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.

Home Sweet Home

A big truck parked on the road at Bergdalen. I opened the door and shot the reflection of my home it the truck window. The truck driver hade gone around the corner to see if there was room for him to back up to greenhouses at Blomorado (which there is) and a few seconds after I took this shot, he had moved the truck.

Valsta Runestone

A bike ride through rural Österhaninge took me to this rune stone. The inscription reads: Signjut raised this stone after Sigröd, his father, Sibbes brother. The runestone is 1000 years old. Originally it stood at the Valsta border, but in 1835 it was moved to this location a few hundred meters north. There are lots of Viking remains in this area of Österhaninge. Zoom out a bit. In total there's 2500 rune stone around the country. I have a flickr set with a few more.

Hooked on angling

Some anglers take their fishing seriously. This guy stood there in the Baltic Sea during my whole visit to the beach. The sea was so calm that the fishes probably saw him so I don't think he got any fish. From my visit to Årsta Havsbad.

A bit of Sweden

This is Nylända Gård in Haninge. At Årsta Havsbadsvägen. They live only minutes away from the beach at Årsta Havsbad. And across the road you will find Årsta Säteri. And Årsta Castle. Not a bad surrounding if you ask me.

The path

Not so much green yet here at the path. My 25th photo from this shortcut through the forest between Håga and Nederstaleden in Västerhaninge. I always wait for a minute or two for someone to show up and today it was Magnus. Normally I meet a lot of dogs (and their owners) here. When I came around the corner I met Lisa, a boxer that i have photographed before. We talked a bit and it turned out that Lisa the Boxer was Benny the Boxer's aunt! Both dogs come from Gothenburg a four hour drive from Haninge, so it is a bit funny that they live so close now. They have never met but it wont be long now.

The sound of silence

If you know me, you will know that I have a few favorite places that I visit as often as I can. Today it was time for a short visit to the beach again. It was a fantastic spring day. 15 C from a clear blue sky. I took a promenade down at the beach at Årsta Havsbad. Not a sound was heard. Total silence. In all I saw two people. Both fishers. They looked very concentrated. I don't think they got any fish but who cares on a day like this.

Sowing the old seeds

When my grandfather Harald Fredrik Jansson died a few years ago now, we found this wooden box. It's filled with old seeds. My grandfather went to a agricultural school in Sigtuna in the late 1920ths and the seeds have been lying this box ever since. But now over the weekend they have been planted in the greenhouse at the park here in Tungelsta. If we are lucky some of the plants could be seen in the park later in the year.

Breakfast at Begdalen

As I was preparing breakfast this morning two visitors arrived. I had time to shoot a few photos through the kitchen window. A pair of Roe Deer walked into the back garden. They visit quite often as there's a forest here. Sometimes during the winter they walk right in to the veranda looking for food. I also made a collage.

Entering Stockholm

Once in a while I leave Haninge for a visit to the nations capitol. Stockholm. This is one of those days. This skyscraper is known as Skatteskrapan. You will find it on Södermalm in Stockholm. Took a while to set up this composite. It took six shots but it came out OK me thinks. The Taxman used to live here. Now it's being rebuilt and there will be 495 student apartments and a few shops here. The cost for that was 1 000 000 000 SEK. A bit too much if you ask me. The skyskraper was built in 1959. The architect was Paul Hedqvist. It's 81 meters (25 stories) high.

Lost?

Are you like me and don't care much about mosses? Then you shouldnt follow me now as I have entered the deep forest at the nature reserve in Jordbro. It's called Gullringskärret and there's 150 types of mosses in this forest. You will find Piprensarmossa, gyllen-mossa, nordtuffmossa and purpurvitmossa. But there's more than moss here, like gullpudra, skogsnycklar, kärrfibbla and the beautiful brudborsten. So what are you waiting for, lets go! The best time to visit is in the summer if you are a bird fan. If you like moss, October is your month. I walked for about an hour and I had to be careful as the many footbridges over the creek were wery slippery. I followed the red dots on the trees but despite that I came out of the forest one km from where I had planned and where my bike was parked.

Visiting a building site

At the new quarry. That once was a forest and now is a construction site. In Jordbro. Only 500 meters away from Lake Rudan. Whenever I'm visiting the lake I try to shoot a few photos from this ever changing building site that is now a part of the industrial area here. This is a composite made of three photos stitched with Autostitch. I normally shoot a panorama here on every visit, and sometimes a fun shot like this. I print a lot of photos, and some of the "normal" photos from this shoot will end up in a photo album. I enjoy seeing the changes around me.

Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning at the Krigslida Commuter Station. This newish waiting area actually has built in infra heating and uncomfortable benches! There's only one track here at the 100 year old Nynäsbanan that goes from Stockholm down to the seaport city of Nynäshamn. But work has begun on a second track between Västerhaninge and Tungelsta where I live.

A colorful duck

The smallest of the mallards, a Common Teal, or a Kricka as we like to call them. At lake Rudan in Handen. A migratory bird that spends the winter in Great Britain of all places!

Unhappy Fish

This fish is made of Granite by an artist called PYE Engström. It's part of an artwork he calls Fåglarna, or The Birds. You can find this fish and a few others in a fountain (no water in it during the winter season) next to the amfitheatre at Eskilsparken. A big open, very green (in the summer that is) park in central Handen. 70 years ago this area was nothing more than a sandpit. The landscape architect who designed the park was Sture Koinberg. This is the perfect place for a picnic, some croquet, sunbathing, take your pick. Local theatre groups often performs at the amphitheatre. I often stop here and read the newspaper. Did I mention that the Haninge Cheer Elite often practice here?

Dykes!

Found a weird ad today. Only one word on this black advertising board. Flator. There's only one translation for that word, and that's Dykes! The answer to what this is about should be here somewhere but I can't find it.

