Bring Your Own Anvil

Are you a licensed Blacksmith? Looking to rent, or even buy, your own smithy? Well, if so, this could be your lucky day because no one is currently using the old forge at Stadsberga in rural Haninge.

Summer vs.Summer

Time for another Different Seasons diptych. Two years separate these two photos that show the winding dirt road that leads down to the Stadsberga village in rural Haninge. I shot the left part of the diptych in late July of 2009. The photo to the right is from this past weekend. On a fun note, as I took that photo a cyclist came towards me. He stopped, and we started to talk about how much fun it is to ride your bike on these old roads. Ten minutes later we were having coffee (me), and a hot dog (the former postman), at one of the four golf clubs in this area. He knew practically every road around here and told me about a shortcut that I will have to try sometime this summer.

A Road Less Travelled

We celebrate the National Day of Sweden today so I figured I would show you something typical Swedish and also the Swedish colors of blue and yellow. I took these photos over the weekend. What you see here are the blooming canola fields from Årsta Säteri. The picturesque village in the background is called Stadsberga.

The old Stadsberga Farm

As promised here are a few more photos from Stadsberga, the little village in rural Österhaninge. By chance I met the birdwatcher Henrietta on a recent bike ride. And when we realised we here heading the same way we decided it would be fun to hang out for a few hours. Going on a photo shoot with a birdwatcher can be interesting. Every time Henrietta noticed a bird, a butterfly or even a cool cloud(!), she had to stop and have a closer look through her binoculars. Once we got to the village we decided to check out one of the three farms namely Stadsberga Gård. I don't know the owner of this farm so I don't have so much information about the place, but it does look like your typical farm from way back when with a few old barns, big storage silos and more. The big red building on the last photo is Årsta Säteri which once was the largest wooden building in Europe. More photos from Stadsberga (from my visit with Jim), to come.

Pastoral Idyll

I really love riding my bicycle. I prefer rural areas and gravel roads where there's no traffic to speak off. Over the last week or so I have been busy pedalling up and down most of the old roads in Österhaninge, shooting farm buildings, runestones and the odd Baptist chapel. All scenes that you will see on this blog in the next week or so. This is a view that I have come to really enjoy. This is Stadsberga. A small village with three farms, two of which you can see here. Remember Stig-Arne? The man you saw with my friend Jim at the old Smitty a few days ago. He lives in the farm house to the very left. On the other side of the big tree you can just see part of the Bakehouse. It is more that 300 years old and the bake oven is still there although the building today serves as a private home. Next is the stable and above that is the old barn where you can see something a bit different. To the right is Stadsberga Gård which I visited with Henrietta a couple of days ago. If you climb the steep road you will get up to a number of small red cottages that you can rent for the summer. All in all this is an idyll.

The old Smitty

In rural Österhaninge near the Hårsfjärden bay there is a picturesque little village called Stadsberga. I have visited the Västergården farm before, so you know at least one horse that lives there! And I have shown you the beautiful rural road that leads up the Middle Farm. A few days ago Jim and I decided have a closer look at the Mellangården (Middle Farm). Luckily for us we met the owners, Ulla and Stig-Arne Skärbäck. They bought the place back in 2001. As Ulla disappeared into the stable with one of her horses, Stig-Arne gave us a guided tour around the old farm. So you can expect a few more photos in the next week or so. But today I will show you the old smitty. It's around 300 years old and in need of restoration. Stig-Arne and his wife have been busy fixing up all the buildings at the farm, but have yet to start with the smitty. We climbed (!) in and sat on the floor (mind your head), as Stig-Arne and Jim discussed all the stuff in the smitty. What you see here is a Fältässja, (a forge). A tool that the smith used to heat up the metal. This is a portable version and I believe it was foot-powered. It's hard to understand, but the smitty was in use up until 25 years ago.

Middle Farm

As I came down the gravel road towards Stadsberga, I stopped and shot some photos that I used for a great panorama. This is three of those photos. This is Mellangården, a horse farm run by the Skärbäck family. Their stable is just to the right and you can see it on the panorama. Bigger photo.

♥ I've got a shexy smile ♥

This is Gæi. An Icelandic horse that I met at the Västergården horse farm the other day. A real poser me thinks. The farm is located in a rural village in österhaninge called Stadsberga. Bigger photo.

Modern Day Rune stone

Do you have your own Runestone? Didn't think so. Lotta and her family at Västergården horse farm in the little rural village of Stadsberga does. The inscription reads Lotta o Joachim o Therese o Richard, alla Carlsund, lät resa sten o bygga hus på egen mark. Kalle rista. Which translates to Lotta, Joachim, Therese and Richard, all Carlsund, had the stone raised and the house built on their own land, Kalle did the inscription. Kalle is Kalle Runristare. There are Icelandic horses at the farm I will show you more photos later in the week.Bigger photo.

Stadsberga

This is Stadsberga, a small rural village in Österhaninge. Surrounded by history. There are ancient grave fields and rune stones here and there. It's close to Årsta Castle, Årsta Säteri, Alvsta, Ormsta, and many other interesting places that I have documented over the years. Bigger photo.