Bird of prey

The weather improved a bit today. We had a blue sky for a few hours, but it is still cold, maybe 6C. I stopped at the nature park Slätmossen in Handen where I spotted a sparrow-hawk up a birch tree. Next to it sat a great tit. I hope the bird of prey didn't eat the "talgoxe" after I had left.

That Old Tree

This is the current weather situation. Cold, gray, misty and rainy.

Droplet

It's raining again. So the planned bike ride was canceled. As was the promenade. This is pretty much the only photo I have taken this weekend. A macro photo of water drops on a crocus flower. Using the silent zoom lens and three extension tubes this was as close as I could come.

Spot the bird

When the rain stopped yesterday, the mist rolled in. Which was good news for the photographer. I have shown you this tree a couple of times. It stood next to a two hundred year old barn at the Nödesta farm. The barn collapsed a few winters ago. Now it stands there on it's own but if you look closely you can spot a visiting hawk.

Under The Bridge

Art for commuters. If you travel by commuter train to and from Stockholm you can spot this graffiti art near the Jordbro station.

Anemone hepatica

Spring is on hold. It is way too cold for my liking. The sun is gone. Cycling past the little horse farm at the Bronze Age burial site I had to be careful as a group of people employed by the municipality were busy clearing the road and path from trees and shrubs. For some reason they decided to cut down all the apple trees that grows next to the horse pasture, I have stopped there several times to feed the horses but that will not happen again. As I continued my ride I decided to stop and see if I could find any more "blåsippor". And they were starting to pop up here and there, despite the cold weather. Not as photogenic as the polka dot version I found a few days ago, but still.

Mirrors & Triangles

Back in December I showed you a photo of one of the two old water towers in Handen. That was when the scaffolding was on it's way up. Now it is on it's way down again. And then they will start on the second tower. The new facade is called Mirrors/Triangles. Designed by HMXW architects. You can see a few illustrations at their website. The facade is made from aluminum. The triangles will change color with the daylight. The towers will also be lit up during the night. I took the photos from three different locations. I took the last photo from the top of a hill on the other side of the motorway, and I was quite sure that I was the only person shooting from up there but when I climbed up a few people with tripods were on their way down.

Snowdrops but no snow

Snowdrops seen in Västerhaninge. The snow we got on Friday evening is now just a memory. Most of it is already gone and it looks like we will have another warm day today.

A Winter Morning

This was how the old Hammar estate in Tungelsta looked on Saturday morning. A real Winter morning. Cold, snowy, a blue sky and strong sunshine.

Ye Old Farm Building

Seven months in now in this project. Winter and the cold weather returns. Oh, and there was a horse in the pasture but it refused to pose in front of the old warehouse.

That Old Tree

A sudden change in the weather. Just as we passed spring equinox and had seen at least one month of Spring, Winter returned. This was the scene at the old tree this morning.

Spring equinox

Cycling through the Bronze Age burial ground in Jordbro yesterday I parked the steel horse and walked into the forest to see if I could find the first "blåsippa" of the year. And that is what I did. I used one of the extension tubes together with the pancake lens to get a little closer. While shooting I heard someone mentioning my bike so I walked back out to the path and had a little chat with Nils-Martin Nilsson, who was out on a spring promenade together with a female friend. My photo blogging buddy Lasse beat me with a few days with his blåsippor photos, but I can take that!

Military camouflage

Met up with a long time flickr friend yesterday. We have commented on each others photos for many years now, but never met IRL. The meeting place was of course my favorite cafe, Malmens Konditori in Handen. Bengt (he is in the military), wanted to thank me for some photography advice so he treated me to a tasty meatball sandwich. We then enjoyed our coffee and tea outside. The outdoor veranda is still in the shade so we just took a couple of chairs with us and walked around the corner where the sun was shining from a blue sky. It was nice to take a portrait again, been a while since I last did that.

The Northern Lights

I have to confess to not knowing what I was doing. Closing in on Midnight we could see the Northern Light at home. So I took the wide angle lens with me and tried a few different settings from a few different places at Bergdalen. I wasn't all that happy with the result. But it was an unusual feeling sitting on the top of the hill seeing it for the first time.

Female catkin

Swedish word of the day, that you probably can't pronounce correctly. Gråalkotte. Grey alder, female catkin. Around a centimeter long. The tree grows next to the path near the old tree.

Norway Spruce

They can grow to be sixty meters high, the spruces. This one is a Norway spruce. It grows next to the stairs at the veranda at home. I guess it is around two meters high now. This was as close as I could come (hand-held that is), when I tried a few macro photos of the leaves.

Tussilago

When I was a bit younger than I am today I used to go for short walks at home with my grandmother. If it was Spring we used to go round the back of some of the greenhouses, the ones facing the stream Rocklösaån. And if you looked closely up against the wall of those greenhouses, where it was always warm and sunny in the mornings, that's where you would spot the first tussilago (coltsfoot),of the year. And when that happened we used to say that Spring had arrived. Since then the tussilago have always been my favorite Spring sign. I found this one and a few more near the old tree. Shot with the silent zoom using a few extension tubes.

