Thoughts from Varanger

New blog

2009-08-26T10:02:00.000+02:00

http://deepinsidetheforest.blogspot.com/

Arctic farm for sale

2008-12-25T21:29:00.006+01:00

(...sold...)

It`s been a while since I wrote in this blog. It`s because things didn`t come out as we wanted. Now we are going to move away from this Arctic dreamland. Not because we want to, but because we have to (due to family reasons).
So, we need to go to the south of Norway. To a completely different climate. To an area where there`s no need to pull up an outdoor wall against the cold, eastern wind. Where there`s no challenge to make the potatoes grow. And there`s no snow during the national day, the 17. of may. It`s no joke. I will miss it.
The distance between the beach and the mountain is just a few, hundred metres. So, we got i all, here. I have lived here for 20 years. After so many years, the climate and the seasons became part of my blood.
And the people. One afternoon an old lady was hitchiking along the road. You will almost never see old ladies hitchiking in the south. But you find them here. Things are so much more simple here. You help people. And people help you. That`s not necessarily the way in the south.

And worst of all. We need to move from our farm. With the most spectacular view of the Varanger fjord. With all its seabirds. You can watch whales and dolphins. It`s full of all kinds of fish, not to forget the wild salmons that you are allowed to catch from the seashore of the farm.
In just one day you can catch all the fish you need for a year.
We had so many plans for this farm. So, we hope that someone else can continue what we started.
Those who take over will receive quite a lot;
-40 acres of land with a great variety of Arctic plants.
-Two houses, one of them a fantastic thimber house from the 1700.
-A barn and stable
-A sauna, garage, ability to smoke salmon, potatofield, strawberryfield, chickenhouse, and a long, fine, private beach
-Access to fine fishingareas, ability to catch wild salmon, close access to hunting, fishing and berries in the mountain, ability to fetch firewood just above the farm
-You can use the farm into ecological tourism or just as a place to live with lots of space.
-You can have horses, sheeps, chickens and other animals as a hobby.
-You can also buy a tractor, all the equipment you need to run the farm, a fine, wooden boat with an engine, salmonnet and other fishequipment and lots of other equipment and materials.

If youre interested, you can watch more in my Norwegian blog, you can see more pictures of the farm in my photoalbum, you can watch a panoramapicture in my photosynth, see more information at the webpage finn.no (Norwegian language), see the Google map of the area, or make direct contact with the salesman; vza@advokathuset-vadso.no tlf. (+47)78941400.

We have known for about a year that this might happen. And it seems like it is the end of this blog, since my thoughts will no longer come from Varanger.
But hope to see someone taking over.

It takes time

2008-05-25T00:19:00.003+02:00

Sometimes it takes more time. For long I didn`t write in this blog. Now it`s adjusted, so that you can find some new articles below, showing our life for the last months. It has it`s reasons why I didn`t write it before. Maybe it was the moon.

So it happened

2008-05-25T00:17:00.000+02:00

At the 17. of march 2008 it happened.

Up against nature

2008-05-25T00:11:00.003+02:00

The small house seem to stand up against all natural laws. Without thinking about how special it realy is.
I went for a trip in the late winther. The light was back. But still a lot of winther and wind. And the house stood up against it.

This house has been like this for a long time. And it seems happy about it. Having company with some red colour at the south.

The secret behind an old reed organ

2008-05-25T00:06:00.005+02:00

The neighbour and I was trying to repair an old organ one night. Then we discovered a secret. Inside it was glued with a German paper from early 1900.
How this organ came all the way from Germany to Arctic Norway, we can only guess. Maybe during the Second World War. We also found an inscription, saying that the organ was last time fixed in 1957 by a local.
Now it needs a new repair. But we didn`t manage to fix it. However we hope to make it. One day.

With the speed of light

2008-05-25T00:02:00.002+02:00

This is how it might go when the neighbour four year old and his father comes in great speed. Making the horses very nervous.

From a proud rooster to coq au vin

2008-05-24T23:51:00.002+02:00

So. Then it`s done. Life is taken for the first time at our farm. I was nervous about how to deal with it. But it went okay. Almost like taking a fish up from the ocean.
We had three roosters in our henhouse. Too many. And one of them was quite a bully with the hens. So it was about time.
It was quick. From being a not too worried rooster. Until suddenly be without a head.
My wife kept a distance from the slaughter, riding on her horse.
Well this might seem to be quite brutal. But what is the best? To go to Mcdonald eating hamburger, not knowing the fate of the animal you eat? This is more honest. To kill your meal. Knowing that the animal was having a good time until the death.
So then it was lying at the kitchen table. Being mixed at a French recepy; Coq au vin.
Then the feast. Using a very fresh meat. And it tasted very good.

Playing in darkness

2008-05-24T23:42:00.003+02:00

I was out playing with the five year old during the dark winther. It was hide and seek. Using headlights.
"Give a sound". He was not too patient when looking for me.
Then we went for the sledding boards. Theres nothing like a race in the darkness.
Ready, steady go.

It`s a bit jumpy

2008-05-24T22:49:00.002+02:00

This happened last winther. At the dark period.
The farm has given us quite a lot of challenges. It`s our first year at the farm. Everything is so new. We had to try and fail. It felt something like Dantes journey down to hell.
It started with a fire we put up at the seaside when we tried to get rid of some old mess. The smoke went the wrong way. Right to the neighbours house.
We were too late all the time. The boat was supposed to be brought to shore long time ago. But we didn`t manage until very late at the winther, when it was all dark.
The boat was tied out in the sea. I had to walk out to it. I borrowed a divingsuite. When I was out there, I realized it was madness. It was all dark. It was quite windy. And the sea was high. Very high. Up to my neck. On top of this I borrowed my wifes very expensive fox hat. After all it was very cold. But the hat blew off.
I managed to get onboard the small, wooden boat. Got it to the shore. And I was alive.
My next project was to park the tractor at the garage. But the door was to low. "Scratch...". The excaustpipe and the roof of the tractor almost broke off.
A friend of me helped me to rebuild the door. So from now it`s no longer too low.
The snow came. In huge amounts. I started to clear it away with the plough and the tractor. But the wheel came into a hole. It turned out the be a big hole. Where our, how should I say, our leftovers were stored. The tractor got clear. But the hole was full of materials and broken woods.
Soon the toilet was stuffed because of this. I had to put on the diving suite again. This time to dive into this hole. My life would never be the same after that.
During the late winther it blew up to a storm. A very heavy one. We were inside, eating supper when we heard a thunder. It came from our trampoline. That was lifted off and flew a hundred metres just upside our house. We should have taken this trampoline inside long time ago. But ofcourse we didn`t until it was too late.

Someone might wonder what we are doing at a farm with all these mistakes.
But there has been some progesses too. Which is too dull to write about. And all the mistakes is what we learn from.

Christmas lights at the neighbour and us

2007-12-22T22:50:00.000+01:00

In the dark winther of the Arctic it gets very...yes dark.
And finally we have given in, buying some colourful christmas lights to put outside.
The pressure comes from our neighbour, living som 500 metres away.
His farm is lighten up all over.
We`ll never manage to compete his ligths. I think. But maybe. One day...

New business in town

2007-12-22T21:53:00.000+01:00

Ebenezer, a refugee from Liberia, now living in our Norwegian, Arctic town Vadsø has opened his shop.
This has happened in a country where we for a long time thought that salt and pepper was the only spice that existed.
But the world gets smaller. And the Norwegians in the Arctic world finally knows a thing or two about it. Therefore, quite a lot of Norwegians comes to the shop of Ebenezer. To buy stuff we wouldn`t get elsewhere.
Hope he will succeed.

