Hepatica nobilis

A few days with Summer temperatures this week. So everything will hopefully turn green again, soon. I photographed these "blåsippor" at Håga in Västerhaninge.

15C

And just like that we had a day, Thursday, with 15C. Nice to be able to ride the bike using my Spring uniform. Stopped at the Nedersta farm for a photo of a Tussilago. And just over an hour later time for another stop, this time at Enskede at a cemetery where I spotted this crocus. Nice also to be able to eat an early dinner outside on the veranda. Nearly the same weather on Friday. But the meteorologists came with a warning for colder weather, and possibly some snow in Stockholm on Monday.

Snowdrop

I have an English Flickr contact to thank for this photo. A while back he left a comment on a photo I took at Karolinska, a very modern university hospital. Paul mentioned that he was born at the hospital, and that his parents got married at the Medieval Solna church which is nearby, so I promised to stop at the church and take a few photos of it. And on route to Solna the other day I spotted hundreds of snowdrops on a lawn at Vanadislunden, so I stopped for a photo, as one does.

At the cemetery

I walked through the Scattering Garden at Skogskyrkogården a couple of days ago. A new section at the cemeterey. Known as Askgravlunden. Chilly. Maybe 4C. But warm for January in Stockholm. I spotted a few ice roses, and this Winter flower.

Scilla

It was silly of me I know, but I had to try. I had spotted another sign of Spring and did my best to get a few macro photos of the scilla, but it was snowing so I gave up. But this morning it worked. Although my hands felt like I had been biking without gloves for a few miles, it was that cold. Theme Day. Wet.

After the rain

A few macro photos after the rain. I will be off soon, riding the bike down to the Häringe castle to have a lok at al the cars in the Targa Florio Svecia rally.

Snittblomma

Swedish word of the day, Snittblomma. Cut flower.

The Setting Sun

The days are very short now. Not much sunshine of late. But just before sunset the other day there was a bit of light so i jumped off the bike and took a "Sunset" photo at Nedersta.

Macrography

Another Thursday Walk with the extension tubes and the pancake lens (40mm). This time I decided to just stop at a given moment and have a closer look around and this is what I found. Well, I found a few more interesting plants, but these were the two first photos that I took during this short walk in Jordbro. A Fibonacci spiral and a blue flower.

Styvmorsviol and Svalört

I took a walk at Kapp-Ekeby byväg (byväg means farm road), a couple of days ago. A rural landscape just outside Västerhaninge. There used to be two farms in this little village, one was called Sandviken, but they were abandoned back in 1877. All that remains visible today is the old road. But if you look closely you can find remains from the Iron Age here so this is a place where people lived for a very long time. On this visit I decided to look for signs of Spring and this was the result. Top photo shows a Styvmorsviol. Second snap is a Svalört. To get this close I used an extension tube and the trusted pancake lens. And I might have to go back as I lost yet another lens cap!

Scilla

Glory-of-the-snow. But I like the Swedish name better. Vårstjärna. That translates to Spring Star. Originally a plant from Turkey but today it grows wild at Bergdalen in Tungelsta and it is another sign of Spring.

Wild Chamomile

Ice everywhere today. You had to be careful on the side-walks and bike paths. The temperature was hovering around freezing, but we did have a few hours with a blue sky and that's when I went for a walk. Found this wild chamomile near the old tree. It's a tough little flower.

Roses are red

I guess this red rose has to be a repeat bloomer. No sunshine at all in November so I was surprised to find it in a flowerbed at an apartment building in Handen a couple of days ago. I walked into the flowerbed to get the close-up with the pancace lens which a guy that walked by thought was very funny. Be sure to shoot the mushroom as well was his advice. I didn't take him up on it as the fungi in question was smelly and very dead!

Rain drops

The weather forecast "promised" 17C and sunshine come the end of the week. Hasn't happened yet, and at the moment we have a blueish sky, but no more than 7C. It rained all day yesterday and I only took two photos. This is one of them. A plant by the side of the road near Hanvedens IP.

A Helping Hand

Out on a walk near Kalvsvik in rural Österhaninge looking for early signs of autumn I found this plant on a field. A closer look told me that the well dressed plant was comforting his or her friend!

Follow the Sun

We need to get the Summer temperature back up to a decent level, at least for a few weeks. It's been a cold 17C the last few days, and very windy. I don't know the best way to fix that problem, but I decided to have a go, and this is what I came up with. A photo of a sunflower, facing the sun at an kolonilott in Handen. I hope it works!

Digitalis

Or Fingerborgsblomma as we call it.

Blue & Yellow

A winter windflower is always a good sign of Spring. After a few cold days we are having more Spring like weather this weekend. A blue sky and around 12 C as I'm typing this.

Winter Rose

The red rose across the road from my favorite cafe in Handen is still there, despite the recent cold weather. But there's a snow storm coming this evening. The forecast said something like 20 cm of snow and very hard winds. I think it is time to order winter tyres to the bike now.

Tussilago Fanfara

As a kid I always looked around for signs of Spring. My favorite was always the Tussilago that one would find close to the greenhouses at home. Today, a few decades later I still look for such signs. It probably have everything to do with the climate we live in. And my obsession with Fibonacci spirals, check out the slideshow! Anyway, this was the first Tussilago I have seen this year. Found it next to a bike path between Lake Rudan in Handen and the Biofuel Power Plant in Jordbro. Shot with the borrowed SX 30. This was as close as I could come.