50 Shades Of Summer 2015

I posted a little showcase of summer last year. 50 photos to sum up two months worth of unsummable sunshine and fun time, showcasing not so much notable events as notable moments; sceneries, and how I personally evolved during that time, something I feel I do each summer.

Following a heads-up from a good buddy I've decided to make this thing a tradition, so for the second year in a row (woah!), here's a small share of summer as I perceive it... even if there wasn't as much of it this year as last. Mostly rain.

It's without the first and final evolutionary snapshot comparison photo this time, as I for some reason barely took any photos of myself, but I did include one photo of me in the mix, as proof of presence. Everything else was an experience. So, here we go...

I arrived on the 24th of June, to a cloudy but clear-aired North. The ground was still brown and cold after days of slowly warming up, but thanks to frequent rain (and an extended patch of maintained lawnspace), we had plenty of grassy nutrient to heave tween rows.

And here's the greenhouse, also slowly warming up for summer.

First scene I see, first morning when I flee my dream. Wake up, walk out and realize... real life is the dream for me. :)

My big bro came up for one week, and my nephew for two. First week it rained and rained. Constantly. Non-stop. Well, it stopped enough for us to burn up a pile of debris previously covered with canvas. Didn't burn all the way for some reason...

Jul 10, I turned 26! Woke up to unexpected melancholy but... the day turned out great after all. Shrimp sandwiches are a rarely prepared favorite!

In Kangos over the day, taking pictures for a postcard my sister's selling; I managed a snapshot of this funky family in the process. The gray of day went away when we'd passed the funeral. RIP Kalle.

Stopping by Grandma's place to trample down some grass.

Aaand back again. Imagine all this turned to strawberries! :O :O :O

Vegetarian mosquito?

I built a bridge! Small but meticulously crafted. Everyday tasks like this are the most fun.

And other tasks...

The Överkalix Fair, the one-time-a-year event that turns the slumbering little village of Överkalix, to a city bustling with visitors! Over 30,000 people come and go each year, the booths lined up along the main street; green areas all packed with cars. Even a year as rainy as this!

Played a little tennis while we were there, courts of which had been drained of people in their surge towards the festivities. I haven't played tennis in decades. The wind was ferocious. We kept hitting balls over the fence or missing them entirely. Fun times. :)

The next day my mom turned 71. That's my sister prepping the cake.

We ate some perch.

I painted walls.

And more walls! All four walls on this particular building, the two above, another two on a larger building, and two walls each on two smaller buildings... and then I tarred a boat and... well, you'll see. More on that later...

Creative placement of solar-power lights.

There's the boat I tarred. And a grand view of the all-but-bland blue!

One day at Luleå beach, dropping off my sister at the airport I think.

Rare photographical moment with the on-photo somewhat tired me.

Piroger? Pastries? What do you call these? Well, I made 'em, crisp and juicy and packed with leftovers! A munch for lunch.

And here, the berry season begins. :) Cloudberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, currents... barely any lingonberries this year though.

Salad season too! Composed of all home-grown crops and edible flowers. Except the sunflower seeds.

I was pretty happy when our barn swallows started settling down right outside my window... until they started shitting all over the inside of my window!!! >:/ So, I closed and cleaned my window, and they settled elsewhere. Some flappy unevenly placed paper tape on the top of the frame kept them at bay the rest of the summer.

Things be happenin' with them plants! Salud, salad!

Aaand strawberries! Blue net's there to keep the birds away btw.

Our third trip to Kangos (second didn't merit many photos). A few days sizzling in a sudden summer (after enormous dose of rain)!

And back! At our peak we had this much every other day. :) The strawberries lasted all the way till early September too, longer than usual! Probably thanks to all early excess rain and late seasonal sunshine.

Morning mists on the eve of autumn. Before I left, this was the view every day. The mist drifted away around lunch.

I say blueberries, but they're actually bilberries.

Part II of my painting endeavors: frames!! Same frame every morning for four days straight, layer after layer after seizeless sessions of scraping and cleaning and taping edges. All in all, as I recall, I painted eight corners, three door frames and one window. And my dad a bunch of others. And there's plenty left...

It aint a party without the hose!

Close up on our lift-up-tar-and-keep-the-old-boat-from-withering-away-entirely project.

All work in small steps.

Looks like it's admiring that radly red newly-painted wall there. ;)

It took a while, but as we prepared to leave things were finally shaping up in the greenhouse!