Treasures from an hidden past

2007-11-04T18:06:00.000+01:00

My neighbour found a small box in an old playhouse at our farm one of these days. He was restoring the house into a chickenhouse.
Then the box came forth. Inside there was a big amount of treasures.
I suspect that the children that was hiding the treasures away, must have been adults long time ago. From the family that lived at the farm before us.
And I`m thinking about the moments. When the father was unable to shave when going to a party. And that he might have wondered for years where those cuffs went.
Now; As one chicken, tthree hens and two roosters have moved into the small house; The mystery is solved.
I think I will the father these treasures as a Christmas present.

Vadsø Skyline

2007-10-27T17:08:00.000+02:00

It`s not a big town we got. But thanks to a closed fishfactory and the passengerboat "Hurtigruta", we can see it on the skyline when we wake up in the morning.
Talking about the "Hurtigruta". This boat carries valuable cargo and tourists all along the Norwegian coast, from Bergen to Kirkenes. For locals up here, the boat is very important. A kind of lifeline.
Every morning when I see her, I would like to travel with her. To go onboard, into all the lights, having a luxurious breakfast. And not the everyday work.
But then. Life goes on. And the everyday work calls on me.

(And; I`ve got a new camera. No more just pale mobile phone pictures. But a camera with a superb zoom. So that I can almost look into the ship to see what the tourists eat for breakfast.)

Bicycle on the road of death

2007-10-27T16:33:00.000+02:00

I`m still using my bicycle to and from work. Two miles every day. It`s getting darker. But using blinking lights and reflectors, it works in the traffic of cars.
And it`s a nice feeling to be into the darkness, having only the small light to find my way.
But. This autumn it is the year of the lemmings. Sometimes there`s just so many of them. And they are running around. Into the shops. Crossing the road. Resulting in many flat, dead lemming corpses lying on the road. Forming a mosaic pattern.
The cardrivers may not pay them with much attention.
But from the bicycle, you get a completely different perspective.
They keep on running out in front of my bicyclewheel. I try to avoid them, men sometimes it is inevitable. So often I hear a "squeeeeeek" under my wheels.
Oh, well. Nature get`s a bit closer on a bicycle. That`s for sure.

Didjeridoo and russian electronica at the thimberhouse

2007-10-10T00:21:00.000+02:00

We have some special days at the farm. There is music. From a didjeridoo. Russian electronica. Nordic hymns. African percussion. All mixed together.
And the rehearsals is at our thimberhouse at the farm.
You should come to the concert...

Also see Verden i Varanger and krabbefestivalen.
The artists;
Zotora, Ed og Lys, Daap, Josef Bahie Dago and Jan Hofseth.
Also Ebenezer and The Liberaters.

Food and ink makes mushroom

2007-09-25T15:26:00.001+02:00

This is a mushroom which is one of my favourites.
In Norwegian it is called "matblekksopp". Directly translated as "food-ink-mushroom". Due to the fact that it developes a juice that looks like ink if it gets too old to pick. And at the same time you can eat it. As food (do you follow?).
People around this Arctic area don`t normally eat any mushrooms. They are very sceptical to it. That leaves more to a southener like me. And everyone passing by in their cars were looking at me with big eyes when I jumped around the field, picking the loads of mushrooms.
And yes. It is very tasty. Like velvet. Very nice to mix with cream, garlic and spices into a stew.
Bon apetite!

Potatoes and firewood

2007-09-23T20:10:00.000+02:00

So. I`m writing about potatoes, again. This is my subject every autumn.
Still. It feels so good to dig them up. Shake some dirt. Revealing a treasure.
I washed some of them and put them on the kitchen table. It`s a piece of art. Almost pity to cut and fry them.

Then I had to cut the firewood. I like it too. Preparing for the cold and winther.

To hear the rhythm from the saw.

While the horses were silently eating in the background, the rest of the wood were divided by modern equipment. And everything thorough documented by my mobile phone/camera.

The Arsamakov-family may stay

2007-09-23T19:53:00.000+02:00

For many years the refugee-family from Chechnia has been pulled back and forth. Their highest wish has been to stay in our small town.
But the Norwegian government wanted to kick them out.
They were sent from Vadsø to a camp in Oslo, and was supposed to be sent to a plane to Russia. But something came up, and they were sent back to Vadsø, to wait for their deportation. This has been very hard for them.
However, the bureacracy has been working very slow. The children of the family finally spent more years in Norway than in Chechnia.
They were given a lot of support from Norwegian friends in the town. it has been difficult to understand why children living in the country for so many years, should be expelled.
And finally, the government came to the conclusion, that families with children, spending a certain amount of years in the country, while the bureaucracy works to slow, may stay.

So finally. The government showed some kind of humanity.

We got children!

2007-09-14T13:38:00.000+02:00

Finally it happened. Our two first children has been born at the farm. Two chickens which jumped happily around. A proud hen and even prouder rooster. Just the way it is.
Not to mention my own, swelling feelings.

Food of the mountain

2007-09-14T13:27:00.000+02:00

They might not be so happy anymore, these two. But they are excellent food.
This is the first catch of our neighbour and friend.
The hunting season has started this autumn. At the same day as the election day, by the way.

Mysteries on the mountain

2007-09-12T19:12:00.000+02:00

When I`m walking out in the nature, every human interference get`s mystical.
Like when two rocks are moved around, they look like a very small church.
or when two sticks points up, they look like a couple of....rabitears or something.
Well. That was on my mind one day on the mountain.

The mystery in the forest

2007-09-09T10:16:00.000+02:00

Suddenly it was there, in front of me. I was going down through steep scree and thick vegetation when it emerged. A kind of enclosure, formed by natural positioned rocks and stones put down by some people. And an opening in the east.
But what was it?
Made by kids?
Not likely if it`s done lately. Don`t think kids of today would bother to go up in a thick forest to carry stones.
An old animaltrap? No, it didn`t seem to be so old, either.
Maybe a hideout for moosehunters? But are mooses capable to walk around in this scree?
Well, I hope someone can tell me what it might be.

Latest news:
Commentators on the Norwegian blog suggests that it is a machinegun-nest. Either from the second world war or from the local Homeguard.
Probably.

It`s been a nice day on the mountain

2007-09-02T20:05:00.001+02:00

The hay is in the barn

2007-08-24T14:21:00.000+02:00

This is a story of important science.
I have been walking around with a great fear lately.
Cause you don`t need much scientific knowledge to understand that rain is no good for grass that is supposed to dry.
And the last weeks it has been raining. A lot.

We are a relatively young (...well...) couple, new established hobby farmers, with two jobs and lot`s of other things to do. And we know an old, married couple who know everything there is about hay. The old, traditional way to dry it. They know it all.
and have helped us, showed us and given us advice. About a lot of things at the farm.
-Just give it two days with dry weather, then get it quickly inside, they adviced us.

Yesterday it was the second day without rain.
-Get it inside. Now, they insisted.
-Tomorrow it`s probably rain again.

So, after work we stressed ahead with the tractor.
We could smell and feel that some of it was wet and rotten.
I`ve got a hayfever. So soon I felt I had a kilo of hay inside my head.
But some was dry and nice. Especially the one the old couple helped us to put up on a stack. They were raking it in a way that made it very airy.