A snake in the grass

I was out walking in a forest at the nature reserve Gullringskärret when I stumbled upon this snake. It watched me for a while and when I stepped closer for a for a better look it decided to crawl away. I'm no snake expert so I can only guess that this is a Grass Snake (Natrix natrix). If not, it could be a black Viper (Hognose).

Hunting for Unicorns...

There's been a lot of Unicorns running around scaring people in Kalvsvik in Österhaninge the last few years. I decided to stake out the place, but this was all I could find.

At the Ice Rim

Took a promenade around Lake Rudan. Lots of people out walking and running and even a few people ( me included) that was just sitting along the boardwalk promenade enjoying the sunshine. I met one of the ice fishers, he said the ice was too thin to walk on so he drilled a hole in the ice from one of the piers. This photo is shot from the north end of Lower Lake Rudan. From a small hill where in the summer time you will find sunbathers, anglers and sometimes a camper or two sitting at the barbeque are enjoying a meal.

Tranquility

Spring came early to Haninge this year. I am not complaining! Some amazing weather this week. I decided to go for a bike ride (25 minutes) down to the beach at Årsta Havsbad. The water was very calm. Not that many people around. I met a couple of dog owners and saw one boat during my brief visit. Took my usual photo promenade. There's a bench out on this wooden pier and as I sat there I remembered a cool panorama photo I took from that bench last summer. One my way home I stopped when I saw a Tussilago farfara at the side of the road. It's great to be able to use the macro mode again. Speaking of that, wanna see a cool slideshow?

Storm the Roundabout Dog

I spotted another roundabout dog today. This one has been named Storm. Probably because it was created after the storm in January. Background info: It all started in the city of Linköping last year when an installation by the artist Stina Opitz was vandalised. A few days later a new dog appeared in the roundabout. That was all it took to get this new street art phenomenon going! Here's a photo of a couple of Roundabout dogs I took a while back.

Walking in a nature reserve

Bigger photo.

Walking in nature looking for signs of spring. In Jordbro, at Gullringskärret, a nature reserve. The same path were you will find the Art Promenade in the summer time. I you are interested I have photos from the 2006 promenade and the 2005 version. The girls are on their way back to the stables at Kalvsvik in Österhaninge a rural area with many stables . This road dates back to the Viking area. There are runestones and other remains all over the place.

Crocus

More proof of spring. 10 Celsius today. The day started with a clear blue sky in Tungelsta. Now it's early afternoon and you can't see the sun for all the clouds.

Macro Mode

I woke up to a blue sky today. Nearly all the snow is gone and it was 6 C here today. I went down to Blomorado to shoot some spring like photos at their greenhouses and realised tha the ice cream truck had been there. So I just ate my first ice cream of the season. And here is another proof of spring. The fire bugs are here again. Here they are with my ice cream stick that I put there to show you the size of the bugs.

Falling Tree

How many men does it take...In this case four. But you can only see three men here. This is a walkway down to the commuter station in Västerhaninge.The big spruce tree is only two meters away from the railtrack and was probably damaged during the storm here back in January. I hope that's the reason they are cutting it down. I met a few people who was clearly upset and they were going to call the council to see what was going on.
The big spruce tree is falling. Workers from the council had the area closed off which was a good idea as quite a few people was watching this from here and there. Including me.

Lisa the boxer

This weeks photo from the path in the forest. For the second time since I started this project I met Lisa the boxer and her owner out walking along the path. The path is a shortcut between Håga and Nederstaleden in Västerhaninge. Very popular with the dogs and people who work at the Håga Industrial area. Just around the corner from here there's an area with birch trees where you will find a pet cemetery.

A red kitten

I like streetart. Stencils, sticker art and even some graffiti. I found this stencil of a red kitten today at a pedestrian bridge close to the commuter station in Västerhaninge. Concrete is never beautiful so this really stands out. The bridge shot from the other side of the railway can be seen HERE.

That Old Tree

A bit misty on my latest visit to the old tree at Välsta. A few horseback riders nearby, the path was icy, but I could see the grass here and there so spring is around the corner! Have a look at the slideshow and see all 82 photos of this beautiful old oxel.

Happiness is a Balcony

In this country happiness is a balcony. If you don't have one, your life is worthless. Swedes can pay anything to get a balcony and then spend every summer evening there enjoying a drink or two. And what better way to start your day then breakfast on the balcony? Or sunbathing on your balcony. And it's not just summer. Anytime of the year will do. Ask anyone of us and we will tell tell you so. And that's why this photo is so upsetting! What is wrong with these people...

Lunar Eclipse at 00:06

I was a bit worried earlier in the day for this photo as the sky was filled with clouds, but in the early evening the sky cleared up in time for the Lunar Eclipse. I took this shot just after midnight from Bergdalen where I live.

A Goldfish

The photographers reflection in the aquarium at Blomorado. A lonely goldfish swimming around lucky not to live in a fishbowl! They say that goldfish only have a three second memory. I hope that's true, but I don't think it is. I saw a segment about that on Mythbusters.

Solsäter

21 months after I took the first photo in this area, the first prefab house is up at Solsäter in Lida. This house have been bought by Tomas Blomquist. I talked to his dad and he said that his son expects to be moving in here in June. The prefab comes from Trivselhus, a company that builds prefabricated wooden houses. Here is a map over this house and the others that will follow in this the first stage of building. There's still a few new roads to be built here. One will go up in the forest behind that red house I have shown you before. I will probably be back here with a new photo come summer.

Out with the old...

For as long as I can remember this place, locally known as The barn at Håga, has been filled with crap as this was a used car part market/repair shop. Then you couldn't see the barn from the road. Now it's being cleaned up as some sort of Supermarket will open here.