Partik Afrika 2013

Found this on a "elskåp" in Handen. Your guess is as good as mine as to what it all means.

Cafe Window

Leaving my favorite cafe, Malmens konditori one December afternoon earlier in the week. Jim is sitting at the desk by the window working on some 3D thingy. Lasse is leaving after a cup of coffee and a chat with me, he is heading back to the Cultural Centre.

December Sunset

Sunset at the power plant in Jordbro early afternoon in December. This was a couple of days ago. I was on the bike and stopped for a few photos when I noticed all the smoke.

Icefishing

That was quick, considering that we got the first snow only last week. This ice fisher at Lower Lake Rudan in Handen told me that the ice was around 5 cm thick. I took the photo yesterday, today it is raining a bit and it is 2C.

Lizzie's old house

Anyone who used the subway in Stockholm back in the 1970s saw her sitting there playing the clarinet at Sergels Torg. The street musician Lizzie Norlin, more known under the nick name The Garlic Lady. I saw her most every day when I took the bus to school from Tungelsta to Jordbro. Always dressed in black. Always with that smell of garlic around her. There was countless stories going around about Karin, which was her real name. This is where she lived, in a little house at Runvägen in Tungelsta. She lived between 1914 and 2000. The house have been left abandoned since her death.

That Old Tree

I took the first real Winter promenade yesterday after shooting the steam train. Ended up walking over to the old tree. A few degrees below zero and a bit windy at this first Winter look at the Swedish Whitebeam. If you have eagle eyes you can spot a green spot further down the path, it was out walking it's dog.

Full Steam Ahead

Once or twice every year you can travel between Stockholm and Nynäshamn with one of the steam trains from the Nynäshamn Railway Museum. This locomotive was in traffic between 1907 and 1966. If you missed the chance today you can try again tomorrow.

Stuck in the ice

Antiklimax. Swedish word of the day. I had hoped to go out and shoot some Winter scenes today. To show you the aftermath of the first Winter storm. Only problem is the storm never arrived. At least not yet. So instead I give you this "arty" snap from yesterday. A Coca-Cola can stuck in the ice. In the background the commuter train from Stockholm at the Tungelsta station.

It's snowing

It started to snow just now. It is the first sign of the storm that is slowly approaching. The storm has been named Sven.

The Ice Animal

More abstract ice art from Välsta.

Abandoned Farm House

Rune Carlsson grew up in this now abandoned little house at Stav in Tungelsta with his brothers and parents. He was a very good friend to my father. He was always very happy when you saw him. Growing up he learned to play the accordion, and he would often play at the local folkparks In Haninge. Rune passed away a couple of weeks ago.

A Tired Cyclist

Note to self. Never go for a bike ride during a storm. That's what I did yesterday. It was a very tough workout so when I rode down this straight at Stav in Tungelsta I didnt have the strength to pedal, so I stopped for a photo.

Power Outage

December started with a storm. I was out on a bike ride and came to a complete stand still because of the strong headwind when I was at Stav. When I came back home I was hoping for a cup of coffee. But instead there was a power outage. And everything went pitch dark. That is never any fun. It lasted all afternoon. So the Swedish word of the day is Strömavbrott. Power outage. And I got a good photo for the theme day standing on the veranda looking out at all the blackness. Theme day. Looking out.

That Old Tree

The last day of November started a bit chilly. -6C when I woke up. A few hours later heading to the old tree the outdoor thermometer showed 0C.

Good Luck

This is a three photo panorama. Must have been the shortest delivery route this Coca Cola truck driver has ever made. You can see the big Coca-Cola plant to the left. The truck is parked in front of a Pressbyrån kiosk at the Jordbro commuter station. Every Christmas Coca-Cola try their best to sell us their soft drink for the holiday, but it never works. If you are a real Swede you will drink Julmust at the Christmas table.

The Big Ark

Work have started on the next phase of construction at Stora Arken (The Big Ark), in central Handen. Ten years ago it was a forested area, now it is filled with apartment buildings and a few more will be built here over the next months. I stopped there yesterday and shot a number of panoramic views.

Graffiti

ЯE√ΩLAT⇑✹N. Found at a pedestrian tunnel in Jordbro.

Julbelysning

Swedish word of the day. Julbelysning. Christmas lights. As seen earlier today at the shopping centre in Västerhaninge.

Ice

Ice on a path.

Husvagn

Swedish word of the day. Husvagn. Caravan. Comes from the two words Hus (which means Home), and Vagn (which means Wagon). The reason I had for taking the photo of the Husvagn, parked in front of Lakeside at Rudan, was the ice. It sure is getting colder and more Winter-like now.

A Bench

There has been a lot of logging in Haninge this Autumn. Not sure why. Most of the trees arent all that big or dead or anything really. But maybe they (the municipality), can produce some new benches from all that timber? This bench stands on a path that is used by people heading to and from the Rudan nature reserve from Jordbro.

