Dutch Elm Disease

 

At last, a clear blue sky again - and combined with no snow/ice on the ground! :) The ground still very soggy in some places though, so I kept to the paved paths on my walk around the nearby cemetery. 

An old tree was in the process of being taken down - no doubt because of Dutch elm disease. which sadly seems to be spreading around here. (Here in Sweden just called almsjuka - elm disease.) Wikipedia informs me that the "Dutch" included in the English name has to do with the disease first being identified in the Netherlands in 1921. It's caused by a fungus spread by bark beetles from one tree to another. And it seems a tree already infected can't be cured, but has to be taken down; while healthy trees might be saved by vaccination, but it's not guaranteed to always be successful.

It's always sad to see mighty old tree giants taken down, even if it is necessary. 

 

ID Adventures Continued

 

As some readers might remember (at least now that  I remind you), last week I found out that in order to renew my "Mobile Bank ID", I first needed to get a physical National ID card (a kind of ID card that I've never needed before). 

So for that purpose, I had booked an appointment today at our local police station - from my point of view situated in a street "across the city centre", and with no really helpful bus connections from where I live. I contemplated taking a taxi, but as the snow is gone and it wasn't really raining (just foggy on the verge of a light drizzle), I decided to walk. It took me about 40 min. My knee felt fairly ok, but I'm still far from "speedwalking"... 

The mural above is on a wall along a sidestreet near the police station. It's been there for a number of years by now, but it's not a place I usually walk by. 

I arrived about 20 min before my 12 o'clock appointment, and checked in digitally on a machine. Just then there were only a few more visitors in the waiting room, but all 'cubicles' seemed to be closed. After a while I came to the conclusion that the staff must be on their lunch break. In the meantime, more people kept arriving, so at 12, when they opened again, all seats in the waiting room were taken, plus a lot of people standing as well. As I had a booked appointment I did not have to wait long after they opened, though. (Most people were probably there to collect previously ordered IDs, which does not require pre-booking.) 

It's been almost a decade since I last visited the police station for a similar errand (then a passport), and my memories of the procedures then are vague. But what somewhat surprised me now was the absence of a couple of items that I would have found helpful: A hook to hang my coat on, and a mirror to at least be able to check my hair before having my photo taken by staring into a blank (but not reflective) screen. Fingerprinting no longer involves ink, and they only wanted my index fingers - but (interestingly) I needed to do one of them thrice before the police office was satisfied. (Do fingerprints wear out with age? Answer at the bottom of the post...) *

 And then of course I had to write my name with a digital pen, which felt oddly clumsy, and made my signature look that too. The officer then briefly showed me what the document was going to look like (too small for me to really see properly) and asked if I was satisfied. I said I was definitely not satisfied with my hair... But probably everyone says that, because he seemed to take that as an acceptance anyway, and told me I'll get a message when I can pick it up (in a week or so)... 

Walking away, I made a mental decision that when my driving license is up for renewal next year, I will make sure to do that. (I don't really drive any more, but it's accepted as ID in most everyday situations, even if not for the digital bank ID. And for the driving license one is still allowed to go to a professional photographer to have one's photo taken... 

The way back home seemed very long. I looked in at the pharmacy for a short errand (some non-prescription stuff), but then decided to see if I could catch a bus part of the way. There is no bus that takes me "all the way" these days, but I managed to catch one that shortened the way a little bit (two stops). With a little detour to a neighbourhood corner shop for some fruit and vegs, I was home again at 1 pm, amost exactly two hours after I left. 

The whole adventure had me so tired that after a quick lunch (microwaved leftovers, and salad from yesterday), I fell asleep for a couple of hours in the afternoon... 

And now it's just about bedtime for real! 

*) AI tells me:  "Yes, fingerprints can wear out or become less distinct with age, largely due to reduced skin elasticity, thinning skin, and the flattening of ridges. While the underlying pattern remains fixed, these changes often make it harder to capture clear prints in older individuals " (And I suppose I have to accept that at age 70, that's what I now am...)

March

 

Sunset photo from 8 March 2025

1st March today, so I'm posting the March photo I chose for my 2026 photo calendar. I've not seen any similar sunset yet this year - but at least the snow is almost completely gone now. 

It's been raining quite a lot instead, though, so lawns and gravel/sand paths around here are very soggy at the moment. I haven't been out much over the weekend, but tomorrow I have to - and am telling myself that I'd better choose properly paved walkways, with no shortcuts across wet lawns! (...which was how I came to fall and injure my knee back in October...)

No family birthdays in March, but a few friends. Remains to be seen if I'll manage to remember to get greetings sent off in time!

Time-Travelling with Sepia Saturday

Not a whole lot happening here at the moment. Still waiting for the last remains of snow and ice to be washed away, and for some proper signs of spring to show up. Thinking that I've already published enough photos of puddles and melting snow, today I decided to go time-travelling on my blog Greetings from the Past instead. 

