Happy New Year!

Spotted this very friendly looking roundabout dog on my Winter promenade around Tungelsta today. Kram is the Swedish word for hug.

The office of the editor-in-chief

For many years the owner, editor-in-chief and journalist writing for the aviation magazine Flygrevyn worked from this little red cottage at Välsta in Tungelsta.

Villa Solakullen

Solakullen means "Sunny Hill". The house sits next to the commuter station in Tungelsta and dates back 100 years. It was built by the stationmaster, Karl Emil Dahlin's daughter, Vera, who operated a guest house here between 1922 and 1940. You can learn more about the stationmaster in the book Pubertet by Ivar Lo-Johansson.

There was no one in sight...

...on the Winter day in December when I took this photo of the commuter station in Tungelsta.

Winter Fence

Earlier in December we had three days when everything was white after the first snow fall of the season. It was cold enough for the snow to stay wherever it landed, and on two of those three days I took a Winter promenade with my camera. Since then we have seen a few really cold days (-6C), and a couple of warmer days. And now ten days later we still have snow, but it is not as picturesque as my recent photos have shown.

Winter at Stav

From a recent Winter promenade. This is a preschool called Lilla lillgården. Located on a field at Stav in Tungelsta.

Winter Barn

The old barn at Krigslida. Just a short walk from the commuter station. Don't think the barn is used for anything more than taking up space. Met a woman while walking here a few years ago. She wanted to open a cafe/second hand shop here but that never happened.

A Winter Landscape with Red House

Do you wanna come out and play?

One of three wicker huts in the park in Tungelsta.

Late in the afternoon

Afternoon photo from earlier in the week. A guy working for Blomorado out shovelling some snow.

Mustasch of the day

Wheel of misfortune?

As seen at the bike rack at the commuter station earlier in the week.

Snögubbe

Swedish word of the day. Snögubbe. As seen across the road from Coop in Tungelsta earlier in the week.

Broräcke

Swedish word of the day. Broräcke. Snow on the railing on the wooden bridge at the park in Tungelsta. When I walked back half an hour later kids were playing in the park and the untouched snow were gone.

Real Winter

It started to snow yesterday and this morning everything was white. A bus similar to this one, filled with school children, ended up in a ditch in Österhaninge, near Gålö, and three people needed to go to the hospital after that accident. A little later two more accidents happened in the same area. No such problems in Tungelsta, at least not yet. This is bus 835 the most popular bus in all of Haninge so obviously it will be taken out of traffic for good sometime next year.

Snö

Swedish word of the day. Snö. Looks like everything slowly is turning white in my area today.

Kardemummabulle

Swedish word of the day. Kardemummabulle. Cardamom Bun. Recipe here.

Julmust

It doesn't get more Swedish than this come Christmas. We drink 40 million litres of Julmust every Christmas. The sale of "that other" soft drink will drop by 50% and for many years Coca-Cola tried everything to change that, but failed miserably. This is the first year I have bought Julmust in a beverage can. I guess that could be a start of a new tradition.

That Old Tree

The snowfall from earlier in the day was nowhere to be seen as I made my way down the path towards the old tree yesterday afternoon.

Weather Update

And now the weather. It is snowing. Oh what fun.

The wooden figurines

My dad had a few hobbies. One such pastime was wood carving. We only have three of his figurines left and here they are.

Julgodis

Swedish word of the day. Julgodis. Christmas candy.

i.form

No one needed the church at Allévägen in Tungelsta so it is a gym these days. I'm sure that worked out good.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

The Lindbergh family at Stav in Tungelsta seems to have fixed the long-time problem with the lack of street lights along the very dark and narrow Stavsvägen, at least for one month of the year. Tette told me that they have spent around 50 000SEK on Christmas lights over the last four years. And they are not done yet. A LED rain-deer will appear on the roof soon, and a big Santa is of course also on the way. Took this handheld with the zoom lens. Might go back with a tripod and a wide-angle lens in a day or three.

That Old Tree

A December visit to the old tree. Gray. Dark. and a bit of rain of course.

Bridge to nowhere

The bridge across the railroad at Håga in Västerhaninge will never win an architectural award.

When I see birches bend to left and right...

That famous poem works well here I think. A tiny birch forest at Håga in Västerhaninge, photographed earlier in the week on a gloomy December day.

1:33 p.m.

The commuter train to Stockholm arrives at the Tungelsta station on a dark and rainy December afternoon.

Green December

The little park in Västerhaninge. Quiet on this rainy December day, but very popular with the local screaming wino's for most of the year.

Billy Idol Me

Hello, I'm here for the Billy Idol Look-Alike Contest? You need to loose the beard for that. Never mind.

Skandi-noir

No new photos to show you so here is one from one of the misty days in November. These are the new row houses at Kolonilottsvägen in Lillgården seen from the new park.

Macken

Swedish slang word of the day. Macken. The name MACK originally came from a company that produced pumps for filling stations back in the 1930s. It was owned by four men, Mathiasson, Andersson, Collin and Key. Since that day the word "Macken" has been used for any local filling station in the country. This "mack" in Tungelsta was once a Koppartrans filling station. Then it became a Shell station. After that it stood abandoned for a few years but now it is a Gulf station. Macken was also a popular TV show back in the mid 1980s.

Frost-covered leaf

Yesterday morning it was -10C from a somewhat clear sky. This morning 4C from a very gray sky.

Klädnypor

Swedish word of the day. Clothespins,(in my back garden). Second photo is a bit of flickr fun with that same photo. And if you are equally as bored with the weather as I am, check out how to waste your time doing a similar photo signature in the flickr group for just that.

Frostbite

Too cold for this photographer this Winter.

Monochrome Frost

My neighbour can be a bit weird. To prevent people from walking across his property,(a tiny forest, not used by anyone for anything, not counting the wildlife), he has had his employees cut down trees and place them on the path to make it trickier to walk there. Obviously no one cares about that and people walk there every day. This is a photo of one such tree. Shot with the new 60mm lens.

Winter is coming

A cold morning

Bit of a cold morning. Took a walk with the new 60mm macro lens. This was the first photo, aiming my lens at a common hazel.

I Never Finish Anything...

Said the builder. Same roof in late October can be seen here.

Norra allén

The northern tree lined avenue leading down to Årsta castle.

And now the weather

November really isn't my time of the year. I haven't picked up a camera for a little over a week now. This photo of a gray storage bin, found near the Björkhagen cottage last week, sums up how I feel at the moment. Might try to use one of the Canon's tomorrow though as the meteorologists have promised a bit of sunshine.

Cat Graffiti

Dive-tower

The dive-tower at my favorite beach on a coldish November day. No one else around.

Combat Boat 90

A Combat Boat 90 from the 1st Marine Regiment at Berga, also known as the Amphibious Regiment. As seen during a visit to the beach, Årsta Havsbad, Hårsfjärden earlier in the week.