Showing posts with label Norway. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Norway. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Making friends with a little robin

One of the best things that ever happened in my life so far was being gifted an allotment garden in 2016. It changed and enhanced my life in so many ways that I never thought possible. I always had an appreciation for nature, for plants and flowers, and for birds and the wildlife around us, but I never had daily contact with them in the way that I do now. As many of my readers know, I have a soft spot in my heart for honeybees, bumblebees and birds of all kinds. One of the images that will forever stand out in my mind is the memory of the honeybees and sparrows side by side on the birdbath rim, drinking water together during a particularly dry Oslo summer (2018 if I remember correctly). I have captured those incredible moments in photos that I treasure.

Fast forward to the present. I have written about the new bird feeding station that I bought for my garden so that I can feed the birds during the winter months. I go to the garden every couple of days now to fill the different feeders. It didn't take long for the small birds to discover the feeding station; after a couple of days, they are waiting in the tree branches for me to fill the empty feeders, that's how fast they eat the seeds. The little birds that frequent the feeders are the sparrows, the blue tits, and a singular robin. The robins that you see here in Norway (European robins) are much smaller versions of their American counterparts, and they are amazingly cute. I read online that it's usually the male robin who stays put during the winter months at the location where he and his mate hang out during the summer months. So I'm assuming this little guy that I see each day is the male; I don't know if he has a mate and where she may be if he does have one. In any case, I'm becoming friends with him little by little. He is not afraid of me at all. Today, when I arrived to fill the feeders, he landed on one of them right in front of me and proceeded to start eating. He looked at me, then at the food, then at me, and then at the food again. He is the first one there when I arrive, and if I move away from the feeder to another part of the garden, he follows me. He is just so freaking cute. When I was in the greenhouse today, he was in the ninebark tree to the left of the greenhouse, just sitting in the branches. When I started to talk to him, he started to warble. I have heard his song before in previous springs, and I have seen this little guy before because he has been hanging around my garden for a couple of years. I'm glad that he chose my garden in which to hang around. 

Here's a very short video of him:



Monday, December 16, 2024

This morning's beautiful 'mother of pearl' clouds (perlemorskyer)

I awoke early this morning, and I'm glad I did, because otherwise I would have missed these incredibly rare clouds of many colors! These clouds are called 'perlemorskyer' in Norwegian, and that translates to 'mother of pearl' clouds in English. The scientific name for them is polar stratospheric clouds; they are a very rare sight to see. That is because they occur in the stratosphere layer of the atmosphere (very high up, between 49,000 and 82,000 feet up according to Wikipedia). You can read more about their formation here: Nacreous clouds | International Cloud Atlas

I managed to get some good photos before the light from the sunrise dissipated the colors. Enjoy!






December fun in Oslo

A week ago this past Sunday, I was out walking during the early afternoon, and came across these two very different activities. Both looked like fun! The weather so far this December has been wonderfully mild and sunny, so it was possible to do both these things because there was no ice or snow. I took these videos--enjoy!





Monday, December 9, 2024

Keeping the birds happy in winter

I recently purchased a bird feeding station from Amazon UK that arrived this past week. I love it already, since it was easy to assemble and came with different accessories, among them a suet ball cage, two pans (one for seeds and one for water), and a vertical hanging feeder. I am using both pans for seeds and/or bread cubes since there are freezing temperatures now and the water would just freeze in the pan. I had no problem assembling and installing it in my garden; it's placed under the krossved tree. The small birds have already discovered it and are making good use of it. I'm surprised I haven't thought of doing this before; we already feed the pigeons and magpies that show up outside our kitchen window in the morning--year-round. Sometimes the little birds show up as well, but they can't compete with the larger birds. Now they have their own feeding station that will hopefully keep them happy (and alive) during the cold winter months. Here is a photo of the bird feeder; I've already posted a link to it on Amazon UK for those who might want to buy the same feeder. 


 

Monday, November 25, 2024

Caring for the birds in winter




























The natural world keeps our hearts and minds calm and sane. In this poem, it is a crow that changes the mood of the observer, who is having a bad day. The simple act of shaking snow down onto the observer saves the rest of his otherwise bad day from being a total loss. Nature has a way of doing that. Of course the crow has no way of knowing that nor did it shake down the snow deliberately. Birds are interesting creatures that open a window onto the natural world. I love watching them in the garden during the summer months, as I've written about before. So many different birds--sparrows, magpies, crows, small robins, blue tits, bullfinches--the list is long. Sometimes seagulls show up, but not often. 

