A Good day For Skiing

It was a good day for skiing at the Rudan nature reserve today. -1C and a clear blue sky. Luckily for the cross-country skiers the snow machines have had a few busy nights and this is one of the few places in Stockholm where you have been able to go skiing this Winter. This time it is an all male ensemble. Last time I showed you a few ski portraits it was an all female affair.

Fence & Rooster

No real inspiration for photography at the moment. And I do of course blame the weather for that. One day it's 7C and a blueish sky. The next it's freezing and snowing again. Yesterday was an in-between day so I took the bike to the Tyresta national park. This is a fence called Hankgärdesgård, this type of roundpole fence dates back to the Viking era a Millennium ago. It's a few photos stitched together, shot with the nifty fifty to get that shallow depth of field. The buildings in the background belong to the old village. They are a few centuries old, there's a working farm there and that's where I met the rooster.

Argos

Not too long now before the new occupants can move in to old City Hall in Handen. It will cost you a pretty penny to live on the top two floors and the view from up there is said to be a good one. You can see both Stockholm and the archipelago. The new apartment building is called Argos and sits in the middle of the Haninge mall so if you need to go shopping just use the elevator and you are there.

Wiener-Semla

I am actually yet to try this type of Semla at my favorite cafe, Malmens konditori in Handen. Today is theme day at CityDailyPhoto, the theme for February is scenes from a coffee house. Over the years I have taken hundreds of photos at the cafe and if you have a few minutes check out a few in the slideshow.

Windows

The new Attendo retirement home at Lillgården in Tungelsta will soon open it's doors for the pensioners queuing to move in here. It will probably be a little wile longer before they can open a window or sit out on the balcony for a coffee in the morning sun. My previous photos from this project can be seen by pressing this link.

Amaryllis

Spotted at a building at the Håga industrial area earlier today.

Birch Forest

Nice with all the snow gone. But the weather isn't very photography friendly. Dark and rainy today. This is a little birch forest at Österport near Söderby in Handen. It will be history soon when the developers move in with their machines to build a shopping complex here. If you understand the local lingo you can read more about those plans here.

Swedish word of the day

All our snow is gone now. It was a Spring like bike ride yesterday with 7C. Passing the industrial area in Jordbro I noticed that the Vindmölla (wind turbine), was rotating for the first time. It's been there for at least six month, but I haven't seen it in action before. I'm sure it is generating even more electricity today as it is very windy.

Bum Sliding Anyone?

This is the green lung in Handen. A park called Eskilsparken. Popular with sunbathers during the Summer, and with bum sliding during the Winter, hence all the ice here today!

The hole in the ground

To the left the century old station house in Tungelsta, and in front of it the hole in the ground that will be the new commuter station. To see a model of the finished commuter station press here.

Hind with Kid

Hind with Kid. By Arvid Knöppel, a sculptor that lived between 1892 and 1970. He spent a lot of his time as a youth in the forest together with his father, and that's where he began his fascination with the Swedish wildlife. This sculpture can be admired at the Brage park in Handen.

Heracleum mantegazzianum

Giant hogweed.

Patterns in Nature

Thanks to the newish bridge at Krigslida I got this view down on a field at the Nödesta farm earlier in the week. As you can see we are not deep in snow here. I was very pleased with this photo.

The Top Executive

This is Inger Lagerquist. Business woman. She runs a company called In Touch. They work with coaching and consulting. A few years ago she was on a list ranking Sweden's top female executives. I met her at the ski tracks at the Rudan nature reserve yesterday. Inger loves cross-country skiing and this weekend she will travel to Italy and take part in the Marcialonga 70 km ski race. That sounds like quite the challenge. Go Inger!

The Adventure of the Cardboard Box

I have showed you the first two parts already from this series. Here are the next three. They are from January 3th. January 8th. And January 17th. It's a tough old cardboard box. I wonder were it was made.

