Thursday Thoughts – Summer in May

Strange – Summer in May – 30 degrees C today

Late evening biking by the sea – not a cloud in four weeks

Swimmers everywhere, enjoying the coolness of it

Past the old Blekinge cottages – just have to stop for a photo. Love these…

Picking buttercups

Back at our own beach – 23 degrees C, still 10 degrees more than normal temperature

Completely calm sunset and not a mosquito – yet

Bathing – water 18 degrees. Lovely of course, but

– I do not know if I like it – or not. This month of May was the hottest and driest ever in Sweden. And we are not alone. In July this could have been possible though…

On the news they said our newborn storks will starve to death, and I guess that applies to many birds and other animals who only eat living things. There are no frogs, and the worms are digging deep to survive. The birds cannot reach them.

Please let there be rain. And, what about Africa.

 

WPC: All-Time Favorites

I want to thank you again, for inspiring us all to keep blogging – share our experiences and learn from each other. It has been good, so good. And tonight I truly feel sorry about losing this opportunity.

Many of us got to know each other through WPC, now some of us maybe will not have the strength, discipline or imagination to blog that frequently again. But, even in the desert there is beauty…So, I hope we will! – You have been a great help to make blogging fun and addictive in a positive way.

It will not be easy to choose an all-time favorite…I don’t believe it is easier to choose  three or four either. I will think about it for an hour or two…meanwhile, I send my love to you all, and especially to: Krista, Jeff, Michelle, Erica, Ben, Sheri, Donncha, Jen, Sara and Cheri.

I cannot choose a favorite of mine among you either…and why should I? I just felt that Cheri, your words added to your picture – those words touched the heart of my blogging.

My choices… there is much feeling connected to the pictures chosen, memories and heart…While some of them were favorites of yours, some of them maybe are only favorites of mine. But they all are some years old – otherwise they could not be All-Time Favorites, could they? (More of my criteria at the end of the post. )

In the header, a lonely beach on the east coast of New Zealand. My family traveled together for a whole month, and we walked alone on this beach, each one of us…contemplating the beauty of Earth, and the end of our journey. Here is my son listening to the ocean.

Then – a hot night in Barcelona, my family and I was out walking and ended up in the middle of a gigantic motor bike gathering. Foreign feeling – but magical.

This is also a family hiking memory – very dear to me. My daughter resting on a giant pine branch in the Spanish mountains, somewhere between Spain and France.

Spain again – Segovia and its famous aqueduct. I had never seen anything like it – it goes through the city center and is still standing after centuries and centuries. No concrete, no nails – only the stones themselves. I walked, sat, stood in the steps contemplating – for hours. Enigmatic shadows as well.

This photo was taken at our summer house, when I still had both dogs, Mille and Totti. No other photo of them shows so on the spot their special temperaments. Now, who is the wild boy and who is the law abiding one? Fond memories.

My dear blogging friend Maria (Mariayarri), in Jämtland, took me to the Tännforsen waterfall in winter. I had never seen a gigantic waterfall frozen before. It took my breath away – and I remember, many of yours’ as well.

An early spring day some years ago, it started snowing on my way back home from the forest walk. This deer shed was still standing. (Now gone) The photo became a favorite with both my readers and me.

My Princess of the Night in flower for the first time. We waited for hours – and then everything was over within 20-30 minutes. A Wonder. This flower is about 20 centimeters and the scent fills the whole room. A photo is not enough to grasp the event…you need all your senses!

Meeting another dear blogging friend, Seonaid (Greenmackenzie) – from Scotland. She does not blog anymore, but I got the opportunity to visit her two times when she lived just outside Edinburgh. She and her lovely family had three Bearded Collies, and two of them looked just like my Amanda ( – before Mille and Totti). Those few, magical days with them will never leave me. Also a photo with feeling, showing well the character of the dog.