Not much has been happening lately on that family history blog of mine lately either; but this week's Sepia Saturday prompt happened to inspire me to go re-visiting the Versailles Palace museum in Paris, France, together with my great-aunt Gerda. If you want to get (re)acquainted with Gerda, and see the full set of old yellowed postcards from Versailles, click on the Greetings link above.

If you're content to just take a quick peek at a few bedrooms belonging to really famous people from the past, you'll find them copied below. All of them rather more spacious than my own, I have to admit. Personally I do think I prefer a more "cosy" style, though...

Marie Antoinette's bedroom

Louis XIV's bedroom

 

 

Napoleon's bedroom 

 

PS. There's a permanent link to my Greetings from the Past blog in my sidebar, always showing the headline of the latest post. I don't usually double-post, but thought I might give Sepia Saturday a bit of a "boost" today...

Thawing

 

For a while today, looking out, I could almost imagine myself living by a lake. It isn't a lake though. It's a football field with snow melting away, and the water having nowhere to go because the ground is still frozen...

To look on the bright side, temperatures are now expected to continue keeping above freezing point all weekend. So fingers crossed I'll be able to get myself into town on Monday (for my ID appointment). 

So far, it's been a Staying In week for me. And I can't say I've been very productive indoors either. Today I had the laundry room booked, though - so at least got that done. 

Identity Crisis

 

noun: identity crisis; plural noun: identity crises

"a period of uncertainty and confusion in which a person's sense of identity becomes insecure, typically due to a change in their expected aims or role in society"

 

I logged into my bank to pay some bills. I do this from my computer, which allows me three alternative ways to log in. Normally I use a special bank card that I put into a card-reading thingy that I connect to my laptop by a cord. I also have a smaller cordless bank thingy that I'm not sure how it works, but somehow codes get sent back and forth by pushing the right buttons, and if I do it right, that works too. (I haven't been using the little fiddly thingy much lately though, as I find the card-thingy easier to handle.)The third alternative is Mobile Bank ID, which involves an app on my smartphone, and scanning of QR codes. The Mobile Bank ID is nowadays also used to access an increasing amount of other apps and websites where one needs to prove that one is who one claims to be. (I'm still a bit sceptical of the general idea of using my phone for Absolutely Everything, though, so have so far avoided using bank apps on the phone.)

 

Anyway. A week or so ago I received a message from my bank "reminding" me (I had no idea!!) that my current Mobile Bank ID will expire in a few weeks. However, the message also said I could renew it by logging into my bank. They made that sound easy, so I thought I'd just do that today in connection with paying my bills... 

 

Of course I should know by now that there's no "just" about these kinds of things - but sometimes I still let optimism take over...

 

It did seem simple enough to start with - until I was suddenly asked to now prove my identity by taking a photo (via an app) of a valid physical ID. And then learned that in this particular context, my driving licence, which in the Real World has served me as allround ID for around 50 years by now (renewed without much ado every 10 years), no longer counts as valid ID in this particular context. To prove my identity to the new Mobile Bank ID, I now need either a physical Passport or a physical National ID card (valid within the EU). And as I haven't travelled abroad for a very long time, and for all other purposes so far have got along fine with my driving license, I don't have either of those... 

 

So I had no alternative but to interrupt my application for the new Bank ID by clicking on the alternative "I don't have the right ID" ... 

 

For a while I feared that this might leave me without any identity at all within in digital world... But luckily it seems that the system reverted to letting the old bank ID tick on until the automatic expiration date. (Phew.)

 

So I hurried on in search of What To Do and Where To Go; and managed to book an appointment at our police station next week - to be photographed and fingerprinted and whatever else it takes to get the required National ID... 

 

To my relief, it seems that the physical police will still accept my driving license to prove that I Am Who I Am. (Because if not, it seems the only alternative would be to ask my brother to drive down here to confirm it in person. And I'm not actually sure if he has any ID besides his driving license to prove his identity either...)

 

The whole circus now makes me think I should probably also make sure to both renew my driving license next year (in spite of doubting that I'll ever actually take up driving again), and get a passport as well (even if I have no travel plans). On second thought, probably better to wait a year or two with the passport, though - or else the ID card and the passport will keep expiring at the same time...

 

I'm not going to ask everyone to describe your own country's ID systems in detail - but I do feel curious to know if you too are feeling the increased pressure/requirement to use your phone for Everything... As much as I love my smartphone, for the most part I still mostly use it as a combination of camera, audio book player, handy encyclopedia, and to receive text message notifications. For other online things, I usually prefer either my laptop or my tablet... But these days, it seems the goal is a separate App for "every purpose under heaven" * (but one Bank ID to join them all)...

