A work in progress

Artwork that is. I tried my best to offend the owner, (didn't catch his name), of this car by informing him that it was a bit on the ugly side. He responded that this was just a start, soon the entire car will be painted in a similar style. I spotted the Hyundai at Håga industrial park yesterday and decided to shoot my first bokeh panorama with the Sigma lens. The anonymous guy then told me that it was Jesse that would paint the car and he is actually pretty good at designing stuff. Press here to see Jesse's Amazon. And here to see Jesse's cool bike. And here to see Jesse.

Pootography

Horse back riding is strictly verboten on walkways in Sweden. This is the newest walkway in Tungelsta, at Stav. It follows a little meandering stream, Rocklösaån, and is popular with the locals, including the four-legged ones that shouldn't be there.

Anemone hepatica

I was wearing my Winter outfit yesterday as it was surprisingly cold in the Spring sunshine. Biking past a couple of places, the Iron Age grave field at Jordbro and the birch forest at Håga where you normally can spot Blåsippa, Anemone hepatica, I had to use my hawk eyes to see anything, but at Håga I finally did. So I spent a few minutes locating a few photogenic plants and here are two of them. They were still hiding under last years Autumn leaves, but in a few days time people without hawk eyes will probably also see them.

Mio min Mio

Every time I see a Mio store, or an ad for that chain I think, Mio min Mio, (Mio my Mio). That is the title of a fantasy novel, (and movie), written by Astrid Lindgren. It is a good name for a store, but it is just short for Möbelhandelns Inköpsorganisation. Which would translate to The Furniture Trade Purchasing Organisation, and that's not very sexy at all. This one can be found at Vega in Handen. In the background a couple of new apartment buildings at Vegastaden.

The Swans

New roundabout and bridge under construction on Road 73 at Vega Trafikplats in Handen. This is the highway to Stockholm and there has been a lot of accidents here since the construction started. Mainly because people drive to fast and that is not a problem that can be fixed. Ever.

The Terrace

13C and a blueish sky today, so I took a longish bike ride with photo stops at a couple of places in handen. This is the building site known as Haningeterrassen, or The Terrace as I call it here on the blog. Looks like they are progressing okay.

Landscape with red fox

Been busy filling up a waste container at home this week. An old sofa has been tossed out as has a lot of other stuff. This old painting by Bertil Widbrant might end up there tomorrow. It hangs on the stairway wall and what you don't see here is the big hole that someone has made on the canvas.

L'Autentica

I just had a cold beer. Italian. Birra Moretti. And here is proof. The container that I mentioned in yesterdays post is starting to fill up. Thinking about a new roof for the veranda so the old PVC roof might end up in that container tomorrow. But the weatherman is promising warmer weather again, and if that happens I might take one of the bicycles for a longish spin tomorrow, something I really need to do for several reasons, one being that I am out of material to post on the blog.

Another sign of Spring

Let me know if you get bored with macro images of the Spring flowers in my area. Found this on the lawn at home earlier in the week. Shot with my new Sigma 105mm lens. The crocus in question could be gone today as I have a big container standing on the lawn for a few days. Took me a few hours this morning to fill said container with old furniture and what have you. Need a stretch now I think.

That Old Tree

William was right in his prediction. He guessed that the snow would be gone on my next visit to the old tree. And this is how the Swedish Whitebeam looked yesterday. Photo taken with my Chinese 35mm lens. My532th photo of the oxel.

Hästhov

Another sign that Spring is on it's way. The first Hästhov of the year. But no one calls this plant anything else than Tussilago, or Coltsfoot. Found it by the side of the walkway along a field at the Nödesta farm earlier today. It was a cold start to the day with -5C when I got up, but as I'm typing this it is ten degrees warmer.

Hesslingby

The Hesslingby estate in Österhaninge. It dates back nearly 400 years, and during that time a lot of interesting people have lived or even worked there, including famous feminist reformer Fredrika Bremer.

Shades of blue

My last photo from beach week at Årsta Havsbad. Theme day at city daily photo. One color.

No skinny dipping, yet

Another photo from my recent visit to Årsta Havsbad. Aiming the camera at a piece of broken ice. In the background the beach area with the two piers. Second photo shows a private property that sits next to the public beach. I counted maybe ten people during my stay, on a hot Summer day it usually looks a bit different.

A day at the beach

Whenever I visit Årsta Havsbad I usually sit on one of the benches overlooking the beach, and as I am a photographer I always snap a few photos while sitting there. Like this one.

Bird & Birdwatchers

Birds and birdwatchers at Årsta Havsbad.

Broken pieces of sea ice

Four icy photos from my recent visit to the beach, Årsta Havsbad at the Hårsfjärden bay. This was the view that the happy couple on the bench were looking at during their picnic. The ice covering the frozen bay is breaking up. It was 10C when I snapped these photos but since then we have had couple of really cold days and nights. I took these photos with my new Sigma 105mm lens.

Give it a few days

The ice is melting away quickly now at the Hårsfjärden bay in Haninge,(part of the Baltic sea). But maybe you should wait a few days until you try the dive tower. This was the scene from one of the piers at my favorite beach, Årsta Havsbad on Sunday.

Happiness

Real Spring arrived to Stockholm yesterday and everyone was happy. This couple enjoyed a picnic, (first of the year), sitting in the sunshine on a bench down by the beach at Årsta Havsbad. The temperature reached 10C for the first time this year.

