More Winter scenes.

I had to go and refuel the car today, so I decideded to take a little run around just to check out the scenery.
Looking west over Flatevågen the mountains looked good.

By this time, 1pm, the sun had actually set behind the mountains so it creates a great contrast between light and dark. I took a run west to Tomrefjord and drove up an extremely icy road to the setter. Thank heavens the wife wasn't with me, she would have panicked to see a 4x4 having problems on the road, when I was just having fun. :)
Here's a lovely image looking southwest through the mountains.

And a view back down towards Tomrefjord. The STX Europe shipyard, just right of centre, is currently refitting one of the old ferries which used to cross this fjord to Molde. The "MF Tresfjord" is being converted to run on gas, like the new ferries we have now. She can be seen in the floating dock in this image.

I drove back around Flatevågen (da voe), still looking for the perfect picture for this years Christmas cards. The temperature was -12.5C when I took this one.

I was using my old camera which has a 10X zoom, so I zoomed in on the mountain to the left of that image for this pic. The mountain is called Skåla (which means the bowl, and yes it looks like an upturned bowl).

From the south side of Flatevågen I eventually got the picture I wanted of the church. No sun on the church, which always makes it look too bright, but sun still on the houses and mountains at Molde.

When I got home I discovered that the wife had been busy digging out from storage some of the first Christmas decorations. By the way, Christmas is referred to as 'Jul' here, so I was met by these two nice Julenisser when I came round the corner of the house.

Now, at this point I'd better explain what 'nisser' are. Nisse (singular), Nisser (plural), are the little folk in Norway. A bit like the Trowies in Shetland, Goblins, Elves, Gremlins, etc... in other cultures. Some of them are nice, some are a bit mischievous, and maybe a few are a bit nasty, but that's just because of bad press in the newspapers. Our Nisser are nice, and once darkness fell we lit the candles in their little lanterns.

Things are starting to look a bit more seasonal already, and no doubt over the next few weeks several hundred decorative little Julenisser will appear throughout the house. But that's a future post.

Finally tonight, since most things are looking really cold everywhere, I thought a picture my sister sent me would be a nice warm way to end this post.
Can you feel the warmth?

Yun's aa fir enoo.
:)

Willie Nelson busted yet again.....

OK, so Willie likes a little smoke of a certain slightly naughty little weed, which really shouldn't be illegal since it's no worse that many legalised substances which governments the world over make a lot of tax dollars from.
And OK Willie has been busted for it before so surely he should know better....
Well perhaps he does know better, at least better than the hoards of idiots (I won't refer to them as experts), who say that Marijuana is bad for you. After all Willie is 77 years old, has survived his earlier years of dedication to legalised substances like whisky which no doubt would have killed him, before he found the pleasure of a fragrant little weed.
Willie has given pleasure to millions of music lovers for more than 5 decades. He still tours the world giving shows, such as the two that me and the wife went to this year. He does a fantastic amount of work for good causes, such as Farm Aid. In fact all I've ever known him to do is 'GOOD'.

So why do the law enfarcement (typo intended) officers in his home country continue to bust him for taking a little pleasure for himself? I can only assume that it's because Willie is a well known user, and campaigner for the legalisation, of Marijuana. So when a petty little promotion hungry rookie cop sees Willies tour bus, he knows he can get another ticket issued.
Well, yet again an American law enfarcement officer has become the most hated person ever, amongst the millions of Willie Nelson fans. And in this case I don't think the bust will do anything for the officer's career, since this bust was on the border of his home state,Texas. And I don't think there's a Texan alive who thinks Willie is anything less than a National Treasure.

But, and there's always a but.... No matter how strongly I feel that Willie has been done a great wrong, I have to face the fact that he has been charged with possession of an illegal substance.
So I feel that I should take the necessary steps to distance myself from this terrible criminal act...... lol
I'm going to log on to Willie's Online Shop and buy one of these,,,, in the hope that it will be a step towards advertising that the criminal in this case is 'THE LAW', 'NOT WILLIE'.

And, if nothing else, the profit Willie makes from the T-shirt can help pay his fine. So maybe everybody can log on and buy one too. Although I guess there will be delivery delays due to the high demand for these shirts in Texas.

My final thoughs, for now, on the matter:
God Bless Willie Nelson,
and,
If the arresting officer thinks Texas is hot, just wait until he gets to the afterlife which is being wished upon him by every Willie fan in the world just now.


Yun's aa fir enoo,,,,,,
Must go for a 'smoke'.

Vestnes Illuminations...

Since tomorrow is the first Sunday of Advent, today is the logical day for the local Christmas lights to be switched on, including some new ones on the lamp posts along Sjøgata.

