It’s that time of year when most birds push their little chicks out from the nest. It’s a bit harsh. Fly or die! But it’s the rule of nature.
This is a Great tit. (For a brief moment I contemplated to use as headline for this post, could make traffic boom). He or she survived the first flight with a quick stopover on my shoulder.
Spread the wings of freedom, ha de gött!
Sun bursting through the rain clouds over Alvikskilen, Havsten and Sannäsfjorden.
Find the ray of light, ha de Gött!
Agitated voices, through the shut door
breaking glass, screaming and shouting
the ever cramping lump, in the stomach
pressing the pillow, hard over the ears
rejected and alone, holding a brothers hand
need
mothers warm embrace, saying it’s okay
caresses with hand over forehead
smelling of fresh baked, cinnamon buns
warm smile, under horn-rimmed glasses
humming a soft toned, lullaby
Today is Mothers Day in Sweden. This is to all mothers struggling to be there for her children. Ha de Gött!
On the fortress walls of Fredriksten Festning. Two cannons, tools of war. Protection or assault at the whim of a self-, or Grace of God appointed ruler. Human history, hard wired to self destruct. Enemy and brother.
Two cannons to frame this lanscape photo of Halden and Idefjorden. Squeezed between cannons, the prosperous city with peaceful trade. Open ports and safe passage between borders. Railroad tracks to travel near and far.
Two hundred years of peace between the nations, even if there was a bit tension when the union was dissolved in 1905. Let’s hope that these cannons only serve to frame pictures for two hundred more years. Serving as a beacon of peace all around the world.
War machines belong in museum, ha de Gött!
A windswept Klädesholmen in the distance. As many of the small island villages it is today mainly summer houses. It is believed to date back to the 1200 when the Norwegian king Håkon Håkonsson established many communities around Viken. Viken is an old name for Bohuslän and the coastline up to Oslo. There is a theory that the name for Vikings originates from this area.
Wind power, ha de Gött!
The small island of Åstol. This little island had at it’s peak 500 inhabitants. In 1965 it was not possible to build any more houses as there was no more land. Today there is less than 200 year round inhabitants and most houses are only occupied during summer.
Keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer, ha de Gött!
The 32,5 meter long aqueduct in Håverud is hold together by 33 000 rivets. Manufactured by Bergsunds Mekaniska in Stockholm. Not a single rivet has been replaced since the inauguration in 1868. It is part of Dalslands kanal, Canal of Dalsland that with a serie of locks connects the lakes from the larges lake in Sweden Vänern to Östervallskog in Värmland just one kilometer from the Norwegian border. By digging and blasting through the rock for 12 kilometers and waterway of 240 kilometers was created. With the canal in Trollhättan and the river Göta Älv goods could be transported to the port of Göteborg.
The work was a father and son project led by the brilliant engineers Nils Ericsson and his son Werner Ericsson. With 31 locks in 17 stations they created this blue highway through the deep forests of west Sweden. The jewel in the crown is the passage with the aqueduct and locks that cross the fierce waterfall in Håverud.
Something to reflect upon when looking at today’s climate challenges. Ha de Gött!
Is it just an endless road
a road to nowhere
endless tarmac
from cradle to grave
curiosity
what’s behind that bend
more white lines tarmac
pull over and explore
find your own
green, green grass of home
Widen your perspective, take a small road. Ha de Gött!
Baby fern slowly unfolding to meet the summer sun.
Don’t be mean, be green. Ha de Gött!
The Sea Was Never So Shimmering, (så skimrande var aldrig havet) as iin the song by Evert Taube. Evert Taube (1890 – 1976) was, or still is, one of Sweden’s most respected poets and singer song writer. A national poet deeply embedded in the Swedish national identity. If you play a song by him all Swedes will be able to sing along. I attach a link to Youtube where Marie Fredriksson from Roxette sings the song ‘så skimrande var aldrig havet’, enjoy.
By the seaside everything comes together, ha de Gött!
UlleHaddock 