Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

The birth of a rhododendron garden

@brittarnhild

Not far from the cabin is a rhododendron nursery which we visit every year. Slowly a dream of our own rhododendron garden has stated to grow inside me, and today it happened.

So far with only two plants, but everything has to start somewhere :-)

Now we cross our green fingers that the deer will not eat the new plants and that the sky will give enough sun, enough rain.

 

Birds seen through a cabin window

@brittarnhild

We have the most amazing view of fjord and mountains, but we also see birds. I was up in the wee hours this morning, made myself a mug of tea, picked up my knitting needles, and sat there, watching the birds.

A pure morning, serene, quiet.

Can you name these birds?
In Norwegian they are dompap, rødstrupe and svafrthvitfluesnapper :-)

 

By the way, I do all my YouTube videos bilingual now. First in Norwegian, then in English. Here is the most recent one:

 

 

 

Cabin life in the time of the corona

@brittarnhild

Norwegians love their cabins. For a month we have not been able to visit our cabins, cottages, summer houses, whatever you call them, in fear of spread of the virus. Monday this week the ban was finally lifted, at least for now, yesterday Terje and I packed our car and drove the two hours out here, to our cabin paradise. It feels so good. We stay here alone, we do not meet other people (except from some essential shopping), but we have each other, we have to birds, the flowers, the trees, the wind, the rain, the sun, the sky.

The first thing we did when we arrived was to check if we had got some new tenants. We had. Two blue tits are busy building a nest and a family in one of the bird houses. I can see right out there from one of the living room windows where I sit, writing this :-)

Then Terje started carpeting, while I explored the garden.

Spring is always several weeks earlier here than it is at home,

and I can't have enough of them.

Hans Christian Anderson has some time said something like....... to live is not enough, what we need is sunlight, freedom and a little flower.......

 

In this tiny little path of God´s earth I am thinking of all my friends. In Norway and international. I hope and pray that you are all safe.

 

 

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I am back to blogging today, and will update the list of active blogs as soon as I post in them :-) 

 

Fløy en liten blåfugl - my birding journal (click on the picture)

  

 

maskerade - my knitting journal (click on the picture)

 

Britt Arnhilds dagboksblader - my online journal (click on the picture)

 

Nederst i hagen - my greenhouse diary (click on the picture)

 

Britt Arnhilds naturdagbok - my nature journal (click on the picture)

 

Hytteliv på Rastarbo - cabin life (click on the picture)

 

My most previous video on YouTube:

 

What has happened to the nest box?

@brittarnhild

Terje and I are spending the weekend at the cabin. Winter, but no snow, tough some very wet snowflakes are falling from time to time, but melt quite fast. Used as I am to a white world at this time of the year, the winter green nature fascinates me. Wet, lush in a kind of deep, sparkling green way, a few songbirds out even at this time of the year, days still short.

Inspecting the nest boxes is what we always do at this time of the year, before the birds start looking for a place to lay their new eggs. But look, what has happened to this box? To hole is way to big for a tit or a flycatcher! Who is the sinner? A squirrel? A woodpecker? 

We have no idea. But as a pair of flycatchers come back here every years to breed, Terje changes the nest box with another one we have, with a hole the correct size.

 

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I had a bad fall in the wet, slippery snow just outside our cabin this morning. Hurt my left index finger badly, a finger which is essential when I knit. So here I am, updating blogs instead of knitting. So far today two other blogs have been updated:

Fløy en liten blåfugl - my birding journal
Med bøker på menyen - my reading journal
Britt Arnhilds dagboksblader - my online journal

Maskerade - my knitting journal 

 

 

Hard to leave

@brittarnhild

As the day faded it was time to leave,

but not till after I had eternalised the light.

Another day filled with November light.

 

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A bicycle tour with Britt Arnhild on internet:

 

Blogs:
Britt-Arnhild´s House in the Woods
maskerade (knitting blog)
Britt Arnhild naturdagbok (my nature notes)
Akeleiehagen (The Blue Garden)
Britt Arnhilds dagboksbladet (my journal)
dagens lille grønne (ideas for a greener living)
Med bøker på menyen (reading journal) 
Britt Arnhilds naturdagbok (my nature journal)
.......and some more which are sleeping just now

 

Instagram:
brittarnhild
Akeleiehagen
brittarnhildsstrikkedagbok
TrondheimTales


YouTube:

Britt Arnhild på YouTube

 

 

November light

@brittarnhild

November light at the cabin.
Great days with Terje, with my brother from Iceland, with daughter and grandsons.

November light.
Nothing like it!

 

Short days, but so beautiful when the sun is out, so interesting when it is not.
Treat for afternoon coffee - fire on the out on the terrace hearth, marshmallows, a boy almost four years old loving every minute of his life.

