Minnen

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Ground, rocks, sand, dirt, paths, walks, trails

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My many hikes and walks tell me that I have to find the best ones for Cee…now that she gives us the opportunity to share them!

The levada walks in Madeira are marvellous. The stillness in the air and the soft scents along your walk make you never want it to end.

  The hiking trails in the Pyrenées can be rather difficult, but their beauty is outstanding. And so are the ”Pancakes” of New Zealand.

In New Zealand you can also find these magnificent boulders on a sandy beach of the South Island.

Finally something of Ground. From the magnificent plateau in the Himalayas – on the road to Lhasa, Tibet.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Leaves or Trees

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I know, I know…I’m late, but…this is one of my favourite oak trees in Blekinge – or was. This spring we passed the mansion by car and found that the magnificent oak was broken and gone. It has been there since I was very young and last year it still had some fresh leaves. The many storms last autumn must have been too much for this old friend.

Thank you, Mille

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I don’t know what to write, I don’t know what to say. Who would think this was one of the last photos of you, my Mille? My Iron Man. My friend and my faithful companion for twelve years. My heart is aching with every beat and my thoughts are only with you. All is tears and sorrow. But you went home in my arms, surrounded by your family.

You came to us May 9, 2002 and left us May 9, 2014. Isn’t that strange. I feel so very empty. Dried out. My boy is gone.  Gone but yet never…gone. You will live for ever with us – a true and remarkable friend will never be forgotten. I know you are running free over ever green meadows and into an enchanted forest clad in cones for you to chase, and there will be a sea waiting for you at the end of the trees, where you will catch enchanted bubbles the whole summer.

Thank you, Mille, for being with us for twelve enchanted years. You will live for ever in our hearts and in our thoughts.

Mille – April 2014

 

 

Walpurgis Night – the way we celebrate it!

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The name Walpurgis is taken from the eighth-century English missionary Saint Walburga, ”Valborg”, as it is called in Swedish, and has very little to do with religion and everything to do with the arrival of spring. The forms of celebration vary in different parts of the country. Walpurgis celebrations are mostly a public event, and local groups often take responsibility for organising them to encourage community spirit in the village or neighbourhood. Young people and students in the university cities usually celebrate by gathering in thousands, eating and drinking together on the campus lawns.

Valborgsmässoafton. Sankta Walburga, var ursprungligen ett medeltida helgon, och vi firar denna afton före vårens intåg på lite olika sätt i olika delar av landet. Men de stora eldarna har vi gemensamt. På 1700-talet var det brukligt att släppa ut djuren ur lagårdarna denna dag, och bålen tände man för att hålla angripande rovdjur borta.

Svenska ungdomar, i alla fall i universitets- och högskolestäderna, brukar samlas i tusental för att äta och dricka i parker eller på gräsmattorna till campus.

Chairs and food and people!
The ”fireworkers”
We prefer to walk up to the fire…
…while the younger people like the farmer’s way of transport.
Our host lights the first match…
I fell in love with a little black friend wearing a white necklace.
Warming up in the chilly air.
Waiting for a delicious meal…
…finally!
When the fire is fading.
Gathering the last hay and straw.

 

In the Middle Ages, the administrative year ended on 30 April. Accordingly, this was a day of festivity among the merchants and craftsmen of the town, with trick-or-treat, dancing and singing in preparation for the forthcoming celebration of spring.

Huge bonfires are lit on the eve of the festival for 1 May, and they are part of a Swedish tradition dating back to the early 18th century. At Walpurgis (Valborg), farm animals were let out to graze and bonfires (majbrasor, kasar) lit to scare away predators.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Letters

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Letters – letters and words, combined they make language.  One of the things separating us from animals – the written language. What would happen if we didn’t have it? Letters and words give you power. Not only for Love. They are the strongest weapon. Burning books is still done…, leaking written facts…, starting and ending wars. Letters.

The most beautiful letters I know of are the Tibetan letters. The skill of making them is pure art. This is not a full alphabet, but called an alphasyllabary. It is a segmental writing system in which consonant–vowel sequences are written as a unit: each unit is based on a consonant letter, and vowel notation is secondary. Read more about the alphabet here.

These pilgrim stones are placed on the path leading up to the Pothala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. Even if I don’t know the exact meaning of what’s written on them, I think I know something of their content.

I know that somewhere on these stones is carved the primary mantra of  Tibetan Buddhism. It is commonly carved onto rocks or written on paper that’s inserted into prayer wheels. When the wheels are spinned the prayers will find their right way without someone constantly reciting them.  Oṃ Maṇi Padme Hūṃ  (Tibetan: ༀམཎིཔདྨེཧཱུྃ )

Om-mani-padme-hum 02.svg

The mantra in Tibetan with the six syllables coloured. The exact meaning of the words is discussed, but below is the interpretation by the 14th Dalai Lama:

14th Dalai Lama

”It is very good to recite the mantra Om mani padme hum, but while you are doing it, you should be thinking on its meaning, for the meaning of the six syllables is great and vast… The first, Om […] symbolizes the practitioner’s impure body, speech, and mind; it also symbolizes the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha[…]”
”The path is indicated by the next four syllables. Mani, meaning jewel, symbolizes the factors of method: (the) altruistic intention to become enlightened, compassion, and love.[…]”
”The two syllables, padme, meaning lotus, symbolize wisdom[…]”
”Purity must be achieved by an indivisible unity of method and wisdom, symbolized by the final syllable hum, which indicates indivisibility[…]”
”Thus the six syllables, om mani padme hum, mean that in dependence on the practice of a path which is an indivisible union of method and wisdom, you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha[…]”
Quotation  from Wikipedia

 

 

 

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Shiny

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On visiting my blogger friend Maria of MariaYarri, in Jämtland this winter, she showed me a glimpse of the famous Copperhill in Åre.

Åre is a major ski resort in Jämtland, and this lodge is as shiny and extraordinary as it is expensive to stay in…

I was fortunate to live at Maria’s instead. And everything was excellent there – food, service, conversation, entertainment, company and guiding during the days. This beats Copperhill – not a chance I would have changed my lodgings!

For more things shiny – click here.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Threshold

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Threshold is the WordPress challenge this week – and the concept might be interpreted in several different ways. I have chosen the thought of walking through an open door into another world.

Tibet and the Sera monastery – the threshold to the debating courtyard where monks are training and enhancing their knowledge of the scriptures and how to interpret them. The debating is fairly lively and very entertaining to watch.

This open door signifies the threshold to the basilica of la Sagrada Família in Barcelona. A room of contemplation and spiritual enlightenment.

Weekly Travel theme: Statues

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Grave yards are some of my favourite places for taking walks. At Highgate Cemetary in London I can walk for hours in the calm and peaceful athmosphere. The statues are all very beautiful here.

This sleeping woman was found under the ivy last year, and totally intact, in one piece of marble. She had been sleeping under the ivy for decades.

This dog is another faithful friend, just like Bobby, sculptured to stay with his master or mistress beyond death.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Street Life

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Street Life or Life in the Street? Here’s Covent Garden!

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Texture

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Texture from Cee this week!  One of my favourite textures is from New Zealand, South Island and the great Glaciers. We stayed for several hours – just enjoying.