What's The Plural Of Crocus?

Who cares, it is Spring. Great weather today. Which was nice after the long Winter.10C and a clear blue sky. Found these outside the library in Västerhaninge.

Haningeterrassen

Same area s yesterdays photo. No idea about this building, could be part of the underground bus station. Or not. The project will be finished around 2023.

The Terrace

This massive project will take at least five years to finish. It is called Haningeterrassen and can be found in down-town Handen. The first building, Brf Blicken is up, many more to come, including the underground bus station. This is 4 photos stitched together, shot with my latest purchase, the Sigma 105mm macro lens.

A sign of Spring

Two days ago snow cowered the lawn in front of the house here at Bergdalen in Tungelsta, but arriving home this afternoon I spotted the first crocus of the season. It has been two warmish days here with blue skies and maybe up to 7C. And that's all that this crocus needed. So hurrah for Spring!

Concrete Bridge

I took ten photos yesterday. One was a selfie to celebrate Vårdagjämningen, and another was this black&white snap of a detail on the Krigslida bridge. Shot with the cheap Tamron zoom lens using the old Canon 550.

The Gym

Times change. This was a church building up until a few years ago, today it houses a fitness center called iFORM. I have to confess to staying away from both churches and gyms as much as I possibly can. You can find it along Allévägen in Tungelsta. Photographed with my old canon 550 using the cheap Tamron zoom lens at 300mm.

Trottoar

Swedish word of the day. Trottoar. Construction of a sidewalk, (or pavement if you like), and a roundabout, by the construction company Turbinen along Stavsvägen at Lillgården in Tungelsta. The new living area is just to the right.

export.snowdrift.replacement

I tried unsuccessfully to find the address for this new apartment building at Lillgården in Tungelsta. When that didn't work I used the satellite view at what3words and came up with this. It is not totally accurate as the satellite images at both flickr and what3words are not up to date.

Beach Season Starts Again

Sure, it's still a few degrees below freezing and there's a pretty hard layer of snow covering the ground, but inst that the sun shining from a clear blue sky?

Winter Shortcut

New shortcut over the field at Lillgården. It will take you to and from the commuter station. There are plans to build what looks like a small city on the field, so a year from now this could be a busy building site.

That Old Tree

This was an interesting day. If you blinked the weather changed. From sunny to snowing. From a cloudy sky to a blue sky. From calm to windy, (ish). One minute it was warm, then bitterly cold, at least that was my experience during my promenade to the old tree. We normally call that April weather.

Babushka Dolls

Not having any photo inspiration at all I tried my luck at photo stacking a while back, and what better than using Russian stacking dolls. This was six photos where i moved the focus a little after every photos before stacking them in PS.

Birdhouse

Snowy birdhouse at Hagavägen in Tungelsta. As I'm typing this it is a bit warmer, around 0C, ice everywhere and it started to snow again a little over one hour ago.

Snowy Road

Bus 835 photographed during a recent snow storm. In the background the old stationhouse at the commuter station in Tungelsta. I'm running out on photos now so I need to go out and shoot something new tomorrow. Looking at the weather forecast it says gray skies and crap weather for the next ten days.

Hammar in Winter

The Hammar estate at Allévägen in Tungelsta. Built by Frans Gustaf Upmark two hundred years ago. The same family still owns it today. I will often see and chat with the current owner, Charlotte when she's out on her daily promenade.

Herr Gårman

Mr.Walkman. Road sign for a pedestrian crossing. Herr Gårman is a word pun. It is a name and when you say it out loud it sounds like You Walk Here. The feminist movement were of course very upset about the lack of a female sign so now we have a Mrs.Walkman, Fru Gårman, in a skirt, but the word pun doesn't work there. This Mr.Walkman that stands outside the retirement home in Lillgården have been hit my a car.

Snow measurement

One way to measure the amount of snow. Last time I did that here at Hagavägen 22 in Tungelsta they had a green mail box.

Snow Poncho

Ivar Lo-Johansson in his Winter outfit.

Gul&Blå

When I was a kid Gul&Blå was a very popular jeans brand. But I never owned a pair, I was more of a Wrangler kid. Gul&Blå means Yellow&Blue, which is a good title for this photo. The yellow letterbox is for national mail and the blue for local. As seen outside the kiosk near the Tungelsta commuter station a couple of days ago.

Weather Update

The traffic sign for Road Work Ahead and a lot of snow made for a good Winter photo. As seen at the new park in Tungelsta few snowy days ago.

Hmm some odd numbers here

As seen at the new row houses along Lillgårdsvägen, where the first families have now moved in.

Orange Crescent

Great bike. But I wouldn't ride it wearing sneakers when it's -12C and snowing. As seen along Allévägen in Tungelsta earlier in the week.

Summer is still a long way away

If you have ever met a Swede, you know that we really like to talk about the weather. And that we really really love the Swedish Summer. Here's why.

Winter in Sweden

-12C and snow falling from the sky. It was good to have a water-resistant camera. This is a house at Fornminnesvägen in Tungelsta.

The joy of Winter

-12C and a lot of snowing. The message from the Swedish transport administration was clear. Leave your vehicle at home. Don't drive in this weather unless you really have to. In my area two of the busier roads, Väg73 and Väg 225, was closed for heavy traffic all day. And there were accidents happening everywhere. This poor Volvo was parked along the Tungelstavägen. The owner no where to be found. More info about the weather at The Local.