 

* "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven..." 
(Ecclesiastes 3:1)

 

Not Ideal

 

To sum up the 22nd of February, 2026: 
The day was not ideal neither for walking, nor for a barbecue picnic.

 What gave these two the idea to even try, I can't imagine! (I zoomed them in from afar.)

Yesterday afternoon, it rained on the snow, and then the slush froze over night. I tried a  short walk around noon today; but even with my studded boots on, and two walking poles, I soon felt I had better make it very short... 

This afternoon, it has been snowing on top of the ice, and more is to be expected during the night. So my guess is that tomorrow won't be ideal for outdoors activity either.

 

Winter Skywatch

 

20th February at 07:16

Thursday and Friday were of the kind that kept me "busy enough" without blogging. Thursday was laundry day for me; and on Friday I had a delivery from the supermarket booked between 10-13. For a change, they had put me almost first on the list rather than last, so I got my delivery already around 10:15; which also gave me time for a walk around the cemetery after lunch. The weather forecasts for the upcoming week being rather gloomy, I thought I had better seize the opportunity. It wasn't as sunny as the previous day but also not quite as cold, so kind of nice anyway.

I did not make a lot of photo stops on that walk, but I noticed that a second bird feeder has been put up on the other side of the same tree as where the "little red house" one is. (Cf my "calendar photo" for February.)  I think the green one is meant for the bigger birds... 
 

I also stopped for a photo of the one family grave of ours in this cemetery - belonging to my maternal great-grandparents. (That grave is still officially in the care of my aunt, who lives elsewhere, but I keep an eye on it as I often walk by there anyway). The hares seem to have been visiting (actually, there are very few spots in the cemetery not covered in hare tracks!) - but I don't think neither old spruce branches nor dry heather is in their diet. The winter grave decoration seemed as intact as can be expected after nearly four months... 

Late last night, before I went to bed, I noticed that it had started snowing outside again - but very tiny snow flakes. There were weather warnings issued along the west coast, but the "warnings" not stretching quite as far inland as here. This morning, I did wake up to the sound of snow ploughs outside; but so far it seems we only got just about enough new snow to cover old footprints on the lawns. (2-3 cm)  

As it's hard to predict whether the next shower will be snow or rain, or the next few days predominantly icy or slushy, after breakfast I took out a couple of bags to the bins, and then "a few extra steps" (10 min or so) in the immediate neighbourhood in connection with that. I don't intend to go out again today; and tomorrow will depend on how the weather develops.

 Linking to Skywatch Friday

Frozen

 

 

 

Today was another of those rare winter days with the sun shining from a clear blue sky, making me want to get out there, in spite of the cold...

 

Having no urgent errands today, I did not feel tempted to walk all the way into town again; but decided to just go for a walk down to the river and make photograpny my focus this time - so also brought my Sony compact camera, rather than just the phone. 

 

In the first photo above, it's my own shadow you see, standing on the bridge, looking north. On the south side of the bridge is one of the dams where they regulate the flow of water through the city. And when it's as cold as it has been for a good while now, there are sometmes interesting ice formations to be seen.

 

 

 

I then followed the path on the other side of the bridge for a while, before going back up to walk across the cemetery back home.

 

Funeral chapel

For a change, I enjoyed following the tracks made by maintenace vehicles on some snowy paths that had not been ploughed. (I did have the right footwear for it.) 

 

It's been good to be able to collect a few sunny and enjoyable outdoors moments towards the end of this long winter, which for the most part has just been - well, "difficult"... 

 

Winter is not over yet, though. It's snowing again as I'm about to finish this post, and here's the forecast for the next nine days:

 

 

 

 

Mid February Sunrise

I happened to wake up just in time to catch the sunrise this morning... Photos taken from my kitchen at 7:41-7:42. (The sun soon followed my own example and went back to bed, though - and remained hidden the major part of the day...)

A Winter Walk

There's a lot of Olympics on TV at the moment (and not much else!). Personally, I have to confess I've never taken much interest in sports of any kind. The only winter sports that can sometimes keep me entranced in front of the TV for as long as an hour or two is usually figure skating, and especially ice dance. (I did watch the whole ice dance final the other night.) That has nothing whatsoever to do with any skating skills of my own, though - I never even learned to stand on them, and even less to move about...!

Friday the 13th* was another cold, grey winter day here - of the kind with a flurry of snow in the air all day, even if not actually adding very much to the amount already on the ground. I decided to defy *superstition though, so manged my usual weekly "recycling walk" (about 20 minutes). But I did not feel tempted to extend it any further. (Cold winds blowing...)

