In the land of snow and mountains
I’m off to Norway again for a film shoot. (Lucky me, I do have a fun job!)
If you remember, I was in Roros - up in the mountains in northern Norway – in April as well.
It snowed a lot.
And the icicles were like perfect crystals against old wood.
We will be staying in the same hotel as last time – a fabulous renovated old wool factory.
It doesn’t look much on the outside, but the rooms are wonderful.
(So is the food.)
The picturesque streets are dotted with deliciously bright buildings – most are about 300 years old -
And antique stores.
You can just about see my reflection in the corner of this shot.
It will probably be snowing again this week.
But don’t worry about me – I’ll be in heaven!
For more cool worlds, please visit: Our World.
As I’ll be away for most of the week, I won’t be able to get around to all of your blogs. But thank you so much for your visit!
Enchanted
Last week I went to a small mining town called Roros in the Norwegian mountains.
(You can see pictures of it here.)
It snowed and snowed and I fell in love with the perfectly preserved wooden houses
That make up the town. Most of these houses are about 300 years old.
Back then, the people worked in the copper mines (now closed)
And lived in these beautiful cottages,
Although I’m sure they were considered to be the huts of the poor in those days.
Even the rubbish bins on the streets were picturesque.
Twisting lanes, old wood and the heavy snow
All added to the enchantment.
In a secret old courtyard,
I discovered Santa’s sleigh –
And then I knew I was in a fairytale
(At least for a couple of days).
For more enchantment, please visit: Our World.
The beauty in the grey
High up in the mountains of Norway
The grey sky is laden with snow,
Which turns the slag heaps and old copper works
Into objects of beauty.
Next to the old smelting house, where copper was melted,
The waterways create graceful patterns
Topped with an icing of snow.
Even the brick tower holding the power lines
Is turned into an electric beauty.
Yes, my friends, there is beauty in the grey.
For more skies, please visit: Skywatch.
Give love a chance
The ‘rules’ say that two male dogs will be wary of each other.
Luckily, dogs don’t know the rules
And just follow their hearts.
(Picture taken in the middle of winter when Oscar met a new friend, Eddie.)
For more sweet pictures, please visit: Camera Critters.
There’s snow business like snow business…
Last week I said we’d seen the last of the snow.
I shouldn’t have.
After all, this is Sweden where it can snow well into May.
This morning we woke up to snow. The horizontal kind.
There’s nothing like a happy dog to teach you how to enjoy the moment –
No matter what the weather.
For more happy animals, please visit: Camera Critters.
The last of winter
Winter is fading away and spring buds are gently showing their heads,
So now it’s time to enjoy the full glory of winter colours:
Majestic and glittering,
A world in silver and white -
And, if you’re lucky, a winter explosion of colours.
(All pictures taken in February. Please don’t feel sorry for me – spring is already on its way.)
For more colours, please visit: Camera Critters.
Let it snow!
When winter breezes in with Arctic breath
And white kisses flutter down from heaven,
Then the only way to enjoy winter –
Is to embrace it!
(It’s not really winter anymore here… but that inbetween time when we’re waiting for the warmth to come. I just couldn’t resist posting this photo though!)
Oscar enjoying - 20 C!
For more wisdom, please visit: Camera Critters.
March delight
Sunny days and freezing nights
Create March magic:
Sparkling snowflakes,
Trees dressed in frosty crystals
And melting snowy spikes
That freeze the face and cause delight.
For more joyful shots, please visit: Our World.
Missing you
Someone (my dog Oscar) missed me while I was gone
And now he won’t let me out of his sight.
For more cute pets, please visit: Camera Critters.
Of gingerbread and snow
The little wooden houses of Sweden remind me of fairy tales.
In summer, the wood glows like red rubies -
But in the winter, those red timbers really come into their own.
Topped with an icing of snow,
They resemble gingerbread houses.
So delicious, I feel I could reach out and eat one.
Even autumn leaves hanging onto the winter branches
Look like delicious gingerbread –
Or perhaps a brown coat fluttering in the wind,
Left there by someone eager for new adventures.
For more deliciousness, please visit: Our World.
Joy
A puppy enjoying her first winter
Is pure joy on furry paws.
For more happy moments, please visit: Camera Critters.
The old mill
You would probably walk right past this humble old cottage
If it weren’t for the sound of rushing water.
You’ll be happy you took notice –
The house is unusually tall and narrow
With marvellous old wood that speak of its age:
Three centuries in existence as the old mill house (Olhamra Mill)
That used to distribute water to the lands around it.
Nowadays, it’s a summer house
Where the owners look as if they stopped painting one of the doors
To enjoy the delight of the singing water.
Before following the bend in the road,
Make sure you turn around one last time
To enjoy the hidden beauty of this age-old jewel.
For more hidden treasures, please visit: Our World.
Winter rules
When winter comes around and the cold wind is blowing,
You have to learn how to enjoy it.
