Clueless

This is one of my favorite statues. However, I have no idea what it means. It's three female figures standing in a pile of Wellington boots. If anybody have an explanation or suggestion, please share.

Mirror, mirror

A pond with still water mirroring the rocks. Next I'll try to get a picture of the rock both in the water and on land. And then you can guess which rock is the original and which is the mirrored one.

Furballs

Oh boy, taking pictures of new little ducklings is not easy. They're constantly on the move to find something to eat so fluffy ducklings turn into blurry ducklings when photographed. I don't think any of the piccies I took are quite in focus. But they're cute anyway so here's a bonus piccie for you. If you wait for perfect, you will find yourself emptyhanded (or in this case pictureless).

A perfect rose

How about a perfect rose? And it's pink so my theme continues. Actually, in real life I think it's red but it looks pink in the photograph. Mental note to self; next summer, check real life color of above rose.

Friday tree

I was standing under the huge branches of this chestnut tree taking the picture from inside out trying to capture the sun shining on the golden leaves. It shows the colors of the leaves in a whole different way than taking the pic standing outside of the tree. Fall looks much more beautiful from this angle.

Day after Halloween

It was Halloween yesterday and the scariest picture I have is of a spiderweb without a spider. Not much me thinks. I've found that it's not easy taking pictures of spiderwebs, not if it is a big web. This was woven between the lowest branch in a chestnut tree and a street sign, therefore a bigger size than usual. With the right angle you can get the camera to actually focus on the thin threads and voila, you have a picture. I took this one early one morning last summer, the spider was probably still in bed sleeping.

Details, details

I frequently find that keeping an eye out for the small details makes me see a whole lot of things I've never seen before. This lionhead can be found on a small fountain on a small square at the beginning of the shopping street in the center of the city. I don't visit that part of the city very often but still, after 10 years you would've thought I had seen it before. But no, I haven't. Apparently I need to walk slower and look at every fountain, lamp post and house more carefully while out walking with my camera.
(I know it's not pink but I grew tired of flowers and birds and pink.)

Purple it is

More purple flowers. This is lavender, you can smell them a mile away. But the purple color is nice.

Pink or purple

I never was a big fan of pink or purple but I find as a I get older that I seem to gravitate to exactly these two colors in various shades. Thankfully I haven't started buying clothes in pink and purple but who knows, I just might in the future. When it comes to flowers though, I love pink and purple. Pink tulips are my favorite flowers, bright pink tulips, not pale pink. The flower on the piccie is not a tulip, I don't know what it is. All I know is that every summer I can find them at the same place, in a thin strip of dirt by a house wall where they get a lot of sun. When the sun is shining that is...

Empty nest

Two weeks after I discovered the nest, it was empty. They were there in the morning when I came in and after an hour they were gone. Didn't even say goodbye. A few days later I found out they had taken up residence at ground level under another pine tree. They needed more space, I guess. After a couple of weeks they were gone from their new nest as well and had flown off to God knows where. That was two amazing weeks in the office, I didn't get much work done, haha!

War relics

This World War II bunker can be found in one of the parks here in Helsingborg. It's totally surrounded by spruces but you can still see it between the branches. Swedish soldiers sat here watching the coast line so the Germans wouldn't invade us from Denmark. The Germans never did invade Sweden, neither from Denmark, Norway or any other country. I don't think the above bunker stopped them from invading though, I'm sure there were other reasons.

End is near

The bigger one of the young ones were flapping his wings while in the nest and ended up falling out of it. Trying to get back in, he fell further down and ended up two branch levels below the nest. He looked at me, quite unhappy with his new digs which was windy and cold. I was thinking of trying to help him back to the nest but didn't want to scare him or his sibling. So there he was, out of the nest, helplessly flapping his wings every time his mother called for him but not being able to fly just yet. I didn't like leaving the office that evening, not knowing if he would still be there when I came back the next morning.

The golden season

Leaves are turning different shades of red, yellow, orange, brown and gold. Sometimes on the same tree. I particularly love the chestnut trees with their big leaves split in several "fingers". One leaf is bigger than the next and when you think you've found the biggest leaf of them all, an even bigger one falls down right in front of your feet. Which is much better than having chestnuts falling on your head which has happened once or twice. When I was a kid, we used to pick chestnuts to feed the deer in the childrens zoo in my hometown. Does kids still do that I wonder?

It's all about perspective

Five rings to rule them all... Well, not exactly. These are handles used for lifting the big blocks of stone from the grave. There's a similar set on the other side but not shown in the picture. I had to bend down very low in the knee to take this picture. And still I couldn't get a picture where I was level with the handles. Not without throwing myself flat to the ground, haha! I should try that next time and get another perspective of the handles.

A new angle

This was interesting, I'm standing in the rose garden looking for late flowers to take pictures of and when I look up, I see this view of the old castle tower. I've lived in Helsingborg for 10 years and never seen this view of it before. Perhaps I should add a new theme to my list (besides taking piccies of towers on old houses and birds); different views of the castle tower. Anyway, here's my first post from that possible new theme. The only thing missing is a couple of birds in the sky.