Since the light pollution is now so bad, we thought we might as well add to it, by putting lights on a small tree in front of the door.

So that's our Christmas tree for this year. We had an indoor one last year and we were still finding pine needles months after, so no more indoor trees..

Well, with Christmas only 4 weeks away now, I hope you've all sent your letters to Santa. I still haven't done mine yet, but that's a project for this weekend.
My Santa list for 2008 can be seen here: Dear Santa
And last year's list can be seen here: Dear Santa 2009

Hopefully this years Santa letter will be a bit more sensible,,, some chance. ;)

Onywye, yun's aa fir enoo.
An, hae a göd helly aabody.

Good music makes me feel warm..

With the temperature lurking very near to double figures, at the wrong side of zero, yet again, I needed a music fix.
This is what I found, and what a music fix.



Johnny Cash was definitely a stunning performer.

Yun's aa fir enoo.

Colder and colder..

The cold spell continues, and according to the news feed the UK is feeling the effects as well. BBC weather was reporting possible snowfalls of up to 20cm in parts Scotland and Northern England, so I guess the UK will grind to a halt.

Shetland news are reporting many accidents caused by icy conditions, when in fact the accidents were actually caused by the nuts behind the steering wheels. (And before anybody criticises me for saying that, I once turned a car upside down on icy roads, and it was my fault for not taking care. I was the nut in that case..)

Here in Norway, the cold has gripped with a venom not normally seen until January. Our local weather stations are reporting -7C tonight, whilst further inland at Bjorli they are reporting -24C. But, as usual, the prize for lowest temperature goes to a more northerly location, Kautokeino, with a temperature of -32C ( and falling).

Now, if some scientist, politician, or other individual who is making a profit from the Global Warming theory, could just explain this to me, I'd be happy.

Viking migration reversed?

About 1100 - 1200 years ago the Vikings from Norway descended upon the shores of Shetland.
History often depicts them as fierce warriors, but I tend to think of them more as migrants who decided to look for a better life elsewhere, who maybe got a bad reputation because the residents of Shetland at that time thought the Vikings looked a bit wild.
Now comes the interesting bit of my theory on Viking migration..
All those years ago the only real tough guys left Norway, leaving behind the more sedate, peace loving people who were the forebears of the current Norwegian people, and I think it's fair to say that you'll not find a nicer population anywhere in the world, just as long as you don't let them sail across the North Sea on holiday, and into the Thule Bar in Lerwick. It still amazes me how many people in Norway know that pub, and for all the wrong reasons.
But, I digress, back to what I started to post about.
When I arrived in Norway over 3 years ago I was a kinda lonely species here. My nearest relatives being a Shetland Sheepdog in Molde, and a few Shetland Ponies here and there throughout the community.
But in the Viking spirit, which has been bred into Shetlanders over generations, I decided to fight for a foothold in this foreign land by showing how hard Shetlanders can work.
I'll maybe never master the language, but I've proved that I can work. And on the basis of that hard work another member of the family has been offered a job here.
So, slowly, the Vikings are returning to their true home. Leaving behind the disaster that in commonly referred to as 'great britain' (lower case used deliberately).

Anyway, early next year "Peerie Rasmie" (that's a tentative nick name) will land in Vestnes...
The Vikings are back..
LOL

Reflections...

The full moon looked impressive this afternoon, reflecting on the still water of the fjord.
I spend a lot of time looking at the moon. Things on earth may change, but the moon has looked the same for millions of years. And no matter where you are on the earth, scenery might vary but the moon looks the same to everybody.
A constant in the turmoil of life.
If the sky is clear where you are tonight, go out and have a look at the moon. We all may be many miles apart, but we're seeing the same thing.

Onywye, yun's my tocht fir da day.

Something different.

I'm always afraid that my readers will get bored with pictures of trees and mountains. So I like to include a little light entertainment now and then.
I'm primarily a Willie Nelson fan, but ever since I was a kid I've loved Johnny Cash, so here's an example of the 'Man In Black', doing what he did best, just telling a story.
As the wife always says, Johnny could have read the phone book, and still kept an audience enthralled.

God was that a road trip??

12 hours, for a round trip drive of 500km.
Four ferries, several bridges, 22km of tunnels, an awkward satellite navigator, and icy roads, made a trip that I don't want to repeat for a long time.
And the scenery was just the same all the way, boring, like this.

