Photos from the mountains

[luzula]

I 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.

Comments

[regshoe]

I have managed to identify marsh tits a few times from their calls, but if it's not calling then I have to give up!

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.