This winter, I'm going to go to the garden every other day to feed the birds. I haven't done that before, although I do feed the birds that land on the balcony outside our kitchen window. Those birds are mostly pigeons, although we do get a few magpies and sparrows too. They all love sunflower seeds. I bought a nice and presumably sturdy standing bird feeder station on Amazon (where else do you get such a wide selection?) and am waiting for it to be delivered. I'll find a good place for it in the garden once I get it. Here is a link to the feeder if anyone else is interested in buying something similar: Urban Deco Bird Feeding Station With Feeders - Bird Feeders Hanging Station Heavy Duty Bird Feeder Pole With Bird Feeders For Small Birds - Bird Feeder Stand With Bird Bath Tray And Bird Feeder Tray : Amazon.co.uk: Garden

Caring for the birds in winter is important for so many reasons. They are little creatures who grace our lives with their beauty and their antics. They make us laugh, but they also make us ponder nature's ways. A world without birds, without their squawking and chirping and singing, would be a dead world. They make us forget ourselves, forget our trials and tribulations, for a few moments. It is worth taking care of them just for that alone. 

Monday, November 4, 2024

Fjord Oslo Light Show--some videos





 

Fjord Oslo Light Show

We went to see the Fjord Oslo Light Show (FJORD OSLO) this past Saturday evening, along with many others. Aker Brygge and Tjuvholmen were crowded with young and old people alike, all wanting to see the cool light installations placed strategically along the harbor area. 

I'm glad I got a chance to see it. It's a great use of the darkness that descends upon this country at this time of year. The darkness is very dark, if you get my drift, and the lights light up the darkness in a wonderful and comforting way. Plus there's something fun about being together with other people, all of whom want to see the same thing. It was a chilly night, but we found our way to a nearby Italian restaurant afterward where we could warm up and eat a good dinner. 

Here are some photos that I took. I'll post some videos in my next post. 












Tuesday, July 9, 2024

Birds and city living

You might think that living in a city would mean less frequent encounters with birds. You'd be wrong at least where Oslo is concerned. Summer in the city means visits from pigeons, sparrows, magpies, crows, wagtails, brown thrushes, blackbirds, mallard ducks, and seagulls. On my eight-minute walk to my garden from home, I pass Kiellands plass, which has become a sort of bird haven. There are people who feed the birds there each morning, but what most attracts them are the series of small ponds formed by the waterfalls that cascade down from the main fountain area on Waldemar Thranes gata. These are the watering holes for the mallard ducks and seagulls, but you'll find plenty of pigeons, wagtails and sparrows frequenting the same areas. The mallard ducks that come actually raise their families here; in previous years it was not unusual to see a mother with the ducklings running along behind her or swimming in the small ponds. I love seeing the birds each day. I often think that a world without birds would not be enjoyable to live in. 

Our co-op apartment has a fire balcony facing out from the kitchen to the street; we cannot use it and there is no door out to it, but the pigeons, sparrows and magpies are there each morning, waiting for their food. There is one pigeon especially (we've named him Chester but we're not sure if it's a he or a she pigeon) that shows up each morning and several times during the day. He sits on the metal ledge outside the kitchen windows and peers in, and we wonder what he is actually seeing. One thing is for sure--he arrives the minute he sees any sort of life in the kitchen in the morning. Sometimes he is already there when we get up, waiting for us. He has been known to tap on the window a few times during the past couple of years to announce his presence. We feed him as well as the other birds. 

Our apartment also has another balcony that we can use; that one leads out from our bedroom and faces out onto the inner courtyard. It is in close proximity to a large tree that is currently at the height of the fourth-floor balcony (we're on the third floor). The magpies choose this tree each year to build their nest and raise their family; we think it is the same magpie couple that return each year to to so. They are known for being territorial, and it's funny to watch and hear them squawk and talk to each other, as well as warn each other and other birds about the local cats that wander the neighborhood. God help those cats. The past two years, the magpies have had problems with their nests remaining sitting in the tree due to the storms and high winds that have suddenly become rather prevalent here in Oslo. Last year the branch on which their nest sat actually cracked and fell to the ground; there were no baby birds last year. This year the nest itself fell out of the tree. Luckily, the baby birds were already grown and had learned to fly. But the parents are now scouting around for a safer location, and the other day I caught them on the balcony, checking it out. They know we are kind because we do not shoo them away when we see them. It will be interesting to see how far they take their 'new project'. The other morning, I awoke very early, it must have been around 6 am, and looked out our bedroom window. There was one of the baby magpies, perched on the rim of one of the lounge chairs sitting out there. I wondered if he was sick or not feeling well, but it turned out he was sleeping! I know that because suddenly his little head came out from under his right wing where he had tucked it, and he yawned. He then promptly buried his head under his right wing again and went back to sleep. I'd never considered before how magpies (or any birds) actually sleep, so this was new to me. I took a few photos of him sleeping there outside our bedroom window. I had to take them through the window so as not to disturb him. Shortly thereafter, his parents showed up, there was some squawking back and forth, and he reluctantly followed his parents as they flew away. I think he actually enjoyed sleeping there on the chair. He hasn't been back since, but I'm guessing that he will return at one point. I won't feed them on that balcony because it will only attract them and more birds and I know that the co-op board won't like it, but it amazes me how birds and other wildlife are becoming used to us. They know that the majority of us are not bad people and that we mean them no harm. It's more than peaceful coexistence at this point, it's a remarkably enjoyable coexistence. 




















