My Whitsuntide...
Thursday, 4. June 2009, 19:35:38
...or what I have been up to lately.
Pentecost - the Christian holiday hardly anybody knows why we "celebrate", but we do get an extra day off, so it sounds like a good time to go away for a few days, doesn't it?
I thought so, and so I did. To the Norwegian mid-western coast, to be slightly more specific.
Let me share some of that with you...
Top left: It felt a little weird sitting in the garden with temperatures around 25 degrees (that's Celcius), looking over at a mountain still somewhat covered in snow.
Top right: However, those temperatures didn't tempt me to try out the temperature in the fjord...
Bottom left: A little later in the day/evening. Look at all the blue colours!
Bottom right: Although it doesn't show well in this picture, it's still not dark outside yet it's close to 1 o'clock in the morning.
Before I left, I bought myself a pair of new, lighter, hiking shoes/boots. I had plans to hike up one of the mountains nearby.
Top left: It's a difficult angle, I know, but that's the top I hiked to.
Top right: There's an old hut from the old days when people stayed up there while herding their cattle. I love the roof there. It's so lush...
Bottom left:...there even grows trees!
Bottom right: The hiking is pretty tough. It took me a good hour to get here, all uphill of course, yet it's only 2-300 metres above sea level. But, when you catch a glimpse of the fjord and surroundings, it's all forgotten.
I didn't get to see any wildlife this time, so I had to make do with whatever was nearby...
Top left:This oystercatcher couple had built their nest on the chimney. 
Top right: Horses grazing = less grass to mow!
Bottom left: I have no idea what kind of spider this is, but it was creepy!
Bottom right: Ok, so this might not be wildlife per se, but it grew wildly in the mountain... I just thought it was cute...
At this point, I feel I should clarify that I'm far from being sporty and/or a nature freak. Quite the contrary - I feel most at home in the city. But once in a while, I like putting on the boots and head out there.
Well then. Now that I've let you in on what I have been up to lately, it's time go check out what you have been doing!
Pentecost - the Christian holiday hardly anybody knows why we "celebrate", but we do get an extra day off, so it sounds like a good time to go away for a few days, doesn't it?
I thought so, and so I did. To the Norwegian mid-western coast, to be slightly more specific.
Let me share some of that with you...
Top left: It felt a little weird sitting in the garden with temperatures around 25 degrees (that's Celcius), looking over at a mountain still somewhat covered in snow.Top right: However, those temperatures didn't tempt me to try out the temperature in the fjord...
Bottom left: A little later in the day/evening. Look at all the blue colours!
Bottom right: Although it doesn't show well in this picture, it's still not dark outside yet it's close to 1 o'clock in the morning.
Before I left, I bought myself a pair of new, lighter, hiking shoes/boots. I had plans to hike up one of the mountains nearby.
Top left: It's a difficult angle, I know, but that's the top I hiked to. Top right: There's an old hut from the old days when people stayed up there while herding their cattle. I love the roof there. It's so lush...
Bottom left:...there even grows trees!
Bottom right: The hiking is pretty tough. It took me a good hour to get here, all uphill of course, yet it's only 2-300 metres above sea level. But, when you catch a glimpse of the fjord and surroundings, it's all forgotten.
I didn't get to see any wildlife this time, so I had to make do with whatever was nearby...
Top left:This oystercatcher couple had built their nest on the chimney. Top right: Horses grazing = less grass to mow!
Bottom left: I have no idea what kind of spider this is, but it was creepy!
Bottom right: Ok, so this might not be wildlife per se, but it grew wildly in the mountain... I just thought it was cute...
At this point, I feel I should clarify that I'm far from being sporty and/or a nature freak. Quite the contrary - I feel most at home in the city. But once in a while, I like putting on the boots and head out there.
Well then. Now that I've let you in on what I have been up to lately, it's time go check out what you have been doing!
WIDGETIZE
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Zaphira # 4. June 2009, 19:43
Cois # 4. June 2009, 19:44
Zaphira # 4. June 2009, 19:49
rose-marie # 4. June 2009, 19:59
That spider was scary! When I got closer with the camera, it wrapped its legs as if to guard its head or something. Other than that, it didn't move a muscle. I think it was plotting something...
ellinidata # 4. June 2009, 20:19
I am scared of spiders and everything that has more than two legs. hmmm this did not come out right
thanks for sharing your amazing pictures !
rose-marie # 4. June 2009, 20:36
ellinidata # 4. June 2009, 20:43
gdare # 4. June 2009, 20:49
Glad to see you back, anyway
rose-marie # 4. June 2009, 22:04
Darko - Thanks
As for your childhood memories... Well... sorry
Dacotah # 4. June 2009, 23:25
Great post. Loved the photos too.
Furie # 5. June 2009, 00:16
clean # 5. June 2009, 00:35
Lovely photos!
gdare # 5. June 2009, 05:09
Phantom2 # 5. June 2009, 06:46
And I can tell you spend a little extra time making your post look very cool.
rose-marie # 5. June 2009, 07:56
Mik - I didn't look too far from that when it started wrapping its legs around when I got too close!
Hey - if anybody knows what kind of spider it is, feel free to let me know
David -
Thank you!
Darko - Mountains are nice to look at, but I'd rather not be up there during a storm, like certain other people!
P2 - You're absolutely right
Thanks for the compliment!