One of our neighbors died earlier this year. For the past few years he's been in charge of cutting the grass on these fields of ours, but not this year... we were supposed to have a meal and share in a few minutes of silence with our one remaining neighbor; widow, Eva, but it was postponed till I could no longer partake in it. She and my parents had a get-together way later though. I had a quiet minute over a bowl of noodles. RIP Kjell.

And the scene so green, through the mourning morning mist I see! This deliciousry.

Oh snap! Sugar. And those other items of which we pick plenty....

And there I stand, a grin at hand, glimpsing the thinning strands of summer through this brink brimming of Birch! Till next summer emerge.

posted by Cyber on Sunday, October 18th, 2015 (6:49 PM) in Life.
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► S3C
Monday Oct/19/2015

Finally!! lol

6.shrimp sandwiches huh?? but the ultimate question is where is the other slice of bread to sandwich the shrimp and other edible contents in between?

7. quack quack (nice pic)

8. Cyberdevil 1 & 2!?!?

10. Not vegetarian, just a sea cucumber.

13. Sexy Batman! Obey cool story bro!

14. This is actually what I envisioned in 9.) where you said "imagine all this turned into strawberries". A tennis court lined with strawberry turf...

19. Solar powered lights! To give you extra light when the sun isn't enough! Is there some photovoltaic storing mechanism so they can be used during the night or in times of extreme cloudiness??

20. would make a good melancholy moody indie album cover

21. From this angle it looks like a giant Cyberdevil with the metallic object in the sand being your sister's airplane.

22. from a certain angle, looks like you're trying to hold back laughter (must be the Indian doctor humor)

23. give me some of that

24. cool. kinda looks like raspberry glazed caramelized popcorn from this angle.

25. nice! ever tried growing sunflower seeds? had a wild one growing in my back yard (wtf). It died before it got large, though.

26. got damn birds!! so disrespectful. Humans don't go sh*tting all over their nests, do they??

27. cool!! don't get burned though (they breath fire)

28. Salad huh? Any specific leafy vegetables here? A new recent favorite of mine- arugula

30. Different place?? I thought you were in Kangos?? or was that (Over)Kalix?? Or Kunsangen & Back?

31. O_O that's a lot of strawberries per every other day!! you could make a small fortune of that. is that average size of a strawberry? do you pick when they reach a peak red, or wait to a certain size?

33. spooky

34. I'd say blueberries, but they are actually violet (blue fruit doesn't exist!!)...on the real though, how are they different from blueberries

36. It ain't a party without some hoes!! Garden hoes, of course. To prepare the garden before you water it with your hose.

47-48. currants?

B-3. So it seems these fruits are able to precisely tell the time better than any clock could ever, just one look at them, to now that it's the current time.

B-4. Kale?

B-10. Rutabaga? Or Turnips? hard to tell the difference.
► Cyber
Tuesday Oct/20/2015

It took a while. :)

6. Ahh, aha, I've been enlightened, it's called an 'open sandwich' when content is not enclosed between two plain slices of loafy dough! If you haven't tried one of these before btw: they're awesome! Necessary ingredients: bread, butter, salad, sliced egg, mayonnaise, dill and peeled shrimp. Slice of lemon, cucumber slices and cherry tomatoes optional.

7. Quack (thanks!)

8. Hah, that's my mom (Millan) and big brother (David). Cyberdevil's cameraman. ;)

10 & 13. lol

14. You have an odd creative vision for strawberry fields man! XD Do you play?

19. Ah, well, they have sensors to make sure they shine only when it's dark; gather energy at all other times. Meaning we wait until the end of July before we take them out... since the sun never goes down before then. They don't shine very bright, due to whackily weak batteries that also often leak and need replacing, but provide some nice nightly decor; guiding lumination if you ever need to traverse the dark (external bathrooms)! At the end of September they barely shine at all, not enough daylight to fully charge 'em, but they're nice having around. I think there's another 18 of 'em not on picture...

20. Good idea! Probably plenty of potential melancholy Indie covers amongst omitted photos too...

21. Ahhahaha! Nice! :D I can see it!!

22. Either that or I'm forcing a smile. :P

23. Anytime you visit!

24. Oh man, raspberry glazed caramelized popcorn is a thing?! Need to try that ASAP.

25. Actually yeah, we've had some sunflowers in our tiny garden here in Stockholm, though I have no idea if we ever got any seeds. Not really the right climate for them here to ripe for bites of primates.