Wednesday, July 3, 2024

Driving in downtown Oslo will drive you insane

Recently, my husband purchased a new electric bike at a store that just happens to be located in downtown Oslo. He asked me if I would drive him there because there are new traffic restrictions due to the closing of Ring 1 (the innermost traffic ring) and the bus routes have been changed. Additionally he's still getting over a sprained ankle and walking long distances would be uncomfortable, so I told him I would drive him. We both know what that entails. Generally speaking, we stay as far away from downtown Oslo as possible, at least where driving is concerned. And we've lived here for over thirty years. 

People don't believe me when I tell them that I'd rather drive in Manhattan or on the NJ Turnpike out to Newark Airport than drive in downtown Oslo. I've driven in Manhattan for years, have made my share of mistakes, but have always had the chance to turn right or left at the next traffic light and circle around the block. It helps that much of Manhattan is designed as a grid, with clearly-defined blocks, streets, and avenues. Not Oslo. It's an old city, so you would think they would cut motorists some slack for exactly that reason. You would think that they would allow for driving mistakes. They do not. After fifteen minutes of dealing with two-way streets that become one-way streets, streets that are only for bicycles and pedestrians, streets that are only for buses, trams and taxis, streets where you can't make a left in order to turn around--you're ready to vomit. I mean that literally. You're driving at the same time as you're trying to interpret all of the idiotic symbols for bikes, cars, trams, etc. You're left wondering where to go and how to get where you want to go. You consider pulling over to the curb and just abandoning your car. On my way home the other day, a trip that should take no more than ten minutes took me thirty minutes. I was on a road out of the city, after having passed the Opera and the Central Train Station, when I finally decided to make an illegal U-turn so that I could turn around. This, after having passed signs that prohibited me from making left and right turns. The only way I could proceed was forward. Both my husband and I agree that driving in downtown Oslo will make you nauseous because of the high level of anxiety and because your heart is constantly in your mouth. Driving in downtown Oslo will drive you insane, or if not insane, it will give you a heart attack and/or destroy whatever peace of mind you had at the start of the day. It's not for the fainthearted. 

Of course we're dealing with the Green Party when we talk about driving in Oslo. The Green Party doesn't want us to drive at all and has made it as difficult as possible with all of the restrictive traffic regulations and policies. Their stated goal is to rid the city of cars from the downtown area up to and including traffic Ring 2 by 2025. The level of insanity that currently exists will ensure that happens. People will give up rather than fight. The Green Party would rather you used bicycles, scooters, buses, and trams to get around. All well and good if Norway wasn't a winter country almost half the year. All well and good if public transportation worked every time you got on a bus or tram or train. I don't think they care too much that the downtown area stores will suffer from restrictive traffic policies. Delivery trucks will have a hard time (they complain already) delivering goods to stores. I guess the Green Party thinks that we should sit on our rear ends all day at all of the wonderful cafes that can be found in all of the closed-off pedestrian-only streets, drinking cappuccinos and eating pastries and gaining weight. Oh wait, you can do that in good conscience as long as you get back on your electric bike to bike home. 

I don't know what tourists think, but I can guess. My husband thinks driving in England on the left side of the road is easier than driving in downtown Oslo. If I was a tourist, I would do my homework and not rent a car in Oslo. There's no point. I'm not even sure I would rent a car to drive from Oslo out into the countryside. You need to know what you're doing--how to get out of the city and how to get back. Yes, we have Google Maps, Maps, Waze, etc. to help us. I don't know how much they will help, to be honest. Driving in Oslo approaches nightmare status. Bergen is no better. Who wants or needs the aggravation?

Monday, May 13, 2024

From winter to summer, just like that

We're now in summer mode here in Oslo, even though the summer season hasn't officially begun. All it takes is a few warm days when the sun shines brightly and the temperatures hover around 70 degrees F as they have done for the past few days. That's the signal for everyone to exit their apartments in order to be outdoors. Restaurants, cafes and bars with outdoor seating are packed and the lines of people waiting to be seated are long. 

I always enjoy this time of year--May and June--because those are the months when my garden takes off. Up until around two weeks ago, we were still experiencing chilly winds and chilly temperatures. And then suddenly, whoosh, they're gone, replaced by warmer temperatures that define summer in Norway. We rarely if ever get temperatures in the 90s, nor is it very humid here. That's good in one sense, because even though summers in New York were/are warm, they could often be brutal due to the humidity that made it hard to breathe. My family and friends in NY keep me updated on the weather there, among other things. Interestingly, we've had similar unstable weather patterns this year, especially in April--some chilly and windy days, followed by warm days, then chilly again. It's rained more there than here; last year we had a very wet July and August. We'll see what this year brings. 

