Roses are red, Fiats are blue...

Ha, riding my bicycle this morning gave me a chance to take a closer look at a really nice Fiat 600. Riding at a quick pace down the street made this little gem look like a baby blue streak in the corner of my eye. A quick turn, a few snaps for my Fiat 500/600 photo file and then on my way to office again.

Window of opportunity

If you have three houses to care for you can be sure to have a few windows spread around. My windows are rather old and can be separated. This feature is good for ease of maintanance but also means a bit of dust will gather between the panes. I didn´t want to over do it this weekend but rather take it slow so only twentyeight separate sides got a dose of my cleaning ability. Twentyfour pieces of glass to go...

A special midsummer evening

As the beloved government of the peace loving People´s Democratic Monarcy have given its subjects a new Midsummer day to celebrate (some years ago and not on the actual summer solstice...) it was duly hailed yesterday by me and my family. On the sofa my brother can be seen sleeping all food off. Never counted all courses but it was a table set for the former king of France, Louis XIV (the Sun king himself) and not little people like us. Plate after plate was finished and so were we... One set of stripes is a cushion, the other set is my dad by the way.

An ordinary midsummer evening

Yesterday was the summer solstice. Although it was in the middle of the night it was light as if day. Woke up really early and went to work rather than staying in bed for another hour. The beautiful weather kept through the day and me and a couple of friends went for a nice meal at a british pub on the south side of The City. Herring, new potatoes, sour cream, leek and a bit of strong aged cheese.

By accident I ended up at an outdoor show in a park nearby home. Missed the first bit but the rest was great. Maybe I can find the show elsewhere as they tour The City during the summer.

As you can see the park was full of people enjoying themselves, having a bit to eat and drink in the fine evening.

You know you´re working too much...

...when you´re trying to open your home door with your office key!

Flapping flyer

It´s summer and it´s time for nature to fill the skies with things buzzing and flapping. Mostly this is good for birds nesting and breeding as they need the food, for us humans its sometimes a difficult time. Today was not so although the sky was home for a flying and flapping thing. A small Robinson helicopter was crisscrossing the airspace above me for quite some time. I think it landed a few times on a field in the area. Doing work for the farmer or doing birthday trips? Me no know. The Robinson is having a ordinary piston engine, not the more common turbine found in most modern helicopters. Guess this is what it sounded like in the first days of helicopter use some 60 years ago.

Moose on the loose

This just in: decided to take a couple of shots of my white little flowers in the garden before rain coming down and ruining everything. Just down from my litte photo session on the rock, turning around the corner of the house and...


...there it is, eight meters away. I almost feel it before I actually see it. Maybe my peripheral vision is on the alert? I´ve experienced this before, in the woods. Even closer.


I´m just about to walk indoors so I stay inside and shoot through the window. When I know I have a few good photos I go outside and press the shutter twice more before it sets off into the treeline between me and my neighbour´s.


It strides soundlessly around my neighbour´s house and then peeks through the trees just to decide if I´m good or bad. No good it decides and turns its back on me. Gone. Last years calf I´d say, still not old enough to stay away from gardens, feeling a bit lost since leaving its mom.


And this is what I went outside for...

Evening stroll

Clouds reflecting in the lake. A bit like Monet, or what? A blackbird was singing its heart out while I snapped this shot.


Found this adoring little stone house by the road. I´s a big boulder actually.


Bumblebees were busy doing their thing amongst these beauties. Found a field full of them. Plenty of food for all.


Another one...


Now this is the last... for now. Good night y'all.

Lavender etc.

After a late start in the morning I got in my car and went to TheVillage. It´s been a while since last time and I had no idea what to expect. All lush and green, dry and brown, lots of flowers, a need for the lawn to be mowed again? I turned off the road for a short visit at a local plants and gardening store. A big bag of high energy soil, some lavender plants and a gardening spade filled the trunk. Back on the road again. Took the short cut through old country where farmers and landlords been present for a few thousand years, nice flowing road. Back in The Village the mayor found everything to be in order. This seasons flowers were in full bloom and a few extra had popped up. Always a surprise to see what´s coming up in an old garden.


Soon to blossom! Go away ants, no eating on the premises.

Can you spot any blueberries? Hope there will be a few later this summer.

Where I ended up after a quick lunch... and stayed till dinner time.

Weather report 3

Thunder, lightning, the way you love me is frightening. Wheeling my way home from work I got in the way of a terrific thunderstorm. Flash, thunderclaps and rain are the usual combination. The extra ingredient this time was a stinging moment of hail. Ouch, it did hurt when the little hailstones smashed into my face. Have a wasp sting your nose and you´ll know what I´m talking about. The sound from my helmet clad head was a smattering noice. End result of the rain was a few litres of water in my shoes not to mention my clothes...

Soaking wet I stumbled into the local bakery and got myself a hefty piece of cinnemon bun for my afternoon tea before doing my laundry.

Guilty as charged

What do you think the driver of this taxi was thinking when he managed to disobey at least three different rules; NO parking on the zebra crossing, NO parking on the side walk and NO parking in a cross roads. Anything I have missed? Funnily this driver managed to confirm my belief that drivers of BMWs are out of their minds (they prove it over and over again) as he paked this way. Big time! Not so funny was the fact that three different cars made this place a dangerous place for bicyclists and pedestrians alike. Also not so funny was the guy in grey shirt abusing me and being very threatening in every way. He cursed, told me to stuff my photos in my wifes (have none but he couldn´t have known that) private parts (that is the nice way of saying it, wich he did not). He also informed all his friends that I was a moron and mentally disabled, sick to my head was the actual words. Ah, almost forgot he spat just to make his point in full. But of course he reacted this way as I had photos of his crappy sense of parking from before. Out of five persons reacting to my little camera work only one (1) was willing to listen to me and my arguments. And he agreed to my thoughts not only cars were offenders but bicyclists and walkers alike. But what is a poor driver going to do if he want to stop at his friends little shop and have a chat in the afternoon? Fuck the rest.

