th photo of the old tree two hours ago. I had to shoot it a bit different today as I wanted the moon in the photo. Over the years I have visited the Swedish Whitebeam in Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. I have seen the sunrise, watched the sunset. Met numerous people at the tree. Walked here during rain a few times. And twice during snow storms! It's been a fun six years. Hopefully I will make many more visits in the future. If you have the time, sit back and enjoy the slideshow.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

McDonald's

McDonald's Last time I visited a McDonald's was in 1987. If I remember correctly it was in Germany, probably in Munich. We had bought InterRail tickets and were heading for Paris and needed a breakfast. We enjoyed the burger at a square. We had a big boombox with us and found a radio station that were broadcasting from that same square. Not sure why I haven't visited the chain again as I do eat quite a few burgers. I guess I should visit this "Donken" as Emelie works there.

Friday, November 16, 2012

A Cold Day For Fishing

Fishing From The Pier
A cold day for fishing, but it is just a short walk from central Handen so a warm cafe is only a few minutes away.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Lights Out

Lights Out
From a distance I noticed something new at one of the entrances to the Haninge mall. I couldn't see what it was so I decided to have a closer look. If you can't figure out what it is head over to flickr and have a look at a zoomed out photo.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

4 Cranes at Port 73

Four Cranes Port 73 Mall
It is tricky to get to and from the Port 73 shopping centre in Handen at the moment. The area is one big construction site. New roads are being constructed. A new filling station is opening. A new car wash is also being built. And if you arrive via bicycle like me, you have to go through a fenced-in part of a former parking lot where they are constructing a new mall building on one side and a roundabout on the other.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Asphalt Roller

Asphalt Roller Mulsta Bridge
A team from NCC laying asphalt concrete on the newly constructed bridge at Nedersta. The bridge, crossing the railway line Nynäsbanan at Krigslida will be called the Mulsta Bridge. It will open for traffic in January.

Monday, November 12, 2012

In The Winner's Circle

In The Winner's Circle Solvalla is the biggest racing track for harness racing in Sweden. This is Naleen Flame. Owned and trained by Peter Strage (in the sulky here), and Jenny Olsson. The horse won a race at Solvalla a couple of days ago. I met them at the old tree on Sunday.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Saturday, November 10, 2012

My Winter Look

Norwear
This will probably be my Winter look. The brother visited Iceland earlier this year. He borrowed my camera for the trip, and when he made a stop-over in Sweden before flying back home to Cyprus I got a pair of mittens and this cool laugar hat as a thank you. He also took this portrait of me.

Friday, November 09, 2012

Red and probably delicious

Red and probably delicious
Once upon a time this apple tree stood in a garden at Bäckvägen in Tungelsta. I'm sure the owners have made both apple pie and cider from the apples over the years. Then came a letter explaining that the land they lived on was needed for the construction of a new bridge. So they moved out. All that is left of this property today are two apple trees. Skywatch Friday.

Thursday, November 08, 2012

Cottage in the Mist

The Cottage
A little red cottage at the 700 year old Nödesta farm. I have shown you many photos from Nödesta over the years and here is another one.

Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Mystery Tombstone

Mystery Tombstone
Vesterin 1824-1927. The most known Westerin (spelled with a W), was the teacher and sexton Gustav Adolf. He died in 1927, but he was born in 1862. He was adopted by the tailor Samuel August Westerin. The records show that his step-sister Ragnhild Svea Forsell should be buried here. She died in 1953. The last Taphophile Tragic.

Monday, November 05, 2012

Misty Day

Misty Day
It started to rain yesterday morning. When the rain stopped I took the bike for a spin. When I arrived to one of the lakes at the Rudan nature reserve the mist started rolling in.

Sunday, November 04, 2012

The Hood Face

The Hood Face Vintage Cadillac
Spotted this Cadillac from 1951, parked at the shopping centre in Västerhaninge the other day. Last time I took a photo of this car it was summer and the convertible was filled with people arriving in style to a car meet in Handen.

Saturday, November 03, 2012

Ice Bubbles

Like a footstep in the ice Noticed these ice bubbles on the partly frozen path to the old tree a couple of day ago. The one to the left looked very much like a foot so I had to stop and take some photos.

Friday, November 02, 2012

Sergei The Dog

Sergei The Pug
Out shooting some autumn scenes in Tungelsta a couple of days ago I noticed a family at a playground. They took no notice of me, but their dog saw me coming. He decided that I might be fun to play with, and had a go at biting my hands, so it was a good thing that I was wearing my new gloves. Meet Sergei The dog, not pug, thanks Malin and Mike.

Thursday, November 01, 2012

Water's Edge

watersedge
Theme Day. Water's Edge means my favorite beach Årsta Havsbad at the Hårsfjärden Bay, so here is a collage of photos taken over the last few years. I try to visit all seasons and take all sorts of normal, different,fun and impossible photos.