I worked in the garden for the entire month of April, cutting down dead plants, pruning the fruit trees, cleaning and raking. I did some planting as well (potatoes) as well as starting seeds in the greenhouse. I'm always amazed each year at the miracle that is a garden. The perennials return at the same time every year (hence their name); you see the new growth amid the dead stems that have been cut down very low. The snowdrops, crocuses, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and forsythia make their appearance in April and usually bloom until around mid-May. The forsythia bushes are now turning green. The magnolia tree is blooming, and I see buds on my wisteria. This past week I planted my zucchini and pumpkin seedlings outdoors; so far they're doing well. Night temperatures hover a round 45 degrees F, which is fine. As long as there is no frost, they'll survive. 

Here are some recent photos of the garden. Enjoy.......













Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Winter prison

Normally I have always liked the winter season. I'm a person who enjoys all four seasons. I may not ski or ice skate during wintertime, but I've never been particularly bothered by the cold or even snow, as long as it's possible to get out and walk, and as long as the temperatures hover around freezing. Neither have been the case this year. 

I have disliked every minute of winter this year, especially during January and February. In December we are distracted by Christmas, thankfully. I am neither handicapped nor am I elderly. I can normally get around with no problems, and a little bit of snow on the sidewalks does not usually bother me. It’s when the sidewalks are sheets of ice, no matter where you turn, that my dislike turns to anathema. I've written about the build-up of ice and snow in Oslo during wintertime in previous posts during the past decade: A New Yorker in Oslo: Slipping and sliding away (paulamdeangelis.blogspot.com)A New Yorker in Oslo: The sidewalks of Oslo in winter (paulamdeangelis.blogspot.com)A New Yorker in Oslo: Clear bike lanes and icy sidewalks in Oslo (paulamdeangelis.blogspot.com)A New Yorker in Oslo: Why isn’t it possible to shovel sidewalks in this city during the winter? (paulamdeangelis.blogspot.com).       

The sad thing is that the situation hasn't changed much in the past ten years. Sidewalks are sheets of ice, some of the roads likewise. We're told to buy shoes/boots with spikes in order to walk on the icy sidewalks, which I find infuriating. These shoes are expensive and are often sold-out. They are also annoying to wear, as sometimes the spikes get stuck in the ice (meaning your foot gets stuck). I and many others have chosen to walk in the (for the most part, ploughed) streets rather than use the sidewalks. The emergency rooms are filled with people, young and old, who have broken bones from falling on the ice. Actually, I'm guessing it's mostly young and middle-aged people who have broken bones, because elderly and handicapped people are just plain trapped in their homes during wintertime. They don’t get out, and how they stand it, I don't know. I find it appalling that more people don't react, don't get angry, and don’t criticize the city government for failing to do the job they should be doing. You can find all these kinds of criticisms on social media post, where people vent and rant and rave, but the regular media--newspapers and tv--just seem to ignore the problem. We're constantly told that this is a winter country and that we should be used to snow and ice. Yes, that is true. And so what? If this is a winter country, that means that Oslo should know how to get rid of snow and ice on sidewalks. It doesn’t mean that the city has a free pass to ignore shoveling, salting, and setting out gravel. There is so much passing the buck in this city. The city government has a budget; that much I understand. But this is not your proverbial small town; this is a big city. People of all ages and people with special needs, need to get out to shop, go to doctors’ appointments, go to work, etc. Someone has to take responsibility. Yes, snow removal, salting and spreading gravel cost money. Perhaps more than what was budgeted. So what? Spend it. But they can’t, because they’ve already used up much of the budget to keep the bicycle lanes clear, so that the very few younger people who bike all winter long can do so without problems. God forbid they should slip and injure themselves. This is typical of the Green Party thinking that permeates this city. The main focus is on eliminating all dangerous emissions from fossil-fuel vehicles. That means riding bicycles year-round. Additionally, they've become obsessed with electric everything--cars, buses, scooters, etc, all of which function properly in the spring and summer months. But not during the winter months. Come wintertime, the bitter cold destroys the proper functioning of the batteries. So buses come to a halt. Trams and trains, which are electrified, have always had problems. Frankly, I used to care about climate change, but it’s no longer a main priority. I just care about having a functioning city during the wintertime, a city where people of all ages and with special needs can get out and walk, shop, take public transportation that actually functions, and use their cars if necessary. In other words, escape their winter prisons that have been foisted upon them by this city. 

Monday, September 4, 2023

September update on the weather and the garden

Weatherwise, this summer will go down in history as one of the worst since I moved here. It started off well in June, with sunny days and warm temperatures. The garden needed to be watered nearly every day, and the vegetables that I planted (pumpkin, zucchini, carrots, tomatoes and string beans) got off to a good start. Then came July, when all it did was rain. It was as though a gray cloud of bad weather settled in over Oslo. The statistics speak for themselves; it rained 22 of the 31 days in July in Oslo, and the 9 dry days were overcast with the sun peeking through every now and then. August wasn't much different, unfortunately; I don't have the stats for how many days it rained in August, but it must have rivaled July.

