Hot

 

While here in Sweden we haven't had summer temperatures as high as the southern parts of Europe (and are not very likely to end up there either), we have had a few days a bit above my own "comfort zone".  

On Monday morning it was still quite pleasant, though, and I went for an "early-ish" (as in before lunch) walk into town, and bought Swedish strawberries from a stand in the main square.

 

Yesterday was warmer still, but as it was laundry day for me, I didn't really feel it all that much until after 4 pm, when I was done with that and went outside... "Not a cloud was in the sky", and it was beautiful - but I cut my walk short (and did not go out again later, either).

Today I woke up to 26'C indoors (in spite of fans going all night and a window or two slightly ajar); and outdoors feeling clammy, with threat of thunder. I decided to go out before lunch rather than later, and again that was no doubt the right decision. This time I found my strawberries (and a few other things) closer to home - there is a small "corner" grocery shop only 5 minutes away, which I've come to appreciate more and more... They don't have "everything", but they do have a wide assortment of fruit and vegs. This time of year, with a lot of it on display outdoors, it also almost gives me a feeling of being on holiday somewhere exotic, without going through the actual hassle of travelling!

Tonight there are weather warnings for thunder and heavy rain in the southern parts of Sweden, including the area where I live. Not having to be out in it, no serious worries for my own part, though. (Better keep my windows closed, though!)

 If I'm finding it too warm even at 26'C (78.8F), I dare not even think how I'd feel about 46'C (114.8F), like they've been experiencing in southern Spain and Portugal...

 

(Map from one of our major Swedish newspapers, DN, 1 July)

Coping with Changes

  

Ill: Tove Jansson

In coping with various changes in life, I often find my thoughts wandering off to the Moomin Valley and the characters living there. The Moomins were created by Tove Jansson, a Swedish-speaking Finnish author, novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. She wrote several books about them, and later also comic strips. Drawing the comic strip adventures was later continued by her brother Lars Jansson. Back in my childhood/youth, these comic strips were published in the daily newspaper my parents subscribed to. Later on, I bought some of the comic strips adventures collected in albums. From early childhood I also remember some of Tove's illustrated children's books; and a bit later on in life, I collected her novels about the same characters. 

Anyway. One of the comic strip adventures (by Lars Jansson) that tend to turn up in my head in times of change is one where some strangers turn up in the Moomin Valley, and persuade Moominpappa that it would be a good idea to turn their valley into a "nature park". It also turns out that there are certain requirements to make this happen, though. One of those is that a nature park ought to include "hot springs". So Moominpappa sets out to arrange that - "borrowing some hot water from Gaffsie" (while covering up his intent with lies).

It works, and the hot water comes up at a hot spring outside; but at the same time, Gaffsie's shower stops working, while she's using it. However, when she goes out to investigate, she sees the"hot spring", and decides that this will work just as well for her needs - and just puts up a shower curtain in front of it, outdoors. Her comment: "I have always believed in Providence - although not this much..."

Various other troubles turn up with the idea of creating a Nature Park as well, though; and in the end, it is not approved, and Moominpappa decides to restore things to their natural order - including getting rid of the "hot spring".

 

Of course this happens just as Gaffsie is using the "hot spring" for her shower. Her reaction: "Oops, now the hot water ran out here too! ... But perhaps the shower is working again? ... Providence must really like me!"

I'm sure there are more examples of similar attitudes to life to be found in the Moomin books and comics, but this is a favourite of mine that for some reason I keep coming back to - like when something I've been used to changes, and I need to find new routines... 

Thankful Thursday

 

 

Hydrangea, also known as hortensia, on a stone wall in the cemetery

Yesterday was the first day of the new policy of locked entrance doors 24/7 where I live; and today was my first experience of putting new routines for receiving the home deliveries from my supermarket to the test - the locked entrance making it even more important than before for me to keep track of their ETA (expected time of arrival) and watch out for the actual arrival, as I now also have to go downstairs to open the entrance for them - and just have to hope that they'll still understand that I also need help carrying the bags up to my flat. 

Thankfully, when entering my digital order (on Tuesday), after some "head-scratching" I did finally manage to find a space to enter extra notes concerning deliveries. I had feared there would only be room for an entrance pincode - which would be no help in my case, since my building does not have that system. But they had actually allowed enough space for a somehwat longer message.

