Treasures of the forest

The time for berries is here again. It is always with some suspense I walk the first time of the year to the old bog forest of the blueberries. With my backpack stuffed with boxes and my berry picker, I hope I will see a lot of berries, but you never know until you start picking the berries.

This year it was an abundance of berries. It is a lovely place, silence apart from the wind in the pines and small chattering of the birds. I can stay there for hours, not noticing how the time passses.

Toby settles very easily, resting among the blueberry sprigs.

But he guards att the same time, keeping an eye on the surroundings to warn me if anyone is approaching, It has almost never happened that anoyone has come when I have been there.

This year the wild raspberries are also having a lot of berries. It is a true gift to just be able to walk one or two kilometres and pick as many berries you can. Joy of the countryside

Garden time

Spring is here and with it gardening. My favourite time. Toby enjoys it in his manner, eating a bone. I enjoy my time with the first sowing in the cold frame. Sallad and celery are the first crops. Next in time are carrots, parsnip, and dill. But that will be in the field.

Something in the air

We took a rest, the two of us. Suddenly Toby sensed something in the air. I just wonder what it was that he caught with his sensistive nose and what he thought. In these instances I realise that we are almost in two worlds, the world of the eye and the world of the nose. But even so,we share the joy of being there together.

Into the silence

There is something special about leaving a slient life for a while and enter into a greater silence as a vacation. Perhaps it tells that the life you have chosen, or det place you have chosen, is the right one. The destination this year was Funäsfjällen, some 8 hours farther up north. Nature offered us Autumn beauty in the mountains as it is at its peak.

Heading towards the mountains

To see the mountains in front of you, while still walking among the mountain birches, is hard to describe, breathing very fresh air for soul and mind.

Morning gold

There is a proverb in Swedish that goes “morgon stund har guld i mund”. In English it means, the morning carries gold in its hand. I love this expression using the old Swedish word for hand, mundr.

And it is true, especially in summer, the mornings are golden, the air is fresh, the soft silence gives room for the sounds of the forest. There we are Toby and I in midst of it all.

In the sun

It is always lovely to take a long evening walk after rain. The damp air made the sun beams visible. Toby found himself in the light, apparently very interested in something, but all of a sudden he was off again down in the ditch. I love these short moments of beauty which leaves a mark in my soul for a long time.

A walk across the pasture

I walked across the pasture and found the young animals on the hill where a young boy once had a dream of building his own house. A dream unfulfilled. A field still with grass and flowers, witnessing of solitude.

A little paradise

Perhaps it is a too strong word, paradise… However there are moments when beauty reveals itself a little more than usual, the response is awe and joy. I was late with work and took the opportunity to give the cows water during the evening. Standing there while the drinking troughs were filling up, I witnessed the evening play of the lambs. I love to see them play. The sun was setting and shone with a warm yellow light on the hill while the lambs, quite unaware of the light, had found a stone of interest to climb up and jump off from. The restfulness of the windless evening the light green colour of the newly sprung leaves and the evening light, created a sense of paradise; beauty, peace, joy, and of course goodness.

May the month of Mary

The Month of Virgin Mary is ended, it always fills me with a bit of sadness. During one of our May processions in the garden, our cat Joseph, which has found a home here, thought it was so cosy that he decided to take a nap at Virgin Mary’s feet. Animals never stop surprising me with their initiatives.

Pause by the lake

A sunny Sunday, the decision was easy to take a run and make a pause by the lake. It is lovely to sit by the shore with no one near, just Toby and me, and the lake. We both went into the water, Toby swam and I walked up to the height of my knees. It was lovely to just sit there in peace on the bank, contemplating the beauty of the sky and river, and the light green leaves of the trees by the lake and watch Toby’s delight in the water.