It went back and forth with the tractor.
At 2 o`clock in the night, we had finished.
Everything put inside the barn. Put up as airy as possible. Scattered with salt to keep it in good condition the whole winther.
We were so tired. Just a few hours until work again.

The next morning we looked outside.
It was raining. A lot.
So the lesson is: Just follow the advice of the old people.

The psychology of cloudberries

2007-08-20T16:36:00.000+02:00

I went up the mountain one early Saturday morning.
Climbed up through bushes and rocks.
And was suddenly up on the flat mountain plateu.
So relieving to breath the mountain air and to watch the open scenery.
I started to search the berries. Found someone here. Someone there.
And suddenly...this huge amount.

Many of them was still immature. But things happen with me when this occur. The heart beats faster. the picking gets faster.
And when I look at the horizon, I see something disturbing. Two humans. Far away. And they are picking berries.
-Damn, damn, I was thinking.
-Don`t come here!

They didn`t come, but disappeared in the horizon.
So I finished and went back to the fjord again.

Going down, i met an old couple. They seemed so harmonic, walking at the mountain.
-Are you the one we saw at the cloudberryfield, they asked.
Yes, I answered. And got embarrassed since I almost had thoughts of murder up at the mountain.
They were so nice. Said it was still a lot of berries to find. And soon the hunt for mountain birds would start.
-You can come by our cottage and get a bird, they said.
I said thankyou, and went down the last bit of the journey.

Weather changes

2007-08-08T19:37:00.001+02:00

What a day! Very warm. No wind. Temperatures like the south of Europe. The small birds in the threes. Hiding away from a fish eagle. There`s a lot of these eagles these days. We can see one or more every day.
Also, there are a couple of hares jumping around each evening.
Not so frighten.

Until a certain limit.
I picked a bucket of strawberries from my garden. And worked in the heat.
Talking about the weather; It`s constantly changing. Last night it was lightning and thunder. And heavy rain. One morning a thick fog around us. One day grey and eastern wind. Until it gets quiet and shimmering silver and blue.
Noe dull days around here.

Grass collection

2007-08-08T19:01:00.000+02:00

Some are collecting stamps and coins. We are collecting grass these days. To have food for the animals during the winther. Some is stored in a modern way. Stored inside some big plastic balls. At another field, we have dried the hay on a rack.
This is the old, traditional way.
An old couple helped us. And all along, when people came by, they ran up to help. Some came and told stories about the old time.
So. This work made a lot of memories among people.

Beautiful evening, hard morning

2007-08-08T18:37:00.001+02:00

It was such a wonderful evening. Sun and rain. No wind at all. And a shimmering rainbow.
Then. Early in the morning. It wasn`t nice. To stand at the airport, watching an important part of the life at an end.
But I cannot avoid it. It happens to us all, one day. And I should applaud the braveness.
Not far away there is more struggling. In the battle of what is up and what is down. Nothing else to do, but to keep it up.

The virgin of Varanger

2007-07-31T22:33:00.000+02:00

This stone is called the Virgin of Varanger. We visited her one day. Me and her soulsister. The old Saami story is that the Virgin was frightened by Stallo (an evil kind of Saami troll). She jumped into the fjord, tried to swim, but drowned halfway, floated away to the other shore, and turned into stone by Stallo.
Anyway, she`s really pretty.

Smoking at a high level

2007-07-26T00:44:00.000+02:00

This is the old, traditional way of smoking a salmon.
At first it is salted for a couple of days. Then dried one day out in the air. Then smoked.

The principle is to have a a long pipe between the oven and the smokehouse, so that the smoke gets cold when it reaches the fish.
Then it was party again. Down at the seaside. Scrambled eggs. Wild herbs. Beer. Smoked salmon. And pleasure.

Our first salmon!

2007-07-19T18:56:00.000+02:00

I felt like a child. The first salmon is caugt. After a lot of struggle. Bad weather. People helping having a busy time.
But finally. The net was out. And the next day, already one salmon was caught. With a good help from Geir.

Maybe you have been eaten "Norwegian Salmon". But that is most likely raised salmon. What I got, is the real stuff. Wild salmon caught on it`s way to the river.
This is the first one, since we moved to the farm. So, the day was historical. And the fish had to lie as a cup in the garden.

Then made into fillet. Some ready to be smoked.
Some made by Geir into salmon soup.
With chive from our field.

Then the excellent soup.

And now some updates.
19.7.,
2. day:

Two salmons, 3 and 5 kg. Fried salmon for dinner, one ready to be smoked.

20.7.,
3. day:

Not so much. A small "russian salmon" (a different kind, mostly living in Russia), a cod and a fish I dont know the English name on (in Norwegian; "rognkjeks". Looks something like the moonfish). The only thing to eat on it, is the fish eggs.
We put the salmon in the freezer, had boiled cod for dinner, with fried fish eggs.

23.7.
4. day:

Late at night. We just managed to put out the net after the weekend (when we`re not allowed to use it). Just a few minutes. Then a splash. And a new, bloodfresh specy.

24.7.:
5. day:

Now we`re talking! 10 salmons! One at 10 kilo.

25.7.:

Two guyes from Liberia joined. it was the first time for them in a small boat out at the sea. And 6 new salmons.

26.7.:
2

27.7.:
2... and a big bird...

And the rest of the season:
1 each day.
All in all a good catch.

Midsummer Night

2007-07-08T23:54:00.000+02:00

It`s been awhile since this happened. But on the Midsummer Night. When the midnight sun is at the highest. We celebrate by having a huge fire at the sea. Lots of people meeting. Lots of food and drinks. Music and party. And happy people.

Mysteries of Knut Hamsun, old, German barbed wire and Death with horns

2007-07-08T02:30:00.000+02:00

I have started this huge work of clearing the forest, a piece of our land.
It brings up some very old history.
At the same time I need to spend time to study. Which means that I need to read the book Mysteries of the famous Norwegian writer Knut Hamsun.
So I downloaded the book from the internet, and loaded it into the mobile phone (the same phone that made these pictures).
I started working, while listening to the book on the earphones.
I pulled up some old, iron waste. Nagel from the book saved "The minute" from being humiliated at the pub.
Some iron fence had been lying for such a long time, that it found its way in a small three.
A stone fence was lying under the grass. Nagel became very emotional when walking in the forest.
I pulled up several meters of German barbed wire. Used in the Second World War. And later used by the local farmer because he had nothing else to use, to keep his animals inside his land (and after all, Hamsun has something in common with this German barbed wire).
Nagel continued to change his personality. Making confusion at the small town.
Then I found the head of a cow. A very dead one.
God knows how old this scull is.
It was all too much. The Germal barbed wire. Nagel. Hamsun. The cow. I turned off the book from my mobile phone. And I ended the work and went home.

Teddy needs to come along

2007-07-08T01:50:00.000+02:00

It all happened one morning on our way to work. Two adults and a four year old in the car. All tired. And stressed because of the danger of not getting to work soon enough.
Suddenly there was a scream from the backseat. The four year old had forgotten Teddy. He was lying back at the sofa. Alone. Had been promised to come along to the kindergarden.
It was nothing else to do. But taking a quick turn. Going back. And then onward. Even more delayed for work.
But it didnt matter. Cause now Teddy was joining. Very pleased and calm on the lap of the four year old.

Boat and fish

2007-07-08T01:06:00.000+02:00

We have borrowed a boat from Lars. A very fine one made by wood. From the first journey, we tried to catch some fish.
Not much of a catch. Two small rosefishes.
But they taste good. They were grilled in the garden. Filled with nettle, which is a very fine herb. And some wild chive found in our field.
Everything eaten at our porch. So good.

