Sixteen October Scenes

Scary ghost flying over Nathalie's head at the cafe. Red apples at Lillhammar in Tungelsta. Dark sky at Jordbro. New bike light for my fixie as it is getting very dark now. Car at Gudöbroleden in Handen. My reflection in a new BMX installation at Eskilsparken in Handen. Autumn colors. Woman walking up to the old tree. Graffiti. Autumn leaf. Tungelsta commuter station, always under construction. Mushroom. Another leaf. School apartments at the old "Fredrik" school in Handen. That BMX installation. Graffiti at an underpass in Jordbro.

Scary stuff

Scary things happening at my favorite cafe Malmens konditori in Handen this week. Ghosts have been seen flying over peoples head trying to scare them. Weird that. Oh, and yesterday as I paid for my usual treat at the cafe I looked away for a second or two and when I looked back my treat had turned into a ghost, true scary story.

Scenes of Autumn

Hurrah. After three weeks with no sunshine at all the sky turned blue again. Not for very long, but still. Here are two Autumn photos from this week. The colorful first snap is from the big park in Handen, Eskilsparken. The second one from a path in Jordbro.

Don't fall down now okay?

Swedish word of the day. Stabil. Steady. That's what it says on the construction workers overalls. But this doesn't look too steady to me. A new apartmend building is taking shape at Tuvvägen in Handen. Called Södertuvan.

The Red Lock

If you live in Haninge and if you need a container chances are that you will get in contact with Sortera. They offer all sorts of products in the name of waste management and your garbage will not travel far as they have their headquarters in Jordbro where I took a fun snap earlier in the year. Anyway, I spotted one of their green containers at Tuvvägen in Handen yesterday, and it was one detail that stood out and made me jump off the bike for a few minimalistic photos. The red lock.

How many men...

...does it take to do whatever these guys are doing up on the scissor lift at the Port 73 mall in Handen? And the answer is two. So now you know that, although I have no idea what they were doing up there.

Sixteen October Photos

Bus driver at Malmens konditori, we often discuss photography and public transport. Cramo crane at the Jordbro industrial area. Emmy Thelberg posing for the photographer after a long bike ride with her local club. Autumn leaves. Freight train passing over the pedestrian tunnel near the Jordbro power plant. A recent lock on the door to this old barn at the Nödesta farm after someone hid ammunition in there, it was found by coincidence and reported to the police. Two horses near the magnificent tree. New entrance at the old City Hall building which today houses apartments. Building material at Haningeterrassen where a high-rise is under construction. Autumn around the icehockey arena at Hanveden in Västerhaninge. Red grains on the field at the Toothache tree. Your typical Autumn snap. Arty cats flanking new benches outside the mall in Handen. The commuter station in Tungelsta still under construction. Kite stuck up a tree at Nederstaleden. Jim fiddling with my Canon 6D at the cafe. I always enjoy making these photo collages with photos from my walks and bike rides around Haninge.

Autumn Sunlight

Three weeks now without any sunshine at all. The days are getting shorter and colder. But there are still some Autumn color left as you can see on this photo that I took a couple of days ago before the rain ruined my weekend.

Root System

The Lower Lake at the Rudan nature reserve earlier this week. This cliff is normally popular with anglers, but not on this gloomy Autumn day, so I had to make do with shooting the roots of the Scots pine that grows close to the water.

Money well spent

Believe it or not, the municipality paid 31 000 000 SEK for the Mellanberg property earlier this year. It is situated at Kolartorp in Handen where a new "city" called Vegastaden is currently under construction. No word yet what they plan to do with it. It was once a farm and a laundry. More photos from Mellanberg in my set.

Sugar beet field

A big sugar beet field near Alby in rural Österhaninge. There are not too many farmers in this part of Sweden who grows these beets. Just three percent of these beets are grown outside of Skåne in the south of the country. But we do have the big Coca-Cola plant nearby in Jordbro. They always tell us that they will use locally produced cultivators, and as this is the same sugar that you get from the sugarcane, chances are that it will be used to make Coca-Cola.

