On a Dark and Rainy Day

3 januari, 20183 januari, 2018 / Leya / 22 kommentarer

Where I live we got twice as much rain this autumn as usual. Everywhere the brooks, lakes and rivers are flooded. The farmers could not bring in their crops, and they have not been able to sow new ones. The farmland has been transformed into vast lakes. The ocean rises and takes down houses close to the water.

No sun. Only rain. And darkness. They say this is the way it will continue as climate changes increase. Nowadays spring arrives two – three weeks earlier than it did 50 years ago….so, migrating birds come too late to feed their young. I have seen it in my own garden. Our mountains will be covered in forests less than 100 years from now. For several years, the reindeer have had great trouble to reach their food through the icy snow. They starve through winter.

In Sweden, climate changes are here and now – there is no ”later”.

And still we are lucky here, up north. We will survive – many island peoples will not.

Vega de San Mateo – A Colourful Market

1 januari, 2018 / Leya / 19 kommentarer

Fond memories from Gran Canaria include the colourful farmers’ market in the village Vega de San Mateo. Every Sunday the farmers come in to sell their crops, art and craft.

I still enjoy looking at the many colourful people, spices, fruits and vegetables, sitting here this grey winter in Skåne.

And the Band! They played gorgeous classical music, jazz and popular music – and they were many and Very Good. I wish we could have stayed longer.

On Contemplating

29 december, 2017 / Leya / 15 kommentarer

This is maybe many people’s dream of a relaxing vacation – but luckily we are all different. We are all sailors on this vast ocean – but we are all different vessels and we all sail according to what we have learned, so far.

Also I dream of light and warm winds – especially during the Swedish winter. But I can more relate to these guys, who seek a space of their own with enough room and silence to let their thoughts run free. Reading a book…

…fishing the blue waves…

…or just contemplating life, sitting at the edge of the ocean.

All different vessels, but sailing together. Let us take good care of each other while we are here – Life is a wonderful gift.

CFFC: Letter S – Colors that start with the Letter S

26 december, 2017 / Leya / 16 kommentarer

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Letter S – Colors that start with the Letter S

Silver from Scotland in the header

Sepia from New Zealand

Saffron from England

Evening Walk in Copenhagen

26 december, 201727 december, 2017 / Leya / 23 kommentarer

Lovely Copenhagen is only one and a half hour from where I live – a must in Christmas time! The markets and all the lights – nothing we have in my little village. So – here we go. Starting off rather early in the Design Museum’s beautiful garden…

…then walking all the way down the main street, Ströget, back to the railway station. A couple of kilometers all together. For more pictures from this walk, go to my photoblog.

Thursday’s Special: Darkness and Light

26 december, 2017 / Leya / 22 kommentarer

“They say there is no light without dark, no good without evil, no male without female, no right without wrong. That nothing can exist if it’s direct opposite does not also exist.”

Laurell K. Hamilton, Incubus Dreams

For Paula, an early morning, driving up the mountains of Gran Canaria.

WPC: Favorites – Meeting Arthur!

20 december, 201721 december, 2017 / Leya / 30 kommentarer

Arthur – I met him and talked to him and touched him (posted here) – my most emotional photos this year. My favorites. Not technically good any of them, but I was only focused on Arthur – a champion of heroes!

A stray dog who followed our Swedish multi sport team in the World Championships in Ecuador – through tough jungle and many hardships. He was determined to stay with the team and its leader Michael Lindnord. Michael and Arthur bonded immediately, and later Michael brought Arthur home to Sweden to live with his new family.

The team went from four to five – here they cross the line!

I was all shaky, but surely you can see in the header, that his eyes tell about his kind soul!

Lost – and Found

18 december, 201718 december, 2017 / Leya / 10 kommentarer

On our way in the early morning for another mountain hike – we suddenly came upon this strange settlement. A set of caves with real doors and windows. Dogs barking and people up and on the move.

Guanches? Strictly speaking, the Guanches were the indigenous peoples of Tenerife, but the name came to be applied to the indigenous populations of all the seven Canary Islands, those of Tenerife being the most important or powerful.

Guanches refer to the aboriginal Berber inhabitants of the Canary Islands, and it is believed that they migrated to the archipelago around 1000 BC or perhaps earlier.

The population probably lived in relative isolation up to the 14th century, but after the Spanish conquest of the Canaries they were (almost totally) ethnically and culturally absorbed by Spanish settlers.

A bit touristy this settlement…and yes, soon a bus arrived with camera people swarming out…But, on the other side of the road, people were, for real, living in caves. Nobody looked that way…And if you look closely at the header picture, you will find the dog standing there – the one I used for Abandoned or Alone in Cee’s B&W challenge.

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Well, when we continued driving towards the mountains, we realized we were lost – this was a dead end road – and not at all the road leading to our planned hike….But, instead we had found these interesting caves!

They day was turning into evening, so we had to return to our apartment. Again passing this strange wind mill. Why do you build one right in the factory- and shopping ghetto?

Dracaena Draco

17 december, 201717 december, 2017 / Leya / 10 kommentarer

As we did not manage to walk the whole garden before dark, we returned the next day. I knew there was a Dracaena Draco path on the steep slopes – I just had to walk it!

I have always been fascinated by the Dragon tree, and many years ago I went to Icod de los Vinos, Tenerife, to see the ancient Draco, 22 meters high and trunk diameter 10meters. The inhabitants here call it El Drago Milenario: the Thousand-Year-Old Dragon.

On the ground, under Draco’s canopy, I picked 5 possible new trees…planted them at home, and – they grew up to beautiful little trees all of them. I gave away all except one. I cared for it lovingly for many years, but when it was about 1.50 meters high, a Swedish summer killed it. Too much rain made the top fall off, rotten. The tree never recovered.

So, in the the botanical garden, on the steep slopes of the Barranco de Guiniguada, Gran Canaria, I picked another 7 possible Dracaena draco. Hopefully some of them will start growing…and I will keep them away from the Swedish summer rains…

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And the reward for returning here this day was…

…all I could ask for!

Jardin Canario

16 december, 201717 december, 2017 / Leya / 25 kommentarer

Establishing this botanical garden was the life work of the Swedish-Spanish botanist Erik Ragnar Svensson (1910–1973), who searched – and found – the optimal site for this garden, one that could successfully accommodate many of the diverse plant species of the Canary Islands. The garden was layed out in Tafira Alta, near Las Palmas, and the Jardín Botánico Canario Viera y Clavijo was officially opened in 1959. Svensson (Sventenius) served as its first director. When he died in a traffic accident in 1973, David Bramwell was appointed his successor in 1974.

According to Wikipedia, the garden comprises approximately 27 acres (10 hectares), on which approximately 500 plant species endemic to the Canary Islands are cultivated. Important divisions are the ”Garden of the Islands” (Jardín de las Islas), the ”Garden of Cacti and Succulents” (Jardín de Cactus y Suculentas), where approximately 10,000 cultivars of succulents are on display, the ”Macaronesian Ornamental Garden” (Jardín Macaronésico Ornamental), and the “Hidden Garden” (El Jardín Escondido) with greenhouse. Also worthy of mention are the pinetum (El Pínar) and the ”Laurel-leaved Forests” (Bosque de Laurísílva), featuring trees which once covered most of Macaronesia prior to Spanish settlement. At the ”Fountain of the Wisemen” (La Fuente de Los Sabios), botanists who discovered and described the flora of the Canary Islands are honored.

But we will remain in the impressive garden of cacti and succulents. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did! The last tree in this gallery is a gigantic ficus.