Flying the flag for the King

This is Hammar in Tungelsta. Built by Frans G Upmark back in 1816. The Upmark Family still live here today. Same place more than 100 years ago. It's flag day today as the King turns 61. It's also Walpurgis Night which means that at least 50% of all swedish teenagers will be running around in a drunken rage tonight. I'm sure you will be able to read about that in The Local tomorrow. The rest of us will be content with celebrating the arrival of spring at any of the many bonfires that will be lit tonight. But to be honest me and my friends did have our first drunken Walpurgis in Tungelsta when we were 12 years old back in 1976. HERE is a view of a bonfire I photographed this evening.

Bird Sanctuary

I took a walk around the bird sanctuary at Skutan in Handen. There's a horse farm and a 3 km nature promenade here as well as the pond and a birdwatching tower. On a good day you should be able to see Whooper Swan, Coot, Common goldeneye, Teal, Mallard, Grey Heron, Eurasian Crane, Green Sandpiper,Little Grebe, Slavonian Grebe and Canada Goose. This was my third visit and I never seem to find that many birds. Here's a Canada Goose that I did see.

Cherry Blossom

Blooming Cherry Tree at Nederstaleden in Västerhaninge. A few weeks earlier than last year.

Tree Lined Avenue

This tree lined avenue is called Allévägen. A straight that runs through Lida. My family once owned the land to the left. My great grandfather was a farmer and this was his land. Many years later my aunt and her family bought a house on the other side of the road. Three month ago I took a winter photo here and today when the trees are turning green it was time for an update. I prefer the spring version...

Modern Day Hero

A modern day hero. And junk collector. The state thought that he should retire as his business didnt make enough money. Instead he started collecting junk from where he could find it. Last year that gave him 160.000 SEK. This morning on his first trip to the junk yard he made 5000 SEK. I met him on my way to a bird park nearby (Skutan), and we started talking as I was taking pictures of some of the junk. As we stood there the woman who runs the horse farm at Skutan drove up, At first she thought that we were dumping junk, but we soon cleared that up. The owner to this land Erik Engström has been told by the local council to clean this place up but nothing has happened.

Beach Time Again

We are expecting summer temperatures all week. I took the bike down to the beach at Årsta Havsbad for a photo promenade and some quality time in the sunshine. This panorama was made by stitching ten photos, shot with my little Canon Ixus. I always shoot these with the camera in the portrait mode. The stitching can be easily made with the freeware software Autostitch. The smoke to the left came from a fire at the Amphibious Regiment at Berga.

Spring Path

A woman walking down the path in the forest between Håga and Nederstaleden in Västerhaninge, that now finally has a spring feeling to it, as you can see a few wood anemones. I take a photo here every week and will do so for one year.This was the 29th photo. Best viewed as a slideshow.

The Concrete Producer

Concrete is the most common building material in the world. LB stands for Luja Betong which is a finnish concrete company . This is their Jorbro plant. They are probably making a lot of money these days as there's building sites all over Haninge as I have shown you before. I couldnt shoot my photo from the same vantage point as they did on their website but I still like it.

Unhappy Seagull

Bigger Seagull.

On my promenade around the bird park Slätmossen the other day, I met this screaming seagull. It was very disappointed with me as I walked past the feeding station twice without offering it anything to eat. The nerve of some people it was saying...

Cloudy Reflection

Bigger photo.

I took a long walk around the nature park in Handen. I visit the Slätmossen park weekly, and on this visit with all the fluffy clouds all photos looked great. I managed to get a few good photos of my favorite bird (the Coot), as well.

Built-in Balconies

And they are probably Built-on balconies. Swedes loves their balconies. At Midgårdsvägen in Handen.Only a two minute walk from the high school, the mall and the park, so the location is ok.

Colorful high-rise building

In the summer of 1947 there was a big fire in this area. Back then this was a forest. Today over 10.000 people live in what is known as Brandbergen (the name means Fire Mountain and relates to the fire). Brandbergen is only 3 kilometers away from Tyresta National Park.

Circus Babes!

The circus arrives to Brandbergen in Handen. I don't know for sure, but it could be a German circus. No sign of the big tent yet. Before riding the merry-go-round you have to pick your favorite babe. The carousel belongs to Circus Fantasia and hasent yet been unloaded from the truck so you still have time to pick your fave!

Circus Babe 4.

Circus Babe 3.

Circus Babe 2.

Circus Babe 1.

Sikhing to make a profit

For many years (weather permitting) a group of Sikhs have been selling clothes here at the Västerhaninge shopping centre. Looks like I arrived at a slow business period, no customers around despite the sale signs. This is a cutout photo, useful for making parts of a perhaps dull photo stand out a bit.

Welcome to Ormsta

Bigger photo.

