Moo!

The May heat is gone. Replaced with more normal Swedish Summer weather. So as I am typing this it is maybe 10C, windy, but with fluffy clouds. I am having some issues with the eBike so it is at a repair shop. Luckily for this obsessive cyclist, I have three other bikes. And I have used two of them over the last couple of days. And, wow, it is a bit harder to bike without the help of the pedal assist, and slower. This is a pasture at Länna, near Lake Drevviken in Huddinge. Usually there would also be sheep here, but not on this day.

Another rural bike ride

I took another rural bike ride on one of my old bikes the other day. Around Österhaninge. The first photo shows a late blooming canola field near a nature reserve that I sometimes visit. Further down the road, we come to the Medieval church with the leaning tower. The third photo was taken from the road that leads to my favorite beach, Årsta Havsbadsvägen. The newly paved road is Dalarövägen. A very busy road during the Summer and horrible if you are a cyclist. Next up Årsta castle which today sits in the middle of a golf course. Then we see the huge stable at Årsta Säteri. There used to be a sign by the side of the road claiming that this was the largest wooden structure in Northern Europe. And lastly, a look at the unknown village, as I sometimes call it. Stadsberga.

A rural bike ride

There I was. All ready to go on a longish ebike ride. Perfect weather. Enough water and food for one day in my big bike bag. Plus two cameras. Jumped on the bike, rolled down the hill, only to realize that there was a big issue with the chain. And as I wasn't in bike repair mode, I switched bikes. Had to leave a few things at home, but five minutes later I was out on the road on my Kona bike. Instead of Norra Djurgården I opted for a rural ride around Haninge and here are five snaps from that ride. Top photo shows Husby. The horses can be seen in a pasture at the Medieval church in Österhaninge. The canola field is closer to home at Nedersta. And the last two photos show summer scenes from Alby.

Rapsfält

A blooming canola field. Photographed from the bike path at Nedersta yesterday afternoon. Belongs to the Nedersta Gård that dates back around 700 years. You have met the current farmer here on the blog a number of years ago, and I have shown you countless views from the farm. Oh, and the bridge to the right is Krigslidabron.

Neder Söderby

Out cycling in the rural Summer landscape at Neder Söderby in Nynäshamn. This is close to Lake Muskan that I showed you a while back. Riding my bike on the gravel roads here is always a nice feeling, despite the heat, and all the flies!

Västerby

Three photos from Västerby in Nynäshamn. Here you see a few houses in the Summer green, a little cafe, popular with cyclists and bikers, and the old village hall where they brew the coffee and bake the cakes for the cafe. Shot while out on a bike ride a few days before buying the eBike.

Summer Cycling

I sometimes ride my bicycle to Nynäshamn. It usually takes 90 minutes with a couple of stops along the way as I have to photograph something. Normally I ride on the old Nynäsvägen road that follows the new motorway for most of the way. But you can also ride on the old gravel roads through small hamlets like here at Hemfosa. Cycling here is very relaxing. You ride on bumpy roads through forests and there are a couple of lakes if you feel the need to cool down with a swim. I walked around one of those lakes recently and I will show you a few photos in a day or thhree.

Vårbruk

Swedish word of the day. Vårbruk at Aspen Hill in Österhaninge.

Oat/Havre

One of two oat fields that the farmer from Nedersta gård were out harvesting earlier in the week. So Swedish word of the day is Havre, Oat.

Skördetröska

The farmer from Nedersta Gård out on a field in Österhaninge in his combine harvester, or skördetröska as we like to call them over here.

Wrapped bales

Feels a bit early for the hay harvest in mid-June, but it has been a strange year weatherwise, so why not. As seen near the old tree a week ago now.

Årstavillorna

Location, location, location. A rural setting near Årsta Säteri, Årsta Castle, Stadsberga, a couple of golf courses, and no more that a short bike ride to the beach and the ferry to the archipelago. Årstavillorna dates back 25 years or so. Built on a property where there used to workers quarters before.

Canola Field

The smell of Summer! A blooming canola field at Alby in a rural part of Haninge.

Early autumn wheat harvest

Are we done yet? Somewhat bored kid out riding with dad in the combine harvester on the wheat field at Nödesta Västergård in Nedersta this sunny afternoon.

A Rural Bike Ride

Before I hurt my back I took a rural bike ride through parts of Österhaninge. It was an amazing Summer day. Perfect temperature, a blue sky with fluffy clouds and with a cooling breeze. On the first photo you can see the fields and stable at Hesslingby. The wheat fields on the second photo are close to Alby.

Rural Living

These are the old cottages on the property I showed you yesterday, with the collapsed carriage house. The couple I talked to live in a more modern house. This is the view from the carriage house. All you can see from the road is the blooming shrubs. No idea how "modern" the cottages are on the inside but walking around here I could easily see myself living here. Getting up early on a Summer morning, enjoying breakfast outdoors, hearing nothing but birdsong, before jumping on the bike for the 15 minute ride to the beach. The couples son lives in one house and another relative in the other cottage.

Vit Kattost

I titled the top photo whateveritis when I posted it on flickr. But if my flickr friend Marcus is correct, this is Vit Kattost. Malva pusilla Sm. Small mallow in English, but the Swedish name wins because if you direct translate it back to English it means Tiny Cat Cheese. Anyway it is on the endangered list so it is a good thing that the farmer at the Nödesta farm, Janne decided to raise the crop here in front of the smithy that I show you every now and then. And no I don't know if the crop is useful at all.

Ye Olde Farm Building

Five months in on this project now. A very wintery scene this time. A bit different from the December photo. You are looking at an old warehouse at the Välsta horse farm in Tungelsta. I'm taking one photo here every month for one year.

Back at the farm

So back in September I showed you this old warehouse at the Välsta farm, and I informed you that many moons ago I had a photo project planned here, but that the old tree happened instead. Karl from Bolzano (a very wise man),said in a comment that a monthly series could work. Kay from Sequim ( a clever woman) figured that a photo every season would work. So I decided to shoot one photo per month, and here are the second and third photo from the new series. The misty shot is the November photo, taken this week. The one with a few leaves left dates back to the middle of October.

The Swing

Lucky kid who can use that swing. Growing up in the tiny village of Ormsta must be great. A beautiful rural setting in the middle of nowhere. Ask anyone in Haninge and chances are no one can tell you were to find this place. Just three or four houses. No traffic at all if you don't count the farmers wehicels. In fact, the gravel road ends here, and you can only continue on foot or bike and if you do you will travel on the road less travelled and I will show you that tomorrow.