Rule 1: Revel in it (and maybe take an ice bath?)
Rule 2: Explore the beauty
Rule 3: Take a look around and smile – the world is beautiful and you’re alive!
For more rules, please visit: Camera Critters.
Sunbeams
After many long days of grey weather,
The sky delivered what the soul has been thirsting for.
Drama, beauty
And a gentle rain of sunbeams.
For more sunshine, please visit: Skywatch.
Of snow and love
At last – the snow fell as lightly as butterflies
Bringing out the child-like spirits in us all.
It turned the world
Into a snowy poem,
And leaves into fluffy pillows of white.
The magic of the snow is that it
Makes the world a softer place,
A kinder place where dreams can grow.
The Eskimos had fifty-two names for snow because it was important to them: there ought to be as many for love. — Margaret Atwood
For more poems, please visit: Our World.
Winter bouquet (or bokeh)
We’ve hardly had any snow this year – only a smattering to cover the ground for a day or two.
No matter how little – I always feel as if I’ve won the lottery when it begins to snow.
The white petals have a way of transforming life into something softer, more golden.
The bare bones of flowers look like twinkling stars;
A birdhouse becomes a cheerful red hat with white trimming;
And even a weathered post becomes a silver-haired object of beauty.
(Yes – Mum and Dad: Just like you guys!)
For more snowy (or sunny) beauty, please visit: Our World.
Snow motion
May is a month full of the fragrance of budding flowers, the chirping of birds…
And of surprises.
Big, fat snowflakes fell last week
As softly as the petals of cherry blossoms.
They twirled and danced in snow motion for several hours.
Later on, the snow melted
Leaving the lips of flowers dew-kissed
And trembling on the tips of brave buds
Bid farewell to winter and ushered in the glory that is spring.
(Perhaps I can finally put away my winter jacket…)
For more surprises, please visit: My World!
Springter
Springter is that time of year when spring and winter compete to see who is going to rule the weather.
One day the sun is shining and spring is shaking loose with a rainbow of melting snow.
The next day, winter is back with a vengeance – fresh snow and ice make art out last autumn’s leaves
Still clinging to the trees in a display of perseverance.
A bud tries to unfurl but is caught there between seed and flower
Between spring and winter
Between hope and promise.
To get away from my icy pictures, please visit: My World!
(Don’t know about you – but I think this pretty much describes middle age too.)
Symphony in silk
I want to sing like those first birds of spring
That alight on bare branches
European Goldfinch and blue tit (bottom right)
Turning the world into a silken painting
Of song.
Goldfinch
Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come. — Chinese proverb
For more song, please visit: Camera Critters.
The deliciousness of blue
Have you ever seen anything more startlingly lovely
Than a bird singing in the blue of a winter sky –
Or tasted anything as delicious as the creamy snow
Glittering on the shelves of trees?
And have you heard anything sweeter
Than the music created by sunshine
Streaming in through a stained glass window of branches?
For more deliciousness, please visit: Skywatch.
Wiring the moon
Telegraph wires, laden with snow, cross the twilight sky.
Now, the moon peeks boldly through
Leading the eye to a rainbow moonscape of snow.
What you see in life all depends on your perspective.
For more deliciousness, please visit: Skywatch.
High exposure
Sometimes the body can be starved of sunlight just as the heart is starved of love.
And when you finally get what you long for, your whole body tingles with delight.
You sing with the joy that life brings you.
I grabbed my camera and went out on a photo shoot (it’s been ages since the last one because of the cloud cover).
I didn’t realize for a while that I had left my ISO on a high number, but these over-exposed shots somehow reflect what I was feeling.
The colours were so strong and vibrant that they hurt my eyes with their intensity.
Somehow, the unaccustomed sun made everything so bright -
A dazzling feast for the eyes with splashes of merry colour here and there.
And even after I adjusted the exposure, that wonderful light persisted.
The light of life, of love, of spring in my mind.
For more stories, please visit: My World!
Winter sunflowers
I love the bare bones of winter. The windswept solitary landscapes that speak of cold and golden moments of stillness.
It’s a mistake to think that winter is a dead season. It’s a season of well-deserved rest for nature,
And beneath those bones, there is furious activity after a long period of sleep. Seeds are popping, roots growing,
Flowers waiting patiently to be born.
Beneath the weight of ice and snow, there is a feeling of something more…
Something is waiting there.
It’s just that we can’t see the whole story.
Yet.
For more winter (or summer skies), please visit: Skywatch.
Winter barns
What is it about barns that tugs the heartstrings
And makes me think of strength and beauty?
Maybe it’s the way a red jewel wears winter curled on its roof
Or how the old timbers speak of age and grace.
Some barns are run down, bare bones
Waiting patiently for a loving coat of paint.
A broken window does not speak of a broken spirit however.
Faded and aging, but still standing –
Just like us.
For more loveliness, please visit: My World!
Who says what?