Out, travelling

2007-05-12T12:45:00.000+02:00

I`ve gone south for some days. To the Southwest of the country. Again to experience the huge differences in the climate of this country, between the north and the south.
I left the Arctic Vadsø with a very cold wind and some snow.
And came down to something very different.
First to a media conference in Bergen.
Then the weekend to the green island Halsnøy where I grew up as a kid.
You can find what happened in my travelling blog. It`s written in Norwegian, but you might understand the feelings.

Artistic building

2007-05-12T12:36:00.000+02:00

I put up my lavvu, a kind of teepee down at the seashore. It`s very windy down there. But inside some place where the fish is hung up to dry, i nailed some old wood, to protect the tent against the wind.
Sitting inside there, looking at the rough sea, while the wood was crackling in the stove felt quite good.

Now, the wall I put up is a bit odd. But I decided not to do anything about it. Since I felt it was artistic, after all.

Music in order

2007-05-12T12:11:00.000+02:00

I`ve got the stereo, the movies and the music in place in the new house.
Like all men, my music is about the only thing I manage to keep in order.
The cd`s are put in thematical and alphabetical order.
Then my dear suggested that we could mix her and mine records.
I looked at her records. Well, quite good. I found David Bowie. The Doors. Then I found Barry White.. And a Norwegian "wisdom of the past"-musician... And some panflutes....
Well. I really tried to mix these records. But it was just impossible.
So then I put her records in another shelf.
And my own records was put up in thematical and alphabetical order.

View of the day

2007-05-12T12:09:00.000+02:00

This was one of the views of the day. It changes all the time.

Our Kingdom

2007-05-12T11:56:00.000+02:00

Now. This is where we live.
We have moved to a small farm one mile from the town, into the fjord.
Here, we will raise horses, wild sheeps, some chicken, a rabbit, go fishing, catch salmon, King Crabs, oh, oh...
The farm concists of two houses, a barn, a magnificent sauna, some acres of land, a wonderful seashore.
The picture above is lying, regarding the season. The picture down under taken some weeks ago telling more of the truth.
But still...

And the view... There is about nothing disturbing this view wherever we are. Like this, taken from the office where I am blogging.
Why we do this?
Well, my girlfriend and I have common interests. That `s one thing.
And maybe it`s an escape. Away from the hard world we see around us every day. We know we actually cannot escape it. But we like to think we do...

Old sins are pouring out

2007-04-20T10:03:00.000+02:00

I`m moving out of my house now. Packing and carrying old stuff. And inbetween old dirt, I found some homemade winebottles. Which I almost forgot that I once made.

I looked out in the air. Got memories of all the work with this wine many years ago. And all the headaches afterward.

It`s well known that wine might get better when it`s older.
So I wanted to try a taste. If it was good... Maybe I should take some of the bottles with me to the new house......
........
Oh, God, d.......

Springtime might come

2007-04-17T15:45:00.000+02:00

The snow has started to melt inside the garage.
It`s a certain sign of spring.

Skiing into darkness

2007-02-03T21:28:00.000+01:00

I went into the darkness this afternoon. Skiing into the mountain plateau.
My son made some ski-exercise further down. He`s 15, running competition now.
We have been so much together on the mountain. From when he was a baby, lying in the small sledge, until he was struggling to the closest skicabin in too warm clothes. And until one important day.
Some years ago we were supposed to have a trip together. He started skating.
I was thinking;
-What the....
i tried to follow. Tried to skate myself. Came up beside a mother and her small child. One of my skis slided into the track. And my face was suddenly buried deep down in the snow.
My son was up at the cabin half an hour before me.

So maybe it`s better to start the season in darkness.
It`s special to be deep in the mountain in the dark. Special to meet other skiers with headlights. They are silent. And I can`t see who they are.
The full moon went up in east lightening the mountain. And back down my son passed me in a hurry...

She`s there, allright

2007-02-03T12:26:00.000+01:00

For a while I thought she was gone for good.
After some months of absence. But then she turns up again. Sweeping over the mountains far away in the south.
And I am just sitting here, in the couch one Saturday morning, with my coffeecup, enjoying the reunion.

Time to give up

2007-01-27T16:32:00.000+01:00

It`s a lot of snow now. People around the street are working and working to keep it away.
But one of the guys seems to have given up. His snowshovel has been lying where it`s been for such a long time. Under a heavy load of snow.
So then, the only thing to do, is to wait for the springtime to come.

Fancy a house?

2007-01-27T16:13:00.000+01:00

Sadly I have to tell that all my thoughts from this house and garden soon will be at end.
We are planning to move away. Not far. Just a mile further into the fjord (more about that later on.)
And it means that this house is for sale.
so if you would like to have an Arctic house with lots of atmosphere, a lovely view to the fjord, then now is your chance.

(The picture is manipulated. There is actually darker and more snow right now.)

Ice art

2007-01-20T17:37:00.000+01:00

Theres been an ice-concert this week. Made by Terje Isungset and the indigionous Saami joik performer Sara Marielle Gaup from Adjagas. I was told it was a stunning experience late at the dark night, with the ice, the coloured light, the sounds and the Aurora Borealis. And quite nice the other day too, when they performed for the school children. This was done during the "Sun festival" in town, celebrating that the sun will appear soon.

South in Christmas

2007-01-20T16:51:00.000+01:00

The Arctic area might be a nice place to celebrate Chrsistmas and New Years Eve. With all the snow and atmosphere.
Still, many of us go south to visit family and relatives.
So did we.
To the farmers at the inner country of south-east Norway. With no snow at all. But lots of forest. To the capitol Oslo, to experience opera, an Italian restaurant, inbetween drugaddicts begging on the streets.
It`s strange for us to see all this.
So different from our Arctic life.

More of this in my travelling blog (unfortunately in Norwegian...)

Arctic light

2006-12-17T17:38:00.000+01:00

I`ve made a snowlight and an icelight.
It`s made out of snowballs. With a candlelight inside. And some frozen water from inside a bucket. And another candlelight inside.
It makes some kind of comfort. Bringing the cold and warm forces together. And giving some extra light in the dark period.

Winther days before Christmas

2006-12-17T17:31:00.000+01:00

I have started my Christmas holliday. Went out in the freezing, cold air in the beginning of the day. When the light is at the highest. In one hour. The sun is absent. The darkness not far away.
I met an African girl, who seemed to pay no notice to the cold air. Wandering away with nothing on her head.
An old woman was struggling on the icy road.
Went down to the beach. Where a seabird had a nice time.
and far away in the south, I could see some light, from the sun, some far away.

The old are the oldest

2006-12-17T17:13:00.000+01:00

This is an old saying in Norway. Lot`s of good things may come from the younger. But the old are the oldest.
During the Week of Culture we have been presented all kinds of local, volunteer culture.
At the museum, an old house used as a shop at the 1800, one of few buildings that didn`t get destroyed during the second world war, there was a concert.
And two guys playing, were Ingolf Schanche and "Påle" Niska. Singing, playing a fiddle and an accordion. They have been playing for such a long time.
Inbetween the music they told stories.
About how they had to escape to the cellar in the middle of a concert during bomb raids in the war.
When they made some terrible, musical screams, playing the Finnish, national hymn. Which they didn`t have a clue about.
When they were playing music at wrestling tournaments. Trying to outloud the sound of farts from the wrestlers (!)