Videkissar

I believe this to be an early male catkin from the Grey Willov. The Swedish name of the tree (or shrub), is Gråvide and this is known as "Videkissar". I found it on the path that leads to the old tree yesterday while out shooting macro photos with my new Kenko extension tubes.

A tiny tiny flower

After that very warm March day last Sunday (don't laugh Grace), the temperature dropped down a few degrees, and then a few more. It has been a few cold nights since, but I see more and more signs of Spring most every day. I bought a some macro photo equipment recently and so far I have tried two of them. This is a tiny tiny hazel flower, a few millimeters long. I shot that hand-held with an extension tube (one of three that I bought), mounted in front of the silent zoom lens.

Nine months later

Some people say it was Charles XV. Others think it could have been Frederick I. Both Kings were known to like the ladies if you know what I mean. Maybe they used the old phrase wanna come back to my castle for a bit of fun? I'm sure that line must have worked sometimes. And maybe it did when either of the Kings visited Sanda in Österhaninge. They might have stopped at the Sanda Estate, or maybe just spent the night at the Inn before continuing to one of the islands in the Haninge archipelago. Possibly to Sundby on the island of Ornö. Anyway, on a small hill next to the old Klockarlötsvägen road six stones can be found. Three round and three cone-shaped. They are said to be a memorial. The stones that are hidden most of the year behind all the green are called the Kungastenarna. The Kings Stones. Rumors have it that a few illegitimate children were born after the royal visit. True or not I don't know.

Soom just a memory

There are not many old wooden houses left in Handen today. And soon one more will be gone. It's nothing special about this one at the corner of Dalarövägen and Söderbymalmsvägen. I just like the colors and the windows. I had to shoot this photo through a fence. Construction of the new building that will stand here in a not too distant future have already begun. And I bet you can never guess what that will be.

A Taste Of America

Out on my photo walk in Handen with Jim on that very warm Sunday I spotted a few things American. Found the Stars and Stripes at a small industrial complex. They might need to replace that flag soon. It looks a bit ragged. Ten minutes later we stopped at the ICA MAXI supermarket where Starbucks will open in a near future. It's a joint venture between the two chains. I don't think I will visit very often, I prefer small café's like Malmens Konditori, but you never know.

On Two Wheels

Record breaking temperatures in Stockholm yesterday. We had 15C from a very blue sky. The last time it was that warm here this early in March was back in 1756! I took the Steel Horse to Handen, and when I arrived I sent a Glympse message to my friend Jim, who was just a kilometer away. We then spent a few hours walking and shooting and also made a short stop at my favorite cafe, where we had to sit indoors as the veranda they built last year was in the shadow.

Lost in Translation

I can't read Chinese characters (Hanzi), so I don't know what this sign say, or even if it is spelled right. Any ideas as to what it says?

High Voltage Electric Transmission

Out shooting with the silent zoom I pointed the Canon towards the sky and found a few pin isolators.

A Balancing Act

Who needs a harness when you have good balance. Two roofers at work. Laying new roof tiles on a house along Nederstaleden in Västerhaninge earlier this week. If they work weekends they could change into khaki-shorts and t-shirts come Sunday, as we are expecting record breaking temperatures then. If they are there today they will need the water proofs.

Overpass Art

Managed to get out and take some photos with the silent zoom yesterday. This is graffiti near the commuter station in Jordbro. This is street art that I approve of.

Hanvedens IP

This is Hanvedens IP. Home of the football club VIF, Västerhaninge IF. The artificial turf is new. The old football field with natural grass is just to the left of the photo. The ice-hockey team Haninge Anchors uses the indoor arena, which is also used by ice skaters and it is open to the public during the Winter. Before all the sports activity this was known as Tectors grustag, an old gravel pit. My friend Sune, the historian has a few snaps from that era. I shot this with the new silent zoom lens. This is 19 photos stitched together.

Walking into a wall

I'm nearly there. Close to walking into the wall. At least when it comes to photography. A couple of things are against me. The renovation at home is taking a lot of time and effort. And then it's the weather, seriously come on, we need some sunshine and a blue sky or two! This is one of the snaps I have taken recently. A school wall. Shot with the new silent zoom lens. It's almost spooky how it focuses quickly, and without any noise at all.

Tree stump

There's a steep hill behind the house where I live. It's next to the school. As a kid, I'm guessing we were around 12 years old, we stole the flat and circular plastic lamp posts at said school and used them as sleds to go down that hill. It was kinda tricky because of all the trees. But great fun until you crashed into my parents living room wall. I walked up that hill yesterday and noticed that the neighbor had cut down a few trees on the top of the hill. Shot this with the new Canon zoom lens. Oh and an alternative title should of course have been Devils Tower!

Aging

This is my mother Lillemor, or Lillan as she is often called. Born in December of 1938. The photo to the left dates back to around 1950. It is a black and white school photo that I colorised a few years ago. The snap to the right is a bit more recent. My mother battles the aging process (PD), as best she can with the help of me and my brother, and the daily visits from the home care offered by the municipality. She was born in Tungelsta and has lived here all her life. Her parents owned a greenhouse nursery and after marrying my father she started working in his greenhouse nursery. Theme Day at CityDailyPhoto. Aging.