So everything went smoothly, after all. I kept checking ETA on my phone, looked out for the van, and was able to go down and open while the guy got the bags out. The guy also turned out to be of the "angelic" kind (writing that with a wink to Sandra). He was nice and polite and had probably read my instructions, as he obviously had no problem understanding that I needed help all the way up to my flat. - Before I opened the entrance I had also pressed the button for the lift, so that was already on the ground floor, and we both smoothly went up with that, and he waited for me to open my own door, and carried the bags into the hall for me. I told him on the way up that the locked entrance is a new routine and he just said something like well, probably safer that way - one never knows these days!

So I guess I can now relax a bit about future deliveries probably continuing to work out, too; and for that I'm thankful, as I really don't know how I'd cope without them! (I've been using this service for over ten years by now, twice a month - and it's literally "a huge weight off my shoulders"...) 

 

Skywatch on a Wednesday

 

From the same bridge today, the first photo looking north, and the second one south.

And why not "wrap up" with this view at the eastern end of the same bridge...

I suppose just some renovations going on here; but it made me think of the works of Christo and Jeanne-Claude - artists famous for wrapping various kinds of famous buildings and other landmarks in fabric...  For example the Berlin Reichstag building (1995); and an installation of 7,503 gates made of saffron-colored fabric in Central Park in New York (2005) - and many more examples can be found in the Wikipedia article linked to above. I also see there that Christo died in 2020, though; and his partner already in 2009. So I suppose I can't blame them for this one... ;-) 

Paradise?

 

I'm not sure of the name of these flowering bushes, but my Google Image searches indicate that it's pobably what you call Beauty bush in English, while in Swedish it is known as Paradise Bush (paradisbuske). Anyway, there are lots of these in bloom in the old cemetery just now; and that's as far as my walks took me over the weekend. Heat + grass allergy had me rather tired, and uninspired for longer outings.

On Saturday, I made the discovery that there now seem to be at least three hares living in the cemetery, because first I spotted the two I already "knew" to the left of me, but disappearing into a hedge before I got the camera out - but then when I turned my head, there was this one sitting on the other side of the path... 

(Little fountain in the cemetery)

Today the midsummer heatwave broke. I haven't heard any actual clashes of thunder nearby, but we had some torrential showers, and the temperature has now dropped considerably. I optimistically thought I'd manage a short walk to a convenience shop 5 minutes away before the worst of the rain... But ended up in one of the worst downpours - and even if if somewhat protected by my umbrella, that does not help much against additional sudden flooding on the ground... My shoes (supposed to be fairly weatherproof) and socks got thorougly soaked in just a couple of minutes... 

As I was so close to home, no major disaster, though! ;-) 
 

Midsummer Eve

 

It's Midsummer Eve; and after varying weather forecasts earlier in the week, it actually turned out quite a nice day for traditional Swedish Midsummer celebrations - even if  windy, and a bit on the chilly side towards evening. 

For my own part, however, I did not feel tempted this year to go for a long afternoon walk to watch people dancing around a maypole. So if you're curious to see some of that, I'll just refer you to what is probably my best blog post from another such an occasion in the past -way back in 2014. It even has a video with folk dancers in traditional costumes (recorded by me). 

There's been a lot of grass pollen in the air this week, and sometimes when I've been out for a while, I find that I've lost my voice when I get back in (like when a neighbour started talking to me in the lift, and I could not produce much of an answer), and I've also had various violent attacks of sneezing. (In spite of taking my allergy meds.) And I guess feeling generally rather tired (for no other obvious reason) can probably be ascribed to the same cause as well. (I've been allergic to grass pollen ever since my teens.)

So tonight I felt content to just let Barbie and Skipper dress up for Midsummer Eve, while I'm just going to stay home and have a cup of tea and some strawberries, and watch TV or some film... (Not quite decided yet.)

 

 Happy Midsummer!

(The mug has motives from Midsummer in the Moomin Valley) 

Sticks and Stones

 

On a walk to get rid of some recycling stuff today, I snapped this photo of another couple of freshly painted stones - cf my post yesterday. Here, as in many other spots, combined with old triangular cement road blocks - none of which have received the same treatment. 

Below are a couple of wooden benches, painted earlier this spring. (Photo from today.) Some of these benches have an interesting habit of moving about and turning up in different places from one day to another - but I guess that indicates that at least they're being used...