Today, September 4th, was a real summer day, sunny and warm with temperatures close to 80 degrees F. It was the first day that I wore a summer dress and went bare-legged. It was a pleasure to feel the warm sun on my skin and to walk along the boardwalk on the fjord this evening. I looked out over the water and could see the warm haze in the distance. That's how summer should be. We ate dinner at a seafood restaurant called Solsiden (Solsiden Restaurant); it's open only for the summer season. It was a perfect evening to be there. 

The garden decided to call it quits in early August and started preparing for autumn. The pumpkins ended up being quite small; there were five of them but none of them were larger than about four to five pounds. They were turning orange already at the end of July. The string bean plants stopped producing beans at the end of July. The tomato and cucumber plants did not do well in all the rain; the cucumbers were deformed and most of the tomatoes rotted on the vines. The potatoes were fine, likewise the zucchinis, which didn't seem to mind the lack of sun and warmth. The carrots were stubby. But all the berry bushes produced a lot of berries this year, including the blackberry bush. So we have a freezer full of different berries--black currants, red currants, blackberries, raspberries, and gooseberries. The blueberry bushes however did not produce any berries this year, and I'm not sure why. 

Each year in the garden is a revelation and a surprise; you learn something new each year and you never quite know how the gardening season will develop. This year it started off well, plateaued early, and faded out early. I'm hoping for a better summer weatherwise next year. 

Sunday, May 28, 2023

The end result of laziness

I'm all for giving away second-hand/used clothing to charitable organizations that distribute it to those in need. I do it myself a couple of times a year. For example, the Salvation Army and the Red Cross do a wonderful job with organizing this. Their numerous clothing bins are distributed around the city, and it doesn't really matter which organization you support when you deposit bags of clothing in the bins belonging to one of these organizations. The goal is to help others and to reuse clothing. But there reaches a point when enough is enough; when people are lazy and don't walk the extra distance to place clothing in a bin that's not completely full. The other thing they don't do is place the clothing they're giving away in a bag and seal it before they try to dump it in the bin. I walked by this bin the other day and became irritated. I thought, how can people be so lazy? I mean really, what does it cost them to walk a few blocks further to deposit their bags of clothing in another bin? But they won't do that, nor will they place the clothing in a bag before they deposit it. They'd rather that the bins end up looking like this--see photo below. I have to say that I just don't get it. No wonder sloth is one of the seven deadly sins. There is an awful lot of sloth in society, and by that I mean, an aversion to making active, conscious decisions to better oneself and society. Every time you litter or dump clothing willy-nilly wherever it suits you, every time you don't do what you should do for the good of all, you are being slothful. If you behave in this way, you cannot tell me that you love the people around you or your country. Quite the opposite. You are saying, 'I don't care about my neighborhood or my country'. You are saying 'I'm entitled to do as I please. Someone else can pick up after me'. And that is what happens most of the time. In my book, you are selfish and spoiled, in addition to being lazy. Because when I see these bins, I think of garbage bins. That's what you're essentially depositing in these bins--your garbage. It doesn't help these organizations one bit that they have to use their time cleaning up after you and sorting through what is useful and what is not. And it is not their fault that people are so incredibly shameless and lazy. 


Monday, May 22, 2023

Bird tales

The arrival of spring means the return of birds to the garden, birds of all kinds. Sparrows, brown and black thrushes, crows, magpies, wagtails, robins (the European ones that are smaller than the American ones), ring-necked doves, and (Eurasian) blue tits. Sparrows are most prevalent and spend most of their time in one of two huge bushes in my garden, the kaiser bush and the red currant bush which are more or less opposite each other. When I am working in the garden I can hear them quarreling and chattering; they fly back and forth between both bushes, with stops at the birdbath to drink water and to take a communal bath. Watching them flap around together in the birdbath is a hoot. And when it's really been hot during past summers, they share the birdbath with the bees that line up on the rim to drink water. 

This year there is a large crow that saunters around the garden like he (she) owns the place. My garden neighbor calls her Clara, so we assume it's a female bird. Clara struts and shows off for us; she is not afraid of very much. It is the neighborhood cats that are scared of her; she has chased them out of the garden on numerous occasions. This year she has discovered my neighbor's small stone birdbath that has been placed at ground level. Clara and several of the magpies enjoy drinking water and plucking insects from this birdbath. It's amusing to watch them. She sometimes walks around my garden as do the brown thrushes, looking for insects (mostly earthworms) to eat. The brown thrushes remind me of little dinosaurs; I call them the little raptors. They have a menacing look in their eyes that strikes me as primeval.

