Annual Spring Report 2022

It looks like if it were not for my annual spring report, this blog would be dead by now. But here I am again, with a few photos from our garden.

Winter this year has been mild, but spring has been rather cold, until we suddenly got a warm spell around Easter.

Then one morning two weeks ago we looked out of the kitchen window and discovered that the woods had turned green overnight. We had some beautiful days before the chilly weather returned.

Hopefully the colder weather will cause the flowers to bloom a little longer. Almost all the narcissi came out at once, and the early rhododendrons are just starting.

The narcissi by the south wall are starting to fade.

Also by a south wall, 36 tulips are in bloom.

On top of the old compost heap, two kale plants have survived winter, and are starting to form flowers.

The lilac has large buds already, and looks promising.

The staghorn sumak is budding, and behind it, the flowering currant has been in full bloom for some weeks now.

The wild anemones show up everywhere in the garden, and in the woods. Great food for the insects. Very soon the cuckoo flower will bloom all over our lawn. We usually postpone cutting the lawn, or some of it, until the flowers have faded.

Spring snowflake is also in full bloom, which is a bit early, – but of course they are welcome. I seem to remember having theese in bloom around June 1st in previous years. But it could have been a cold one I am remembering.

The downside to posting so seldom is that the platform has changed a lot since my last post, so it took some time to find the functions that I needed. I have not figured out everything about photo placement yet, but hope it will look ok in the post.

Happy springtime.

🙂

Eldrid

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Annual Spring Report 2021

This spring has been quite cold, as was also the winter this year.

On May 1st there were not many green leaves to be seen in the woods, and there is still snow in the mountains. Crocuses and snowdrops are all finished, and most of the daffodils along the fence have large buds.

The earliest daffodils and those by the south wall are in bloom, and so is the flowering currant. The rhododendrons have lots of buds this year, so we expect a riot of colour later in May.

Last year DH cleaned out our raised beds by the steps, – they were so weed infested that they were impossible to keep. So instead we bought some large pots to place in the beds, planted roses and perennials in them, and filled some gravel around the pots. We will be getting a couple more pots this year. Everything has survived in the pots despite the cold winter.

The begonias have come out from the basement where they have been kept in a chilly and dark place all winter. Usually they have a lot longer sprouts than this, so maybe our basement was colder this winter. Keeping an eye out for the weather forecast to see when we can put them into the earth. May can not be trusted not to bring on some night frost and snow occasionally.

Our white rosebush is sprouting despite the chill, and the spiraea bush is turning green, but no flowers yet. The old rowan tree has large buds, at least on the branches that are not dead yet. It is very old, – my husband who is 68, can remember there were two trunks when he was a little boy, and his grandfather cut down one of them. So it was already a big, grown tree 60-65 years ago. We will have to cut it down eventually as it is getting unsafe.

The lilac bush to the right is not quite as old, – only 45 or 46. My father brought a sapling from their garden, where I grew up, and planted it here the year we moved into our new home. Some of the oldest stems are starting to give, and we had to remove a big one a few weeks ago. But there are lots of younger stems, so we hope for lilac blooms many years to come still.

Our so called lawn has got quite a few wood anemones now, as we do not bother to remove the moss. I think they are prettier than grass.

Some years ago we planted 8-10 tulips by the south wall, and they have returned every year, although in varying numbers. This year they are at an all time high as I counted 32 buds. Fingers crossed that the deer do not get to them.

And lastly there was a nice surprise in one of my pots as last year’s violets seem to have seeded themselves. I will only remove the dry stalks carefully, and then leave them alone to do their thing.

🙂

Eldrid

Annual Spring Report 2020

Every year on May 1st I try to document how far spring has come at our place, – mostly for myself to look back on over the years.

This year we had a mild winter, and people were worried about plants and buds developing way too early in January. However, March and April have been chilly, so things have slowed down, and we are “back to normal”, so to speak.

On the evening of April 29th I suddenly remembered that we were going away on May 1st, so I hurried outside to take these photos. The lawn is green, and the narcissi are in bloom, or with large buds.

The cherry tree has large buds, but no flowers yet.

The ash tree in the corner is still bare.

The woods have just turned green during the week.

Our flowering currant bush has been covered in red blooms for some time.

The earliest rhododendrons are just starting to show their red colour.