26. Naybe that'd give them something to think about! XD

27. But that's not a dragonfly. :P

28. Ah argula's great! Spicy. We had some of that too, though not in this picture. What you see here, from left to right: marigold, regular salad (whatever brand it might be), parsley and coriander, purslane, parsnip, kale, and sugar snaps on the side. We had some asparagus lettuce and Japanese cabbage (it's salad - despite the name) lower down too. And dill, chives, and plenty of root stuff.

30. Ah, my bad. This and the one below are in Kangos, as were the quack/costume pics above (we were just there over a day). Everything else is Kälvudden, with a little Överkalix, and two pics from Luleå beach. Guess I should add some notes on location shifts...

31. I know right! :D Not sure this'd be enough to make that much money, but we do have enough to last the winter this year! Size varies a bit, though mid-summer this is average. As times goes, they get smaller and smaller. We grow two different types, of which one is sweeter, larger and lighter (and not so compact), with a somewhat glossy surface, grows quickly, and tastes good even before they reach that peak red. The other is dark red and a bit sour if you pick them too early, and difficult to wash since they have a juicy surface, but a much richer taste too (and probably way more nutrients). These usually keep growing till late September, while the first type (the newer one) grows at most when it's really warm, then just starts leafing around.

So, we wait till peak red with the later ones, but just pick the former when they look ready, every day or every other day depending on how quick they grow. The size varies a lot depending on how much water they get and how well the plants are doing (if they're getting eaten up by insects, etc). It's easy to see when they're ripe though, regardless of size, and there are a few wild strawberries in the mix (which are tiny).

34. Well, for starters blueberries are white inside, and bilberries are purple. Blueberries are larger. Bilberries are slightly more nutritious. Those are the differences I know! Both are great with pancakes though.

35. Oh yeah, you gotta have a garden hose for the garden hoes!

47-48. Yupp!

B-3. XD

B-4. That's it!

B-10. Rutabaga indeed! That's some of that asparagus lettuce to the left btw.
► S3C
Wednesday Oct/21/2015

6. Ahh, just one slice of bread to keep down the carbs, just like the doctor ordered!! Still not a sandwich though, lol. Well I'd scrap the mayo!! And shrimp are probably my least favorite seafood...the texture is too blubbery,the taste a little too bland for my palate...I do like shrimp scampi and popcorn shrimp though! and those look like some meatier shrimp. So I would definitely try one (and enclose it with another slice of bread, American style)

14. Nope

19. A most interesting contraption taking advantage of renewable energy!! Is there a mechanism that allows you to have them turned off at all times (June-July when the sun is always out) so it can store more energy to be used in the darker months?? Or perhaps the batteries do not have such a capacity to begin with?? What is the efficiency like? For example, if you had a full 16 hours of good sunshine, would that be enough to power a dim lighting through the night? How and what do they leak exactly?? Or are these light running of a hybrid model that utilizes both solar energy and traditional chemical energy?

23. I look forward to it! If that's an invitation. Just found I had an old friend move to Sweden too! To the town of Pitea, ever been there? Still considering looking at Uppsala university too...

26. You think I'm joking...*sets up camp atop a bird tree, eats a dozen burritos, half a dozen tacos, a whole fried chicken, an entire watermelon, 10 kinds of the spiciest peppers, downs an entire gallon of prune juice mixed with a canister of laxatives*

27. oops...talk about owned...what is it then

28. Yeah, I wasn't expecting it to be spicy when I tried it!! I think I'm going to have to make another culinary classic...stay tuned. I'm guessing regular salad = romaine lettuce?

31. Good info. Rough estimate on how much of the crop that grows is edible in the end? In other other words how much do you think gets eaten by pests and dies to disease and/or malnutrition?

32. Blueberries are white on the inside huh? I've always seen them as varying shades of green, although maybe in Europe they're different??

B-4. I don't KALE anymore, I would KALE for some kale right now. Dr. S3C Culinary Classic in the works: Seedy Kale Crunch! The greens- kale, cabbage, brussel sprout, chard, and broccoli with cabbage, brussel sprouts and broccoli being shredded fairly finely. The seeds: sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame and poppyseed dressing. Additional: sliced apples, almonds, slivered squash.