There might be musicians that know music better. But these two guys has such an amouunt of charm.
And they are old. The old are the oldest.
(Not much of a quality on this film, using a Nokia n80, but feel the spirit...)

Paintings in Vadsø

2006-12-17T17:07:00.000+01:00

There`s paintings in our town nowadays.
"Fri Strek" has an exhibiton with local art until early December.
And lot`s of others is showing their local art ikn the week of culture.

Small talk

2006-11-26T16:31:00.001+01:00

Picture: Hannah Bråten
We were sitting around the table, chatting in the morning.
The most popular subjects is ofcourse the weather. Among the men the subject might be English football.
But at one point it became quiet.
When this happens, we have the expression;
"An angel came by".
This time another angel came by.
And yet another one.
It other words it was quiet for a long time.
So quiet that the people started to look nervously around.
Until one guy came up with the relieving words;
-Oh, well. Seems like United has won again...

Dangerous couch

2006-11-26T16:07:00.000+01:00

This is a sofa. Or what`s left of it.
It`s standing out in the hall. In a twisted way. With a deadly grin. As a punishment for what it did.

It all happened some weeks ago.
I was sitting on a seminar listening to a lecture about Finnish imigration language, when there was a message on my phone.

It said;
"Hey, there. Seems like I`ve broken a rib. And I can`t talk. Can you please call a doctor for me?"

What happened was that my neigbour and friend had been sleeping on the couch. It`s an old one, and during the sleep, the couch broke into two.
My friend landed on the floor on top of the pillows. It wasnt much of a fall. So he wandered around.
But after an hour, he suddenly felt an horrible pain, falling down, without being able to speak.
On top of all this his door was locked. So I had to alarm the ambulance, the police and the firearms, to break through the door.

My friend is always such a modest and kind guy. Therefore he always sends these polite messages, like "hey, there", and "well, well. Seems like something happened here". No matter how dramatic the situation is.
His son has by the way another perspective about this. He told in the kindergarden that
-my daddy has lost a bone in his heart!

But now he feels the anger. And when he is all healthy again, he will find his chainsaw. And completely slash the corpse of the sofa.

Football hero

2006-11-26T15:55:00.000+01:00

Our town is not a big one. Only 5000 people find the reason to live here.
And since it`s an Arctic one, it`s quite cold (allthough not as cold as other Arctic areas, because of warm winds and sea from the Mexican Gulf).
So, all natural laws would say that this is no place for football.

Wrong.
Football is the most popular sport. many young kids are dreaming about becoming a professional football player.
The town has several footballpitches. One of them is ofcourse indoor.
And actually, the small town has raised several professional players.

The most famous right now, is Morten Gamst Pedersen, who plays both on the national team and in Blackburn, England.
Therefore, we become quite proud when we discover that there is made music about Pedersen.
It`s found on MySpace.
So the local band Daap is now a friend of the elektronic musician MGP4Mayor.

Arctic potatoes and strawberries

2006-09-23T19:36:00.000+02:00

The potatoes are up from the ground. We are so happy to see that they are both big and many. And that it`s possible to make them grow in the cold Arctic.
Even strawberries can be grown here. If we take good care of them. This is the best of the autumn. To have potatoes and strawberries.

The curse of the Tana valley

2006-09-09T19:59:00.000+02:00

I was driving six hours in this big region last weekend. To bring my son and some others to an athletic-competition.
Then we became victims of the curse of "Tanadalen", the Tana-valley. The road goes through this valley. Cut down by the salmon river, Tanaelva. On the other side of the river is Finland.
And ahead of us was mile after mile with driving.

It`s a long distance. But also, we feel that it`s extremely long. And boring.
It`s like 10 miles left....driving, driving, driving, driving, driving, aaaaaaannd......noooooooooow,........it`s.............ni miles, driving, driving, driving, even more driving......and so on.
The closer we get, the longer it feels.

The explanation of it all is that this valley is cursed. By a guy who decided that every human being who drives on this road will almost get bored to death.

It`s like we almost hoped that a reindeer would jump up on the road in front of us. Just to get a little bit of excitement.

Nice days

2006-08-27T12:30:00.000+02:00

In the country where the normal is the unormal. It get`s warm late in August. Which gives us nice trips into the mountains.
To pick some cloudberries before it was too late.
To eat lovely desserts.
In the garden big strawberries are waiting.
And more desserts.
To the generation of dessert.
In the middle of the week someone invites a few people to gather at the beach in the evening.
The brothers with the biblical namnes Jakob and Isak are having a very good time. At the border between the wet and the dry element.
And in the weekkend Trond and Ane invites us to a garden party. To eat roast lamb.
Nice days.

Travelling blog

2006-07-08T17:52:00.000+02:00

I`m travelling around a bit in my summer holliday.
this time going to the southwest of Norway and later to Madeira.
So, my thoughts is captured in a travelling blog.
It`s written in Norwegian, but it might have some interesting pictures to see.
I`ll be back soon in this English blog.
Until then, you find me in;
Varanger reisetankar.

Grandmother at 97

2006-07-08T17:26:00.000+02:00

I still got a grandmother. She lives on an island called Utsira. Some 200 miles southwest of where I live now.
The island is small, situated far out at the North Sea.
My grandmother has reached 97.
It`s a long time since I saw her. Too long. But this time I could sit alongside her at the old peoples house.
Her hands and face is like the landscape of the island. But she still got her sparkling eyes.
She gets easily confused about who is who, when she sees her grandchildren and grandgrandchildren. Especially when she meets modern families where mothers and fathers have childrens from other, divorced families.
But she remembered me. Maybe because I got my name from her late husband. And maybe because we found ourselves connected, sonehow.
-Is it really you, she wondered.

My grandmother became a widow in 1966.
Since then she lived alone in her house.
In stormy winther days she went to the beach to pick up drifted firewood.
In the summer time she joyfully met her children and grandchildren, who paid her a holliday visit.
It has been very difficult for her to accept that she had to move to the old peoples house.
-I guess I`ll be staying here for another day og two, until i go back home, she said.
I said nothing. Knowing that this will never happen.

I remember once I was a teenager, when I had paid her a visit. When I was leaving her, I didn`t give her a hug. I could see she wanted it. But I wanted to show my independence as a grown up teenager.
Now, over twenty years later I did give her a hug. When I finally had to leave her again.

Holiday and midsummer night

2006-06-26T17:59:00.000+02:00

I`ve just started my holiday. Went straight away to a pub. Got a beer sitting outside. Bent my head straight upward and wathed into my freedom.
This day was also the Midsummers night. The brightest night of the year. The night when the sun is at the highest level.
Was sitting at the local beach with some friends. A couple of kids tried to swim in the 2-3 degrees cold water. Other sounds was just the waves, the calm chat around the fireside...And ofcourse some seagulls.
Well. It`s not much more to say. Than to tell it was a pretty good day and night.
...and it can all be viewed in this video.

Mystery of the Midnight Sun

2006-06-11T01:34:00.000+02:00

I`d like to demystify the Midnight Sun.
We`ve heard lot`s of stories about foreign tourists having strange thoughts about the phenomena. Thinking that there are two suns; One in the daytime, and one in the night.
Some who has seen pictures believe that the landscape is all dark. Like this picture, taken 1 o`clock in the morning. But that`s because the camera cannot discover both the light of the sun and the landscape below.
After all, it`s just a sun. providing daylight 24 hours a day. It`s like an eternal sunset.
....revealing that my windows need a serious wash....

