Walk to school - last month

Dovre

Here he is: arrival DOVRE.  Happy husky, retired from the cares of working.  And seems to enjoy the fireside comforts these days.... (though persuading him first inside took a bit of effort!)

Hut life

The promise of summer

I didn't deliberately miss the sun's return. The light coming back is a gradual process. So you feel, after the long winter with no rays of light at all on the hut since October... Believe you me, I have been long-anticipating the sun's return, and yet.... often I am away at the weekends...during daytime (see post below, titled 'Sunworship'). I find it so hard to sit in the hut, at minus whatever degrees, just in the dark: Waiting for the sun. So, I go outdoors. Get warm. Anything. Therefore, perhaps I missed the first rays of sun on the hut. And yet I wonder....

It was the last weekend in February, and I was working night shifts at the Asylumottak. Bed at 8am after a night shift seemed a good excuse to be in bed, in the hut, during the day time. In the hut. And so, I awoke, 2pm, to the hut bathed, yes bathed, in sublime sunlight!... yet only for a few minutes....

You may think I'm waxing poetic about this, but it was so warm and light and suddenly the promise of summer was there.

And, although it might um and ahhhh a bit about coming back: once the sun creeps back here, it suddenly isn't so gradual anymore. A few days of teasing past the windows and not quite making it into the room proper. And then, quite unexpectedly, the sun is back. It's here. Mornings are light again, you don't need the head torch to go to the outhouse, you can see your own slippers in the dusky dawn. Small things that make life easy again.

The light is back. And it isn't going to go away again for a while now!

I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed experiencing looking through the lens.

Velkommen tilbak til solen

Shall we just say

- the solar panels are charging once again :)

The sun's return to woods near home

Sunworship

(The ski model is named 'Nansen'. It inspires me. But alas, doesn't stop me faceplanting.)

hmm. if you look closely enough you can see the smoke from my hut chimney ;) true

It's always good to get out, and ski near home. Here I am, not 4km from the hut, enjoying sunshine and snow. It's paradise in this weather: I had to ski on, and on, and on....and on... It was hard to come indoors ;)

Winter lights

Home Sweet Home :)

Sun on the lake

Sun is back, on the lake. Hadn't seen it here since November (maybe even October!) so it's a welcome sight. That's why I'm smirking ;)

New Years tur

We left on Weds and had big ambitions for the New Year to ski the 20K in to a nice mountain hut where I hiked last summer, relax, celebrate, etc... but instead...such plans can somedays go astray...

We got to a small, two bed, 2x3 m hut (free to stay, chop your own wood, turf roof, thick log walls,etc) which was en route and was all warm still as someone had used it the night previous. (this was decidely tempting and we soon decided were too late for the big push in... it was 4pm. no chance!) and guess what, my boss from the school arrived at this little riverside cabin, alone except for his dog, and a big box of red wine.... so, we had a social time instead and a pre-New Year drink, with an outdoor fire in the snow. Hanne and I ate salmon couscous stew (our own invention: lovely!). Ludwig the (loaned) dog ate salmon skin (bit skeptic of the pepper and lemon flavouring at first...). Tor ended snoring contently on his bed mat on the floor squeezed between our wooden beds and the door, as the hut was so tiny. And Hanne is so nice she let his dog sleep on her legs. (Ludwig was happily firmly chained to a tree outdoors, as he doesn't like my bosses setter so very much. Call it what you will, but it involves a fair bit of knurling (growling)).

Next day. A decent 9am start, and up the frozen river we went, then up into mountains and over a snowy plateau to the hut beside a big mountain lake. Ludwigs pulk (sled) was awkward over trees aand roots poking through the snow, and downhills and uphills, and of course the dog was not so glad of thin ice on the river (he seems to be able to 'smell' the open water underneath - we hear it tinkling sometimes and he actually crouches low and sort of crawls a bit.... yikes! Makes you ski fast over those spots) However, collapsed areas along the river were showing just more frozen layers underneath mostly - it wasnt as dangerous as it sounds ;). The worst was areas where water had seeped from under up and when you get that on evil slush your ski skins attract water and you have to sort of SKI with blocks of ice weighing God knows what under the skis... rubbish to that!). We were unfortunate that Hannes ski boot bust (the toe section started to crack off, which binds the ski to the boot...). Photo shows the moment we had to do the 2nd fix on the skiboot. Bugger.