Winter Cycling

Winter cycling is no big problem when everything works out as it should. Problem is that seldom happens. The municipality promised to have the main walkways and bike lanes snow- and ice free within 24 hours of a snow fall. Which is great, when they have money to pay for it that is. Unfortunately no one could find that money until two days ago so that's when they got the walkway I use on a daily basis cleared. And this is the machine they use. It is called Virtus Mini and comes from Epoke. After brushing away the snow a mix of salt and water (Saltlake), is sprayed on the walkway.

uʍop ǝpıs dn

˙uʍop ǝpıs dn sı pןɹoʍ ǝןoɥʍ ǝɥʇ ǝʞıן sןǝǝɟ ʇı sǝɯıʇǝɯos.
Found it on a bench while out on a cold winter promenade the other day.

Crushed stone

I took another winter promenade along the work road next to the railway track Nynäsbanan south of the Tungelsta station this weekend. Crushed stone where the second rail-track will be built. The second photo of the bolt shows how cold it was (-10C).

Guerrilla knitting

Yarn bombing near the soon to close railway xing at Vadet in Tungelsta.

That Old Tree

My two most recent photos of the old tree. The blue sky version is from yesterday when it was -12C. If you have good eyes you can spot the moon. The monochrome photo is from five days ago and that photo made it to the Utata front page were Greg added a little poem. On that day we had 2C and thaw.

Fish for dinner

Noticed a few ice fishers out on the lower lake at Rudan so I tried walking out there, but the ice cracked and before I knew it I was standing in ice cold water. So I turned around walked back up onto dry land before trying my luck closer to where the ice fishers were standing, but the same thing happened there, so I shouted to one guy and he came over so that could get a few photos. He told me that the ice was around 7 centimetre thick and that this was the catch of the day.

Bullfinch

Very cold here at the moment with -12C, and even colder weather tomorrow if the meteorologist is correct, they are predicting -21C. Not good news for the birds that hang around my bird feeder. This is a Domherre, or Bullfinch.It was enjoying some seeds at the veranda yesterday when I snapped this photo with the silent zoom lens.

Cross-Country Skiing

The snow machines and the recent snow fall have made it possible to open the ski tracks at the Rudan Nature reserve in Handen. I decided to stop by and get a few snaps of some of the cross-country skiers yesterday. It's not a very long track so you have to go round and round, but it's very inexpensive, it will only cost you 60SEK and for that you get a good workout and whenever I talk to a skier they scream of happiness!

In the midst of Winter

Winter Minimalism

Winter in Sweden

Let's go for a spin!

We got some more snow last night, and this morning, and this afternoon and that's when I spotted the over-snowed car at Södertäljevägen in Tungelsta.

Railway line

Just south of the Tungelsta commuter station this is the xing at Karlsrovägen on the railway line Nynäsbanan. I am standing on where the new (second), rail-track will be built. I waited around for a few minutes here, hoping to get a photo with the commuter as that would make for a good photo, but it was too cold to stand around, but just a few minutes later the commuter passed me.

On a Cold Winter's Day

It was -12C when I decided to go for a walk yesterday. As the railway line Nynäsbanan is getting a second rail-track south of Tungelsta a few temporary roads have been built for the construction work so I decided to try them out. That meant seeing things from a new perspective or at least the one you get from the commuter train. The red barn and house are located on Söderbyvägen in Tungelsta.

That time of the year already

Semlor on sale at my favorite cafe Malmens konditori, and I have consumed two already this year.

Great Scott!

I borrowed my brothers bike yesterday, it's a Scott. Obviously it started to snow just as I started pedalling. It was around -7C when I took this snap at the newish walkway that goes along the railway line Nynäsbanan between Västerhaninge and Krigslida.

Winter Lamp

Part of the Museum of public objects, by Anna Ådahl.

That Old Tree

-5C on my bike ride to the old tree today.

The Safari Rally Car That Never Was

A Winter version of the The Safari Rally Car That Never Was. I first spotted this Peugeot back in May of last year and after a bit of digging I found the story. If you missed it step back in time and read the original post.

The Portrait

The best photo of the year is always a portrait. I met and photographed three women on the 1st of August of last year. At three different locations. It was a perfect Summer day and this somewhat unusual collage with Tatiana, Adeline, and Aylin, will illustrate the best portrait of the year.