" ...though we travel the world to find the beautiful,
we must carry it with us, or we find it not "
Emerson (1803-1882)

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Searching for the unfindable...


I must add, I have been very into finding capercaillie lekking sites this year, to the extent that a few weeks back I donned snowshoes and trudged up to the woods, looking and listening, slowly and surely.  It would be a dream to find a lekking site, and sit out under a pine tree and have a listen to the mating calls and watch their fancy displaying.  The 'lek' site is where the males all hang out together, calling and strutting their stuff, trying to attract females.  Of course, I found bird poo, I found possible feeding trees, but did I find birds! 

(No)

But I had a lovely time looking - these photos are the result of two days searching (and not finding...).  In science there are always positive results from negative results: so it was actually a positive negative, one could well say (to console oneself :))

(and a week after my first visit we did return, to sleep out under the old pines and the open sky to hear for birds: no capercaillie but which was a joy in itself!)

VISIT ONE
(Searching for trees and poo)







AND

VISIT TWO

(when we return to try to listen for birds - and fail ;))



 Plenty of open water in the woods (this was only one week after the first visit)




(they call it 'skiing on the edge' (edge of spring, that is ;))




Back home again to the hut

I did return to the hut the other day - nice to see it again, though very sad and tragic that Helge, the hut's owner passed away last summer, at the hut (on the path back to the road).  I still like to visit the place though, and his mum always encourages me to go and stay there again. I don't feel I want to do that, but the place is always special to me, and to gather friends there and have a fire is something that I feel Helge would have appreciated.

So, I was back, camping in the woods, enjoying the place with Dovre (and yes, I think Dovre knew he was back ;0))



















22 May - freedom from the books!

Well. recently there has been an awful amount of this:
 And especially these: (that's a English/Norwegian dictionary bottom left,
and coffee on the top right for those who are wondering)

But yesterday for one blissful day, I felt like the Old Helen.  You see, the day previous to this I had submitted all 78 pages of the written component of my Norwegian Teacher Training degree. It has been much sweat and tears to get this far - and now it is only 3 weeks (less!) 'til I have my oral exam, and get to discuss my masterpiece of 78 pages (6 essays).

I must hasten to add, they (the pages) are in Norwegian. 
So, yes, hats may be off for effort, but effort and attitude can't colour the grading of a candidate, 
(as I have learnt through all my reading... yawn... yawn...)...

But, yes, enough of that: YESTERDAY

* SKI - COFFEE IN THE WOODS - HORSES *

enjoy the pictures! (let me take you there with me!)
















So, yes, here's a salute to the books!  

(and one definite salute to not the books ;))


Sunday, March 17, 2013

"At half past three we go home to tea"..

..."or maybe at quarter to four. 
And ten pairs of feet go running down the street
-and in at their own front door.
 
And it's rough and tumble, battle and noise
-mothers and fathers, girls and boys.
 
Baby in the carry-cot, sleeps by the fire
-there's a little bit of worrying, but much more LOVE!"
__________________________________________

Yes, that traditional English rhyme must have been on my mind as I fled school the other day, with the sunshine still out, BEAMING on the snow, and promising Easter.  If afternoons were able, I think the afternoon was actually shouting at me to get outdoors; since it was like physical pain to sit on my butt inside and mark student papers, I did what I was told here.

Snowshoeing til dusk.  Plugging slowly upwards, in powder heaven in the woods right back from where I live.  Seeing Tromsø light up like a Christmas scene: that was pretty pretty!













Yep, sometimes you just have to get out of the school: and the great thing about 'half past three' here is we don't say that here: Norwegians use the expression 'half-three', and that 'half three' is critically actually 2.30pm here ;) hurrah!