As I walk to and from the garden, I pass Kiellands plass with its large pluming fountains whose water descends via small successive waterfalls into at least six small pools lined with smooth medium-sized stones (NLA - Alexander Kiellands plass (landskapsarkitektur.no). Oslo's birds have discovered these pools, sharing them with small dogs and toddlers who like to wander down to the water's edge. Sometimes the dogs take a dip, but mostly the birds have the pools to themselves. They include mallard ducks, pigeons, and seagulls for the most part, but also thrushes and smaller birds. This morning on my way to the garden, a mother duck crossed the sidewalk in front of me followed by her five little ducklings. The UPS driver who was delivering a package nearby stopped to watch them as well, and we commented how sweet it was to see them. Here we are in the middle of a large city, and the ducks are raising their families here. Nature adapts to all sorts of situations and seems to do so readily; that is definitely the case for mallard ducks. There must be a reason that the ducks stay put; one of them must be that people feed them bread. But there are also droves of insects surrounding the water pools that you can see in the late afternoon summer sunlight, flitting about in the warmth. There are probably also a lot of earthworms and other ground insects. The ducks also eat seeds and the nearby plant matter (roots and tubers) that abound.

A less happy story is what happened to the magpie nest outside our bedroom window. The magpie couple spent a lot of time earlier this spring enlarging last year's nest of twigs and branches. The nest seemed to double in size and looked to be spread over two levels. This pair of birds comes back every year to raise their young. Alas, this year it was not to be. Last Wednesday, I heard a crack and took a look out the window; I had already guessed that it had something to do with the branch. The branch holding the nest had cracked off and fallen to the ground. My best guess is that the nest was too heavy and that the birds had built it too far out on the limb. This year's addition to the nest certainly did not help. I felt so bad for them; they don't always assess the situation correctly and this year they lost out. We don't know if there were eggs in the nest, but if there were, they were destroyed along with the nest. The birds disappeared for a few days, but yesterday morning I heard them chattering in the yard again. They'll be back next year, but there won't be any baby magpies this year unless they overtake an abandoned nest. 

We are moving toward summer now--the season of sun, warmth, growth, new life, and easy days. I look forward to lounging in my garden and dozing off to the sound of bird chatter. It's a wonderful part of summer. 

Monday, May 15, 2023

Reflections on the role of women in the church

I wish I understood human behavior better. I draw my own conclusions when I see odd or quirky behavior, such as I have witnessed recently at Sunday mass the past few months. When communion time comes and lines form to go the the altar, the longest line is the one where the priest is dealing out communion. If there is a lay minister on the altar (usually a woman), her line is short, while the line to the priest is very long. Additionally I have also witnessed that people (usually elderly) who are sitting in pews on the left side of the church, for example, will walk across to the right side if the priest is dealing out communion on the right side of the altar. I wish I could tell you that there are only a few people who do this. Not the case. This past Sunday, the line for the priest extended from the altar down to the entrance doors, whereas the line for the female lay minister had about four or five people. The priest's line was made up of young and old alike. The priest should have motioned to those on his line to switch lines, but he didn't. I think it's about time it was brought up as a discussion point from the pulpit. 

I have concluded that this is reactionary and pathetic behavior, and it irritates me no end. I have received communion from female lay ministers for years in the USA and never gave it a second thought. It never bothered me and it never will. My feelings toward those who reject women in this way are less than Christian, I must admit. Their unchristian behavior is not even subtle, it's blatant. I feel like giving them a good dressing-down, because they deserve it for their reactionary and ignorant behavior. I feel like yelling at them during the mass--"wake up". I feel sorry for the female lay minister standing there wanting to do the job that the priest has given her. I make it a point to go to her and not to the priest. Are the hosts that the priest deals out of better quality than those the female lay minister deals out? Are they more blessed? No, they are not. The priest has already done that job before communion is dealt out. All hosts are equal. It's just that these ignorant people don't want to receive communion from a woman. It makes my blood boil. 

I'm glad when I see women on the altar, serving in some capacity. Why shouldn't they? As I've discussed in previous posts, what happens when or if there are no more male priests to do these jobs? What happens if vocations fall off to the point where there are no young men to take over for the old ones? What happens if only women are interested in doing the job of a priest at some future point? What will these reactionary parishioners do at that point? Boycott the church? Not likely. They will be forced to examine their behavior, and hopefully they will change. In the meantime, I will work on quieting my irritation at my fellow parishioners who are behaving in an unchristian way. But I will say that there still is a long way to go to eradicate the stupidity and ignorance that unfortunately exists where women are concerned in the Catholic church. I have decided that the next time the church wants me to donate more money for maintenance/upkeep, I am going to say no until this issue is discussed from the pulpit. 

