The Nature of Things Behind My House

Photo: Mine

One of the common sights around here are the Björk (birch) forests. This tree is a sort of pioneer tree in that it is the first to sprout up after a fire, logging or other environmental disturbance. Very fast growing and provides a shelter as a nurse plant for other trees which will eventually take it's place.

Photo: Mine

These blooms above I presume are from some type of willow native to here. But they are all part of the forest understory here. Much of the natural landscape behind our place and indeed all of Sweden is loaded with numerous ponds and bogs. Last year my wife made me go out in late summer around here to pick blueberries. They are literally everywhere. So are the Mosquitos. I was eaten alive. Never again, once is enough. These mosquitos here when they bite leave quite a welt on the skin which takes a couple of weeks to go away which at the beginning stings, but also itches like crazy.
Below here is a prime example of how important pioneer Nurse Trees are for the more permanent established old growth trees like this Norway Spruce (Picea abies) which will come to be the dominate tree later on. This is the same for every ecosystem on Earth. Sadly the scientists who who are hired to advise governmental foresters don't always respect this when the attitude of "We want a forest now, not later" prevails and they strike out on a course of action that goes contrary to the way things are engineered in nature.

Photo: Mine

Notice the photo below here shows another tree which is common here and in many places the only dominant tree in the forest. This pine is commonly known in English as Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris)

Photo: Mine

These next pictures are of the common moss found in our woods. Mosses and lichens period are a sort of weed here. Every lawn in springtime is nothing but moss. As the temperatures warm and the grasses grow, the moss retreats into the ground. These woodland mosses grow in clumps around the bases of trees, much like the variety of moss that grew around the Redshank or Ribbonwood  Adenostoma sparsifolium at my former residence in Anza, California.

Photo: Mine

Time for a break. Hey (Hej) lookie there, I found a laminated map of the trails in the woods and a description on the back of the nature to be found here. Sheesh, who speaks Swedish anyway ?*See Footnote below

Photo: Mine

This island (it's not really an island, but the Swedes here insist it is, to me it's nothing more than a peninsula with one end being a swamp that was channeled for commercial barge traffic) of Hissingen where we live is almost entirely composed of Granite bedrock which in most places the soil is only inches thick. More on that later. Take a look at the rocks and boulders, some of which were put together to form ancient property barriers.

Photo: Mine

This next pictures are of the common small lakes and ponds for which Mallard Ducks and Canadian Geese come every year to raise their young. In the first photo, see if you can't find the mother Canadian Honker sitting on a nest of eggs. They usually will have about 7 or 8 little goslings when they hatch and come out in public display some weeks later. 

Photo: Mine

Here's what I meant by shallow soils. These tree blow overs are a common site here. If it weren't for all of the constant regular rain, very little if anything would grow here. Though there are some extreme cases here where only Heather and Juniper will grow.

Photo: Mine

Here's an example of a forest Hare who resides here. 

Photo: Mine

Here is the rather large lake behind our place for which all those hundreds of tiny ponds and bogs eventually slowly flow into, which itself feeds a small steam all the way to the harbour.

Photo: Mine

Here's an example of some old iconic 1960s Water tower architectural art work, though pathetic as it is, we give it the name "The Mother Ship"

Photo: Mine

Our neighbourhood housing complex are all duplexes of the former Norwegen Winter Olympic dwellings from Lillehammer that were bought years ago and moved to this location in Sweden by some entrepreneur builder. Here is our house which is actually the front, but it's our back yard with the large picture windows that looks like the front of a house. More pictures of the houses and neighbourhood at a later date. 

Photo: Mine

More on our garden later as it progresses with the warmth if it actually arrives this year.

* Footnote:

Who speaks Swedish anyway!