 Below is an example of the third colour used:

It's a large district of look-alike buildings. I have not been round to count the number of painted stones - and I don't intend to. Time will no doubt tell whether the new additions of colour are appreciated, or not! (It is only the paint that is new; the stones themselves have been there for years, to stop cars from taking shortcuts or park where they shouldn't.) 

Observations

 

Zoomed in from my window last night (with my proper camera rather than my phone): A hare sitting completely still in this position on a path between my building and the next - probably doing his best to be invisible... Not very successful in that envionment, but I've often seen them "freeze" like that on gravel paths in the cemetery, when there are people about. What had scared him, I don't know - from my own elevated position I could not see anyone about. He even stayed frozen like a statue that way while I went to fetch the camera, zoomed in, and snapped the photo, so at least over a minute. And he wasn't even really close to any of the new strange additions to the neighbourhood: Big stones painted in bright colours!

 

The summer holidays have started; and in summer, there are always a number of young people doing odd jobs around here - mostly to do with simple gardening jobs and litter-picking etc. 

Painting stones is a new task that I've not seen before... The big stones, in their natural state, have been there before: Their purpose is to stop cars from taking shortcuts across the lawns. The colours used to paint them (bright yellow, purple and blue) I recognise from benches around the estate that have also recently been (re-)painted. Whether also painting big stones is really an improvement to the neighbourhood might be a matter for discussion... Personally, I haven't quite made up my mind about that yet! (lol) 

The rabbit did not appear until later, so at least he won't have got painted by mistake. 

Now I'm just waiting to spot birds with yellow, bright blue or purple feathers, indicating that they've landed on wet paint... But maybe they're too clever for that... ;-)

Big flocks of birds can be seen scanning the lawns after the lawn-mower has been and gone. (Mostly doves/pigeons in this photo, I think. But there are also crows, jackdaws, magpies and sea gulls to give them some competition.)
 
Apart from this, no strange observations to report.

 

Woes and Worries

The past weekend was one of woes and worries. The worries mostly in my own head, but that doesn't really help...

The worries started when I was going out for my Friday afternoon walk. A message from the landlord's office had been put up on the inside of the entrance door, telling us that from 25th June, that door will be locked around the clock (while over the 17 years I've lived here, it's only been locked during the night). The reason: Lately people with no right to be there seems to frequently have been found hanging out inside buildings in the area, causing worries for (some) tenants. 

That was all the info. For my own part, I have not noticed anything of that kind. Actually I've even found my immediate surroundings unusually peaceful lately! So I can only assume that this must have been happening in some buildings; but worrying enough to extend a new locked doors policy to the whole neighbourhood. 

This had my head spinning the whole rest of the weekend, and of course it also totally clashed with the relaxation and "presence" (noticing details in nature etc) that I usually connect with my walks.

As I myself have not noticed any strange strangers sneaking about, my own immediate reaction was/is instead to worry about the consequences of locked doors (with no entrance code system attached). 

The first thing that jumped to mind was my regular food delieveries from the supermarket. So far (over 10 years now) the drivers have been able to just walk right in and deliver to my own door - actually, to inside my hall. Which is what I need, as I can't lift/carry heavy bags myself. 

Now I shall have to be even more alert to watch out for the delivery van arriving outside, and not only open my own door, but hurry downstairs to open the front door for them. And even if that might work, I still worry about perhaps having to explain each time that they still need to help me carry the bags upstairs. Is it possible to include those instructions on my order? And even if it is (I've still not checked) can I trust that they'll read them?? Etc etc. (I think at least some of my fellow bloggers will be able to imagine even more "what ifs" buzzing...)

Over the weekend I took some time to google; and for a while, Google AI gave me hope that it might not be all that complicated after all, because AI claimed that my landlord (a municipal housing company) uses a lock system that allows for some digital solutions - even including food deliveries.

So I calmed down and wrote an email to ask about that. They answered promply on Monday morning (today); but alas not with the answer I wanted. The only way to get in is by key. So from now on (and who knows for how long) I shall indeed have to go down and let delivery guys (or other visitors) in manually. 

Head spinning again - and imagining even worse predicaments than how to cope with  deliveries... (Not having any family in town, and no trusted friend living really close, it's not practical to let any one person keep an extra key.) 