After work I took my mount and wheeled south. On one main road in Town a car trying to force its way into the traffic almost mangled me despite my wearing of a bright yellow jacket for reason of NOT to be missed. Dare I say BMW again? What is the matter with drivers in BMWs?

Yesterday I got abused by a fellow cyclist as I did not stop at a red light. I felt like shit as he was absolutely right, I should have stopped but didn´t as I grew tired of stopping every fifty meters as the lights are not syncronized to a bicyclist´s pace but rather to a much faster car. If a police had stopped me I would have pleaded guilty as charged. Hmm, just after this fellow two-wheeler guy shouted at me he broke a law himself, crossing an unbroken line separating the traffic. So who is an offender and why, I ask? Who is making up what rules and laws can be broken? Can just speak for myself and I have a rule of thumb; if driving a car I am VERY careful not to brake any law at all if I can avoid it. The consequenses would be too much if someone would get hurt or worse. If I am on my bicycle I might brake some minor law if there are positively no way no one can get hurt AND my frustration of unlogical bicycle lanes are too great. A psycologist would say I am rationalizing or so. Yup, that´s it. I am. But still, an unprotected bicyclist or walker will get hurt or killed reagrdless if he or she is doing the right thing if a much faster and heavier car will hit you or cause an accident as the driver dont give a damn about you. But still, I AM making up my own set of rules if I´m not obeying the laws and that is not a good thing... May I burn in hell!

Life as an image

Watching the last remains of the bird I am struck by the similarity to the Archaeoptheryx that lived some 150 milion years ago and found buried in limestone layers in Bavaria in 1861, you may have seen the pictures before. This first bird was very primitive but the direct ancestor to today´s birds. Not much seem to have happened since then. Back to 2010; all life but bacteria is now gone. No maggots, no nothing. Bye bye blackbird, about time for a burial.

Life went and came

A day later the bird is on par with Monthy Python´s Norwegian Blue, a definite goner. It is not much of it but a few feathers and bones. But hey, it´s alive, right? No it´s not. It is just the maggots munching away of the last scraps. You may spot a few greyish larvae dead (!) centre...

Life comes and goes

The other day I found a dead bird on my balcony. Probably went head first into my glass door and broke it´s neck. Didn´t have time to get rid of it so I just left it as were. The next day it was in full transformation; feathers missing, bare flesh, eyes gone. Not a pretty sight but rather interesting I´d say.

Sorting it out

Finally I am closing my modelling studio. No more plastic model building in the work shop. My friends are giving up the partnership as they have separate rooms at home for hobby work and I can not afford to have a separate work shop of my own. So, today was bringing-it-all-home for me. As I unpack all big card board boxes I make a list of what model kits I have. So far my screen show 161 items. A big heap will be sorted out for sale and the rest is for keeps. As you can see I do have a soft spot for helicopers, especially the famous Vietnam era Huey. You may spot a red stripe on the computer screen; it is my next build. Won´t tell you what it is, not yet...

Weather report 2

No biking for the guy across the court yard today. Guess you can see the rain pouring down, grey streaks obliquely across the photo. This weekend has been on/off weather wise for most of the time. As I write this sun is back...

Whirly police

OK, a few days back I reported about putting a LEGO police helicopter together. This is the real stuff you see above. It´s a Bell Jet Ranger if you´re wondering. I found it sitting atop a plinth outside the police museum in The City. Took a bunch of reference pictures for future use in case I feel like doing a scale model of it. Stranger things have happened before...

Paint it red 2

What a difference a day make? as she sang. Well, a full day of painting would probably make a big difference. However, today we would only see two more walls painted. This one on the middle house took two hours plus to finish. After this I painted the third side on the main building, my Mansion. All in all I´m pretty happy with the result anyway.

Lawn and order

Last time I was in The Village I realized the lawn had to be mowed. Grass can grow fast if it´s reasonably warm and wet. As the mentioned conditions was fulfilled by far it was about time to take action. This visit would require my fathers mower so I picked it up at my parents, packed it in my car and strode roadwise to The Village once more. As it is an electrical mower it didn´t make too much noice. All I had to do was plug it in and push a button. Bzzzzzzzzzzz, no oil, no fuel. At last, my lawn is in order.

Applewhatever

At work we get fruit as a treat to keep healthy and always stay on top, sorts of fuelling our brains in the afternoon. Sometimes there are a bit of apples over as we get a bit more than we can eat. When this occurs I bring the apples home for some nice cooking. Below I´ll talk you through how to make "Applewhatever". Great to have with your daily bowl of porridge/youghurt/steak or other preferred staple diet.

Peel 15-20 apples, cut in quarters and take the core away. Cut in small bits, the finer the smoother "Applewhatever".


Fill your pan up to the brim, add a mug of water or two, add three decilitres of sugar and two teaspoons of cinnamon. Stir every now and then to get all apple bits down to the bottom. If too dry after 10 minutes add a bit of more water. Simmer for about 45 minutes. If you like it rustic you leave it as is, if you prefer your "Applewhatever" relly smooth use a hand mixer or use a ordinary beater. Let it cool. If you want it a bit more tangy you may add a bit of ginger.

Indulge!

Shummer drink

Yesh friendsh, we´ve got shummer now and it´s a great time for shome nische drinking on the balcony! One drink that always is a hit with me is a proper Gin & Tonic. Easy as sunday morning to do and as refreshing. Take one big glass, add a big chunk of ice, add a healthy dose of gin and top up with Schweppes Indian Tonic. Add a slice of lemon or lime. DRINK!