The Photogenic Plant

During that cold walk I told you about yesterday I also found a Giant Hogweed which I found to be quite photogenic.

Lumber

I took a walk in the -10C weather and ended up in a forested area near Lillgården. By the side of the forest track I found a stack of wood.

Falu Red in Winter

The cold weather continues. -10C when I took this photo at Söderbyvägen in Tungelsta. A local artist, Christina Hassila lives here, I have seen some of her work at exhibitions at the art gallery in Österhaninge. This could be her studio for all I know. A Falu-red painted building always look good against a blue sky and the added frost on the roof also helps.

Frosty Mirror

We are experiencing a cold spell. Around -10C when I took this photo of a traffic mirror along Söderbyvägen in Tungelsta yesterday.

That Old Tree

Another cold Winter's day,(-7C), but still without any snow. I decided to pay a visit to the old tree yesterday. And just like Wong Ching Wah said on a comment at flickr, the frost makes the path into a white snake. It's like I have always said the tree (and it's surroundings), looks different on every visit. This is my 407th photo of the Swedish whitebeam at Välsta. Oh, and if you look in the top right corner you can see the moon.

Winter Renovation

This doesn't look like much fun. But if you have a problem with the roof, and it is Winter, and very cold (-10C last night), it's good to know that a local company will help you out. This red house stands at Tungelstavägen across the road from the school. Nilas, who owns it has lived here all his life. The builders are called Pettersson Tak & Bygg. I took the photo yesterday. Still cold, around -7C, but we did have a blue sky and some sunshine for a couple of hours.

God Jul

2014 Winter Count

For the last six years I have done what is called a Winter Count. The idea is simple. Pick one photo per month from the year and put them together in a collage. The year started with snow in January. Signs of Spring popped up as early as February. In March I bought myself a new bike. I shot my first street portrait in April when I met the tattooist Niklas. I was at a castle in May when I met Elvira. Summer arrived in June and I started shooting more portraits.Tora was easy to spot. It was Nicole's hair color I noticed first when we met back in July. For the third year running I saw Lugnet perform at the Rock in the Park festival in Tungelsta in August. I spotted Lemmy and Alice Cooper in Jordbro in September. It was a very warm Autumn, and I met a snake sunning on a bike path in late October. Superwoman walked in to my favorite cafe a day in November. A few weeks later Sarah broke two world records and won two World Championship gold medals. The sun disappeared for six weeks late in the year and the lake photo was a typical December scene.

Cranes

Starting to look as a building site at Stav 1:38 in Lillgården, Tungelsta now as the big crane is up. This is the same site I showed you last week with the ditch. Haven't been able to find a name for the new area yet.

Christmas Lights

Once every two years or so I will take a bokeh photo like this one. 'Tis after all the season for that sort of thing.

At The Lakes

Visited the lakes at the Rudan nature reserve the other day. It was very quiet. No screaming school kids. No sweaty joggers. No one out walking their dog. No other cyclists. Not even anyone out on a promenade.

Will it be a...

...white Christmas? I don't know the answer to that question. But we did get some snow just three days ago. It started snowing in the early afternoon on Wednesday. I could hear some kids screaming and shouting with joy as I walked up a hill to get a few winter photos for the blog. I don't normally shoot scenes like this, but my blogger friend Lasse has a good eye for this sort of thing so I blame this shot on him!

Ye Old Farm Building

Here is the December version of the old warehouse at the Välsta farm. It's my fourth photo in the monthly series. Had I waited 24 hours it would have been a snowy scene, but the snow we got this week was gone in another 24 hours. Previous photos of the warehouse here and here.

Work begins on the Tungelsta commuter station

The commuter station in Tungelsta has been a busy building site in the last few years with a new bridge, a second rail-track to Västerhaninge, and before that the platform was rebuilt (made longer) to fit two long commuter trains. And now it is time again. And you will probably not recognise it when it is finished. An underpass will be constructed along with big stairs so that you can access the platform from two directions. The last remaining crossings will be closed and replaced with tunnels or new roads. all that will remain is the century old stationhouse.

Flying south for the Winter

Migrating south for the winter. A bit late perhaps, but the geese probably knows best. Flying in formation, I heard them before I could see them yesterday while going for a walk.

A Winter Sign

It is getting colder. Winter is here. Ice are forming on the fields. Like here at Krigslida where a few tough grass straws have decided to give the ice a fight.

Winter Digging

A new housing area is being built at Lillgården in Tungelsta. Between Söderbyvägen and Stavsvägen. It will consist of 85 row houses, a pre school and a park. I think this recently dug ditch will be a future water storage dam. Next to it a new bike path will connect with Stavsvägen at Lillhammar. There will also be a number of allotment gardens just to the left of here. Mera info här.

Wild Chamomile

Ice everywhere today. You had to be careful on the side-walks and bike paths. The temperature was hovering around freezing, but we did have a few hours with a blue sky and that's when I went for a walk. Found this wild chamomile near the old tree. It's a tough little flower.

The crane is up

A view towards central Handen as seen from a jetty at Lower Lake Rudan. Shot at midday on a darkish December day using ISO 5000. I wanted to show you old city hall, (the building to the left), and the big crane that I wrote a post about on Theme Day two weeks ago. The other buildings in the photo are Rudsjöterrassen (offices, gym, hotel and more), near the commuter station. New city hall, and to the right a building belonging to KTH, the Royal Institute of Technology.

A Village Grows

From tomorrow you will be able to buy a copy of this new book about Tungelsta. That is if you live locally and decide to visit the Christmas market in the park in Tungelsta. I got my (free), copy today from one of the authors. You have met both of them here on the blog before. They are Hilding Eklund and Jan Sandh. The book tells the story about the more than 100 greenhouse nurseries in Tungelsta. The photo on the cover dates back to 1903. It shows a store called Svin-Kalles affär. The building still stands there today, and the debate is if the house was moved to it's current location back in1 902 when the rail-track Nynäsbanan was constructed. That is what some people believe as Svin-Kalle had another store at Fors in Västerhaninge (a few kilometres away), for many years. Anyway, if you live locally, be sure to pick up a copy and learn a little more about your local history. The book costs 200SEK and I'm sure the authors will sign it for you.