Nature

CFFC: Roads

/ Leya / 21 kommentarer

This week Cee asks us for Roads: country, freeways, streets.

My variety of roads is not that big… But a winter road in Sweden and El Camino in Spain

The lovely streets of London

A Swedish country road, and an Irish Abbey Road.

I love them all!

 

Macro Monday – Larch

/ Leya / 14 kommentarer

The Larch trees are coming along nicely, and I love their fresh, tiny green sprouts.

European larch morphology features from book: Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz, 1885, Gera, Germany. Wikipedia.

Thursday Thoughts – Ginkgo Biloba in My Window

/ Leya / 18 kommentarer

Ginkgo biloba, commonly known as ginkgo or gingko, also known as the maidenhair tree, is the only living species in the division Ginkgophyta, all others being extinct. This is why it’s sometimes referred to as a living fossil.

 

It is found in fossils dating back 270 million years. Native to China, the tree is widely cultivated, and was cultivated early in human history.

While its leaves and seeds are often used in traditional Chinese medicine, modern research primarily focuses on ginkgo extract, which is made from the leaves.

Ginkgo supplements are associated with several health claims and uses, most of which focus on brain function and blood circulation.

My Ginkgo plant (hopefully a tree after some years) is standing in my window during winter time, but when summer arrives – it thrives in my garden. These are some of the new leaves this year.

 

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Sunrise

/ Leya / 41 kommentarer

Sunrise is the challenge of the week – and indeed…it was a challenge! I do not have many sunrises on photo. But, some years ago we went to Lake Hornborgasjön where thousands ans thousands of cranes gather every spring on returning to Sweden form southern countries. That spring, that special day, more than 16 000 cranes flew in during the early morning hours – and we were there by 4 o-clock to see them (and hear them…) coming…

It was spectacular, and something dreamed of for many years.

The last photo is from the first time we visited our daughter in Umeå – the rising sun touching the church spire, overlooking this very cold morning city.