Freedom is Calling

Ice & Snow

EW January 24, 2026

Winter has come. It began snowing right after winter solstice and we had a full snow cover since December 22nd. A short spell of warmer weather turned the surface of my driveway partially into ice. Since temperatures are supposed to stay below freezing, I will have to cope with the ice for a while.

I got used to it by now.

Another daily routine is to start the wood stove first thing in the morning. Removing the ashes, splitting wood, hauling wood. In the quiet out here, that is almost a meditation.

Even snow shoveling is kind of fun, especially since the ATV with the snow plow works again: https://youtu.be/naNhzwYyGTE

At midwinter, the sun does not even reach the top of the trees. I filmed it coming up in the morning. A short video clip on YouTube shows it at 50-fold increased speed: https://youtu.be/hoy6RFlqxSU

The snow is hard on the animals

While we have several bird feeders, deer struggle to find food: https://youtu.be/2FHbrC6vYsw

Christmas time was rather cosy

We visited friends and were treated to ducklegs with dumplings and a traditional swedish “Julbord”.

Here some more impressions

That’s it for now. More to come.

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Time to feed the birds

EW November 29, 2025

It got quiet now. Several days of heavy rain started the mud season. The driveway turned really soft, so I put more gravel on it. Still felt mushy when I drove over it.

Then came the frost and turned everything to ice. My car was frozen shut. It took me almost an hour with the heat gun to get at least one door open.

Finally, we got a few inches of snow and I tried out my snow plough. I guess, I’m ready for winter now.

Hungry birds

Then, I put up the bird feeders and got life back to the property as the feathered friends swarmed in.

Watch the two short YouTube clips.

Time to feed the birds 1: https://youtube.com/shorts/Z2EISlsZODQ
Time to feed the birds 2: https://youtu.be/bt3DM_BVHls

I got a variety of visitors ...

… mostly tits. There are sometimes more than 25 fluttering about.

The second largest group of visitors are the bullfinches

However, when the jaybirds come, all the smaller ones go into hiding ...

Finally, I was able to spot a blackbird looking for some grains

That’s it for now. More to come.

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Autumn Glory

EW October 30, 2025

Again a month past. Now, I have been living in Sweden for half a year.

In preparation of the dark season, I installed a lot of lamps in the house. Outside, however, there is an explosion of colors. Especially in the mornings.

Some mornings, the tops of the trees light up

Then, they look like big candles to me.

I love the vibrant colors of the leaves

By now, they turned brown and cover the lawn.

Meanwhile, the nights can get quite cold and frosty

The flowers are gone by now

As of yesterdy, two stubborn plants are still clinging on to their petals.

That’s it for now. More to come.

Be well and if you like share this post and

Germany and back again

EW September 28, 2025

I did not want to leave Sweden. However, Big Paul needed its biannual inspection in Germany and was liable to fail the first pass in need of repairs. So, I planned for a long trip using the time to visit friends and family.

It was really nice there but I am sooo glad of being back again.

No surprise, the last of the swallows moved out in the meantime. I caught them on video the day I left for Germany. You can see the clip on YouTube: https://youtu.be/fn1QNlwFe7A