Watching a magpie build its nest

We are privileged to have a birds-eye view (literally) of magpies that are building/renovating their nest, right outside our bedroom window. They are very shy birds that don't really like human company, so my filming was done from indoors. Somehow, they seem to discover that they are being filmed, but I have managed to get some footage of them. Once they find out they're being filmed, they go into their nest or fly away. They are very protective and territorial concerning their nest; we think the same magpie couple has come back each year for the past few years to raise another family. Since last year, we've had some intense storms with high winds, which damaged the nest considerably. So they've been working hard to repair and renovate it. 

Here is some video footage I got this morning:

Lights in Oslo's winter darkness

In Oslo, once December comes, the winter darkness comes with it, descending on the city and enveloping it. The darkness is very dark, and is like a living entity, something you can touch or feel. I've grown used to it, but it took a few years of living here before that happened. Once it snows, there is suddenly light in the darkness. But it helps that many people put up Christmas lights that stay up the entire winter. They provide a warmth in the otherwise cold darkness. It is 'koselig' (cozy) to see them lighting up houses and city buildings, from the train station to the Christmas market to the Opera house and the city streets in general. I've taken a lot of photos this year and today's post presents the best of them. Enjoy!

at Aker Brygge

at Aker Brygge

at Aker Brygge

at Aker Brygge

at Aker Brygge

looking out at the Oslo harbor area

at Aker Brygge

at the park at City Hall 

at the Christmas Market

near the Christmas Market 

carousel at the Christmas Market

the slide at the Christmas Market 

Grand Hotel 

a wonderfully-decorated florist's window

tree lights

Christmas trees for sale at Alexander Kielland's plass

a local house decoration

the Christmas tree in our co-op courtyard

Christmas decoration at the Opera House

Christmas decoration at the Oslo train station

Christmas tree at the Oslo train station

downtown Oslo 

the Mall of Oslo, downtown

Månefisken lit up for the season 

Some new street art in Oslo

Wandering around Oslo, walking in different areas of the city; I ran across this cool graffiti recently. Intriguing street art--I love the use of the different colors! I don't know who the artist is, otherwise, I would credit him or her immediately. If someone who reads this post knows who the artist is, please let me know and I'll update this post. 

The new Tappan Zee Bridge

For those of you who are wondering about the header picture of the dual-span cable-stayed twin bridge at the top of my blog, it is a photo I took of the new Tappan Zee bridge during my September visit to New York State. The new bridge opened for traffic in 2017; the old one was taken down due to its age and constant need for repairs. You can read more about it here: Tappan Zee Bridge (2017–present) - Wikipedia

The new bridge is lovely, and at night it is often lit up in different colors to celebrate or honor different events and organizations. I'm proud to say that it connects Tarrytown, my hometown on the east side of the Hudson River, with Nyack on the west side of the river. There is a pedestrian/bike lane on the bridge as well; if you'd like to walk across you can park your car on either side of the river. It's not something I've done as of yet, but it's on the list of things to do when I visit NY. 

Just about as perfect a photo as you can get

This photograph of a hummingbird and four bees drinking water from a birdbath was taken by Toshiyasu Morita (Hummingbird & Bees — Toshiyasu Morita). It is an amazing photo, about as perfect a photo as you could ever hope to capture and actually get. I love it! As I've written about before in this blog, the honeybees in my garden love drinking water from the birdbath on a hot dry summer day, so this photo is a wonderful reminder of that. I've photographed them doing so, but not as up close as Morita managed. This photo makes my day!

https://images.app.goo.gl/trvB6YqZLnDwFdK2A

An autumn visit to Åsgårdstrand

Our annual autumn trip took us this year to Åsgårdstrand, a small resort town situated on the west coast of Norway, about 60 miles south of Oslo. We'd never been there before, so we decided to visit, especially after our visit to the new Munch Museum in Oslo where we learned that Edvard Munch had lived there. He bought a small summer cottage in Åsgårdstrand in 1898 and painted several famous paintings while he lived there during the summers, among them, Summer Night at Åsgårdstrand and the Girls on the Bridge. 

We stayed one night at the Grand Hotel in Åsgårdstrand, which was a very nice hotel overlooking the ocean. The weather was sunny and warm on both the Saturday and Sunday we were there, so we walked around the harbor area and then up the hill to the town center where there were some cafes and galleries. Munch's summer cottage was closed by the time we arrived on Saturday, so we'll have to visit it another time. After dinner at the hotel, we walked around the harbor area again. It was a clear moonlit night, and the moon lit a path on the ocean. 

During the summer, the town is most likely filled with tourists and boaters, since the harbor had a guest wharf for those who visit by boat. I'm sure it's nice to visit the town during the summer, but I preferred being there during the off-season because there were less people to contend with. I can definitely understand why Munch took a liking to this town. I took some photos and am posting them here. 

Munch's summer cottage is the yellow house to the left

Late summer garden--photos

As promised, some recent photos of my garden (August and September). Autumn is approaching here in Oslo, and gardening season is winding down. I went to my garden today after having been traveling for almost two weeks. The summer asters are in full bloom, the climbing rose bushes have bloomed for the second time this summer, the coneflowers look beautiful (see photos), likewise (some of) the gladiolas (see photos). The giant sunflowers grew very tall while I was away; their height is impressive, at least eight feet (see photos). The other photos were taken during mid- to late-August, when gooseberries, red currants, black currants and raspberries were harvested. The Folva potatoes were harvested at the beginning of September. 

yellow coneflowers

coneflowers and gladioli

giant sunflowers

the (mostly) perennial garden

garden project for this year--assembling and painting a garden bench

a lot of zucchinis (as usual)--they're easy to grow

a good year for gooseberries

pumpkins 

a lot of potatoes (one type--Folva)