That Old Tree

Nu sunshine in Stockholm and Södertörn for the last two weeks. It's been a nasty fortnight with strong winds, gray skies and a few rain showers. The only upside have been the Autumn colors. This was the scene at the old tree yesterday. Most of the leaves are gone now, the tree is ready for Winter, I'm not.

Traffic Sign

Biked through rural Österhaninge yesterday. Noticed this rather unique traffic sign at Sanda. It says Valuable cat without traffic sense. I kept my eyes open but failed to see any cat out and about. It was probably sleeping the day away. Just like the cat that lives at my place, which is also originally from Sanda, and a likely relative to this cat with it's own sign.

Into the forest we go

I took the bike down to the tiny hamlet that is Ormsta yesterday. The road will only take you that far, and if you want to continue on the very old dirt road you will have to do so either on foot, horse, or bicycle, and I'm pretty sure you know how I get around. Halfway down the dirt road I jumped off the bike and went for a walk in the forest that you can see on the second photo. The first photo shows the pattern I found on a birch tree where someone or something had peeled away the bark.

The Rockford Files

Jim Rockford (James Garner), had one of these. A 1975 Pontiac Firebird. Although he crashed his car in pretty much every episode. Probably my favourite show back in the day. The funniest character in that show was the always very nervous Angel played by the great Stuart Margolin. Spotted the car at the Västerhaninge shopping centre a couple of day ago. www.imdb.com/title/tt0071042/

Emmy Thelberg

This is Emmy Thelberg. I spotted her in Handen on Saturday and decided that it was time for an impromptu photo shoot. Emmy used to be a world class MTB racer but decided to change to road bicycle racing this year. And in her first season as a road racing cyclist she has already made it to the Swedish national team! She has had a great season and is now getting ready for the next one. Emmy is planning to join a Belgian team to achieve her next big goal which is to be a world class cyclist two years from now. Emmy is also a student who sometime next year will be a licensed dentist.

Stone Faced

A number of stone faced cats have suddenly turned up outside the mall in Handen. This is their leader.

Autumn Walk

Every Thursday my flickr group Utata tells it's members to go for a walk and document it with a camera. My Thursday walk often takes me to Välsta and the old tree. This is NOT the told tree, but another tree on a nearby field on the neighbouring farm. To get closer to the tree you have to find the narrow path that connects the fields, if not you have to try and jump over the stream. I managed none of those options so I snapped this photo from a distance and in doing so scared away a deer that you can see in the lower right corner here. A little later I also managed to scare away an owl sitting up another tree, that's when I snapped the second photo with the noise barrier and the red house among the Fall foliage. And just a few minutes after that a hare took off when I came too close as I took my third photo. The local wildlife doesn't seem to approve of me!

16 Recent October Snaps

One of Jonas Nobel's sculptures have been tagged. Blue plant with the old smithy at Nedersta in the background. Tools used for the Charcoal Kiln at Gålö. Nathalia at the cafe earlier this week. A guy from the municipality trying out the new outdoor gym at Rudan. The outhouse at Noors täppa, ( I used it, you really didn't need to know that). Jesters at the Viking festival. I wish I had asked the blonde girl for a portrait as she was very photogenic. Sail-boats out on the bay near Gålö Havsbad. The last outdoor sitting at the cafe, October 4th. Ceramics by Annika Carell at the Viking festival. My fixie ink bike parked near the old tree. XRF899. Licence plate number of a part dumped at the household waste recycling centre in Tungelsta. Handicap beach at Rudan . Attacking Viking. Products for sale at the Frönäs farm at Gålö. Your typical Autumn snap from a forest in Tungelsta.

