[Leica] a sad postcard

[ruben at rhodos.dk (Ruben)]

Gary

I have not been a LUGer for more than a year and a half so I do not recal 
Hans Pahlen, but it would be nice to meet fellow LUGers here in scandinavia.

The reedwoods could be great - I must admit the I am still amazed that a 
storm can have that much energy - some of the trees had rootsystem of 10 
metres radius or more.

My place is about 10 km south and 80 km east of Varberg - The lake were I 
use to go fishing is directly connected to the River Nisan that runs from 
J?nk?bing in the north to Halmstad in the south. The nearest "highway"  is 
the nisastigen (the nisan road) is about 18 km from my place - If I take a 
drive I can go for about 4 hours of theses small gravel roads without 
meeting any large roads or cars - more likely I will meet Cranes, Mooses and 
Deers.

I have been in the part of Sweden since 1966 - almost every summer- and I do 
remember the Hay on the drying racks - I sat on top of the huge haystack on 
an old wooden wagon pulled by a horse called Veronica when the neigbourgh 
farmer took it to the barn.

memories memories - regards Ruben

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gary Todoroff" <datamaster@northcoastphotos.com>
To: "Leica Users Group" <lug@leica-users.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2005 7:13 PM
Subject: RE: [Leica] a sad postcard


> Very descriptive words, Ruben, to describe a place that is similar to many
> memories I have of Sweden. In the 1960's I stayed with a family in the
> little town of Horred near Varberg on the southwest coast. They had a 
> summer
> cottage much like the "torp" you describe, near a lake and in the woods.
> What part of Sweden are you in? I remember then in Sweden as soon as you
> left the main highway, all the country roads leading to cottages were
> gravel - no wonder Volvo's had to be built so solid then.
>
> I also stayed a week in a fairyland type of cottage in Dalerna. Outside,
> older folks were cutting the fields by hand and stacking the hay on big
> drying racks made of long poles that were stored in barns. Still very "old
> Europe" in some places back then. I seemed to remember a Swedish word for
> the little cottages that sounded something like foor-byod. Is that a word?
>
> Hans Pahlen gave me a tour around the Varberg area three or four years 
> ago -
> was great to see some of the old places again.  He was a regular LUGger 
> back
> then. Do you know him? Anyone heard from him lately?
>
> I had read about the storms in Sweden, but didn't realize how devastating
> they were. Our home is surrounded by about 30 redwood trees with some 
> water
> runoff that will turn into a white-water creek tonight with the big storm
> due in a few hours. So far the only trees not standing were the ones that
> had to be removed when some destroyed the driveway and another grew within
> an inch of the house.
>
> Too bad you can't plant some redwood trees there - they grow like weeds 
> here
> and just as fast! I hope your forest heals soon. Thanks again for the
> beautiful and heartfelt "word photo".
>
> Gary
> (Tree Lugger)
>
> Gary Todoroff 707 445-8425
> Datamaster Designs
> 1824 County Ln
> Eureka, CA  95501
> datamaster@northcoastphotos.com
> www.northcoastphotos.com
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: lug-bounces+datamaster=northcoastphotos.com@leica-users.org
> [mailto:lug-bounces+datamaster=northcoastphotos.com@leica-users.org]On
> Behalf Of Ruben
> Sent: Monday, May 16, 2005 1:40 PM
> To: Leica Users Group
> Subject: [Leica] a sad postcard
>
>
> This weekend was very sad to me, my wife and to my children. We went to 
> our
> little house in the forest in Sweden to check out the damages of the great
> winter storm the devastated large areas of southern Sweden in January.
>
>
>
> It would be too much to go into details of how my house (a "torp" *) is
> placed in the landscape except that it is behind a very small hill before 
> a
> rather long hill/slope of about a mile down to a large Lake.
>
>
>
> Until the storm a large and very old forest surrounded my property, with
> beautiful stone fences covered with moss and lichens and trees so big that
> my little family hardly could reach around them.
>
>
>
> It was the kind of forest were you could discover new secret places and 
> were
> you could sit a summers afternoon in the middle of the forest enjoying the
> birds, insects and the wonderful scents of flowers, trees and mushrooms,
> while the rays sun would find its way thru the leaves and paint the fairy
> like grass and moss with scattered light.
>
>
>
> I have known this place as my second home for all most 40 years and both 
> my
> girls has spend most of the summers since they were born, the oldest even
> took her first steps/walk on the bumpy grounds out side the house.
>
>
>
> For the first time in my life I found it hard to use my camera - even 
> though
> my house and most of my property had made it thru the storm every were I
> looked trees were either turned over with root and every thing or the most
> proud and stubborn trees were simply snapped over like matches. It was so
> bad we could not find the little road that led up to our house, there are
> now landmarks left - no secret and fairytale like places left - no beauty
> only a wasteland!
>
>
>
> It took much strength to comfort my youngest - she cried - her "smultron
> st?lle"** was gone, her little hill further in the forest were she used to
> take her dolls and play was gone and even the place were she saw her first
> Moose looked like someone had turned everything up side down.
>
>
>
> It will take 20 years to get the places to look just nice again and it 
> will
> not look like old forest in my lifetime - but I hope my children will be
> able to show my their children some of the Sweden I have so dearly - Had 
> it
> not been for the many birds, some deers and a couple of other "wild" 
> animals
> curiously looking at us from a safe distance I would not have been able to
> hold back the tears but their presence gave me comfort that Nature might
> sometimes be tough on us but life will go on.
>
>
>
> For me the loss of 40-50 larges trees on my property means only that I 
> will
> be chopping fire wood for a very long time, but for some of my 
> neighbours -
> the nearest is about 5 miles away - it is really bad as the have lost 1000
> of sq. metres forest that will get little paid if they can find help to 
> get
> it "cleaned" up before next winter.
>
>
>
> This is a sad postcard with no pictures attached but with an advice to
> embrace and enjoy places dear to your heart while they are still there -
> best Ruben
>
>
>
> * Torp is a very small house were the poorest people lived - people who 
> did
> not have enough land to live from it but worked for the large farmers. In
> 1965 a 97 year old woman died after living in the Torp all her life. She 
> had
> one cow and she did some sewing and stuff for other people - she never
> married. Behind the wall paper we found newspaper-wall paper from 1880. In
> my area it is the last Torp left  - two rooms and a very large
> fireplace/stove - very primitive and very lovely.
>
> ** Smultron St?lle = your own place in the forest were the wild small
> strawberries grow - a ver Swedish thing
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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