Uncle Henry´s Universe.

Today, at least in Sweden, it´s time to wish each other a happy ending! I always thought it felt strange in some way to wish all friends a happy ending …but we mean the old year of course, not life in general …

The Christmas weekend offered the first skiing of the season. Lovely in every way. One must take advantage of the few opportunities offered nowadays. It has been 6 plus degrees over the past 24 hours and the forecast for the near future looks anything but wintery.

It is with some trepidation that many of us are waiting for the next decade, what weather do we have to wait for … Now we really must do everything we can to reduce the damage that we have already caused our planet, so hold on, there will probably be a bumpy ride.

2019 has been good and 2020 will probably be even better! That’s at least a good target. Hope you all have a nice ending to the year, that you enjoy the memory of all the good things that happened during the past year and that you have lots of dreams about what you want to experience in the next. I am sending you a thought tonight when I light our candle lantern.

Happy New Year 2020!

For those of you who haven’t had enough of a Christmas atmosphere this weekend and happen to pass Alingsås in Sweden …

A tip, Jan Bergerlind has a fantastic exhibition at the art gallery in the Cultural Center, it runs until 11 January 2020.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!

Today is the shortest day of the year, dark time… and I love it. And now it is turning to brighter times again, and I love it too! It’s magical with seasons and this planet and all its diversity…

Contre la lumière, mes amis!

Yesterday I was back to the spot where I saw and tracked a wolf last Tuesday, to see what it did after I left the place. Now I know – it tracked me down.

Clear wolf tracks were deposited in my tracks and the trail run followed on top of the tracks after the car. They were deposited in damp snow, that is, before the cold came with minus degrees ahead night.

Wolves are curious and they like to have control, so this is not the first time I have been tracked. Sometimes I wonder who is tracking who, or who is studying who. On those occasions over the years when I’ve worked near wolf packs for a long time, I actually think they have had better knowledge of me than I about them.

One afternoon after a really nice working day, I stopped the snowmobile to ease the pressure. I saw that the alpha male has marked his area on a spot, and I sprinkled a splash in the same place. I didn’t mean anything bad. Just wanted to send a greeting, two colleagues in between.

Apparently, it doesn’t work that way! He went completely crazy … When I passed the next day, snow was dug up, scattered and wolf urine glowed yellow from all snow piles. There were wolf tracks everywhere and my little puddle was thoroughly wiped out.

When I went home yesterday evening, I had to stop and take a photo. Sure, winter is a cool season!

A few years ago, the local wolf pack had the habit of marking their territory by peeing on our mailbox. Today it received a wet treatment again, but now from a male lynx. Sure, we are waiting for some Christmas cards, but this Christmas greeting was unexpected.

The morning was devoted to tracking the lynx around our farm. It seemed to be in search of roe deer. It jumped up on rocks to scout and crawled among dense firs to sneak. It wants its Christmas meal just like we do.

The afternoon went in the wolf’s sign. I got a brief but lovely encounter with a wolf, big and powerful in leaping through the forest. They are so beautiful now, in their thick warm winter fur.

If you are going to visit Riga, I really recommend some cozy hotel in the old town. Then you have lots of nice sights within walking distance. Something you should not miss are the five large market halls and the outdoor market next to them.

The market halls built between 1924 and 1930 were originally to consist of two German zeppelin hangars, Walhalla and Walther, but they were too large to heat. Instead, five brick buildings were built where the material from the hangars served as a roof. They are still large, 20 meters high, 35 meters wide and about 100 meters long. But still smaller than the Zeppelin hangars, they were 37 meters high, 47 meters wide and 240 meters long!

The five halls sell different goods. One for meat, one for fruits and vegetables, one for fish, one for dairy and I think it was one for bread. In addition, there were a few other goods in different places as well as a cafe. And souvenirs, of course. But overall, it did not feel like a tourist attraction, it is a place where ordinary people buy their goods. We were there quite early in the day, when the feeling was very casual and cozy.

Fresh vegetables and lots of other types of exciting things …

A huge selection of fish species and products! What a wealth! In the freezer at the grocery store at home, there are mostly square fish without eyes.

In the meat hall there was meat. Traders after traders sold meat of different varieties and of different parts. Everything, and then I mean just everything from the animal was taken care of. You could buy trachea, tail, cheek, intestines etc. Impressive!

Different types of honey and lots of beeswax candles were marketed.

Around the market halls and in the nearest neighborhood there is an outdoor market that sells everything you may need. An exciting environment that is also best suited to visit early in the day. At least I think so. Being crowded is not really my thing.

Damn, I regret it, I would have bought that t-shirt! 😉

Today it was time for tracking lynx. A female and her kid up on the mountain we see through our kitchen window. Lovely!

Plus degrees and the snow is wet so the tracks are impressive big.

The big tracks of mother lynx to the left of the tree, the smaller ones from the kid to the right.

The kid plays a lot with his mother. I find jumps up to five meters long! But after play is often time for rest, the tracks show that they both sat together and enjoyed the view.

Happy weekend to you all!

Snow and cold are back and the search for tracks from predators continues. No tracks of lynx yet, but a nice sight of two adult golden eagles eating on a dead capercaillie yesterday. And some good wolf tracking today.

Beautiful as a postcard, the snow depth still allows you to use a car, at least if it´s tall and a four-wheel drive. Driving is demanding, you don’t want to get stuck. It is very far to the nearest tow truck …

The waterways start to freeze again. Ice sculptures in a water world where the neck is king and otters his companions.

Tracking two wolves that go together, markings indicate that they are a pair. Collects several DNA samples. More work remains to be done before we know what it looks like in this territory this winter.

Today’s tracking ends when the crescent moon rises above the fir tops. It has been a good day!

First advent yesterday. Premiere for gingerbread, almonds, raisins and mulled wine. Now is the time to enjoy the darkness!

Advent lighting is installed on our oldest log cabin. Paper stars and Advent candlesticks in windows and on tables, the scent of candles lasting until Christmas. Enjoy the atmosphere during the darkest time of the year. It’s the best time for reflection, good books, blankets and sofa corners!