B-5. An obscure vegetable...never heard of asparagus lettuce before- does it take more like asparagus or lettuce?
► Cyber
Wednesday Oct/21/2015

6. Open sandwiches are no myth man: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_sandwich

Popcorn shrimp is a thing too!? So many creative popcorn flavors over there, almost like octopus ice cream hmm. I have some vague memory of someone I knew not liking Mayonnaise! Thought it might've been Doomroar. Maybe... there's more than one person who doesn't fully appreciate this incredibly savorable flavor enhancer like whipped cream for food. O_o Maybe mayo isn't entirely the same from country to country though, considering what a stereotype of unlike it seems to be in some places, even though we have it for pretty much everything. Ah well, taste buds do differ! Yeah, they have to be shrimp with shells when you buy them; peeled by hand. Both taste and consistency don't compare at all with the ones peeled by machine; frozen to be eaten.

14. Aw. How about table tennis? Badminton?

19. Yes indeed! And incredibly cheap too at the moment. At the end of summer they've sold out at about 30-50 cents a piece for a few years now, so it's actually cheaper to buy a new light than buy a new battery. I've bought batches of different brands, so they have different storage capacities/efficiency, and though the earlier ones didn't have any power switches that seems to be a standard now.

If you turn them off and leave them in the sunlight it seems they'll charge up entirely on a good day. I think they're usually equipped with the cheapest battery possible for the storage they require, so they store just enough to power a small LED light a full night, though towards the morning the light gets pretty dim. I haven't tried replacing the batteries with more powerful ones, but it's possible the battery itself is the real limitation. The panels are really small though, just a square inch or two. If you're interested, this is the most common type, marketed under different names by a variety of retailers, though they all look alike: https://www.jula.se/catalog/el-och-belysning/armaturer/utomhusbelysning/solcellslampor/solcellsbelysning-led-422189/

...and the prices are similar too, as are the batteries (light green and without brand, usually a single NiMH AAA or even half-AAA battery (I didn't know those existed!), 1,2v... I don't remember the mAh exactly but it's in the hundreds). The ones in the picture have about the same 'power', just a different form. Some of the others have two batteries, and we have a couple (more expensive) older ones that emulate an orange torch-like glow and run off of two NiCD AA at around 1,200 mAh. They're usually the first to turn on and shine the most, but on the other hand they don't seem to last all night. Not sure if they're LED either.

As for what they leak: battery acid. It's easy for them to get wet or humid (they're only waterproof against rain) so the batteries are the first to go. The circuits sometimes start to rust as well, though even then most of them still seem to keep working. Sturdy chips.

23. Definitely! :) Not sure how my parents would react to a surprise visit from abroad, old and habitual as they´ve become, but a feast at least should be doable! Soon as I get my own place there'll be no restrictions... well, either way it'd be fun to just meet up sometime if you're nearby (Uppsala's nearby)! Here or up North.

Piteå's right on our route when we drive North, so we've stopped by.. the suburbs at least, maybe not the city itself. A friend of the family lives there too. It's a days drive from Stockholm btw, half a day from our place in K. How did your friend wind up way up there btw? Ah yeah, let me know how that goes!

26. In a bird tree huh. Poor birds! Completely innocent! Nesting in trees! Far away the facades of houses with window feces!

27. Hmm, maybe this one? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banded_demoiselle

28. Romaine lettuce is indeed very regular... though doesn't look quite the same. It might have been this one: http://en.runabergsfroer.se/?p=745

31. For strawberries in particular? Almost everything (is edible). Insects usually eat of the plants rather than the fruits, but if it's too humid and the berries are too close to the ground some start rotting, or a lizard/toad passes by and takes a bite. We actually had a lizard living in the strawberry patch this year. Fortunately lizards don't eat that much. All in all I don't think we had to throw away more than a hundred berries.

As for the rest of the crops hmm... maybe 80%? It's hard to say though, because most insects make the crops grow worse rather than eat up the crops themselves, so you don't know how much you could have had if they weren't there. The rutabagas are pretty heavily attacked though, as are all roots to a certain extent, except potatoes and carrots. Everything that grows above ground fares better. We haven't had any problems with malnutrition, but sometimes drought, and too compact earth so roots can't really expand as they want too. Our carrots in particular are usually short and stubby, since they can't go as deep as they usually do. Soil's too sandy, dry and fine-grained for depth... but great for everything else! Easy to weed too.

32. Ah, apparently there are different types of blueberries too, either with white or green flesh. We have another wild berry here in Sweden called Odon, which is similar to bilberries, but green inside. Not sure if that might be the same? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccinium_uliginosum

They contain traces of alcohol too, so shouldn't be consumed in too large doses.

B-4. Mmm that's a lot of greens! Sounds nutritious!