Yesterday, I expected to wake up to much the same kind of weather, but was pleasantly surprised to instead find the sun shining from a clear blue sky - inspiring me to actually try a walk into town. Winter seems to be planning to keep us in its grip next week as well (possilby including throwing even more snow at us), and I did need some stuff from the pharmacy again. Besides a refill of some prescription medicines, my recent cold "caught from nowhere" had also more or less emptied my basic stock of various over-the-counter stuff...!

Ever since my unfortunate fall and knee injury back in October, with the long, cold and snowy winter following, it still feels like a long way to walk to the city centre, though. So when I set out, I was thinking that I'd probably better choose the same way into town that I did last time - allowing me to catch a bus part of the way, if I should feel the need for it... 

However - once I got out, it seemed that my legs must have been conferring separately with some braver part of my brain. Because as soon as I had crossed the first street, instead of continuing towards the travel center, I found myself turning down to the river, and my favourite path into town that I have not walked since early October - as it does not include any "escape options" along the way...

It all turned out for the best, though. With the cold dry weather we've been having for weeks now, the gravel path along the river, even with a bit of snow and ice on it, was probably actually a better choice for walking than the pavements along the streets.

I also had the pleasure of seeing the river all frozen, which doesn't always happen - but as I've already pointed out, we've had an unusually long period of temperatures staying well below freezing point both day and night lately.

 

 

 After my visit to the pharmacy, I also paid a visit to my favourite little tea shop by the square (pretty much "just around the corner" from the pharmacy), as I had also again run out of my favourite black tea blends from there. I actually can't recall when (before this winter) I last had to "resort to" buying prepackaged loose leaf tea from the supermarket! ;)  I've been buying nearly all my teas from that shop by the square for 40 years - i.e. for as long as I've lived in this town...

After that, no room in my backpack for any more purchases. But as my knee still wasn't signalling any serious protests, I decided I was likely to be able to walk back home the same way as I had come - through the park and along the river. 

When I reached the cemetery hill (up to the right from the view above) I decided to take the "shortcut" across there. (When walking in the other direction, I had taken a bit of a detour to avoid having to walk down a rather steep hill. But uphill is somewhat less challenging.) 

 

 

Not all paths on the cemetery have been ploughed, but the major ones have. 

 

 

I parked my poles and my backpack on a bench for a photo stop. (Didn't sit down myself, though - too cold for that!) (All photos in this post taken with my phone, btw.)

 

All in all, I was out and "on my feet" for two hours (including the time spent in the two shops). My knee injury back in the autumn happened on October 10th. Four months later, this is the first time since then that I walked all the way both to and from the city centre. With the kind of winter we've been having, I had really given up hope of even trying this until spring. But my knee does not seem to have got any worse from it. I'm still wearing a compression knee sleeve whenever I go out (and a softer bamboo one all night), and use at least one walking pole outdoors (just now both!) And I may have to continue to do that. But being able to walk into town and back has been my primary goal, and having achieved that "already" feels like an unexpected victory! Kind of like my own personal "olympic" achievement - even if it doesn't come with a medal... :)

 

Heartfelt Wishes

I'm still feeling a bit "lost in time", after weeks of rather monotonous winter weather.

For some reason (or rather - no reason), I've been thinking all week that on Friday it will be Valentine's Day - here in Sweden known  as Alla Hjärtans Dag = All Hearts' Day" ... Only to suddenly realise, just as I started preparing this post today, that no, that's not until Saturday!

But I decided to go ahead and post this for Friday anyway. Who knows - the need for some extra heartfelt good wishes might perhaps be even bigger on Friday the 13th...!  

I've never really been in the habit of doing a lot extra of decorations especially for All Hearts' Day.  But I put a table runner with embroidered hearts on the living room table...

   

... and hung some red hearts on the branches in the vase on the old chest in the same room. 

That vase, by the way, is really just plain brown, but in the photo below it has been given an interesting striped pattern by the sun shining in through the blinds in the window! Which just goes to show that there's always something new to discover, if one looks hard enough.

 

And on that note, I wish you good luck both for the 13th and the 14th. 
And keep your hearts as well as your eyes open to notice the details around you!

 (Owl copied from some website with free images.)

The Blue Bird

 "The Bluebird of Happiness" seems to be a wide-spread symbol across several cultures, representing "hope, love, renewal, and the beauty of life". References to it can be found in old mythology and folklore from various corners of the world, as well as in modern popular culture. 

 

This little blue glass bird used to belong to my paternal grandmother. I remember it sitting in one of the windows of her glazed veranda. Nowadays it lives in my bedroom window. 

In Maurice Maeterlinck's 1908 stage play named The Blue Bird, two children, Tyltyl and Mytyl, are sent out by the fairy Bérylune to search for the Bluebird of Happiness. Returning home empty-handed, the children see that the bird has been in a cage in their house all along and they create great happiness for another by giving their pet bird to the sick neighbor child. (Source: Wikipedia)