This rhododendron is getting a special treatment. It was uprooted during a storm a few weeks back, and rolled down onto the road below. DH just managed to drag it back uphill and position it between some small trees, and then add some soil and extra support. Here it is getting a thorough watering before we left. We do hope it will survive.

Tulips by the south wall are in bloom, mostly.

The poor old spirea bush looks drab. It has started to bloom, but they are very few. I think some pruning is due.

 

 

 

We left for an eye doctor appointment and also visited family further inland. There is a record amount of snow in the mountains this year as shown in the sunset photos above taken on May 2nd, and it is not melting yet. There may be some serious flooding if we get a sudden warm spell.

 

Foto: Ingrid Bjørnerheim Hynne/Vestland fylkeskomune.

(Link to news article.)

Some of our mountain passes are closed all winter, and usually they are opened up during the first week of May. This year the snow banks along the edges of the roads are huge,- up to 9 metres tall, –  and may be dangerous if they suddenly collapse. Luckily, because of closed borders due to Covid19, no buses filled with touring cruise passengers will have to pass through here yet. And there will probably be some snow left even in July.

Chilly weather is forecast for the next week.

🙂

Eldrid

Annual Spring Report 2019

Not much has been posted on my blog the last twelve months, but this post goes up every year. It is fun to sometimes look back over the years to see just how “normal” the spring time has been.

As for this year, it will be placed in the “not normal” group.

I cannot remember everything being so early before. We have had a very warm and dry April, and during the last week, everything was suddely in full bloom, including the fruit trees, which normally bloom at least 3 weeks later than this.

All kinds of bushes normally blooming in May, has either started to bloom, or are already in full bloom, like the red rhododendron bushes.

All the narcissuses are in full bloom, or are finished, depending on variety and placement in the garden. Even the tulips are nearly finished.

The ones above normally bloom in June, but have now started at the end of April.

Our lawn is in full bloom too, so the bumblebees should be happy, – or maybe they are already overworked with everything else that is blooming.

Even the wild blueberries and the strawberries are in bloom, and it was not yet May when these photos were taken.

Today, on May 1st, we are further inland at our “cabin”. It has obviously been a bit cooler here, as we can see the tulips have just started to bloom, and the leaves on the trees are  bit smaller. But still very early here too.

A happy wagtail on top of our roof. I hope it does not eat too many bees as they are needed for their job just now.

 

🙂

Eldrid

Annual Spring Report 2017

It is interesting to look back on my previous spring reports to see how they vary from year to year. This year seems fairly normal.

Even though the crocuses were record early due to a mild winter, both March and April have been quite cold, so the pictures taken on May 1st is almost exactly like last year.

The woods have just the smallest hint of green to them, and this is mostly due to the last couple of days when the sun came out, and it is warming up. There is still snow in the mountains from the latest snowfall not many days ago.

The winter tyres have just been removed from the car, washed and are drying in the sun, and the summer tyres are on, – more than a week later than the general rules allow. However, they were needed just a few days ago.

The cherry tree has large buds, but no blooms yet. Just as well since there are few insects around.

The bulk of our daffodils are not out yet. The exception besides the early ones is the ones in sheltered spots and next to the south wall. The tulips by the south wall are also budding.

The flowering currant has been in bloom for some time, but the spiraea bush has just a hint of green around it, but no blooms yet. However, with the nice weather we are having now, it will not be long, I expect.

The sheep are enjoying the good weather too, although the lot in this photo were a bit worried. Someone with a dog, – on a leash, mind, as it should be this time of year, – was crossing the field below, so they ran for higher grounds. Lambs were separated from their mothers, so there was a lot of bleating and running around before the little ones got back to their respective guardians for a comforting suckle. Then all was well, and they could settle down and enjoy the glorious day.

 

And so do we. The weather forecast for the next week is glorious.

🙂

Eldrid

Lagre

Spring, or Winter, or Both

Or maybe we should call it “sprinter”?

Anyway, most of the winter has been quite mild, with a few cold spells in between. Lately we have had some nice weather with clear skies, frost, and some gorgeous evening skies.

Last week I took a look in our garden, and was very surprised when I saw these popping up everywhere:

      I cannot remember the crocuses being so early before, – the sun had not even returned to our house and garden after the winter months when this photo was taken.

