Snow-covered rowan berries

The Norwegians call rowan berries, rognebær. The rognebær trees outside my office window were covered in snow this past Monday, and the snow-covered berries looked like little bells! So pretty. The birds seemed to like them too. As of Friday, the snow was gone, but for just that brief amount of time on Monday, the view of the trees was magical.

Sunday's photographic treasures

Today was another beautiful mild winter day in Oslo--sunshine, blue skies and a spring feeling in the air. Much of the snow from yesterday's snowstorm is melting. It was good to be outdoors. We took an hour's walk down and back along the Aker River (Akerselva) and stopped into one of the river cafes near Brenneriveien for coffee before heading home. Of course I had to take some photos along the way, and here they are--no particular rhyme or reason for taking them--just that the motifs caught my eye. It can be the play of sunlight on the water, or the shadows of the trees on the snow, or the rawness of street art. I'm also including a few photos from yesterday's snowstorm when I was out walking; then it was the trees and bushes covered in snow that attracted my photographic eye. It's very cool to be out walking right before twilight. Enjoy........

the beautiful Akerselva (Aker river)

Akerselva

Akerselva

Akerselva

unsigned street art, or is BT the artist?

unsigned street art

Gamle Aker church

Kjærlighetsstien

Birds have their favorite perches

If you look out our kitchen window (facing east), you will see a tall tree that is popular with the birds in our neighborhood--crows, magpies, thrushes, starlings, and sparrows. They each seem to have their favorite perch spots.This fellow enjoys his bird's eye view of our Oslo neighborhood. For the past few evenings, he has found his favorite perch high up in this tree in order to calmly survey the world around him. I managed to snap a few shots of him just sitting there watching the world go by.

Summer's light

I love the summer's light--the way the sun shines into our apartment during mid-afternoon. Peaceful. There is a haziness to the colors of the tree and building outside--the sun is strong. There is so much light around; everything indoors and out is bathed in light. This is just one of the things I love about summer--the light that goes on and on. It can be light here in Oslo until well after midnight, not as strong as at midday, of course. As we move toward summer solstice, it will continue to get even lighter, at which point we will have the longest (and brightest) day of the year, and then the days will (very) gradually start to get shorter. 

Autumn leaves

The trees in the park at Kjellands plass have shed a lot of their leaves, so I was out today with my camera and took more photos of the lovely autumn trees and leaves.....

Stopping by a bridge on a snowy morning

To paraphrase Robert Frost—‘Stopping by woods on a snowy evening’. Last week we had a snowfall that led to some accumulation of snow, and it was just exhilarating to be out in the early morning, taking pictures of the snowy trees and this bridge covered in snow, before too many other wanderers discovered the same places. It brought to mind my childhood days during wintertime, when I would find a secret place under one of the tall evergreen trees outside our house window; its many branches were often heavily weighed down with snow, almost touching the ground. The heavy branches created a little nest for me to crawl into and hide from the others, at least for a little while. I loved that feeling of aloneness, of having a secret hiding place. I would sit there and enjoy the silence and the whiteness of the snow and the sun glittering on the tree branches. Sometimes we would play hide-and-seek, and no one ever found me if I hid there.

It’s funny how poetry and photos can remind you of what once was. I think it’s incredible that the memories lie there, buried under years of living, and then a photo, a word, or even a smell, can take us back to earlier times in our lives. The memories don’t disappear; they just wait to be re-discovered. 

A fascination with reflections

Just thought I'd share a few photos from the past few months with you today--Reflection photos. I am fascinated by how images and light are reflected in our surroundings, be they water, ice, smooth walls, windows, or glass generally. Some of these are from the late summer and some from the current winter. Enjoy.

The man in the puddle

Reflections in the ice

Double vision

Reflections and empty shelves

The life around us, reflected in a glass

Autumn colors

It cannot be said that this year's autumn foliage was disappointing. There were a lot of lovely reds and golds and the weather didn't completely disappoint us either--we had some really mild fall days. All in all, a good autumn--here are some photos I took on our weekend walks in the area where we live in Oslo. 

Oslo's Botanical Garden

I thought I would write a short post today about the Botanical Garden in Oslo http://www.nhm.uio.no/english/visiting-nhm/botanical-garden/.  I was there the other night to join an organized tour of the Rock Garden (Fjellhagen), which is a collection of mountain plants from all over the world. The flowering season for these plants peaks in May and June. The tour was led by one of the gardeners who works at the Garden; he was very knowledgeable and could tell us a lot about the different plants we were looking at. After the tour, I walked around the Garden for quite a while, taking pictures and just breathing in the serenity and beauty of the place. I have been to the Garden once or twice before, but that was a long time ago when I first moved to Oslo. I enjoy visiting the Botanical Gardens in the different cities I have traveled to—London, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Amsterdam, and many others, including the Botanical Garden in the Bronx (when I lived there in the 1980s). I was talking to my friend Jean the other night and we decided to re-visit the Bronx Botanical Garden in the summer when I visit NY. It was always an enjoyable time to walk around there. Botanical gardens generally are peaceful oases in the middle of bustling cities, no matter where I’ve been, and each time I visit a garden I think how nice it would be to work there.

So the other night in Oslo, I enjoyed my Garden walk. It was a beautiful evening, the sun was shining, the air was warm, and it was a perfect evening to be outdoors. I am posting some photos I took on my walk around the Garden. Enjoy!