Inventing worst case scenarions not helped by yesterday also receiving news of the death of an old friend of mine, from cancer. I knew she's been ill, and while in the beginning she was bravely sharing about it on FB, it's been a long time now since her last post there - until now, and now it was not heself writing, but her daughter informing friends about her death, and time and place for the funeral. (A long way from here, so I won't be going, just sending a greeting to the family, and a donation to a cancer fund.) 

It's sad enough when friends older than oneself pass away - but even sadder when they're younger; and my friend had only just turned 62. Our friendship goes back to when we were in the same youth gospel choir, up in Karlstad - where I had then recently moved to study, and ended up living for ten years. So when I first got to know Ulla, I was 20, but she still only 12, and one of the very youngest members in that choir. (She was very talented, and ended up a music teacher - whereas I was never really much of a singer. But that choir was of the kind that welcomed everyone.) We remained friends (with many mutual friends) through her teens and beyond. I attended her wedding, and I visited her and her husband when their children were little; and the whole family also visited me in Borås after I moved here (the children still small, and their visit included a rainy visit to our zoo). And the last fifteen years or so we've kept in touch via Facebook, where she posted quite frequently - even through her "cancer journey", for as long as she was able to. But now all I can do is send a last wish out into the Final Beyond: Rest in Peace, my friend...

There was a bit more on my mind when I started writing this post, but it's getting late, so I'll save that for another day (perhaps), and just finish off with a couple of quotes I've kept reminding myself about more or less constantly ever since my own teenage years...

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (Matthew 6:27)

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34)

A Summer Walk

Summer weather with sunshine, blue skies and temperatures around 23'C (73'F) or so arrived (as forecasted) on Thursday - just in time for high school graduations and summer holidays. 

One definite sign of summer was that when I went out for a walk, I kept coming across half-naked sunbathing people lying flat on the grass in half-hidden places - desperately trying to update their tan for beach parties and whatnot... (I refrained from taking photos, so you'll just have to use your imagination!)  - I should perhaps point out that on that day, my feet were taking me along some different paths than my usual ones around the cemetery, though.

 Summery view from down by the river.

In the little park by the dam and waterfall, some potted palm trees have been added to create an extra exotic feeling. Our very own Palm Beach! (Bathing in the river not recommended, though. At least not in this spot.) 

Lupin(e)s. Loved by some (me included), regarded as "invasive" by others. I associate them with summers in my grandparents' garden, there were lots of them along the railway bank close by, and quite a few had been allowed to invade their garden too...

A surprise "sculpture exhibition" awaited me in a roped off plot of grass (wasteland?) along my way. As I haven't been going in that direction in a long time (at least not since last summer) I have no idea how long they've been there. 

 

In the background, I also spotted some bird houses on tree trunks.

Nearby, there is an old red wooden house, which now looks abandoned and empty - but the yard also unusually tidy, and the lawn seems to have been mowed! The sign on it reveals that it used to be a glazier's workshop. (Not sure what that light phenomenon to the left is!) 

 

Views from a bridge across the river. 

 

On my way back home, casting a glance up the hill beside the road, the impressive roots of these tall old pine trees caught my eye - doing their best to keep the trees in place in spite of the erosion on the sandy hillside...

Buttercup (Ranunculus acris) is a common roadside/grassland wildflower here.  

 

Another young bird (I think possibly a jackdaw rather than a crow this time?) resting on the lawn under some trees near my building - also looking a bit like it just fell from the sky and was contemplating how to get up there again. (I didn't witness the actual fall this time, though, so it may just be my imagination jumping to conclusions...) 

 

Linking to Skywatch Friday and Weekend Reflections

Summer in Blue

 

Blue Iris (Iris spuria, in English also known as Blue Flag).

Blue and purple also seem to be a dominant colours in the public flower beds that have just been "updated" in the cemetery:

 

 

Not sure what this flower is, and neither is Google Image search. (They just threw all kinds of very different blue flowers at me when I uploaded this photo!) 

 

Today, I noticed that a strange wooden "cross" structure had been added. Not sure what to make of it... I suppose time will tell if some plant is supposed to climb up on it!

Yesterday was rainy, and as it was also laundry day for me, I stayed in. Today a mix of clouds with the sun breaking through, but still rather chilly winds. The forecast is that we'll probably see a bit more summery weather over the weekend, but the higher temperatures won't be lasting long, and we'll be back below 20'C again next week.