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

On a visit

On midsummer eve we, my parents, my sister, and the dogs, visted my older sister and her family’s place about three hours away in the area called the Kingdom of Crystal. It is an area known for its many glass factories, which had their peak in the end of the 19th century.

My sister lives close to an old water mill which has turned into a sort of museum. It is a lovely little place with adjacent old buildings dense with history and stories.

Since I take Toby with me when I go on visits, I am always excused to leave now and then on small walks. I found a beautiful path around the mill pond.

To take an evening walk on midsummer eve has its special atmosphere. This night was light and soft. Since we walked along the pond, the air had a faint fragrance of gale.

Country roads

One of the best aspects of summer is to be able to go by bike, to run or to walk to the different pastures where our cows are grazing.

I often go partly through the forest and partly by road. It is lovely to follow the road and watch the butterflies in the flowers.

On one occasion a butterfly decided to rest on my hand, a beautiful moment.

Picnic

Isn’t it one of the most loveliest things to do, to go out on a picnic in the green, under the trees, among the flowers, listening to the birds?

To just pic a basket, pack some cinnamon buns, prepare some lemonade and be on your way.

A privilege of spring and summer…

Noticing the beauty in the small things from busy ants, to tree roots covered with wood anemones, the rustle of the dead leaves, the peculiar call of the woodpecker, the trees solemnity. Individually and as a whole, they render the gift of awe.

Apple blossom

A garden must have apple trees to have the right atmosphere of Spring, I think. White with a tint of pink, apple flowers makes you completely surrounded by beauty, not only on the ground but also in the air.

I just passed the lake..

On my way to catch the horses which had found a much better field to graze in than their winter paddock, I passed the lake. Just a simple moment of beauty, the little house, the sky and the relection of the bushes and the clouds on the surface. A lack of time to contemplate, simply to receive, be grateful and to continue… Farmlife.

Wood anemone

The time of the wood anemone is here. The forests, damp meadows, and the road banks of the forests are covered with these small fragrant flowers. Hardy against frost and wind they are a sure sign of spring in our area.

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.

A misty morning

I took a morning walk together with Toby. The mist has always attracted me in its fairytale atmosphere, always a little mysterious.

Arriving to the old barn, gray and sombre, we took a pause enveloped by the saturated air, and looked at the beauty.

Then back again, the mist almost vanished by the sun.

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.