Weekend Reflections: Road Mirror

From across the road I zoomed in this mirror put up for extra safety at a sharp bend just at a bridge.

See more photos from this spot at my other blog:

Beyond the Lone Islands: The Scenic Route

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This post is linked to Weekend Reflections

and Shadow Shot Sunday 2

Skywatch and FMTSO: Warmth

All photos from the countryside near my town, today.
We’re having an incredibly beautiful early June, this far.

Friday My Town Shoot Out: Warmth

Skywatch Friday

Shadow Shot Sunday: Antiques

Old milk cans outside an antique shop.

For Shadow Shot Sunday

Friday My Town–Children

It seems that “children” is yet another label sadly missing from my photo-tagging system, and I haven’t been around kids much lately.

This is a paparazzi shot of children unknown to me that I took on one of the daytrips out of town that my brother and I made in July. The little playboat is situated on the grounds of Torpa Castle.

(Silly coincidence: The Swedish word for children is “barn”.
Which in English is that building in the background…)

Go look at other people’s children here:

Friday My Town Shoot Out – Children

 

 

Friday My Town: Bridges of Fairyland

A couple of weeks ago my brother and I went out into the countryside for a bit of touristing. One day we had lunch in a café at an old mill, and there we found these two bridges leading into the world of fairytales.

Näcken, the Neck, the Nix… A kind of water spirit; in this part of the world often taking the shape of a violin-playing man appearing in lakes, streams or waterfalls, playing enchanted tunes on the violin and trying to lure especially women and children into the water to drown… While a man taught by Näcken to play the violin, might get so enchanted by the music that he could not stop playing until he lost all control of his senses.

A tale I remember well from my childhood is that of the Three Billy Goats Gruff (Sw: ‘Bockarna Bruse’) and the Troll living under the bridge that they had to pass.

In the village where I grew up, a shortcut road to the village centre included crossing three narrow wooden bridges over a winding little river. Every time I walked that way, my thoughts went to the billy goats tale (even though in the story, there was only one bridge).

 

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Once upon a time there were three billy goats, who were to go up to the hillside to make themselves fat, and the name of all three was "Gruff."

On the way up was a bridge over a cascading stream they had to cross; and under the bridge lived a great ugly troll , with eyes as big as saucers, and a nose as long as a poker.

So first of all came the youngest Billy Goat Gruff to cross the bridge.

"Trip, trap, trip, trap! " went the bridge.

"Who's that tripping over my bridge?" roared the troll .

"Oh, it is only I, the tiniest Billy Goat Gruff , and I'm going up to the hillside to make myself fat," said the billy goat, with such a small voice.

"Now, I'm coming to gobble you up," said the troll.

"Oh, no! pray don't take me. I'm too little, that I am," said the billy goat. "Wait a bit till the second Billy Goat Gruff comes. He's much bigger."

"Well, be off with you," said the troll.

A little while after came the second Billy Goat Gruff to cross the bridge.

Trip, trap, trip, trap, trip, trap, went the bridge.

"Who's that tripping over my bridge?" roared the troll.

"Oh, it's the second Billy Goat Gruff , and I'm going up to the hillside to make myself fat," said the billy goat, who hadn't such a small voice.

"Now I'm coming to gobble you up," said the troll.

"Oh, no! Don't take me. Wait a little till the big Billy Goat Gruff comes. He's much bigger."

"Very well! Be off with you," said the troll.

But just then up came the big Billy Goat Gruff .

Trip, trap, trip, trap, trip, trap! went the bridge, for the billy goat was so heavy that the bridge creaked and groaned under him.

"Who's that tramping over my bridge?" roared the troll.

"It's I! The big Billy Goat Gruff ," said the billy goat, who had an ugly hoarse voice of his own.

"Now I 'm coming to gobble you up," roared the troll.

Well, come along! I've got two spears,
And I'll poke your eyeballs out at your ears;
I've got besides two curling-stones,
And I'll crush you to bits, body and bones.

That was what the big billy goat said. And then he flew at the troll, and poked his eyes out with his horns, and crushed him to bits, body and bones, and tossed him out into the cascade, and after that he went up to the hillside. There the billy goats got so fat they were scarcely able to walk home again. And if the fat hasn't fallen off them, why, they're still fat; and so,

Snip, snap, snout.
This tale's told out.

 

This post will be linked to
Friday My Town Shoot Out: Bridges of ________.

Ruby Tuesday: The Red Cottage

Once upon a time, my paternal grandfather lived in this cottage together with his grandparents. Back then, it was not the bright red colour you see here, but unpainted grey. Today it’s a summer paradise; back then, it was probably a struggle most of the time… Read more about it here.

Linking to Ruby Tuesday

Friday My Town: Rule of Thirds

I’ve been more or less stuck indoors for weeks now and am tired of the winter season, so I decided to go back to some pictures from last summer for this theme. Not that I was deliberately trying to apply the rule of thirds when I took them (not sure I’d ever heard of it except keeping the horizontal line at either 1/3 or 2/3 rather than in the middle) but I guess it’s kind of a compositinal instinct.

 

Rule of Thirds:  a compositional tool that places the subject of the photo  in an area of intersecting lines created by dividing the photo in 3rds horizontally and vertically.

 

All the photos in this post are from the countryside outside my town, the village where my father was born and raised, and where my parents moved back to live in their retirement years, and are now buried in the churchyard.

The photos are all from the same day, 21 July 2011.
(They’re all straight from the camera just as I took them.)

 

 

 

▲ Old cottages cared for by the local history society. ▼

See what others make of the ‘The Rule of Thirds’ at
Friday My Town Shoot Out

Ruby Tuesday: Countryside Road

Linking to Ruby Tuesday 2

Skywatch Friday: Countryside Panorama

From the countryside near where my dad lived.