When driving to visit family this week, we also came across lots of these beside the road:

Coltsfoot (Tussilago) is a sure sign of spring.

On returning home in late afternoon, we had time to stop and take some photos as the sun was setting.

There were thin crusts of ice floating about on the surface of this fjord.

A bit later we came across this frozen lake:

I went out of the car for a better view. It was our last evening of this spell of cold, nice weather. No wind, and all was quiet….

… except for a faint sound of a single pair of steel blades on ice, the occasional booming sound of the ice settling into the colder evening temperatures, and also peals of laughter ringing across the lake from the far shore where a group of people had fun on the ice.

I was just able to glimpse some figures moving over there, – one is sitting on a kicksled, and the others skating along.

Now it is raining again, and the ice is probably gone.

🙂

Eldrid

Lagre

Lagre

Lagre

Annual Spring Report 2016

The photos below were all taken on May 1st, the date I have used to compare the progress of spring for some time now.

The woods have just a hint of green, – most trees have only small buds, while a few early ones are sporting tiny leaves.

The pussy willow has been out for some time. There is still lots of snow in the mountains and temperatures have been quite low so far.

Crocuses are mostly finished, most of the daffodils are budding, and so is the cherry tree.

 

Only the very early daffodils and the ones growing in the most sunny places are in bloom.

The tulips along the south wall have large buds.

The spiraea bush, – the very first bush that was planted in our garden nearly 40 years ago, is starting to sprout leaves, but no flowers yet. The rose bush to the right was planted about the same time, and will hopefully display its white roses in a couple of months.

The field looks yellow and bleak, but there must be something green growing underneath since the deer turn up grazing there almost every day.

 

🙂

Eldrid

 

The Four Seasons Embroidered Frieze

This summer Kaffe Fassett’s exhibition “50 Years of Colour” has been on show at Hadeland Glassverk here in Norway. I finally got to see it during its last week, and it was indeed glorious. But I also got to see a lot more.

Since we had travelled a long way for this, and stayed a couple of nights, we also decided to visit the nearby Blaafarveverket in Modum, as we had heard they usually have some good exhibitions there during summer.

On arrival we were presented with the options of buying discounted tickets for any two of three sites, or all three. We thought that we had time for only two, and when hearing that one of them had some embroidery on show, we decided on that one, in addition to the main site, – which showed paintings in blue colours and also lots of blue glass and china, linked to the former production of cobalt mined in this area.

The second site, Nyfossum, used to be the director’s dwelling. The old house and gardens are being restored to former glory, while the log barn in the photo above has been turned into a gallery to house the annual summer exhibitions.

What a surprise to step into the barn and discover that the embroidery on show was actually THE Four Seasons Frieze, also called the Life Frieze, made by Torvald Moseid during the years 1961-1977. I had read about it in some magazine many, many years ago, and I think I also may have glimpsed it on tv at some time, but had never seen it in “person”.

Impressive is an understatement. It is 62 meters long and 58 centimeters tall, and all in one long piece of linen fabric, embroidered all over, mostly using the couching stitch with yarn spun from wool from the double coated Norwegian tail-less breed Spelsau.

The whole piece was hung around the walls in three separate rooms and a hallway. It was not possible to see all of it at once, – you had to move from room to room.

 

First room, spring

First room, spring

First room, continuing through the door and around all the walls in the next room

Back into the first room and out the door.

Down the hall.

Down the hall and into the third room.

The third room, winter

The third room, winter

The third room.

Below are more photos showing details from the frieze. I have put them into four groups, one for each season.

For every season there was also a small text explaining some of the scenes. As they were only in Norwegian I have tried to write up an English version, but I fear the poetry of the texts got lost in translation.

Spring
Early spring starts with naked trees and dead leaves.

The break through is like a powerful gust of wind. Flocks of migratory birds are carried by the wind. They fly with their heads stretched out towards the spring, and the wind is playing in groves and thickets.

The woods turn green, and flowers spring. The tree of spring spreads its glory like an open fan.

Flowers and plants are grown and tended to. Two who are enthralled with each other stand in the middle of them, as if they are part of the flowers’ beauty and vitality.

 

 

Summer

Summer starts with the big wedding feast. Flutes are played, and in the flowering fields there are undulating rows of dancers.