Dacotah # 5. June 2009, 10:03
rose-marie # 5. June 2009, 10:34
Dacotah # 5. June 2009, 10:35
flamingo-rinse # 5. June 2009, 11:18
rose-marie # 5. June 2009, 11:30
Thanks for the compliments. I love all the blue on the bottom left on the top group. It almost looks tinted, yet it's exactly what it looked like. Sometimes the meeting between mountain/sea looks magic.
Stomyr # 5. June 2009, 13:43
rose-marie # 5. June 2009, 14:58
qlue # 5. June 2009, 16:57
It was so amazingly fast that, even if I'd had my phone, it would have been over before the camera started rolling.
After seen how quickly it happened, and knowing how slim the chance is of it happening right in front of me, it made of really appreciate those National Geographic film makers.
rose-marie # 5. June 2009, 17:27
Must have been a pretty cool sight!
garlingmatthews # 6. June 2009, 10:24
rose-marie # 6. June 2009, 15:59
Here's giving you an idea of what a Norwegian road in the mountains can look like:
If you're planning on coming to Oslo, you could always take the subway to "Marka". Outside the city, there's a huge area with forests and hills. It's protected, so Oslo can't expand anymore. Most of the photos here are from Marka.
But... it might not be quite the same...
garlingmatthews # 6. June 2009, 21:07
flamingo-rinse # 7. June 2009, 08:54
rose-marie # 8. June 2009, 09:36
Nick - I'm happy to hear that!
Heh, I don't know what the Sim1 means... It was just the first picture I found
It does look like something that tall guy from Top Gear (his name escapes me at the moment) would love
garlingmatthews # 8. June 2009, 10:23
wickedlizard # 8. June 2009, 20:55
What's the fuzzy thing, it's nice!
Nice shots!
rose-marie # 9. June 2009, 08:37
Thanks Issy
The spider was weird, and creepy, but I liked the colour.
I have no idea what that cotton ball looking plant is, but there were loads up on the mountain. I didn't touch it, but I bet it's soft
garlingmatthews # 9. June 2009, 08:38
qlue # 9. June 2009, 19:22
.
.Milkweed:
If it was milkweed, then you were wise out to touch it as milkweed produces a mildly toxic white sap (hence the name 'milkweed') that's a major skin irritant. (it causes an itchy rash).
Cotton plant:
rose-marie # 9. June 2009, 21:19
I did some searching now, and I think it's some kind of Cottongrass (or bog cotton
It makes sense, since there were plenty of them around a peat.
Now... what about that spider?
Furie # 9. June 2009, 21:42
qlue # 9. June 2009, 23:35
What's very interesting is that when I look at it a bit closer, I only see six legs instead of eight.
It's possible that it's lost legs in a fight, or that two of it's legs are very small in this species and don't show. Also, it's body shape resembles a tick more than a spider. (ticks are 'first cousins' to spiders).
A more far out possibility, (though it's highly unlikely) is that it's not an arachnid at all but a wierd, spider imitating insect!
I've seen spiders that look like ants before. They can be identified by three characteristics, 1. They have eight legs 2. They have no thorax 3. They move like lightning if threatened
rose-marie # 10. June 2009, 06:50
I did some spider searching too, and it seems to me that our yellow friend up there is a female crab spider.
It seems to have the same characteristic spots on its back.
Okay... Moving on to the horses?
qlue # 10. June 2009, 08:21
Also, there's like a million different shapes of 'crab spider'. They all look different so it's hard to say. But I couldn't find anything better.
I know nothing about horses except that they scare me!
garlingmatthews # 10. June 2009, 08:33
qlue # 10. June 2009, 08:57
flamingo-rinse # 10. June 2009, 10:59
rose-marie # 11. June 2009, 08:46
Nick - I didn't know that either! I usually refer to them as spider webs... But to be honest, I hardly ever talk about them...
p.mansoor # 11. June 2009, 13:19
It reminds me of Austria and Switzerland. I had a grate time hiking there a few years back.
The highest climb I ever made was on top of "Clouds Rest" Yosemite national park U.S.A.
Got a bit of a headache at 10.000 feet. No spiders there but I had to scare off a couple of black bears that stole all my rations so I had to get back to civilisation asap.
rose-marie # 15. June 2009, 08:09
Wow! That climb sounds like really something!
And black bears?
You have to tell more about that! How did you manage to scare them off?
Furie # 15. June 2009, 09:34
rose-marie # 15. June 2009, 09:46
p.mansoor # 15. June 2009, 10:33
I did that climb with 2 of my brothers (Stanley and James)who lived in California. We had 3 days rations and 2 tents. The park ranger warned us to look out for bears and to pack our food and toothpaste in plastic bags and hang them in the trees. It would not be very wise to keep food in the tent if you don't want visitors. So we did that and hit the sack.
Just before daybreak I heard grunting somewhere nearby but I though that it was my brother snoring in the other tent.
This went on for a few minutes until it dawned on me that it might be something else so I put on my boots and jacket, grabbed a pot and a pan, started to make a hell of a noise, making my way in the general direction of the grunting in the dark. All I could see was a pair of eyes looking my way and something black running away toward the bushes.
My brothers joined me a little later while I was searching under the trees for whatever was left of our rations.
I thought that I was imagining things because ever so often pieces of bark and twigs kept falling from one of the trees we were standing under. I could not see anything but we decided to retreat a few hundred feet to see what would happen.
Bye Yogi. bye Boe Boe.
gdare # 15. June 2009, 13:19
p.mansoor # 15. June 2009, 13:30