…and, while other people are working in their gardens and the smoke from yard fires from burning leaves or branches lingers in the Sunday morning air, Baxter and I went for a walk in Käringsboda Nature Reserve. Baxter is my dog and I’ve brought him back with me to Nynäshamn for the rest of the school year. According to his specifications, he strongly requires (multiple) long walks every day. We’ve been having intensive and continual negotiations about this requirement.
Photo: Nature and humans co-exist in Käringsboda Nature Reserve
We walked a road that I hadn’t been on during the winter. Snow has disappeared and the weather has been warm and sunny thus drying out this road and making it enjoyable to explore. Several things could be noticed along the way.
Firstly, the floor of the oak and spruce forest exhibited scores of common hepatica (Hepatica nobilis) or liverleaf. Found in southern and middle Sweden, this was a new flower for me. The Swedish word is ”blåsippan” and this flower can be popularly adopted by towns or cities as well as represent names of preschools.
Secondly, for some reason the road has been decorated with art. An almost grotesque figure of a head(a remnant of William Wallace?) can be found attached to a high tree stump near the beginning of the road and, later on, a strange looking horse decorates another raised tree stump. Who did this and for what reason remains a mystery.
At one point the road divides and, taking the lesser traveled, I ended at a small beach. There already were two other nature walkers enjoying a lunch and I chitchatted a bit with them before heading back. Again, one thing that I immensely enjoy about Käringsboda is the presence of oak trees. One oak tree, stretching its stout branches like a huge umbrella above the road, was a giant and was as thick in diameter as I was tall. A really beautiful tree!
So, all in all a good day. Now, after Baxter has his 2-3 hour rest, he’s going to want a new 3 hour walk. Geeez!
PS- Six and a half weeks of school left and I miss springtime in Shetland