B-5. Yeah, we hadn't heard of it either until we tried it. Another weird vegetable variety we tested this year: polka beet. Like beets, but with cool circular patterns of white and purple. Slices make great decoration!

The asparagus lettuce actually doesn't taste like asparagus at all. It's sweeter than regular lettuce though, kinda... weird taste to explain. They're supposed to grow as a bouquet of lettuce with some sort of asparagus-ish leaf in the center, but that center asparagus never made it. I assume that'd taste more like it's supposed to.
► S3C
Thursday Oct/22/2015

6.i-it's not a sandwich...http://media.giphy.com/media/FEikw3bXVHdMk/giphy.gif

LOL! thanks for the laugh, i needed that. Not literally popcorn. but breaded shrimp, imagine like chicken nuggets (or not, since you don't eat birds) but crispier. Perhaps calamari (fried-breaded squid) if you've ever had that. And they often are served in a popcorn bag, but I'm not sure on the etymology.

I've had mayonnaise that is palatable (usually the lighter, more buttery kind, usually has a very faint yellow tint) on sandwiches and it's okay. But most of the mayo I've tried I haven't liked. Especially when it's blended in with meals, like coleslaw. I think it might be the eggs or something. I don't like most dishes with eggs (but they're fine on their own) Although I do like ceaser dressing, which I think has similar ingredients and the zesty flavor that mayo has.

probably the frozen packaged small shrimp are the one I've had bad luck with. Either way, I always go to different sea foods.

14. it's all good fun, but I'm no good at them (or any sport for that matter) and I haven't played either in ages.

19. Cool!! Solar lights are becoming increasingly popular here due to having pretty much year long sunshine. Admittingly, I don't know much about mechanical solar lights as I should. I'm more interested in finding out how we harness photosynthetic energy from plants and microbes and optimize those abilities as an alternative, renewable fuel source. Let's drain the got damn sun of it's shine!

23. Cool!! There needs to be a NordicGrounds meetup.

Well, I think his girlfriend was planning on moving there, so he followed. And it's probably a great experience living abroad. I'll have to inquire more about his travels...

27. A damselfly huh...ironically damsels are distressed by dragons lol (probably has something to do with the formal name)

28. yeah, it doesn't look too much like romaine but that's the default lettuce or "salad green" that comes to mind. The picture looks more just like a typical green leaf lettuce. Is it more tender than crisp? Does it have small "ribs" projecting from the base/stalk?

31. good info, that's a nice thorough answer. I was curious because I'm guessing between 60-80% of produce that gets shipped to stores (and is initially perfectly fine), restaurants, and other food establishments ends up getting tossed.
► Cyber
Thursday Oct/22/2015

6. You have to be open sandwich minded man!

Ahh, I've eaten soy nuggets though, and they were great. Never tried any calamari, but just plain fried shrimp and squid's delicious too, I'm sure I'd like it.

Oh man, and I love coleslaw! Guess it might not just be the mayo then. Slight yellow tint like this? http://www.findus.se//images/products/7310500027838_500px.jpg

Somehow I've been under this impression that American mayo is white, bland and almost sickeningly sweet. Though guess I might've just tasted one bland and almost sickeningly sweet brand? How's the 'usual' mayo taste? Our variants are usually more on the sour side.

Do they serve open seafood or similar sandwiches over there btw?

14. Well then, there's hope! :D I'm not notably awesome either, but there's always some familiar family badminton every summer. How about bowling? Boules? Darts? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kubb ?

19. Harnessing photosynthetic energy from plants and microbes and optimizing those abilities as an alternative, renewable fuel source sounds pretty awesome! :D What kind of solar-powered gadgets do you have over there though? The model I linked to, is it by any chance an international lookalike? Yeah, the sun's the one!

23. Fo' sure!!

Ah, which leads to the follow-up question: whatever led her to those cold and inhospitable regions of the arctic circle suburbs! Piteå's a great place though, very friendly. Aaaand BTW I somehow mixed up Piteå with Umeå in my previous answer, so to answer again: that's just a few miles (miles with 10km each) from our summer place! We have some relatives there too, it's not right on our route anywhere though so we aren´t there as much as we should, but it's a great place; not too far.

27. XD Interesting how they all tie together!

28. More tender than crisp, small ribs projecting from stalk... yeah. Green leaf lettuce then?

31. Depressing statistics. :/ We do end up throwing away some more of the harvest after transport, lettuce in particular, leafs start getting mushy within a couple weeks so there's always a little waste... probably no more than 5% though. Tops.

Hmm, break before .32 Q&A?