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Spring report from Oslo

It seems as if spring is finally here. Dare we hope? Each time that we've had a few consecutive days of nice warm weather, it's been followed by the return of winter's cold, as was the case for the past week. I read the weather forecasts religiously now, because having a garden makes one more attentive to the weather (and lack of good weather). My fellow gardeners and I share our frustrations about the lousy spring we've had so far; the only spring flowers that have bloomed are the snowdrops, crocuses and violets, and they didn't bloom until mid-April. The tulips are in wait modus, and even the forsythia has not bloomed. The one plant that has grown and will bloom soon is the Helleborus Snow Rose, which has lovely flowers as I remember. The grass lawn is another story. A thick layer of snow topped by ice covered the garden until mid-April, compacting the grass to the point where I am unsure if it will grow back during this season. Time will tell. I am prepared to reseed the small area of lawn that I have in my garden. 

It's pointless to be irritated at a season, I know, but I have been so irritated that winter just keeps hanging on. It won't let go this year. Weather is the main topic of conversation in the garden; questions arise about global warming. We are worried that the growing season will be too short this year. The joke is that we'd love for there to be more global warming in Oslo so that we had shorter winters and longer summers. The reality of course is that global warming will lead to cooling in some parts of the world due to the changes in weather patterns caused by the melting of the polar ice caps. Who knows where it will all lead or end? As one of my friends in the garden says, we can talk about all the problems in the world, and there are a lot of them, but in the end, she looks forward to going home to google 'how to prune a rose bush'. That's her way of relaxing. Mine is similar; I love looking at online garden catalogs and some of the ones that arrive in the mail. I love going into garden stores to wander around. Sometimes I have specific plans about what to buy, other times no. And I do google a lot of garden-related issues; right now I'm reading about how to aerate a lawn and how important it is to do that.  

Today is one of those lovely sunny days in Oslo that foretell the imminent arrival of summer. But again, I, like the tulips, am in a wait-and-see modus. In some parts of the country south of Oslo, where there are often two growing seasons for the farmers (e.g. grains), it snowed yesterday. Luckily it didn't snow in Oslo, it only rained. The garden needs water, so I won't complain. But it seems odd to me that I leave the garden after a few hours work, come home and make myself a cup of hot chocolate--a winter drink if ever there was one. I worked for two hours cleaning and cleaning out the greenhouse yesterday, throwing away old baskets and plant containers, since it was too chilly to do anything else. I noticed that there is a different type of spider that has taken up residence in the greenhouse; these spiders look like tiny brown crabs scuttling across the floor of the greenhouse when they scurry for cover. There are not a lot of them. The usual spiders are the larger white ones with spindly legs that remind me of daddy-longlegs; they run away at the slightest sign of trouble. There are also the pill bugs that spend most of their time hiding; you find them in the compost bin if you turn the contents, but also under watering cans and the like in the greenhouse. They eat decaying plant matter, which is a good thing. I've also begun to turn the earth in the planting beds; there are a lot of big earthworms this year. During the few warm days we've had, the bumblebees and honeybees were out foraging for pollen. The insects are doing their jobs, and the garden underground is teeming with life. The garden is just waiting for the 'go' signal so that the plants can bloom and do their jobs. 

Saturday, April 8, 2023

What a difference a week makes

What a difference a week makes! This is how the garden looked on March 29th--still a lot of snow on the ground and ice patches here and there. Pretty, but I was getting impatient because I wanted to get started in the garden. As luck would have it, we've had nothing but sunny and warm days this past week. So the snow and ice are gone. Next week it's supposed to rain every day, so I'm glad I used this week to rake leaves and dead plants and fill the compost bin with them. I'll have a lot of good compost to add to the soil in the autumn. 

The snowdrops are blooming and the crocuses, daffodils, grape hyacinths and tulips are starting to poke their heads up from the soil. Spring is here, and soon it will be time for planting this year's vegetables and flowers. 





























And this is how it looked yesterday, April 7th--










Saturday, April 1, 2023

April garden update

Today, the first day of April, was an absolutely beautiful day in Oslo. No joke (since it's April Fool's Day); the temperatures were in the forties, the sky was blue and cloudless, and the sun shone down and warmed everything it touched. That's a good thing, because the garden has gotten a late start this year due to all the snow and cold we've had. I cannot remember a winter during the past thirty years that has had so much snow as this year's. There are still snow patches in the garden, and ice in the places where the sun hasn't reached yet. But if we have a week with the temperature we had today, the snow and ice will melt and we'll be on our way toward a real spring. And from what I can see of the weather forecast for the next week or so, no more snow is predicted, thankfully. I hope that is the case; you never know. 

I sowed out seeds in the greenhouse this past Wednesday and Thursday--pumpkin, zucchini, cucumber, cherry tomato, sunflower, cornflower, pot marigold, nasturtium, and rose mallow. I will sow out string bean seeds on Monday. I decided to sow out now rather than wait two more weeks. The greenhouse is nice and warm during the day, even though temperatures at night still dip to around freezing. But the seed containers are on raised benches, nowhere near the ground. So they'll be fine; that has been my experience in previous years. Some of my fellow gardeners call me an optimist because I sow out so early. But last year I waited too long--to mid-April--and the vegetable plant seedlings were a bit too small when I planted them outdoors. So it took time for them to grow large enough, which delayed their vegetable production. 