 

 
Having left home at 6.30 this morning, it was 10 o'clock before we caught the first bit of sun touching a mountain top. The sun was having bother sneaking above the mountains and hills most of the way, so failed on the photo front. And places where there was a good chance of a picture there was no way to pull over as the layby's at viewpoints hadn't been cleared of snow.
And it was too damned cold to stop and get out of the car anyway. Driving through Rindal the temperature on the car's thermometer registered a low of -18.7C
We arrived at Trondheim before mid day. The temperature was only about -5C, but it was a very raw air, and the little bit of breeze just cut through all the layers of clothing, and skin, and went right to the bone.
We took a little walk down to the river near the hospital. The low sun peeking through the trees looked great, especially with the frostrøyk (frost smoke) hanging over the water.

Looking down the river didn't look much warmer.

After my appointment we hit the road quickly, despite some mentions of shopping from my little female navigator. After all, it's enough to be prodded by a female doctor, without having to listen to a female navigator. At which point, I have to ask the question, is it possible to get an in car SatNav system which doesn't speak in a blonde female voice? Guess I'll get a slap for that statement. lol.

There might have been a little bit of frostrøyk over the river at Trondheim, but there was far more of it over the fjord at Orkanger. I think this picture should be titled 'Smokin'.

Rather than take the road main E39 road for this trip we had decided to go through Surnadal. No problems on the way north because I remembered our last trip that way and could ignore Greetin Gertie (the SatNav), but this was the first time I had driven home by this route, so mistakes were bound to happen.
Some mistakes were caused by Greetin Gertie telling me totally wrong things (because her maps are out of date), some mistakes were made by me not trusting Greetin Gertie when I should have, and the occasional little mishap was as a result of Tröttlin Trowie (my human navigator) actually understanding a request for directions after I had passed the junction in question. But, looking on the bright side, our detours today could only account for about 1 wasted kilometre by the time we got home, and that is a record for me. ;)

Anyhow, more boring trees.

 Some frostier looking trees with a nice little shed/storage house (Stabbur).

The sun sank behind the hills about 14.30, but there was still enough light to snap our first glimpse of a real mountain, since leaving the flat hills of the Trøndelag county. I find something very homely about mountains now, and no matter where we travel in this lovely country, it's nice to catch the first glimpse of the beautiful West Norway mountains.

So, all that driving, scenery which I can't describe because it is so beautiful, and which I failed to get pictures of, but which will have to be revisited when time and road conditions allow for photographic opportunities, how do I sum up today?
Absolutely ******* worn out.
But like any experience, I have learned a few things:

1) Driving on ice when you're not allowed to slide around and have fun should be banned. eg. leave the wife at home. ;)
2) Satellite Navigators should not be trusted.
3) Navigating women should be woken up at least 1km before any decision is required.
4) Men who have a strongly opinionated wife should let the wife drive, assuming she has a driving license and an ability to navigate.
5) After this post I'd better hide in a bomb proof shelter, just in case she learns enough navigation to find me. lol

But, enough rubbish.
After 500km for a 15 minute appointment, the bad news is that I'm going to be around for a while longer to bore readers with the crap I write. The doctor could find nothing wrong, and now my case has thankfully been referred to our local hospital for future 3 monthly check-ups.

PS.
Cost of trip:       About 1300 kroner (£130)
Cost of results:  Priceless

Yun's aa fir enoo, fae an auld bugger dat's no i too ill helt. lol

På Vegen Igjen

Or, to put that in English.... On The Road Again..
Or in Shetland ..... Upö Da Rod Igyen

Yup, we're heading out in the morning for another trip to Trondheim. 500km round trip for a 10 minute appointment with the cancer doctors. Don't expect them to find anything wrong, since the only sore bits I've got are all caused by the brutal treatment I give my old body with multiple 12 hour working days....

I'm not exactly looking forwards to this road trip. It's a long way to drive on ice or hard packed snow, and I won't be allowed to have any fun because as well as the satellite navigator (nicknamed Greetin Gertie), I have my darling wife with me as human navigator (nicknamed Tröttelin Trowie, when she is in 'bitchin about my driving' mode.... lol...)
The great beauty of having an old car, and this is what the wife fails to realise, is that sliding around on snow and ice, without fear of causing expensive damage. is just pure adrenalin pumping fun for old farts like me.

Now, speaking about ice. The old car looks a bit like it has been 'fur coated' now with the build up of ice crystals. I'd never seen ice crystals growing so long until I came here. The roof of the car has crystals about 1cm long all over it now. Here's a little picture of them.

And a couple more pictures of ice crystals...

 

The first one was just on a stone, again the crystals were about 1cm long, and looked a bit like long grain rice..
The last pic was just on the grass, but I thought it looked nice.

Anyway, hopefully have some nice pictures to post after our trip tomorrow. Forecast is for wall to wall sunshine and temperatures well below freezing, so a nice clear air for photos.

