Hibernation mode

It is with great sadness I have to announce that this blogg will go into hibernation mode. However, at this moment, I have no other choice. Spring and summer activities, travelling, keeping my Dutch blog up-to-date and writing books - one finished now and more to follow - crave so much of my time that there simply isn't any left to continue posting in English too.

 

Those of you who are really interested, can - of course - follow us on our Dutch blog. Though you might not understand the language, the pictures speak for themselves!

 

Thank you, everybody, for having followed this blog! Have a great summer!

Threshold of Spring

One month ago, I was convinced that we would get an early Spring. I couldn't have been more wrong. Although the weather - it was clear and sunny nearly every single day - couldn't have been better, it stayed very cold. Almost every night, the temperature plummeted to something around 20 degrees below - Celsius that is. What a difference with last year, when we had a glorious early Spring. Well, that's life. You have to take it as it comes. And with a smile, just as I wrote one month ago.

Now, one month later, we are standing on the threshold of Spring. No doubt about it, because today, a butterfly came by and told me so.

The texts and pictures on this blog are brief excerpts and highlights. If you're interested in reading the full texts - you'll have to use a translation tool - and/or seeing all the pictures, please visit our Dutch blog. Thanks.

March shots

Some other things we saw, this month.

 

Very slowly, the snow starts melting.

A fine roebuck I met in the forest.

And a fox which came to visit us near the house.

A crested tit waiting for the bird feeders to be filled again.

Two blue tits having lunch.

Do you remember I wrote about a badger living under an abandoned house in the forest? He woke up and came out for a stroll. Then he went back in again. He must have figured it was much too cold.

Spring in confinement...

 

To be continued soon.

Car wash

Last Monday, the temperature rose to four degrees Celsius, giving me - with it being well above the freezing point - an excellent opportunity to wash the car. And that was about time, too. The last time I washed it, was months ago. Not that I dislike washing the car, but because of the 'problems' which arise when throwing a bucket of water over the vehicle when it's twenty below...

Is that the same car? It's almost beyond recognition.

Shining like a mirror...

To be continued soon.

On the road

On the 15th of the month, we took the car and drove to Karlstad to do some shopping. Karlstad is the biggest city in the area and it takes about an hour and a half to get there by car. We seldom visit it, one or two times in a year at the most. Here are some pictures we took during our drive. Take a close look at the last one, and let me know if you find some Easter eggs hidden in the field...

 

To be continued soon.

Last Winter walk

As March begins, we are confident that Winter is slowly passing away and Spring is on the way. With this in mind, we take you out on a final Winter walk. We leave the paths where the snow is trampled down, and wander far into the woods, wading through knee-deep snow most of the time. As usual, there is a lot to be seen.

Roe deer droppings.

 

Something a fox left behind. It's a real piece of art.

 

A big brown raspberry? No, roe deer droppings again, forming a fine look-a-like.

Some kind of parasite on the branch of a spruce.

Footprints of a hare, crossed by the trail of a grouse.

That's why it's called a snowshoe hare, look at the size of it's hind feet.

The resting place of a moose calf - an adult moose should have left a much larger imprint.

Footprint of the moose, the size of it confirms that it is made by a calf. Nearby, we find tracks and imprints of the calf's mother, too.

 

Making these nature walks is a real joy. And being able to share them, too. But right now, I put my camera away. The rest of this walk will be ours and ours alone.

To be continued soon.

Promise of Spring

At the end of February, we got the most beautiful weather you can imagine. The sky was mostly clear, the sun - and, at night, the stars - shone brightly and the promise of Spring was definitely in the air. We are aware though, of the fact that Old Man Winter hasn't left the country yet. Therefore, it remains to be seen wheather we'll get an early Spring or not. But no matter what, we'll take it as it comes. And with a smile.

 

To conclude this update, some pictures I took last Sunday, on the opening day for grill season.

The texts and pictures on this blog are brief excerpts and highlights. If you're interested in reading the full texts - you'll have to use a translation tool - and/or seeing all the pictures, please visit our Dutch blog. Thanks.

February shots

Some other things we saw, this month.

Two roe deer youngsters feeding on the special winter grub we prepare for them each day. Their mother is standing guard in the background.

Some roe deer don't make it through the winter. This is all that remained from a doe which was taken by a wolf.

 

A few pieces of hide and fur, that was all.

Proof of a badger living under an abandoned house in the forest. The ice crystals over the vent hole give him - or her - away.

Waiting for the sun. The amount of sun hours we got, this month, was unusually low.

Otter tracks, jumping (upper right and center of the picture) and belly-sliding.

The same tracks, seen from the other side. Never before did we see otter tracks. In fact, later, these tracks proved to be the first otter tracks found in this area in a long time.

To be continued soon.

Spring messengers

On Wednesday, February 13, we welcomed the first messengers of spring. A family of swans landed on the lake ice. They then subsequently took a bath in an ice-hole, climbed back onto the ice, strolled around, flapped their wings, streched their necks and took off again.

 

Seeing swans around here this early is very special. Usually, they arrive two to four weeks later.

To be continued soon.

Winter wonderland

The following week, it snowed for days in a row. The world around us got covered with a beautiful white blanket. Everywhere we looked, we saw winter wonderland.

 

To be continued soon.