So, we fixed with my Emergency Duct Tape but it was not really enough - duct tape is amazing stuff. But you have to use bucketloads of it to keep gear intact! She ended up hiking the final 6km on foot. Not so easy in deep snow. The moonlight was amazing as we had no need even for head torches. Just moonlight :) When we finally got to the 2 huts up in the hills at 9pm there were several people there, (16 others, includinig the kind man who had warmed the previous nights hut and whose ski and pulk tracks we followed almost the whole way...) and a few dogs to boot (including Ludwigs friend Inuk, who he lives with and who was on loan to another friend! so a social New Year for the dogs also ;)). Before we had time for the Xmas Pudding treat with our new hut mates it was New YEars. It felt like a pause in dinner! ;) a few fireworks (dogs not so keen) and hugs all round then a dash back inside for Xmas Pud! laced with Cognac. Nice. But Hanne and I stayed v sober. 20 hours trek in. hmmm. I had to work at 1800 the next day. Yes, we fixed her boot, took 2 hours kip and back on our skis by 5am the next day. a lovely ski out. Her boot survived. Arrived at work 1730...just in time for a shower! ;)

(more photos coming).... just maybe not shortly!

Winter and fall

" I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure in the landscape - the loneliness of it - the dead feeling of winter.

Something waits beneath it - the whole story doesn't show. "

Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009)

Ice on the lake

The lake is freezing over now, everything begins to get very quiet, and there is ice underfoot. We are waiting for snow now. And the lake to freeze completely.

A Day That Caught The Sun II

Someone is switching off all the light in Målselv. Daily changes, and now the sun doesn't hit the school area at all at any time of the day (or my cabin...).

See: http://helenjewell.blogspot.com/2007/01/there-came-day.html for previous blogging on the same theme.

So, thats just how it is here, now. And the poem expresses the mood, most mornings, as I snatch my walk to school....

Hmmm...Those were the days...

Moonscapes

But the sun going has a definite bright side - the moon is everpresent now, and moonshine can match the sun, when in its full phase. So, there is brightness and colour, even in the mørk ('dark time').

(not to mention the Northern Lights...)

(the moon is in this summit-view photo also, just really small!)

These photos were all taken the other day, as I stretched my legs out on the hills above the cabin. Boy, it felt great to be out ALL DAY on a Friday! .... that's the best feeling ever.

School rules

It's great, a place where the school rules include:

"The throwing of snowballs at one another is strictly forbidden"..... ;)

I am enjoying very much the commute to work these days - there is a nice light through the forest, and often a red sky to great me. The forest paths are icey now, so I have funky spikes that I can set over a pair of shoes - makes life easier.

Had 1000L of dry wood delivered the other night. Makes for a cosy fire, which is much needed right now. The temperature is bouncing from -10C to plus, er, something (not much, anymore!). Its the end of høst for sure....

And look who I found stealing the bird seed yesterday.... !

This morning

Just wanted to share this with you all. Full moon right now, and really stunning. I am enjoying a few minutes of fresh air every day on my way to school. Then, I am indoors all day, but luckily I don't work on Fridays. 'Fri' in Norwegian means 'free' in English.

Exactly.

Høst?

Snow arrived on Monday (although admittedly it is a bit 'rainy' instead today). This means the bike wheels are getting all sticky with snow (sigh). But the cabin looks nice :) And feels a little cooler inside these days, until I get the fire stoked!

Maybe 'høst' (autumn/fall) was just an illusion?

on the beach

Life is good.

I am living in a hut, in the forest out of town: sand beach, lake side view and sunset on tap (well, lake-water on tap, anyrate). The Northern autumn is here, and it is beautiful. This time last year I was training huskies in the woods locally.... now it's children! ;) I have now a post at the local school, as a teaching assistant (mostly English classes, naturally). I still work at the Målselv Asylmottak, with the asylum seekers. This gives me a variety of work. Keeps me out of trouble!

But, ho hum, I miss the outdoors, and it is a strange transition to be back indoors after all the tent-time I had. I get very itchy feet on sunny days. 3pm and I am ready to dash straight outside. I sympathetise with the students as they also seem rather keen to leave at the end of the school day (though I regret most of them dash outside to just dash inside to the telly straight after!). No t.v. or Facebook Crap to plague me right now: no electric!

I shall try and blog again soonish. But my current shortage of internet access prevents much progress. Watch this space and I will do my level best.... :) Sorry this update has been so late in coming.

...and Howdy There to Jane, from Yukon'96 days.

Amazing to hear from you again (I've only just read your comment!!)

- see below for my reply...

Cut and paste this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPiNQk4KrKE&feature=related for some good BSES 'propaganda' for their expeds ;)