A walk in the soft hour

So, this is the soft hour – the stillness in the air and the busy, hot day preparing for sleep. You are welcome to join me on the walk with my friend Totti.

Hot days we have to wait until now, about 8.30 pm. His tail is up and by now he starts to come alive again…curious of what we shall find today.

The last shimmering rays of sun shows a luxuriant landscape – love and joy, life, decay and death – the glory of summer…

How we have been waiting and longing – and now it is here for us to rejoice in its beauty. So short a time, but finally here.

The farmer’s landscape II – in summer skies

Summer is here and the meadows are alive – be it with crops or cows or maybe sheep. The farmer is intent on the weather and his working days are long.

To make the crops grow faster, some fields are covered in giant plastic sheets.

Skåne is the most fertile part of Sweden, and barley is one of the most common crops grown here – together with wheat and rye.

 But, this time of the year strawberry fields can be found wherever you travel in the countryside.

Not to forget the the cattle, cows and calves, friendly gazing at you as you are passing by. Or the smart cat hiding in the grass, waiting for his prey…

The  importance of an open landscape cannot be over estimated. Without crops it will very fast disappear in weed and shrubbery. Without cows or sheep grazing, it is also lost to nature’s own forces.

Biking close to home – cykeltur hemmavid

The evenings are  filled with light and warm breezes – perfect for biking.  Why don’t you follow me along the road?

Kvällarna är ljusa med ljumma vindar – perfekta för cykelturer. Följ med på en liten kvällsrunda!

The sun is still strong, but hanging lower, making the poppies glow like flames in the field. A soft scent of jasmin floating through the air.

Not many of the giant bluebells grow here in Skåne anymore, but I have to stop and leave my bike for a photo when spotting these wonders bowing slowly in the breeze.

About 100 cm high, they are easily caught in the wind, and listening closely, I can almost hear them softly tingling…

Many old species of wild flowers have difficulties in surviving. Efficient farmers don’t leave that extra space needed for ”weeds”. This of course leads to fewer insects – and fewer species of birds eating them.

This little kidney vetch, a medical plant, used to grow everywhere here, but now I’m happy to find a small spot of them growing in the gravel by the road.

I turn right and reach one of my favourite roads…a road with grass in the middle. Grass in the middle – to me that means countryside, home, safety, curiosity, lovely scents, farms, animals, and –  what’s around the bend or at the end of the road?

When autumn comes, there will be blackberries here – their white flowers totally cover the stone fence…

…along with the tiny, vulnerable violets and the more sturdy red clover. Now the sun is setting and the birds are chirping and singing –

– some protecting their little ones more vigorously than others. This wheatear clearly wanted me to hurry along as soon as possible.

A last glimpse at the meadows glowing with sticky catchfly, and I hurry along, not to be in the way of his evening chores…