Light, a dreamcatcher, a blue dolphin and some spring

2006-05-27T13:33:00.000+02:00

In december I wrote about waking up by the view of the bedroom window(in this article). That was the view of darkness.
If you know something about Arctic light, you`ll understand that now is the opposit. It`s bright daylight all the time.
The midnight sun has started working. It makes the seagull even more crazy.
And for us with two legs (.......well, actually the seagull also has two legs....) it becomes even more difficult to sleep at night.

So this is how it looks from the bedroom around midnight now. The thin, red curtain manages at no circumstandes to keep the light outside.
But in this house we get some help. The strange is that always around sleeping time, a small, blue dolphin begins to swim around in the bedroom. Until it gets caught by a dreamcatcher up in the corner.

We woke up in the morning. By the sound,...yes ofcourse by a couple of seagulls. But also by the most beautiful sound; The sound of the neighbours lawn mower.
And now we are sitting out in the garden. It`s sunny! Warmer than yesterday. The neighbour still mow the lawn. He`s very diligent.
The fjord is bright and beautiful.
We try again. To make some spring.

The grey period

2006-05-25T12:56:00.000+02:00

This is the psycological coldest period in the whole year. May and june with five degrees Celsius, cold, cold Eastern wind, and a thick, grey layer of fog up in the sky.

I`m standing at the window with my coffeecup, just watching it all. Nothing else to do.

My "forest", which I planted ten years ago in my garden, is still very, very small. And it knows that there`s no reason to show off with any green leaves for a long time yet. After ten years of experience.
A sparrow tries to sit on one of the thin branches. But it finds out that it`s best to wait at least another ten years.

And up in a pole a seagull screams so loud it goes through both my marrow and bones.

Revenge of King Winther

2006-05-13T16:43:00.000+02:00

Just as we thought we got it all. Warm winds, a glimpse of summer.
King Winther strikes back. And makes his terrible revenge.
Well, that`s how time passes by around here...

My place

2006-04-30T00:37:00.000+02:00

I`ve got "my own place" somewhere outside town. It`s nice to disappear to sometimes.
Well, actually it`s not mine. but I like to think it is.
On my way down from the road, I pass an old stonefence. And some rusty, German barbed wire from the Second World War.
Old history that shouts to get my attention, but does not make it.

Down at the fjord it`s time to sit down. Relax. Look at the sea.
On a seabird who is warming itself in the springweather.
In springtime there`s a lot of life in the sea. Whales, dolphins...
This time I can`t see much of it. Except this seabird and some others.
And the waves moving in a calm Saturday pace.

And in my videopage I have made a film about the sea again(Titel: "Varangerfjorden in April 2006").

At last; Springtime!

2006-04-23T19:42:00.000+02:00

This is how the spring might be in Vadsø, Arctic Norway. Blue and clear. The seagulls has started to scream at nighttime. The temperature is creeping up to 8 degrees Celsius.
The small birds are having a nice time in the water.

It gives us the excuse to go to the island outside the towncenter. With adults and children.
The children are still fully winther-dressed. But eventhough so happy about the changes.
We know this excellent weather might last just this day. The next, it might as well be snowing again and getting a lot colder. Especially when the ice in the White Sea in Russia is melting, sending a lot of cold and foggy air towards us.

But right now we don`t care. We just love every minute. The boring sausages at the campfire just taste marvellous because of the outdoor scenery, the "warm" air and the blue sky.
Life is good...

...and in this video you can see it all without words...

Hymns, rock and alcohol

2006-04-22T20:35:00.000+02:00

I`m singin in a rockband called Daap, that makes some special combinations of rock, old, Nordic hymns and African rhythms.
In the Easter we made a concert in the Saami village Kautokeino. In a concert hall serving alcohol.

In some areas of the North Nordic, there is still a strict and ascetic, religious movement, inspired by the late preacher Lars-Levi Lästadius.
This movement is also a big inspiration of our music. It is something about these serious, ascetic people. The sound and view of them just fit so well into the dark areas of rock.

But the people of Lästadius are also, naturally quite critical to our music.
Especially when we sing hymns in places serving alcohol.
So, in local and national radio and television-stations they expressed some hard criticism.
-This is like serving the holiness to the pig, the leader of the church council in Kautokeino said in one radio interview.

Anyway, we did go to Kautokeino. We did sing our hymns. And performed them in a very rocky way. And some of the audience did drink a few beers.
And it all went so well. The music worked. The people were happy.
Rock is mostly very controversial. It must be. It challenges the boundaries of everyday life. And one day, hopefully, "hymn-rock" is a common and accepted music genre.
(See and hear more in Daaps homepage, http://www.home.no/daap )

The blue hour

2006-02-11T21:11:00.000+01:00

The Blue Hour comes at the twilight between afternoon and night.
It`s bathing everything in blue.
The snow. The fjord. Some rocks who is staring out to the sea.
And a car on his way, carrying a man home for the weekend, in the Blue Country.

Skiing in minus 15 Celsius

2006-02-05T19:46:00.000+01:00

To go cross country skiing into the mountains north of VadsÃ¸ gives a special kind of therapy. Even in minus 15 degreesCelsiuss.
The rhythmic sound of skis on the snow. The cold air. The flat and calm landscape. And ofcourse all thecolorss.
Well, it might be that I`m a bit stressed too. To keep up the tempo, even if the body is not what it was. I notice it most of all when my son leaves me in a pace I cannot follow. He finnish the "race" half an hour quicker than me.
But most of all it is a therapy, after all.

The afternoon sun gave a little more push in my back. The terrain changed into white birch forest in the valleys.

The best of all is normally the ski cabin, more than one mile into the mountain. To sit by the fireside. Buy some coffee and waffles. Chat with other skiers.
Well,..Thiss also make me a little blit stressed. Cause when the other skiers is sitting at the wall, watching the others coming, you just have to speed up again.
But this time I got away with it. As usual I was late. The ski cabin was closed before I came up.

So, all I could do was to turn back. To see valley Thomaselvdalen. Made by a river that cuts the flat mountain into two. Made it more exciting. And to see the fjord. Which is always exciting.
It started to get dark. I rushed down the last hills, seeing not too much.
Down by the ski-stadium my son had been waiting for half an hour again. But he agreed to take a picture of a tired, happy and well dressed cross country skier.

...and here is a video that tells you about the journey (the camera is quite unsteady, because of the skiing...)

And now: Some music and comercials...

2006-02-03T11:03:00.000+01:00

The musical group Daap has made some demos of their music and put them on their netpage.
The group plays a mix of rock, old, Nordic hymns and folk music, Congolesian rhythms and songs and worldmusic.
The group is from Vadsø, in northeastern, Arctic Norway.
Throughout the history, the town has been housing the indigenous Saami people, Norwegian officials, Finnish immigrants and Russian traders.
Right now there is about 50 different nationalities and cultures in the small town. Among them, refugees from all over the world.
So, Daap wants to reflect both the history and the culture today in their music.
The demosongs are the Gregorian and Finnish hymn "Jesus Christus Uhriks Meille" and the Norwegian hymn and folktune "Overmåte full av nåde".
Soon there will be a cd.

Cold, indeed...

2006-01-21T21:00:00.000+01:00

This is a cross section of the day.
And it starts very cold.
In our town Vadsø it is minus 20 debrees Celcius now. And a heavy wind makes the effecive temperature around minus 40.

