I know, like me, many of you don’t like spiders. But I have to show you this beautiful Cross Spider (Araneus diadematus). She had spun a one by one meter web on the veranda window and just sat there waiting for a fly or a wasp. It is called “Korsspindel” in Swedish and it simply translates to Cross Spider even without my creative translation. There is a proverb in Sweden “a loved child has many names”. I guess the English speaking world love this spider. Cross spider, European garden spider, Diadem spider, Orangie, Crowned orb weaver and sometimes pumpkin spider.

Found all over Europe and North America. It is an orb-weaver spider, meaning it spins orb shaped webs. The male live a dangerous life. The female sometimes eat the male before, during or after courting. Don’t know if that is some kind of scoring system! Bad DNA I’ll eat you up, good DNA, I want more of you.

It is a common misconception that it is poisonous and dangerous to humans. Like many spiders it has a venom to paralyze its pray but it is much milder than a wasp. So harmless to humans.

So let the world and the spiders keep spinning, ha de Gött!

Don’t know why but this toxic fungus (Amanita regalis) is called “King of Sweden Amanita” or the “Royal Fly Agaric”. Probably named by someone who dislike monarchy, specially the Swedish! In Swedish it is called “Brun Flugsvamp” translates in Haddock style to “Brown Fly Mushroom”. It is common in Scandinavia and since the Swedish kings historically been messing around with the neighbors, the name makes perfect sense.

It contains several toxins with very unpleasant effects (according to Wikipedia, not from personal experience) and even death. There is a wide spread myth that the Vikings used it as a drug for parties and before battle. There is however no evidence of this and if you think about it, why on earth would they use drugs when they invented beer!

To quote the Swedish king, “now we turn leaves”, ha de Gött!

This lonely tree is an Swedish whitebeam (Sorbus intermedia). Got to love the English name! In Swedish it is called “Oxel”. It grows wild only in the Nordic countries. It grows in pastures and at the forest edge.

Find comfort, hug a tree. Ha de Gött!

Also called cross-leaved heath. Got its common name from the leaves that grows out from the stem in a cross of four leaves. Native in western Europe. In Swedish “klockljung” that translates to “Bell ling”. The name is probably from the bell shaped flowers. Even if the Swedish name suggest so, it does not make any sound. However both the Swedish and the English names suggest involvement from the church.

Ring, ring give somebody a call, ha de Gött!