Standup Paddleboarding - Weekend Reflections

April 24, 2025

The man saw me snapping this photo, and then waved and shouted: "Now it's spring!"

I was standing up on the bridge to the left in the photo below:

It was an unusual sight to see on this part of the river, because he was between this bridge and another one just a couple of hundred meters further down (to the right in the photo), where there is a dam and a waterfall, making it impossible for any kind of boat or board to pass:  

So either he had just started out close to where I saw him; or else he must have come from the other direction (the city center) and had just turned around. 

Linking to: Weekend Street/Reflections #222

Home Sweet Home

 

On my walk around the old cemetery today, I noticed this birdhouse up in a tree. I only had my phone camera, but did my best to zoom it in with that. I'm pretty sure it must be new, or I think it would have caught my attention before. Whether anyone has moved in yet, I don't know...  (I'd be interested to know how prospective tenants feel about the decorated roof!)

On the ground, I spotted the first primula veris of the season. I do think these flowers deserve a prettier name than the English "cowslip"! In Swedish, we call them gullviva - to with their golden colour. 

Progress of Spring

Most of last week was sunny and warm, and it almost became a tough job to keep up with the progress of spring! 

Last Thursday, April 3rd, I found that the wood anemones had shown up in a half-wild woodland spot that I sometimes walk by.

 

Scilla could also be seen here and there, and I also spotted the first dandelions.

And freshly painted park benches turned up here and there around the estate where I live!
 

On Friday I walked into town for a dentist appointment, and in the city park, I found various bulbous plants in bloom in the flower beds along the river, and also the big old magnolia tree.

 

 

Alas the pollen season is also here... (witch hazel tree in the park)

On my way back, I found cemetery staff busy planting pansies.

Another sign of spring is that the sea gulls arrived from the coast on 1 April.

 
Two gulls zoomed in from home, sitting on the roof of a neighbouring building. 

Over the weekend it turned a lot colder again, though. Still sunny, but frosty nights, and it was back to wearing a winter coat for walks in the day time, too. (Typical of April here: Almost summer temperatures sometimes in the afternoon, but still high risk of frosty nights, and might even snow a bit, even if it won't stay long on the ground...)

Weekend Street/Reflections

 

Another sunny early spring afternoon today, and I went for a walk downtown to the city park (Borås, Sweden).

 

They have recently finished a project of reconstructing some of the paths within the park (to make some of the upper parts more easily accessible, I think - but I did not go up to the top to explore that further today).

 

I often walk here, so regular visitors to this blog will no doubt recognise some of the views and buildings - but I can never resist taking yet another photo on a good "reflection" day...

 

Besides what happens in nature, one of the true signs of spring is to see the terraces of the street cafés along the river full of people again...

 

... and also people sitting on park benches, and on the stone steps leading down to the water.

 

This is a bit blurry because it's a selfie reflection photo taken towards one of the curved and tinted windows in the café building in the park.

 

 The big green bunny is looking a bit extra sad as he seems to have damaged one eye over winter.

 

 

Could this be the smallest crocus in the world?? It was only about the size of my thumbnail, and definitely the smallest one I've ever seen in this corner of the world, anyway...  I might also add that it was also the only crocus in bloom that I found on my walk today.

 

I also passed by these snow drops planted along the river on my way back home, though. 

 

Linking to Weekend/Street Reflections #215

Progress

The difference that one sunny day can make this time of year... (Photos from the same flower bed as in yesterday's post.)

Today must also have been the warmest day here yet this year, + 11'C (52'F). Even if it's likely to get colder again next week, spring is definitely making progress.

My strained knee is better but I did not feel not sure it would be up for walking all the way into town and back just yet. I managed my usual short Friday walk in the opposite direction to dispose of some recycling stuff in the right bins though; plus a bit of an extended detour on the way back.

 Cars waiting for a train to pass at the railway crossing.

View from a shortcut woodland footpath connecting two streets.

Signs of Spring

 

Snowdrops can now be found in several flowerbeds around where I live, but today I also found the first tiny buds of yellow and blue crocuses in a particularly sunny spot. (In spite of the sun not really showing its face much this week.)

 

A different sign of spring could also be seen and heard around my neighbourhood today:
A street sweeper collecting the winter gravel from the walk/cycle paths.

Snowdrops

 

I had better luck in my search for signs of spring today, as I found some snowdrops in a flower bed in my neighbourhood. Not the kind dripping down from above, but the kind springing up from down below! :)

 

Soothing Sounds of Spring

 

 

I keep mentioning the old cemetery close to where I live, where I go walking almost daily. Besides being a place where I watch the seasonal changes in trees and flowers etc, I also enjoy listening to the birds. So it occurred to me that perhaps I should share with you some of the sounds I hear when I walk there as well.

 

Alas I'm no good at identifying birds by their song, though - and usually they are too far away from me to see, high up in the tree tops. Today (2nd video), as I approached the graveyard chapel, I was able to see that the singer was a tiny bird perched on top of the cross over the entrance. Too far away for me to see what kind, though. If anyone thinks they recognise the sound, please tell me in the comments! :)

I have a clever bird book that also includes recorded sound of birds - but with about 180 different ones included, when one hasn't even got a good guess to start with, that actually doesn't help much!! ;)

 

Spring Colours

 

Amelanchier (Swedish: häggmispel)

Tulips

Daffodils (Narcissi)

From one of my (almost) daily walks around the old cemetery close to where I live.

Linking to
Through My Lens 444

Cherry Blossom 3

 

Still wearing my winter coat... But a little bit warmer today, no wind, and glimpses of the sun. So I grabbed the opportunity for a rather pleasant walk into town (and back), to get some things from the pharmacy - and to just enjoy the progress of spring on the way. (If anyone is wondering about the building in the top photo, in the past it was a spinning mill, but is nowadays home to various offices and businesses - including a fitness gym.)

 

(Saving a few more pictures for another day.)

More Cherry Blossoms

I went back to revisit the little park with the old cherry blossom trees today, and I do think there were more flowers visible in the top branches today than when I was last there (four days ago). So probably no need to worry too much about the health of the trees as such.

 

One thing may still be a concern, though: Standing under these trees in spring is usually also connected with hearing the buzzing of a lot of bees and bumble bees. This year, I've so far not heard a single buzz... 

Daytime temperatures are still just around +7'C (44'F); and frost warnings issued for the nights. And the sky keeps changing very quickly. Yesterday the weather changed while I was dressing to go out, and when I got outside I was met by a snow-and-hail shower. (My walk was cut very short...) Today I managed to get out while the sun was shining, and as you can see from the photos, when I got to the park with the cherry trees (15 min walk or so), the sky was a lovely blue colour. But before I got back home (another 20-25 min), it was overcast and raining again!

I asked Copilot for a poem about the fickleness of spring:

In the dance of dawn, where dewdrops reign,
Spring whispers life, a transient train.
Blossoms bloom with a fleeting smile,
Gracing the earth, yet just for a while.

She waltzes in on a zephyr's wing,
A fickle queen, the heart of spring.
Sunshine and storm her crown adorn,
Today she's warmth, tomorrow she's torn.

Petals pirouette in the fickle air,
Spring's tender touch, both foul and fair.
A symphony of growth, then a silent fling,
Such is the caprice of the vernal king.

Yet in her fickleness, there lies a truth,
The cycle of life, in age and youth.
For in each ending, a beginning springs,
A constant change, the fickleness brings.