Arctic Norway is actually not so cold as the rest of the Arctic world. Thanks to warm winds and warm sea from the Mexican Gulf.
So there`s no icebergs in the sea around here. But right now the sea gets frozen in the bays.

The lights of the city make no help.
Not even the returning of the sun.
King Winther has made his revenge. So far.

But most people is happy about whats worth getting happy about.
Like a small sun-concert. Made by the local stringquintet Ensemble North. Who played Webern and Schumann.

Making the audience defrozen at the library.
Coming home we put up a fire in the stove. And did about nothing for the rest of the day.
Have a nice weekend!

Sun party

2006-01-18T18:40:00.000+01:00

-The sun! The sun is here!
The message made the children in the school class almost crazy. They rushed out of the classroom and out to the stairs.
And there she was. After two months of darkness. Now she made some extra light on the tired school buildings.

it was time for party. Sun party. To sing the sun-song. To drink yellow limonade. To eat sun-wheat-buns.

And to make an extra nice sun to keep in the classroom.
One of the children described the feeling of the day in the best way;
-It makes me live again, he said. And drank some more sun-limonade.

The Northern Light is calling

2006-01-18T18:18:00.000+01:00

We had a very lazy Sunday. Computer and tv. Lying on the sofa. Nice. But not so enlightening.
Paid someone a visit later on. For coffee. And finally we discovered that there were more to discover.
Like the Aurora Borealis. The Northern light.
A strange phenomena of dancing, green light caused by explosions on the sun, making electricity and a light mostly seen around the poles of the world.

This light was dancing a kind of rumba. And some barren plants tried to follow as best as they could.
The moon, the stars and the dark fjord was just calmly observing it all.

While we are waiting...

2006-01-08T16:51:00.000+01:00

Rudolph is back

2005-12-31T21:41:00.000+01:00

So he came back. Rudolph. To celebrate new years eve in the garden. While a cat was very curious. Wanted so much to make contact. But was totally ignored by Rudolph.

During the morning we could still observe the animal.

And since we soon will enter a new year, you can see this phenomena in a new medium;

Just click here to see my reindeer and cat video

With a promise of a brighter time

2005-12-30T16:54:00.000+01:00

There has been some bright hours in the middle of the two latest days. The light can be viewed on the sky in south, from the sun who is hiding somewhere there in the south.
In the afternoon the darkness comes and gives extra colour.

The sky, the old zeppelin mast (in memorial of the North pole zeppelin explorers like Amundsen from Norway and Nobile from Italy in the 1800) and the town all give a promise of a bighter time.

I got more and more eager to capture this with my camera. Was creaping further and further out towards the sea. Until I had to escape from some waves that almost swallowed both me and the camera.

Rudolph came by

2005-12-28T01:06:00.000+01:00

We came home around midnight. Had been served dinner by some friends. One of those strange, Norwegian courses, called "rødsei", red pollack. The fish is not drained from blood, but stored with salt in a barrel for several months. Then watered and cooked.
Very interesting.
So I guessed that would be enough of impressions for the day. Until I heard a big scream from my dear.
Well back home she had seen a figure out in the garden. Moving.

It was good, old Rudolph who had stopped by. Eating from my garden.
Santa had probably given him the day off, since he had been flying around with presents and stuff.

Actually it`s not a big deal seeing a reindeer out in the garden in our town Vadsø, in Arctic Norway.
But we felt it was kind of special at this time, around midnight, in the dark winther, around Christmas.

The animal did not care much about the fuss. Not the screaming from the house, not the flashlight from my camera.
He just kicked in the snow, and ate some more of our grass.
And I think it`s okay. It might bring us some luck...

Quick end of the day

2005-12-26T14:49:00.000+01:00

Now is the darkest period of the Arctic. No sun. Only one hour of twilight.
So it`s easy to miss the little that reminds us of a day.
Or to put it this way; Now with a Christmas holliday, it`s easy to sleep away the whole daylight. It`s not so difficult.

I woke up, I think it was about 11, by a huge amount of crows that was screaming and crossing my bedroom window.
Then they disappeared. So it was not so much more to see out there.
The next time I woke up again, it was absolutely not much to see. But darkness.
So that was the end of this day...

Christmas in the Golden town

2005-12-24T23:05:00.000+01:00

I the darkness of the winther, everything turns into gold.
Merry Christmas!

Car in the darkness

2005-12-10T18:23:00.000+01:00

There is seven miles between my town Vadsø and the neighbourtown, Vardø. A very small town situated far out north east in Arctic Norway, with the cold Barents Sea as the only view.
Between the two cities there is not much people to see. Just mountain on the left. And the Barents Sea on the right.
And during the winther time it`s just darkness. All the way.
One and another trailer carrying fish might come towards me. And threatens to throw me out of the road, if I don`t behave myself.

I just don`t like to drive this road in the winther. It`s so empty. And actually quite spooky. In an empty way...

Skiing on the Northern Light

2005-12-03T19:16:00.000+01:00

I had my first trip with my skis this night. Into the mountain in the darkness. Suddenly I found myself sailing upwards the Northern Light. Jumped from star to star.
It was pretty nice...

Vote for us!

2005-11-11T13:39:00.000+01:00

This must be the most commercial article I`ve ever written.

Anyway; now you can vote for the musical group Daap to participate in a grand, Norwegian festival, called by:larm.
Over thousand Norwegian groups have applied to play. And only ten places are left.

So if you like the music of Daap, you can vote for us on this page:
http://www.bylarm.no/mp3catalog.php?letter=d#browse

Click on "stem" at the right of our name.

More music of Daap can be heard on this page;
http://www.home.no/daap

Sports and bad weather

2005-10-28T22:18:00.000+02:00

My sporty alibi asked me to drive him to his training this afternoon.
That meant to drive ten miles to Seida in Tana, to meet young athletes.
I felt how old, stiff and not so sporty I had become. I always feel this way when my son is training.
I scratched my chin with worry, when he made a hundred push ups.

Outside the weather was changing. And the road was very slippery. I had to drive very slow back home
And finally home I gave myself a beer. After all my effort was at least something...

Bad timing

2005-10-24T18:56:00.000+02:00

I`ve got some bushes in my garden. They are very small. Not so easy for bushes like these to grow big in the Arctic.

Actually they are quite nice. With wonderful, yellow flowers.
But they come so late.
It`s like they are pressing very hard. In horribel birth pain.
And pressing...and pressing...
and THERE THEY CAME OUT!...
...just to see that it`s winther...

And before they manage to get inside again, they gets frozen into yellow ice flowers. Beautiful, but very dead.

I feel sorry for them.
And I get frustrated when I see that the rest of the world don`t care about my flowers.
Like these egoistic crows who fight about some food in the neighborhood.
I can understand why there is war in the world...

Great party

2005-10-23T22:42:00.000+02:00

Funky Dudes

It`s so nice to have all these different people meeting. You might get a great party out of that.
And that`s excactly what we had this weekend.
Most of the artists in Vadsø came to participate in a local "Band aid".
It was everything from an old traditional mens choir, Liberian Gospelchoir, to lyrics reading, saami joik, Congolesian hip hop, funk, blues and rock.
Great party, indeed.
The Congolesian/Norwegian/Liberian hip hop-group Music Star

Vadsø Mannssangforening

Hymn for an Afghan shepherd

2005-10-21T20:37:00.000+02:00

Strange things can happen.
Nemat was once an Afghan shepherd who watched 200 sheeps in the Afghan mountains. He could sit around for hours, entertaining the sheeps with a small guitar with only two strings.

