FMTSO ‘Fruits of the Season’ (Harvest Festival 2014, part 2)

As the month of May is not a season of fruits here, I’m taking you back to the Harvest Festival in September. There was so much going on back back then that I think I left some pictures unposted. I did a Part 1 , but as far as I can find, I never got round to Part 2. Here it is. 

 

A pumpkin competition. There may have been more contributions added later. Between these three, I think there is no doubt!

Ecological vegetables, locally grown.

Locally produced honey.

Bottles and jars of this and that.

Hanging cherry tomatoes

Mushrooms – edible or not?

Help and instruction was offered.

Linked to Friday My Town: Fruits of the Season

Down By The Riverside

Some photos from a walk along the river on 1st May.

I liked the view better before the Tower of Babel turned up on the horizon. Let’s turn our backs on that and walk in the opposite direction (starting from the bridge just beneath it.)

A last look back before I turn away from the river to go back home… Tower still there in the background behind the trees, of course. Pretty hard to get away from, being the highest building in town!

A Long Weekend

We’ve had a “long weekend” in Sweden, as 1st May (falling on a Friday this year) is International Workers’ Day and a public holiday; and the night before, 30th April, is Walpurgis night (Valborgsmässoafton) with traditional spring celebrations like students’ carnival parades, bonfires and choir singing to welcome spring.

This year, the closest I got to all that was passing by on the opposite side of the street to the senior high school on the 29th, while they were preparing for the parade.

The weather on the 30th did not really tempt me to go out to celebrate.

But, in between rain-and-hail showers…

… spring has continued to make some progress over the weekend though; as can be seen below in pictures taken today on a walk in my neighbourhood.

The trees are slowly taking on various shades of green…

… and a field of narcissuses that I’ve been “checking on” from time to time is finally in bloom – all turning their heads towards the sun.

More Cherry Blossom Trees

The weather has been a bit chillier this week, but the upside is that we get to enjoy the beauty of the cherry blossom trees a bit longer.

No Place Like Home

As comparison to the new apartment blocks along the river (above), representing today’s urban densification, I thought I’d also take you on a little tour around the housing estate/area where I live, which was built in the 1940’s.

Back then, just as today, there was a great need of new housing, but the planning had a slightly different focus: let the people have air, light, and wide open space in between the apartment buildings.

In the panorama view above (taken from the nearby football field), you see the edge of “my part of town” to the left; while on the horizon to the right, you can also spot the modern highrise tower down by the river.

Before the 1940’s, this all used to be farmland. For this town, which is otherwise rather hilly, it is an unusually flat area; and the ‘low’ buildings with quite a bit of space in between contribute to preserving the impression that there is still a lot of sky over our heads.

For a modern day family (with all the “stuff” we tend to add to our lives and homes) the apartments were/are a bit on the small side - but 70 years ago, they were next to luxurious for many who were used to much lower standards. (I have read about “back then” in a book about the local history...)

The street (nicknamed “Yellow Brick Road” by me, but of course in real life it has another name) goes round in a circle (or oval), with lookalike buildings on each side…

… and in the middle a large park area and playground.

For a council housing estate, plenty of open space.

At the south end,  yellow brick meets red. The yellow blocks were built in the early 1940’s, the red ones in the later years of that decade.

Across another street we find more Red Brick blocks. Here, in the post-war section of the area, the buildings are still similar in style and height to the yellow ones, but built closer together. Like with a tad less optimism; or one step closer to the densification idea…

There are playgrounds and lawns here too, but not quite the same generous feeling of open space as in the Yellow Brick area.

One villa from “the olden days” (when this was still the countryside) breaks off the monotony. It has been serving as day care centre. I’m not sure about its future, though… It seems pretty worn-down.

Cross another street in a different direction, and you’ll find other styles of architechture. That variety is one of the things I like about this part of town. Even when I don’t feel up to walking very far, there are choices.

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