The Chapel

For a few decades this little wooden cottage in Handen has served as a Greek Orthodox Chapel. It used to be blue, a very fitting Greek color, but a few months ago when the nearby Gula Villan got a new layer of paint, someone decided to repaint the Chapel as well!

That Old Tree

This must be the darkest November month in many years. It's like the sun is missing all together. Grey skies and rain is the current weather situation. This was the scene at the old tree earlier in the week. The flickrverse seem to like this photo, around 7000 hits as I'm typing this.

In the forest

Took a walk in the forest at the Bronze Age burial ground yesterday. A few people have seen a Shaman here so whenever I'm in the area I keep my eyes open for him or her, but all I could see in the forest on this visit were trees.

The price of fuel

Around 14 SEK for one litre of fuel today at the Jet station in Jordbro.

Logging

Lots of logging in Haninge this month. This is near the Biofuel power plant in Jordbro. I wonder if the cut down trees will end up as fuel at the power plant?

Under The bridge

The farmer at Nödesta, Janne, wasn't to happy about the whole idea of building a bridge on the land that he uses. But now when the bridge, that crosses the railroad, is a reality he seems to have found one good use of it.

Milsten

Swedish word of the day. Milsten. Milestone. A measuring system used from 1649 to the 1890s. You can find this milestone at Hanveden in Västerhaninge close to the Nynäsvägen. There are many milestones left in Haninge, especially on the road between Dalarö and Handen.

Motvind

Swedish word of the day. Motvind. Headwind. The new walkway/bike path between Västerhaninge and Nedersta runs alongside the Nynäsbanan rail track. It feels like two kilometres of headwind most days.

Badbrygga

Swedish word of the day. Badbrygga. Bathing pier at Lower Lake Rudan. It will probably be six months before anyone will hit the water from here. Shot as a Brenizer style photo with the 85mm lens.

The off season

Summer is long gone.

Lakeside Office Building

After several days with grey skies the sun popped out for a few hours yesterday. This was the view from the beach at the upper lake at the Rudan nature reserve.

That Old Tree

It is starting to get cold. Freezing temperatures this morning. A few hours later at the old tree it was maybe 4C. But no wind at all and very quiet.

Glenn's Construction Service

Looks like Glenn could be in financial difficulties. Or at least in need of a new car to his business GlennS Byggservice. Found at the Håga industrial area yesterday.

November

This is November to me. Grey. Cold. Wet. You are looking at the pet cemetery at Håga in Västerhaninge seen from the pedestrian bridge.

Whiteware and Common Hogweed

The municipality declared war on the common hogweed a few years ago. The fight is now on in Tungelsta and apparently that meant that all the trees along the path between Lillgården and the new bridge at the commuter station had to go. Either that or the owner of the land decided to make some money on logging. But it was a nice touch to leave the washing machine.

Stearinljus

I don't like November. Dark and gloomy and cold. We use a lot of stearinljus this time of the year. This is from a recent sitting at my favorite cafe Malmens konditori. Shot with the nifty fifty at f/1.8 which means that it is impossible to see the guy cleaning the windows at the eatery at Vikingaplan.

The Historian

Historian and author Hilding Eklund shooting with hos old analogue Nikon during our walk around the Nödesta farm yesterday. Hilding has published 11 books about Haninge. If you are local you can probably find them at the Haninge libraries. You will see a lot of his photos in the books. The red building in the background here should be familiar to you by now. It is an old smithy,also used by day labourers many years ago, they slept in the room with the two big windows. There was a laundry in the basement. On the second photo Hilding is taking a photo of a Bautasten. The farmer Janne Claesson, (the guy in the cowboy hat) told us that he had previously turned the stone around to see if it might have been a runestone, but he found noting to support that theory.

Moomin House

A copy of the Moomin House. Used as a playhouse by three girls at the Nödesta farm. One of which is today a student at the Paris Sorbonne University. Another is an elite swimmer and the third is currently working at a big farm in Sweden. You can see one of the girls in a post from 2007. I visited the farm today and got a guided tour by the farmer Jan Claesson.

Outdoor fridge

You find the weirdest things while out walking in Jordbro. The other day it was the lantern. Now this fridge. It stood by the side of a path near the Biofuel power plant, but it wasn't plugged in! From here it's only a kilometre to the household waste recycling centre, but if you are an idiot perhaps this is the normal way of getting rid of the whiteware?

Candle lantern

Found by the side of the road at the Bronze Age burial ground.

The Changing Colors

The park in central Handen, known as Eskilsparken. Another name is Olof Palme's Park. A third name is "Gropen". Nice place for a pick-nick when the weather permits that sort of thing. During the winter, kids will use the slopes for sledding. There's an amphitheatre here that is rarely used, which is a shame. Shot the tree panoramic views over the last week or so.

Added Height

The advantages of being tall. If you don't have that, just fake it! Theme Day.