The perfect fall weekend

We just spent a long weekend out on M's parent's island with M's best friend, wife, two daughters, and a total of four crazy little hunting dogs running around.  Our friends were visiting from Göteborg on the western side of the country, and they brought us fresh lobster and a huge bag of shrimp. The weather was unbelievably gorgeous...bright sun, the water was like a mirror, and just a little fall chill in the air. 

This photo was taken just a few hundred meters up the road from our house.

The bay where we live, headed out toward M's parent's island.

 Island sheep

 Island ponies

 This pony is so teeny, he looks like a dog.

One of the best things about M's parent's house is their wood-fired hot tub out on the dock.  There's something about soaking in hot salt water and then jumping back and forth into the chilly sea that makes you feel like ten pounds of dirt has been scrubbed out of your skin. 

 We stopped to grill hot dogs on the way out to watch seals on the rocks

A grey seal

 Taking photos of swimming seals from a bobbing boat wasn't easy, but with a good zoom I managed to catch this guy's eerily human-like eyes.

Swan launch

Another trip to Kallskär

We spent the weekend out on Kallskär again, and this time we brought the kayak.  The weather was gorgeous, the water was warm, and our bellies were full of fresh smoked fish.

If you ever go on vacation with a group of Swedes, you will notice a huge difference between the American and Swedish style of "taking it easy."  There is no such thing as idly lazing around on a Swedish holiday: wake up, drink coffee, take a swim, eat a breakfast smorgås (sandwich), pile into the rowboat, set out the fishing nets, return to the cabin, drink more coffee, eat cake, sip a little whisky, pile back into the rowboat, head to a different island for snorkeling and exploring, drink beer in the sunshine, haul in the fishing nets on the way back, clean the fish, hang up the nets and pick seaweed off them, scrub off the boats, cut up firewood, start the smoker, fix the dock, haul kelp out of the sea to put on the garden, cut down weeds, take a paddle in the kayak, eat smoked fish and drink wine, take a walk, drink some more beer, take another swim, sip a little whiskey, and fall into bed completely and totally satisfied.

Flounder, whitefish, and bass, fresh from the Baltic Sea.  We cleaned the fish and packed them in salt for a couple of hours, then smoked them with juniper branches.  Stockholmers pay hundreds of kronor for fresh smoked fish....we had so much we had to give some to M's parents. 

Triss on the lookout for fish (or anything else that can possibly be chased and barked at).  This crazy guy chased seagulls up and down the rocks for about two hours and ended up with horribly ragged paws.  He still hasn't learned that it's impossible to catch a seagull.

Timon patiently waiting for M to return from a spin in the kayak.

A summer storm rolled through with some beautiful cloud formations.

Island Life

Some photos from the island where M grew up and where his parents still live.  There are no cars out here, only boats, ATV's, and tractors.

  The homestead, along with at least eight boats (last I counted).

An inventive ATV seat.

The definition of "traffic."

M testing out my new kayak (finally I have a boat too!!)

 My turn to try the kayak.

Island cows, kickin' it.

You expect trolls to pop out whenever you turn around...

...or maybe just a rådjur (roe deer)

These horsetails are so fine and fuzzy they look like they aren't in focus.

Wild rose

Island farm

Major highway

This is a knipa, or common goldeneye, with her brand new babies.  M's family has about five nest boxes for them in the yard, and the eggs were hatching while we were visiting.  The babies only spend a day or so in the nest before they have to make the perilous plunge down to momma in the water.  Unfortunately there are evil seagulls lurking everywhere, just waiting to swallow them whole.

M and his father checking the nest box.

Just hatched...we put him back for a rest before the big jump.

Late evening sunset during one of the longest days of the year.

Conclusion: I Love Midsommar.

I survived my first Swedish Midsommar this past weekend, and oh boy was it a good one.  M and I spent the past week out in the far archipelago between his parent's island and the island where our friends have a stuga (cabin) on the island of Tornö.  We arrived to Tornö around eleven on Friday morning...the boats were decorated, the lunch table was set, and the beers were flowing freely.

Everyone decorates their boats and houses with björk (birch) branches for Midsommar.

Lunch consisted of about 8 different types of sill (pickled herring), deviled eggs with caviar, new potatoes with dill, smoked moose heart, wild boar paté, cured smoked salmon and shrimp, several types of cheese and bread, plenty of beer, and a special drink called aquavit to wash down the sill.  Aquavit is spiced vodka, and the particular bottle we had was Linie brand aquavit...what makes this kind special is that all Linie Aquavit has been aged in an oak sherry cask on board a ship that has crossed the equator twice.  You can read details of your particular bottle's journey on the label; ours had traveled on board the M/V Tampa from Scandanavia to Australia and back.  Supposedly this 5-month journey combined with fluctuating temperatures and humidity causes the booze to become extra delicious.  My taste for strong shots of booze isn't refined any more than it takes to get the fiery stuff down my gullet as quickly as possible.

Once we were totally stuffed, warm, and happy, we took the boat over to the larger island of Möja to see the Midsommar festivities.  We brought along a cooler full of beer, whiskey, coffee, and traditional strawberry cake.

The midsommar dancing was just about the happiest sight you can see while you're half-drunk and full of delicious food under perfect sunny weather on a Swedish island.  Everyone has crowns of flowers and both grownups and kids dance and sing along to the silly songs.  Whenever I asked what the song was about, I got an answer along the lines of, "Uh...this one is about a priest and a crow who fall down in a ditch and start laughing."  Or, "This one is about frogs that have no tails or ears so they're funny to see, and then pigs have tails and ears so they're funny to see too."  My conclusion was that the songs don't necessarily contain great mysterious cultural significance, they're just fun to sing year after year.

Later on in the afternoon we went back to the stuga and continued our eating and drinking spree.  I had been warned by M that by nightfall on Midsommar, someone usually came up with a crazy idea like taking the boat farther out into the archipelago to skinny dip with seals, or something along those lines.  This year was no different, and our friend suggested we drive out to his grandfather's fishing cabin on Kallskär to watch the sunrise.  We piled into the boat with food and blankets and drove to the outer edges of the archipelago where we hiked to the highest point on the island to watch the combination of sunrise and sunset that pretty much lasts through the night.

Here are some photos of Kallskär the next morning.  The islands here are windswept and rocky, with low vegetation and no one to see for miles.  I'm not one to get sentimental about the beauty of nature, but there was absolutely something magical about this place.

Home on the Ö

The Swedish word for island is ö, and here are a few photos on and around what will soon be my new island home:

In addition to the beautiful scenery, I will also have the honor of living with arguably the World's Cutest and Wisest Dog, Timon.  M has another dog named Triss who will someday sit still long enough for me to get a quality photo.