How Nordic nature relates with a Japanese garden
Swedish wilderness and Japanese gardens, the natural beauty versus the created beauty. In both surroundings there is no balance without contrast. Yet, while the essence of the Japanese garden is found in its purpose to enhance the quality of human life, the close-up or miniature landscape in a natural environment, doesn’t have a purpose in […]
Tribute to a pair of socks
Spring is in the air. Throughout history the change of seasons has been (and still is) a ritual. Nowadays snowdrops, followed by daffodils and cherry blossom trees, evoke at least a pleasant promise of warmer days that are to come. Winterjackets can be stored away and we start searching for those canvas sneakers – and […]
Iceland 2 – A festival of geology
Sparsely-populated, this North Atlantic island is one of the most volcanically active regions in the world. And if this weren’t enough, volcanism in Iceland is unusually diverse for an oceanic island. Nearly all volcano types and eruption styles known on Earth can be found here. The place is a festival of geology with a free […]
Iceland 1- Follow a raven to discover an island
The blue and the grey, the white and the black and all colors that nature has to offer at this latitude were present in the days when the Vikings steered their vessels towards the land. Iceland. What we see now is more or less the same. The man made constructions that are added over time, […]
Owls that foretell the future
It’s one thing to find the perfect place to hide away, it’s another thing to discover the bird and capture it in an image that is simply beautiful. Patience and the eye of Michelangelo – “for the hands execute, but the eye judges” – accompanied the photo camera of nature and wildlife photographer Graham McGeorge, […]
Nature as a nuisance, meaning mosquitoes and midges
Nature bites back Why we are on the mosquito’s diet is a question to which the answer is clear: the females use our blood as a source of protein for their eggs. How to withstand nature’s nuisance is rather more of a challenge, certainly less simple and unambiguous as well, because a Scandinavian summer is […]
A rust brown start of Scandinavian spring
Nature’s colors arrange for renewal at the beginning of a Scandinavian spring. The grayish green of the reindeer moss, the vivid green of the young spruces, the rust brown of grass. And the birch trees are shown as a haze of purple, stretched out along the hills. Small, tiny spruces are fighting over territory, feverishly […]
Reindeer’s seasonal adaptation: fur, fat and eyes
Arctic seasons are known for their extremes. Variety in temperature and changes in light between summer and winter months are the common environmental circumstances that call for adaptation. With the approach of winter, the reindeer start to put on a lot of body fat and also their coats fill out, in color changing from brown […]
Roskilde, town of bishops and kings
Denmark, the smallest of the five Nordic Countries (minus Greenland, Svalbard…), might not be heading the list for wild outdoor adventures destinations, this flat country is more than anything perfect for bike holidays and long walks on sandy beaches. In addition to the sports activities, its rich history guarantees an easy visit to one of […]
How Messi recovered from last year’s eagle attack
The Sami culture has a strong connection with tradition, long-established reindeer herding being at the heart of it. In Sweden alone there are some 260.000 reindeer and young Messi is one of them. In Spring 2014 the newborn calf was attacked by an eagle and although severely injured, it survived. The animal was brought down […]