Trying to take a nap

 

Yes, I was very rude taking pictures of the bird when he tried to take a nap. But I found such a good spot and I managed to get the focus just right and I had to take a few pictures. I guess he forgave me because he fell asleep soon after these piccies were taken. Considering I took them behind a window, the quality is quite nice, don't you think? You have no idea how many pictures I took just to get a few good ones. The camera kept wanting to focus on the twigs and branches or the sun would show reflexes in the glass or the birds were too far back in the nest to get any good light on them... and so on...

A bumblebee flew by

Morning forecast said rain and for once they were correct, it's raining. To spite the weather gods I'm choosing a summery image for todays post. A bumblebee butt, flowers, and sunshine. It works for me... at least as long as I don't look out the office window.

Having fun is the main thing

This kid sure had fun playing with the waves. I watched the boy for 10 minutes one of the few warm summer days we had in August. He was hopping and bopping, jumping and laughing playing around with the incoming waves. He was in heaven and didn't notice other people watching him. I enjoyed myself immensely and took several pictures.

There's two of us

Here's the proof, there was two little dove kids in the nest and they've grown so fast. This is the second week from my discovery and they should be ready for moving out very soon. As you can see, they've outgrown the nest.

Cookies

This is what a pile of cookies looks like. The green ones had blueberry goo in between, I think the yellow ones had lemon goo in them, the pink ones I don't remember. And there were chocolate ones as well. Now where would you find such a treasure trove of goodies? My sister-in-law made these for my youngest nephews name giving ceremony. She made hundreds of the ones in the picture. Needless to say I ate a lot of cookies that day, haha!

I don't care if it rains

My nephew loves playing outside and he doesn't care one bit if it's raining. Playing is ok no matter how wet it gets. Water puddles are one of the most fun things in the world and so what if his Wellington boots fills up with water because he likes to stand in the puddles regardless of how deep they are. I bet he's standing there feeling the boots fill up and the socks getting wet enjoying the sensation.

And oh, the cap needs a bath of course. The cap needs to know how fun it is to play in water puddles.
I took these pictures trying to hold an umbrella with my left hand and balancing the camera with my right hand trying to keep it under the umbrella so it wouldn't get wet. The first piccie came out good, the next one; well, let's just say not so good focus wise. But who cares really? Rain and water puddles are fun so what's a blurry little picture in the great scheme of things?

Flower flashback

Fall has arrived to my part of Sweden so I thought a nice flower picture would be a good post today. Red poppies are one of my favorite flowers and fortunately these were late bloomers. I had the opportunity to enjoy them at a moment when I had the camera with me, lucky me. And lucky you, now you will have the opportunity to enjoy them as well.

Still eyeballing me

Gotten used to me staring at him, he still eyeballed me. This was taken three days after finding out the nest was there. The other baby kept mostly to the back of the nest and I didn't see it much. This was the first week of September by the way.

Painting a lion

Somebody painted this lion black. It used to be grey but apparently its original color back in the days was black. The new owners obviously decided to restore the black look. Personally I liked the lion better when it was grey, it blended better with the color of the building.

Made in stone

Look at this beautiful ship, the creators handiwork amazes me. Obviously the ship has been mounted on the tombstone afterwards but the waves? How was the waves done? I would really like to know.

Kids and cameras

This is what happens when your nephew borrows your camera. I give him an A for creativity and imagination. If you want to take pictures, you have to start somewhere.

Eyeballing me

One day in the beginning of September. I was looking out the office window and suddenly I noticed something staring back at me. A small head with a tall neck eyeballing me. To my surprise, I found that a dove had built her nest in the tree outside my window. And one of the birdlings were looking at me. The next day I armed myself with my camera and took these pictures of two baby doves, approx. 2 weeks old. Not the cutest animal babies I've seen though.

September rain

It's raining again. Since I don't have any rain photos I chose a photo with star magnolias from early summer this year. I had no idea this tree was a magnolia until I read it on the Internet somewhere when looking for something else. Star magnolia, a lovely name for these flowers. Although the magnolia I posted the other day is still my favorite kind of magnolia.

I don't know what happened to yesterdays post, Blogger had some trouble while I was typing it up and when I published, Blogger saved it in Drafts. I found out just now so today you get to read two posts instead of one.

Lovey dovey

Doves mate for life just like swans. These two certainly enjoys a happy marriage. I had to be very sneaky when taking this picture but it's understandable, isn't it? They're having a moment and I'm snapping pictures. At least I've disabled the shutter sound on my camera.

The second time around

The magnolias in the rose garden by the old tower bloomed a second time a couple of weeks ago. I've never seen that before. Or I just don't remember it, I'm getting to that age when things make quick drive bys in my memory. There's a reason it's called short term memory you know. Anyway, this picture isn't from the second blooming (?) but at least it's a magnolia.

Tree time again

It's been a while since I posted trees so here goes. Thick, dark brown trunks with leaves in different shades of green. Don't you feel like sitting in their shade reading a book? Or have a picnic with friends?

