Photos from the mountains
Feb. 6th, 2021 06:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
luzulaI am in the Swedish mountains for two weeks, taking advantage of the fact that I can teach from anywhere (as long as there is internet). My parents and I rented a cabin and drove up, bringing all our food, and obviously we are isolating ourselves up here. The weather is lovely, with blue skies and thick soft snow, and we're going cross-country skiing a lot (well, when I'm not teaching).
Here I am in my red anorak.
Snow and sun and trees.
I think these mountains are on the Norwegian side.
A willow tit! Not pictured: the sandwich crumbs we kept throwing at them. The English name is weird to me, since in Sweden they mostly live in coniferous forests (the Swedish name is "talltita", or "pine tit"), but it seems they do indeed live among willows in England.
An ancient, twisted Scots pine. The top half probably killed by the fungus Cronartium flaccidum.
Here I am in my red anorak.
Snow and sun and trees.
I think these mountains are on the Norwegian side.
A willow tit! Not pictured: the sandwich crumbs we kept throwing at them. The English name is weird to me, since in Sweden they mostly live in coniferous forests (the Swedish name is "talltita", or "pine tit"), but it seems they do indeed live among willows in England.
An ancient, twisted Scots pine. The top half probably killed by the fungus Cronartium flaccidum.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-02-06 07:32 pm (UTC)Willow tit (I agree the name is a bit random—my UK field guide says mostly coniferous forests too, though it also mentions wet woodland where I suppose there might be willows) is a bit of a mystery to me, because I can't reliably tell the difference between it and marsh tit (Poecile palustris, which I don't think is found in the Swedish mountains!). But that one is very cute!
That Scots pine is a proper Gothic tree, very nice.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-02-06 08:55 pm (UTC)Yeah, I can't reliably tell the difference between them, either. As you say, we don't have marsh tit so far northwest, and also my dad said it was a willow tit, and I trust his judgement in these matters. : ) These tits had a steady source of food from skiers who took a break by a little hut--I didn't quite get them to take food from my hand, but it was close! I like how cocky and vigilant it looks in the photo.
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Date: 2021-02-07 10:02 am (UTC)These tits had a steady source of food from skiers who took a break by a little hut--I didn't quite get them to take food from my hand, but it was close!
Aww! I wouldn't have thought of it as the sort of species to be so tame, but I suppose they don't have much opportunity to learn fear of humans somewhere so remote. That's lovely.
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Date: 2021-02-06 11:27 pm (UTC)Beautiful!
I can imagine the squeak a boot would make in that sugar-fine snow in pic 2.
The Scots pine is perfectly angsty.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-02-07 09:54 am (UTC)It's funny, we usually find old trees beautiful and full of character, but most people don't go about on the street admiring 90-year-old people the same way...
Huh.
Date: 2021-02-07 08:14 pm (UTC)I actually do like looking at old people. An album of WPA photographers was one of my favorite reads when I was a kid, especially Dorothea Lange.
Quacking† around, I've found some kindred souls. Check out old white skin, abstracted by Anastasia Pottinger.
† "Quacking" is to Duck Duck Go as "Googling" is to, umm, some big search engine.
Re: Huh.
Date: 2021-02-07 08:44 pm (UTC)Re: Huh.
Date: 2021-02-07 10:04 pm (UTC)I’m thrilled to have found a companion in spreading the concept of “quacking“!
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