Welcome to Ormsta. A rural area in Haninge. With three old farms, Östragården, Mellangården och Skattegården. On a hot spring day I took a bike ride through this agricultural landscape on the old Husby Road (dates back to Viking times). The farmer here since 1984 is Rolf Norlin. He also runs Hammarby Gård at Åva (close to Tyresta National Park) and Kalvsvik in Österhaninge.

A Rural Walk

I took a walk through a cow pasture. This is the old road at Kapp Ekeby in Västerhaninge. The farm here was abandoned in 1877. These days in the summer time cattle from nearby Berga Farm can be seen chew the cud here. Modern life is only a 4-iron away,as the Fors Golf Club is the nearest neighbour here. If you follow this road you will soon be at the Berga Agricultural College.

I need more clones!

The weather has been amazing the last couple of days and it looks like it is going to stay like this for a few more. So I'm lacking behind when it comes to fixing my photos. No one wants to stay indoors when it's summer outside. I should have posted a photo from an old viking road today but it will have to wait another day. So today I give you some of my clones instead. This is Photography Clone, Literate Clone, Lazy Ass Clone and Just Sitting There Clone. It was a good day for the clones.

You lookin at me?

Sheep at Nedersta Farm in Haninge. I have often seen the sheepdog training here. Today no one was around. A month ago I noticed a group of people here including a photographer and after some googling I found her photos. If you enjoy sheep photos there are few more in my flickr set.

Nature Machine

This artwork by Olle Adrin is called Naturmaskin. It was made in 1969. For years it could be seen (and climbed) at the city centre in Handen. Ten years ago it was moved across the street when the new mall was built. Adrin also made the cool sculpture of the soccer legend (and my dads friend) Nacka Skoglund. This composite is made from three photos, shot with a Canon Digital rebel and then stitched with Autostitch.

In Macro Mode

Sitting in the afternoon sunshine drinking some coffee I spotted a tiny liverwort. We call it Blåsippa.

Mellanberg

Just a km from Handen City Centre this is rural Mellanberg. The farm, house and laundry barns are from 1920, but the farm itself dates back 300 years. Up until 1940 you could by milk directly from the farmer. The laundry closed in 1976. Today a privatly owned property, but there's a bike path going through here, open for everyone. A small stream runs nearby. Just a few hundred meters to the left from here, an area called Kolartorp with some 60 houses are being developed and soon a few hundred houses will be found in this area.

Guess what?

Winter is back. When I woke up in the middle of the night it was snowing, so I got up early this morning and took a snowy promenade. Not that many people out walking at that time. This is a kids bike at the school. We are expecting summer temperatures later in the week so hopefully the snow will be gone in a couple of days.

For Ingalill

Not the best photo I have ever taken I know, but it's for Ingalill. A journalist from Stockholm that visits this website every now and then. She is planning to write a book about Graneberg in Tungelsta, where her grandparents used to live. When I can home just now the Fahlström truck was here to pick up flowers that will be sold at Årsta partihallar early tomorrow morning. I'm not 100% sure about the family ties here, but I'm guessing Ingalill and the Fahlström brothers are cousins. The woman you see in the photo is my neighbour Danuta who owns the greenhouses at Blomorado.

Scandinavian Photo

Nothing special with today's photo. It's an ad for a company that sell Digital Cameras. Saw the truck at a filling station in Jordbro and took a photo. But now when I have plugged their site, shouldn't I get a camera for free?

White Birch Forest

This is a white birch forest in Västerhaninge. Popular with dog owners and there's also a pet cemetery here. This is around the corner from The The Path.

Mystery Stones (part 2)

As promised yesterday, here are the other King Stones from Sanda in Österhaninge. These are cone-shaped and you will find them only a few meters away from the round stones. There are no signs here to tell you anything about these remarkable rocks. I have live in Haninge all my life and never heard anything about this. I'm always on the road (bicycle maniac) and I have passed here many times without spotting these stones, and they are only a few steps away from the road!

Mystery Stones (part 1)

The mysterious stones at Sanda in Österhaninge. These stones on a rock formation at Sanda are one big mystery. For centuries people have speculated about their origin. The only info I have was given to me by Sune Nilsson, a member of the local history association. In an article Harry Runqvist writes about a visit from an old king and that the stones are some memorial from that visit. That unknown king was a bit of a ladies man and rumours said that he had fathered a few children in the neighbourhood. There are more stones here. They look a bit different. I will post them tomorrow.

A Cool Coot

I have been taking lots of bird photos lately. Here is a Coot, or a Sothöna as we like to call them. I shot this in the bird park where I met another nature photographer. He wasnt wery talkative, he took off when he noticed a couple of Common Teals flying in. I managed to get a photo of him running away.

April Fools' Day Sunset

Another colorful sunset. I often walk up to the top of the hill at Bergdalen and shoot the sunset. This was the April Fools Sunset.

After the joyride

Someone is a Ford Escort 1,6I GL short. Found this in a forest in Jordbro not far away from the commuter station.