This photo was taken on a rainy trip to China. It rained every day – and the wedding couple here had a speedy walk on the Bond in Shanghai, waiting for their photographer. In Sweden there is a saying that rain in your crown on your wedding day – will give you a happy marriage. I hope this one was/is! This shot was a favorite with Sylvain Landry when he had his weekly prompts.

 

Catedrales beach, Spain. We just happened to find it – a World Heritage – it was not in the guide book…Kilometers of rock formations of enigmatic size and shapes. We spent several hours walking in the sunset. Incredible feeling that such a marvelous place was not marked out in any book. It made the experience even more magical.

The last photo, of Lhasa and the Pothala Palace, also marks what I see as my criteria for All-Time Favorites: Deep feeling, being in awe, magical surroundings, beauty, dream fulfilled or come true.

Snapshots Along the Road

A short trip to celebrate my son’s birthday – resulted in some other lovely meetings as well. The typical Swedish Spring landscape and and a Grand Rooster and his pretty girl.

 

 

I spotted him because of his loud speech, and immediately fell in love with this handsome gentleman…

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”Just wanted to show off my gal…”, he eyed me. Isn’t she just perfect? Well, yes, of course she is. Thank you for following me to the gate so I could get a glimpse of her! And … maybe I am just a little bit jealous!

Thursday’s Special: Pick a word in May

Paula of “Lost in Translation”   has posted a great set of words  for her  Pick a Word challenge  this month. I love this challenge, not only because I find it interesting how people interpret words, but also because I learn new words and build my language at the same time.

iconic

cleaved

 

 

 propagation (the litter of one grand lagotto romagnolo)

marginal

zoomorphic

 

 

 


jupiter najnajnoviji

WPC: Place in the World

My Place

”All cities — especially the big ones — have a way of reminding you of your place in the world.” I like that – but I go to Nature for that feeling. The difference is – Nature is not man made, at least it is less man made…

 

 

My place in the world is wherever my family is…and My place is in the great outdoors……where I can feel my own true size – which is that of an ant…

…my total insignificance – and yet, the importance

 

of acting to preserve our Nature, our National Parks,

the animals’ habitats – our heritage…

 

in order to return it with love and pride to our children –

I hope we will not have destroyed all of its magic,

 

its inspiration or its serenity.

I intend to keep loving Nature, my place in the world; trying my best not to leave anything but footprints, and take nothing but photos.

My hope is for the world to realize that we need each other – Man and Nature, Nature and Man. And that in fact, the end of Nature is the end of Man.

 

 

Saturday – Garden Day

Much to do in the garden these days…

Cherries and plums are in flower

And I walk under the marvelous canopies, listening to the busy bees

Loving every flower and every sound –

– Today the Nightingale arrived

The wonder of every Spring – is something to be so grateful for

Man’s Best Friend – For Real

I have never, during my travels, seen so many dogs as I did in Bhutan. And definitely never dogs that well kept. They were everywhere, and they were all quite lovely. Our guide, Rinzen, told us that a dog chooses a door – a house – to which it will return and wait for food every day. And they are fed. With joy.

Here are some of all those that I met, and something of their tasks…named by me…

In Thimpu, we had a hotel with a view – of dogs. There was a construction site outside our window, and some dogs had made it their home. Here is, in short, their story with us.

There is rabies in the country, but mostly on the border to India in the southern part of Bhutan. Thousands of dogs have been vaccinated, and there are many sterilized as well. The government is dealing with it in a constructive and loving way.

Bhutan had many special dogs…but a couple of them more special than the others.

We had lunch at a farmstead one day – an interesting experience and very good food. Then, when we were about to leave, I saw a beautiful dog standing in the garden, looking at me. I lifted my camera slowly while talking to him. But no, he shied away and tried to hide around the corner. I kept talking in a soft voice.

Finally – when I had given up on a photo – he came out on the road to our car, went straight up to me and let me pat him on the head and on the back – touching his thick, shining coat. Surely you can understand from his gentle eyes how sweet he was.

Then he slowly turned around and walked away.