Yun's aa fir enoo.

A Royal Rant..

When I lived in Shetland I never considered myself a fan of the British royal family, after all they were representative of the British scum which stole Shetland from Norway in the first place. (don't get me started on 1469).

But today I was delighted to see on the BBC news that Prince Willie has finally got round to asking Kate to marry him. Great news, not because I believe in the British royalty, but because I believe in love. And I wish them, as I would any other young couple, the best of luck and a long happy life together.

And now for the "RANT" part of this post:
Sometimes I'm stupid enough to open a link to the SSP website. (That's the "Shetlink Socialist Party"). A forum for Shetland, called Shetlink, which has got to be the most hateful forum ever invented. I knew that the forum took a specialist interest in being nasty to everybody, irregardless of race or colour. But to find them immediately being nasty to a young couple in love simply disgusts me.

All I can really say is, "Thank God Shetlink isn't a true representation of Shetland. It's just a selection of hate filled, narrow minded trolls, who do their best at every opportunity to destroy Shetland in the public eye."
There are still a few decent members of the Shetlink forum, but sadly their sensible comments and graceful acceptance of other peoples views have been drowned out by intolerant idiots. So if you want to know Shetland, go and see the place, meet the real people, but never, never read Shetlink.

More Norwegian winter beauty..

I did threaten to post more winter pictures, so here they are.
Trees, I love them. Tall and majestic, these ones don't have much snow cover since they are getting a bit of sun.

 But these ones just fail to get any sun at this time of year. Different scene.

 It's like walking through a winter wonderland.

 Frosty.

 Here's a tree that I posted a picture of in an earlier post. Still looking good.

 Frozen water.

Now, the next picture is just for fun. It's a crap picture, but it's the nearest we've got to getting a picture of a Squirrel.. Note his little bright eyes, dead centre of the image.

A couple more shots which simply show the beauty of the area.

 

And here's another one which shows the beauty of the interaction between rocks, ice, and water. It's so beautiful that I'm sure it could be featured in the Tate Modern Gallery.

Now for a bit more wildlife. Several Hegri (Heron in English), (Hegre in Norwegian).. I deliberately  didn't use plural words for simplicity, but if you want it's Hegris, Herons, and Hegrer. ;)
Anyway, don't think their fishing was going too well.

In fact the Hegri on the left in this image reminds me of a T.Shirt I saw many years ago depicting 2 hungry looking Buzzards on a branch, with the caption: "Patience My Ass, I'm Going To Kill Something".

Another interesting bird, a woodpecker. He was too busy chopping wood to turn round for a picture.

That picture was of special interest to me as it brought back a childhood memory.
Now you're rightly thinking that since Shetland doesn't have very many trees, Woodpeckers should be rare, or non-existent. But in the late 60s a Woodpecker attacked an electricity pole at the back of my parents house to such an extent that the pole had to be replaced for fear it would break off at the weakened point. If I recall correctly the story even reached the pages of the famous Sunday Post newspaper.

 Now, to get away from nature.
Vestnes had the opening of two new shops today. A new bookshop has opened, a branch of Notabene. Not that I'm overly enthusiastic about books, but they do sell nice jigsaw puzzles. ;)

The other shop which opened today was the new Rema 1000 store next door to us. I would post a picture of it but partly for fear of breaking a camera by taking a picture of such an ugly building, I've decided to hold that picture back for the next time I decide to have a rant about pathetic architecture, or bad planning policy.
But, that aside, congratulations to both shops. The wife visited Notabene, bought me a puzzle, and as the book fanatic in the house she was very impressed. I visited the new Rema shop, and I actually think they have just brought shopping in Vestnes 'almost' into the 21st century..

Anyhow, after another long day at work, I'm knackered, so bed beckons me.

Yun's aa fir enoo.

More Winter Pics...

Here's a few more pictures from yesterday.
I've often heard of a person being photogenic, but if there's one country in the world which deserves to be called photogenic, it has to be Norway. Just point the camera and click. There's always something beautiful to see.

In that last one you maybe noticed the ice on the water. Well it makes some special effects when the tide goes out.

This pic is one that I think I'd love to have as a jigsaw puzzle. Note the swans on the voe.

They looked fairly happy. There are more wildlife shots, but I'll maybe dig them out tomorrow.

Now, a few more scenes that I think would make lovely jigsaw puzzles. (I know I'm weird, but I always look at pictures from the point of view of jigsaw difficulty).  :) :)

Anyway, hope you enjoyed those.
Maybe more tomorrow.

Yun's aa fir enoo.
:)