Summers end

Today is the first autumn day, it's dark, rainy and windy. We're experiencing the last breath of the tropical storm Leslie. An experience I would happily have lived without. And therefore I'm dreaming myself away to those few summer evenings when the weather was nice enough to allow you to stay late by the beach, sitting in the chairs by the sound with friends, watching the sea and the sunset.

Lots of tulips

How about some tulips today? Lots of tulips. It's my favorite flower and my favorite tulip color is red or deep pink. Whenever I see tulips I think of my grandmother. I wonder why, I don't remember if she loved tulips as well. Maybe she did?

Lilacs are my favorites

We're enjoying a couple of warm, sunny days at the moment. Most likely it's the last breath of summer before fall hits us. +23 was promised today but so far it's grey skies and a bit windy. Hopefully it will improve.

One of the first flowers to bloom in summer here in Helsingborg is the lilac. The light purple lilac is my favorite and one of the few flowers that I can stand smelling without getting a headache.

After the rain

Taking a bath after the rain. The natural bird bath is located in the yard where my brother lives. It's a small dent in the rocks that fills up with water during raining. Actually it's filled with water even during sunny days, not as much but still. My nephew loves to throw rocks in there and also wading through it with and without Wellington boots. Sneakers or socks only are also acceptable footwear when going in according to the kid. Sitting in the bird bath is normal behaviour even though mom and dad doesn't approve as much.

What's with the long face?

Photographywise the summer this year has been a bit disappointing. Lots of rain and grey skies has prevented me from taking pictures that I can post here. When I did go out with my camera I realized I needed to find new places to go and new things to take pictures off. The same old road with the same old flowers, birds and beaches needs a rest.

During my usual visit to my brother and his family, we were planning on going to the zoo like we did last summer. The trip would've given me a lot of photo opportunities but even though we were dressed for the rain, we had to cancel. It was raining way too much that day.

So I dug deep into my picture stash and found this elephant from our visit to the zoo last year. I barely managed to adjust the zoom in time to shoot the lady trying to grab some grass to munch on.

Rolling in it

This is one guy who knows how to enjoy his freedom. Perhaps I should roll in the grass and stretch next week when my summer vacation starts. The guy is my sisters dog Pluto, you have seen him before on this blog. Two more days and then I can veg out.

In need of summer vacation

My summer vacation is 10 days away. I'm bored, restless, tired and lack motivation to do much at the office. Kind of like the lion on the picture. 

The picture was taken last summer when I was visiting the Boras Zoo with my brother and his family. Unfortunately it was the lions day to eat and they were all having a lunch nap when we came by. Very disappointing considering we, the grownups, was very much looking forward to see how little Eddie would react when he saw live lions for the first time. On the other hand, the tigers didn't get any food that day so they were looking at us in a hungry kind of way. 

Thankfully we were behind glass so looking was all they could do. You may notice a slight reflex from the glass in the picture above.

Changing skies

Hey, look at this! Did you ever see a more amazing sky? I have no idea what caused this yellow-pink-purple line to appear but I threw myself in the direction of my camera so I could grab a piccie before it was gone. I've never seen anything like this before this evening and not after either. But I have a picture of it!

Rain season

Lots of rain coming down here lately. And more are coming this weekend. As far as I know, Sweden isn't monsoon country but I'm really starting to wonder about global warming. Our summers are getting awfully wet. And when the summer isn't wet, it's hot and dry. Oh well, at least it's fun to take pictures after the rain, with leaves and flowers full of glittering raindrops

My furry friend

Two friends are sitting on a bench enjoying a nice spring afternoon. And I'm taking sneaky pictures behind their backs. I liked the concept of "mans best friend" and the fact that the dog is sitting beside him on the bench, not on the ground.

What are you looking at?

Flipping through the pictures I've been taking lately I noticed they showed birds and flowers and not much else. Therefore, until I have managed to capture something else you will have to suffer posts with birds and flowers.

I met this guy one evening. He stared at me for a while before he went on to wherever he was building his nest. Or was it a she building her nest? Anyway, there we were on the path, staring at each other. I managed to take this picture before the birdie lost interest in me and left.

African pink

African daisies in pink and purple. I love these flowers, I used to plant them every summer when I had a deck to put flowers on. Now I just take piccies of them standing in other peoples flowerbeds.

From the bottom

These water lillies grow in the rose garden pond by the old castle. They're not tall enough to breach the surface yet but when they do, there will be gorgeous white flowers to take pictures of. Funny that the sun makes the underwater plants cast shadows on the bottom of the pond. I didn't see that until now.

I haven't the foggiest...

One foggy day in Helsingborg. I couldn't see more than maybe 20 metres in front of me. This picture is taken in the outskirts of the cemetary. Who knows what else was lurking in the fog that surrounded me? I kept waiting for a big black horse with a black rider to come forth and ride me down. Yes, I've been reading Lord of the Rings again.

For a friend

I learned yesterday that an online friend passed away this past Saturday. Faith was a lovely woman and a great friend. These lillies are for you, Faith, hugssss.