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A bicycle tour with Britt Arnhild on internet:

 

Blogs:
Britt-Arnhild´s House in the Woods
maskerade (knitting blog)
Britt Arnhild naturdagbok (my nature notes)
Akeleiehagen (The Blue Garden)
Britt Arnhilds dagboksbladet (my journal)
dagens lille grønne (ideas for a greener living)
Med bøker på menyen (reading journal) 
Britt Arnhilds naturdagbok (my nature journal)
.......and some more which are sleeping just now

 

Instagram:
brittarnhild
Akeleiehagen
brittarnhildsstrikkedagbok
TrondheimTales


YouTube:

Britt Arnhild på YouTube

 

 

Creativity inside and out, or outside and in

@brittarnhild

We woke up to a grey, cloudy day today, which felt quite okay for both of us. Terje could continue with his creativity outdoors, I could continue with my creativity indoors.

Terje is renovating the old outdoor toilet, stripping it almost completely down. Here you see him removing the rotten window.

That was yesterday. Today the new window is already set in. He is a great handyman this man of mine :-)

And while Terje let his creativity flow outdoors, I sat inside, enjoying our lovely view, knitting, knitting, knitting. My Gotland cardigan is almost finished now, but it has taken me hours and hours, too many to count. The result will be well worth the effort though, and I already know I will start a new one soon, in other colours ands another pattern.

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In my blog world today (will as always be updated):

Med bøker på menyen, my Norwegian book journal

Books on the menu, reading my way around the world

Britt Arnhilds naturdagbok, my nature notes

maskerade, my knitting journal

 

 

The favourite hike, and signs of spring

@brittarnhild

Cabin life means outdoor life. Cross country skiing (and knitting) as you can see in the podcast, or hiking our favourite hike with the amazing view.

At this time of the year I look for signs of spring everywhere, and so good for me, they are easy to be found..

Back in the cabin I find my flower books, learning new plant names,

repeating old ones.

 

My love of nature takes me to the moon and beyond, and my knitting goes skiing with me :-)

 

 

 

Not only the sunny ones

@brittarnhild

We are at the cabin, enjoying a quiet weekend. Back home we still have winter, with a lot of snow in the garden. On our way out here we stopped for some cross country skiing.......absolutely gorgeous with +12 degrees Celsius, blue sky, bright sun but still enough snow for skiing up in the mountains.

Then we arrived here and were greeted by spring. Bulbs colouring the cabin garden, birds chirping everywhere, and lovely paths to hike.

Today's afternoon hike took us down to the sea, the old village church and the beautiful, renovated vicarage.

A group of starlings followed us.......or was it us following them? One of many signs of spring.

I am an April girl and I love every day now.......not only the sunny ones. April means new life. April means hope. April is green. April is my birthday month.

 

The aspen

@brittarnhild

There is an aspen just outside our cabin windows. Well, actually there are more than one, but this special aspen is the one I follow through the year. From its black, bare branches in winter, the first leaves, which come late, later than the leaves on most other trees nearby, the whisper of the aspen leaves all through summer and then the let go in autumn.

I love the aspen. Its beauty, its stubbornness, its whispering song in the wind, its let go in autumn.

 

Last week we got a new UN report on climate changes, where they warn: we have 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe. 

12 years! In 12 years I will be 72. Our grandson will be 15.
How do we act to this? What do we do? We all have a responsibility to ACT NOW!

I love my aspen. I love nature. And as I wrote in a post a few days ago - you do not destroy what you love.

I am searching for ways to act. I want to be creative. I write a nature journal, the blog Britt Arnhilds naturdagbok (Britt Arnhild´s nature journal) a blog which helps me to see, really see, with eyes, ears, tongue, fingers, feet, heart every single day. Through this nature journal I hope to share this love, hope to help others to see. I also have another blog, dagens lille grønne (daily green ideas) where my mission is to share ideas of a greener way of living

I need all the help I can get in this fight. We need all the help we can get. We need to fight together. We need to love together. For the sake of ourselves, for the sake of our children and our grandchildren. For the sake of all human beings. For the sake of nature. For the sake of Mother Earth.

 

Our aspen has lost most of its leaves now. I hope, I pray, that new leaves will sprout next spring, and the next after that, and in 12 years, in 20 years, in 50 years.......

 

 

Here is what The Guardian writes about it.

 

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In my blogworld today:

 

Finally, after some hard work this weekend, I am ajour on my cabin blog, Hyttelivet på Rastarbo, one blog post every day we are here

 

More work and my online journal is also up to date

 

Fløy en liten blåfugl, my birding journal

 

Britt Arnhilds naturdagbok, my online nature journal. Here it is difficult to see what is new, I am updating September for the moment :-)

 

dagens lille grønne, ideas for a green living

 

Med bøker på menyen, my reading journal