When the ground is completely ice-free and I can work the soil, I'll plant my seed potatoes. That will probably be somewhere around mid-April. I've already started cutting down and removing dead stems and leaves, and I've pruned the rose bush that adorns the garden arch, as well as the ninebark tree near the greenhouse. I'm hoping that pruning the rose bush will force growth on the stems growing on the sides of the arch so that when the roses bloom it doesn't look like a bouffant hairdo at the top of the arch--piled high on top and little on the sides. 

The snowdrops are finally blooming, and the grape hyacinth and daffodils are starting to come up. I haven't seen any crocuses yet, but I guess they'll bloom soon. I'm looking forward to my forsythia blooming; I have three bushes planted in different areas of the garden. They are one of my favorite spring flowers. The cherry tree and lilac bushes survived the winter, as did my wisteria and magnolia tree. The berry bushes always do well--black currant, red currant, blueberry and gooseberry. They come back each year without fail. 

I'll post some photos soon. In the meantime, for all the gardeners I know and for the gardeners who read my blog--happy gardening!

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

A book recommendation for my Norwegian readers

I just purchased the following book recently, as I was looking for a book that described the bridges over the Akerselva river (my second favorite river after the Hudson River). As luck would have it, a couple of Sundays ago my husband and I stopped to drink coffee at Hønsa Lovisas cafe, and while we were waiting to be served, we took a look at the books on the small bookstand near the entrance. Akerselvas Bruer og Fosser (Akerselva's Bridges and Waterfalls) by Kjell Egil Sterten was one of them. I'm happy to support anything to do with local history, be it in Tarrytown NY where I grew up, or in Oslo where I live now. The author is a local historian and lecturer who clearly loves Oslo. You can buy it from different online bookstores; here are the links: 


Friday, December 30, 2022

The sidewalks of Oslo in winter

I wonder each year, once winter comes, how it is possible that the city of Oslo appears not to care too much about its inhabitants slipping and sliding on the ice that coats most of the sidewalks. I've written about this before, but this year the problem seems even more pronounced. We have had a few snowfalls followed by sub-freezing temperatures, and that's usually fine. The problem arises when the snow melts over a period of a few days of above-freezing temperatures. The snow turns to slush, and then to ice once the temperatures drop again. Apartment and house owners do throw down some gravel, but it's not enough. The sidewalks and even the side roads are slippery as hell. I think the lack of consideration for others is appalling. 

Our co-op maintenance fees are increasing considerably as of January. My question is what are we getting for this increase. Will the board approve more gravel and salt for the sidewalks? Will they hire a person or firm to shovel snow on a continual basis? Will they care about the elderly that live here? Do they care about them at present? It doesn't seem like it. They do hire a plow to clear the road in the inner courtyard so that emergency vehicles can navigate them. But if you want to leave your apartment to walk the short distance to the garbage house, you risk slipping and falling and breaking a bone or two. It's rather pathetic, especially as we approach 2023. Interestingly, the few co-op apartment dwellers who have complained on our co-op's Facebook page are young people, not elderly. The latter have probably given up in frustration; they know that they are not and never will be a priority in this city.

The city cares mostly about keeping the bicycle lanes free of snow; they plow them and scatter salt so that the snow melts and stays melted. All this for the miniscule percentage of city dwellers that actually bikes during the winter. The city should be plowing and salting the sidewalks as well. But of course we live in a city that prioritizes bicyclists, not pedestrians. There are far more of the latter, so it makes no sense. But this is the philosophy that the Green Party politicians are obsessed with; everyone should bike, year-round. It doesn't matter that it's bitter cold; you should just suck it up. If you need studded tires for your bicycle, their purchase is subsidized by the city (Støtte til sykkelpiggdekk (klimatilskudd.no). Like so many others, I'm weary of the Green Party pushing their agenda down our throats. Biking in the wintertime is a high-risk sport. I've been witness to near-fatal accidents with bicyclists in wintertime; one woman actually fell off her bike (hit a slippery patch) and nearly ended up under the wheels of a city bus that was right on her tail. A near miss; she was just lucky. 

It's truly disappointing to realize that a city does not care very much about its inhabitants. It's not as though winter is a short season here in Norway. Even though Oslo does have mild winters at times, when it snows, the problem of snow and ice removal arises. The city doesn't seem to care too much that snow and ice removal from sidewalks is a problem. I guess they think it's ok that there are often record numbers of people who end up in the emergency room with broken bones. And those people are mostly children, young people and middle-aged folks. Elderly people don't dare to leave their homes very often. If they did the numbers would be even higher. I have to say that I just don't get it. 


The Spinners--It's a Shame

I saw the movie The Holiday again recently, and one of the main characters had this song as his cell phone ringtone. I grew up with this mu...