The summer bride has got her finery on. She has a classic profile, she is pale, and a myrtle garland is tied around her brow. The summer breeze is playing with her long hair. A knot of glorious summer flowers is tied behind her neck, and the wind blows her bridal veil into the wedding feast.

The wedding feast is like a flaming bonfire which turns into cascades of colourful midsummer plants.  The midsummer sun shines in bright red and yellow.

Midsummer blooming has a boundless lavishness of shapes and colours. Large flower bowls are opening up, and children are playing with pollen stamens.

 Autumn

The birds bring the first signs of autumn. They pull golden threads across the earth. The threads turn into light, golden veils which are pulled over the woods.

Nature closes down towards the winter time. Colours and shapes change the trees and plants. Large, brown, knotty plants with filled seed pods are contrasting with the blue.

 

Winter

The winter opens with the stormy wind hitting the trees, and dead leaves in brown, yellow, and red are blown into the air.

Through winter cold and frost the death rider on his wild horse charges into the night. Nature is desolate and silent.

The wind plays with light snowflakes, and they are dancing around like pearl embroidered suns.

In the darkness of the winter night a flaming ice rose shines like the fiery northern lights, filled with hope.

 

Needless to say I was above impressed when walking along the frieze, trying to take it all in, – and even more so now, when working with the photos for this blog post, and I really got to study the details.

One cannot help but wonder about the drive and stamina that the artist would need to finish a piece like this. And even so, when comparing the beginning and the end, one can almost get the impression that he did not want it to end, as the sheer masses and density of the stitches are ever increasing towards the end.

Still, the artist has produced two similar works of art after this one. His second frieze, the 50 meters long Orfeus and Euridike (1978 – 1985), was also displayed at Nyfossum in the neighbouring rooms, and was almost as impressive as this one, although a bit different.  I took lots of photos here as well.

His third and last work of this scale, is the 70 meters long frieze based on Draumkvedet, a Norwegian medieval ballad often compared to Dante’s Divina Commedia.  This was finished in 1993. I should like to see that one as well, – maybe I will be so lucky some time in the future.

🙂

Eldrid

ps

“The Four Seasons” and “Orfeus and Euridike” will hang at Nyfossum till the middle of September this year. There are still two more weeks to get to see them.

Annual Spring Report 2015

May 1st has come and gone, so my annual spring report is overdue, but here it is.

I guess there is no such thing as a “normal” spring, but if there were, this would be close, I think. At least this is very close to my memories of what spring used to be.

Since we were going away on May 1st, I took these photos in the evening the day before, and nothing had changed much overnight, so I think they count as May 1st photos.

We have had a relatively mild winter with little snow here on the coast (inland dwellers will tell a different story), but the spring has been quite cool, especially April. The leaves on the birch trees have just started to come out, but very slowly.

 

The daffodils are budding, and a few are in bloom.

The exceptions are the ones by the walls facing south, they have been blooming for some time. The crocuses are all finished, unlike the very cold spring 2 years ago, when they were still in full bloom on May 1st.

The flowering currant bush is also in full bloom, ….

…. but none of the rhododendrons have shown their colour yet, – not even the early ones.

The tulips by the wall are ready to bloom, and were opening up when we arrived back home two days later.

The rose bush has got some green leaves, but the spirea bush only has a hint of green on it.

No leaves on our old rowan tree yet, but it is budding. We still have snow falling now and again.

As we travelled into the fjords on May 1st, we could see that there was still a lot of snow in the mountains, and the greenery varied from quite green to none at all, depending on whether the slopes were facing south or north, and on the altitude. Some high lying farms inland still had their fields covered with snow.

 

 

🙂

Eldrid

Fair Weather Hexagons

The weather has been nice, – in fact more than nice: really, really hot for these parts of the world.

That is when I pull out my ongoing hexagon project and sit in the shade, cutting, basting and sewing.

When making the shorts shown in the previous post, I ended up with a lot of odd shaped remnants, perfect for cutting up into hexagons. They have all been basted, along with a few other remnant pieces laying around my sewing area.

A few have been made into flowers, with a few background pieces added, ready to be attached to the growing top.

I am starting to think that this will become a small throw for the sofa. It is wide enough by now, but has only a third of the desired height, so I will need to add about a hundred new flower blocks, plus some half blocks to make the edges even.

I see I will need a lot of fine weather to finish this one 🙂 🙂   Bring it on!

🙂

Eldrid