Many years later he found himself in a Norwegian kitchen. One late Saturday night. In a party. In the Arctic, small town Vadsø. So far up north that he could not understand how far it actually was.
There he played a similar guitar. Suddenly together with a Norwegian guy singing Norwegian songs.

Then, tonight he visited this Norwegian. To practice for a concert the next day. Playing traditional, Afghan guitar together with an old, Norwegian hymn.

It will all happen Saturday 22.10 in Vadsø. Almost every musician in town will participate in a charity concert. To raise money to help women suffering from violence throughout the world.

Lot`s of music. And an Afghan/Norwegian mixture.

Crab success

2005-10-16T08:58:00.000+02:00

We`ve had a crab festival this weekend, called Polar Spectacle. Eating these huge King Crabs and listening to a lot of music.
The first concert was "Verden i Varanger", "The world in Varanger". A mixture of very different cultures living in this arctic town, Vadsø. A Liberian Gospelchoir. An accordion group playing old Finnish, Russian and Norwegian songs. A rockgroup, Daap playing old, Nordic hymns. The African percussionist, Nasra Ali Omar. And the Norwegian folkmusician Unni Løvlid.
All mixed very well together, showing the culture of today.
Next day, Daap was warming up for their big model, Garmarna. A Swedish folkrockgroup.
Then Saturday a big Salsa happening.
Every concert with very many happy people. Filled up with crabmeat, music and enjoyment.

Farewell to an old friend

2005-09-24T21:58:00.000+02:00

I`m this kind of guy who hate to throw away things. Thypical men, I guess.
Almost all my furniture I got for free. Given from friends who have moved away or needed som new stuff.

Like this sofa. Who has served me faithfully for many years. But lately it became broken here and there.

-Why don`t you throw it away and buy a new one, a girl asked me.
But I declared solemn that I would never, NEVER pay 10 to 15 thousand Norwegian Kroner for a new sofa. Nope.

Later I explained my Congolesian friend that Norwegian women always want to throw away old stuff and buy new.
-Yeah, the Congolesian guy replied.
-That`s how it is in Congo as well.

Once I saw this fine sofa at the local antique shop. The prize was only 3000,-
But I was too late.
But then I got help. Someone wanted to give away their sofa again.
And the faith wanted it to be excactly the same sofa as the one at the antique shop.
So then I saved 3000!

Now the old sofa is carried out.
It lies out in the rain with it`s stomach up and understands nothing.

The world comes to Varanger

2005-09-21T23:02:00.000+02:00

The painting is made by Hannah Bråten.

A new organisation is born in Vadsø; "Verden i Varanger", "The World in Varanger".
The aim is to make people from different cultures to cooperate in common concerts.

The first concert will be during the crab-festival Polar Spectacle Thursdag 13. of October in Vadsø.
Traditional accordion players (playing old Russian, Finnish and Norwegian music) will join with a Liberian Gospel-refugee-group and the folk-rock group Daap. Also with professional help from percussionist Nasra Ali Omar from Tromsø and the folk-musician Unni Løvlid.
How this extreme, different music will sound like when we mix it together? You`ll know if you come and listen.

Moonlit

2005-09-20T23:15:00.000+02:00

The nights are moonlit. Lot`s of things can happen then. And it happens...

Arctic potato farmers

2005-09-19T18:16:00.000+02:00

I`ve got this passion about potatoes. Not the most exciting thing to become passioned about, I guess.
But it`s a fantastic vegetable.
A long time ago it was exported from America to Europe, helping poor people from starvation.
And it`s so easy. I just get some free, old potatoes from the grocery shop. Put them into the soil. And in the autumn I have these many, lovely, fresh potatoes.

At the same time I become a bit stressed.
Because when I walk along the street I see my neighbours potato fields. And they are always better than mine. With high potato grass.
My neighbours are old guys, who for centuries have followed the best way to cultivate potatoes in the Arctic.
And I keep doing mistakes.
But in the end it`s okay. Finally I get my potatoes. Some of them are very small. But so good...

Carrot drink from Gandalf

2005-09-18T22:13:00.000+02:00

I joined a birthday party with "Gandalf" this weekend.
This guy celebrates in the way of the hobbits; He, who has birthday give presents to the guests.
He also looks excactly like Gandalf. In all perspectives.

However, he revealed that he wish other people to do like him. I must admit I haven`t thought about that.

"Gandalf" is a very generous man. He served all kinds of food and drinks. Lots of it was from his own garden.
And among it all a welcome-drink with a carrot. From his garden.
I just love these kind of presents. And it`s not even my birthday...

Autumn is here

2005-09-13T22:04:00.000+02:00

There`s not so much more to say about it.
The autumn is here. With it`s sentimental colours and air that tasts like menthol.

Peace in the kitchen

2005-09-11T23:10:00.000+02:00

I was at a party this weekend. A couple of guys are going out in the big, big world for a year. And then having a goodbye-party before leaving.
Among the guests were some youths from Afghanistan.
One of them were sitting on the kitchen, playing the guitar. I noticed his guitar had only two strings. Making av special kind of sound.
Me, I always start singing Nordic hymns at parties. And suddenly I found myself with my hymns accompanied with the Afghan guitar-sound.
And that`s about it. So easy.
Making peace for one night.

Redwine and candlelight in the garden

2005-09-03T00:07:00.000+02:00

The peace of the weekend has come.
The temperature is still quite nice.
We celebrated it with redwine and a candlelight out in the garden.
Have a nice weekend.

Farewell with the breeze of an Indian summer

2005-08-27T10:44:00.000+02:00

Someone is leaving us again. Who had a party at the beach yesterday.
Lot`s of people coming. But noone was sad. Because we all knew that she would come back sometimes.

And then it was the weather. I just have to return back to that subject. The weather gods continuously surprises me. Cause yesterday it was a kind of Indian summer.
A bit windy. But warm. So warm that we could sit in our t-shirts.... At least near the fire.... Pretty unusual in the Norwegian, Arctic town Vadsø. At this time of the year.
The wind was playing joyfully with us. There was music. Guitar, singing, harmonica and light drums. The atmosphere was relaxed.

Then. Suddenly to day I woke up by a crash. The coffee pot had fallen down outside at the veranda. It was taken by the wind. And the wind was increasing. But still it was warm and soft.
............
......yes,yes,yes.........
....so that`s how the days go by around here....

Spectacular spectaculous!

2005-08-27T10:11:00.000+02:00

The very changing weather is a subject I continuously turn back to. When it`s changing.
And now, with powerful, dark clouds of thunder, heavy rainfalls and suddenly glimpses of the sun, it gives this spectacular view one wednesday afternoon.
The rainbow was shining in 180 degrees. It was so bright and big, that my camera didn`t manage to capture it all.
But it was a view. For both humans and animals.

Whereever you turned around, the sky was spectacular.

...The title is by the way collected from one of my favourite movies; Moulin Rouge. Quite spectacular that one too... But not like this...

Grey weather, sweet strawberries

2005-08-27T10:01:00.000+02:00

It`s raining. Pretty grey and bad in all aspects. So, the strawberries lights up the horizon. Since the weather has been changing this summer, the strawberries have been slow to become tasty. But it seems like they`ve had a fine time under their cover.
It won`t be so many of them. But the eternal Arctic summer light makes them very sweet and tasty indeed.
And eating my own strawberries from my own garden makes me even more happy.
Ofcourse quite proud too, to have my own strawberries in the Arctic, 70 degrees latitude.