The Kettering Incident

One of the TV series I'm watching this Autumn. I got the title idea as I took the photo. I was out walking in a forest in the Rudan nature reserve looking to take a few Autumn photos. I might make a series of photos with the title referring to a TV series. www.imdb.com/title/tt4228802/

A local farm store/cafe

Always great when you can buy locally produced food. Stopped at Frönäs Gård at the Gålö peninsula a while back. They sell cheese, marmalades and more. I will try the tasty looking waffles with blueberries at the cafe on the next visit. We were there a little late in the season so that will be somewhere in the Spring. The owners Lasse and Eva Thoreson took over the farm just a few years ago. They have more than 100 goats at the farm. And a few chickens. And a rooster that can't tell time! As I was paying for the cheese Lasse came in to the store to ask his wife what they would have for dinner. Seconds before that one of the chickens came to say hello. I like places like that. If you live in Stockholm you can visit the local farmers markets and buy the products from Frönäs Gård there. I bought a Runas Rulle from the store. A French chèvre.

Stone Animals

Horrible weather yesterday. Dark and gloomy, windy and rainy. Not the best photography weather. But despite that I jumped on the bike and headed out for a spin. I tried my best in between the rain showers to get a few colorful Autumn photos, but it wasn't easy. I made one pit-stop at Eskilsparken in Handen and that's where I took this photo. Part of a group of sculptures made by PYE Engström. It is called Fåglarna i Handen. The birds in Handen, Or the birds in the hand. And despite not being birds these animals are part of the sculpture group. And just as I left the park another photographer walked in and started shooting the same sculpture.

Autumn Creeper

Climbing plant on a concrete wall at Rudsjöterrassen in Handen.

Charcoal Kiln 2016

Every other year the members of Gålä Gärsar builds a Charcoal Kiln, a "kolmila", at Noors täppa out on the Gålö peninsula, which today is a nature reserve. The process of producing coal like this is not something that people of today know anything about so there's always a big interest in learning about it. The kiln usually burns for two weeks. I was there on the last day and when we arrived the kiln was already cold. The "kolare" lives near the kiln 24/7 in a wooden hut (first photo). We got a guided tour at the miniature kiln,(second photo), and then decided to try the traditional thick pancake with added bacon locally known as Kolbullar. It was cooked just like they did it way back when, and then served with lingonberry jam (third and fourth photo). Our chef of the day, seen here is Agneta. They use birch wood that is heated up to around 600 C. The kiln here produced 17 Cubic Meters (m³) of high quality coal (kol in Swedish). This was the sixth kiln that the historical association had made. Historically there are a few places in Haninge that were known for their kilns, namely Kolbotten at Dalarö and Kolartorp in Handen, hence the names.

Orc

This orc was walking around aimlessly at the Viking festival. Not the brightest creature in history. Whenever it spotted the goats that lives at the Handen museum it started screaming dinosaurs, dinosaurs.

Fire eating & Juggling

There was a group of jesters at the Viking Festival. Known as Gycklargruppen Brightside. They were really good at fire eating and juggling and they were a big hit with the kids. and with me. And everyone else. Oh and when they were done one guy walked around with a piece of cardboard over his head, written on it was their Swish number!

The Speed Carver

This is Swedish punk legend Aldo Morot. Real name Peter Gartz. Played in the band Plast back in the late 1970s. Today a svartsmed (blacksmith), and tattooist among other things. He also carves wooden figurines. Took his portrait at the Viking festival in Handen over the weekend. He pretty much sold every figurine so it was a good day for the speed carver.

Elin Ulfsdotter

This is Elin Ulfsdotter. She runs a business called Matriarkattens Hantverk. A play with words that would be tricky to translate. Elin makes hand woven ribbons. I met her at the Viking festival in Handen over the weekend.

Aaron Fisher

I met a British Viking at the Viking Festival in Handen over the weekend. There were quite a few people at the festival selling their craft and Aaron was one of them. He also took part in the Viking battles and when I talked to him he had just finished battling. You can find out more about Aaron and the leather items he makes if you check out his Facebook site Amergin Leather.

The Vikings Are Coming!

I visited the last ever Viking festival at the Handen museum in Handen yesterday. Martin and Agnes are packing up and will be moving to Tyresta National Park sometime next year. The place was filled with people which was great to see. As I arrived a bunch of mean looking Vikings, both men and women took to the stage to show us how Vikings fought and what weapons they used. As a final touch they screamed and run towards us. Every survived. More from the festival in the coming days.