On Thursday, the weather still stunk, windy and cold,so we mostly relaxed inside Lucy, and Mom painted more lady bugs for my blog

We were ready to continue our trip around lunch (we slept late because of late visiting the night before) and Moms cousin shows up and here goes blablabla again, then she invited Mom for lunch, and according to her it was delicious. A lot of moose, deer and other wild stuff. I'm pouting because nobody thought of bringing me any. Eventually, we continued our trip and Mom quickly got her punishment for forgetting my treat..............gravel road for miles and miles. boohoo to her

Driving very slowly Mom was hoping to see a bear or at least a moose, but all we saw was Santas deer on the loose. 

Mom's Dad has a connection to this church, and the location is very pretty, and in real good shape for the age.

Already in the mid-1800s was the old church too small when the ward 's population grew , and they decided to build a new church . 1867-1869 was the years of crop failure and famine, so construction does not start until the 1880s . All wood was felled in the vicinity of the church parish by the men , who had an obligation to do day labor by cutting timber for construction.

The church was consecrated on August 29 , 1886. At that time the whole building (including organ ) cost a total of 70 000.( $8 500) We passed this church that's located in the small town where Moms dad grew up. The church is the largest wooden church and has space for 2000 people , 1800 seated and 200 standing

We didn't drive very far because we once again went to visit a relative, and this time Mom was treated to more moose meat which she said was delicious, but the icing on the cake was the dessert. Ice cream and cloudberries, Moms absolute favorite, and there is a reason it's called the gold of the forest. Pain in the neck to pick, because they grow in wet mars land full of mosquitoes and no seams. Man of the house said he loved picking them and Mom had no shame she served herself seconds and thirds of this forest gold...........All I have to say is.... One of these days I will get a taste of moose.

We are now parked on a hill in the country, and I got to run around free as a bird and chasing deer, lets move here Mom, I like it here a lot Mom..............sure it's nice in the summer, but you'll freeze your a$$ of in the winter and it'll be dark she says............such a party pooper she is.

Mom made a movie of me, does it not look awesome ?

The view from our windows are amazing, deer grazing, birds singing and..........

This picture is snapped at 1.30 am, still pretty cold here but Lucy is keeping us warm and comfy. Today we're promised a tour into the wild forest and I can't wait to make friends with some bears......HA Mom says, you'll be their supper if we meet any..............such a party pooper she is.

All is well, miss you all

kisses from Buttons

Forgive me for napping while Mom is writing my blog, but it's very late and I'm tired, Mom has to stay up and wait for the washing machine to finish. (her own fault for starting it so late)

We are now at one of my Moms favorite camp sites named Kålgården camping (cabbage house camping ?) and this is the view from our front window.

We could have driven down and parked by the water, but it's so unbelievable windy so Mom made the decision to stay close to this house to get a little cover from the wind.

Before we left Aunt Ruth's house Mom Ruth and another lady are digging down potatoes hoping to get fresh potatoes  for the fermented fish they'll eat later in the year. It's a strange tradition that I experienced last year, and trust me the stench from that can is discusting, I wouldn't go close and defintley don't taste it, but Mom and hr friends seems to enjoy it.

There's a lot of churches in Sweden, but so many aren't used anymore so many are being sold and some people buy them and convert them into a home. Sounds cool to me, but what about the property around it ? That's usually a cemetery with a bunch of dead people. Guess that's not a good place for potatoes, or maybe it  is really good growing dirt there ? 

I got a much-needed bath and a haircut, Moms opinion not mine, although I must admit, when it's done I do feel a lot better.

It has been an extremely windy day, so after we left Ruths house Mom didn't drive more than about 40 miles before we stopped and took a nap. Mom had to stay very alert the whole time because Lucy wanted to follow the wind, which of course wasn't blowing from behind.

It's very cold again, so we are lucky Lucy is keeping us warm.

Here are a few picture from where we are now, and they are taken close to midnight, so as you can see, no darkness, and the best of all, it's too cold and windy for mosquitoes.

Mom thinks she's a cowboy eating directly from the frying pan ????

all is well

Saturday we arrived at Moms Aunts house and they sit around and talk and talk and talk both with their knittings, Aunt making socks that she donates, and what Mom is making I'm not sure.

It's very beautiful here, and yesterday we went for a very long walk, almost 5 miles, and Mom was so surprised I made it all the way. Once I laid down to rest so Mom carried me for a little while, but she says I'm too heavy so I continued on my own.

It was a very nice walk the view was amazing, and I met this herd of sheep that was so curious checking me out. Mom said the fence was electric so she held me back from going to visit.

People here decorate their mailboxes, some very different and fun looking

I'm wondering if this is an Evil Knievel in training place? you have to start early if you're going to be any good Mom says.

We were walking on a trail for training dogs, and here was a bar to jump up on  and balance, easy peasy I say, but it was way to tall for me to jump up on. 

Weather is nice and sunny, but it's freezing with temperatures between 40 and 50. but as long as it isn't raining there's always more sweaters, and in Lucy we have the heater on in the evenings. 

Mom's peppers froze in the fridge, and so did all her veggies. Guess when it's cold outside she better turn it down a tad.

This morning aunt and Mom once again went for a long walk, but I was put on Lucy watch wich I didn't mind at all since my paws still were exhausted from yesterday. Mom thought I was limping a tad, but I was just stiff and are feeling much better now. I am risking getting a bath later on because I've been running around in the woods, and Mom says I'm better than Hoover vacuum to suck up all the branches and dirt there is.

Today is Swedens national day, but you hardly notice, because it's not celebrated as we do it in the USA on July 4th. Swedes have not celebrated this day for very long, so I guess people don't know what to do. Prior to 1983, the day was celebrated as the Swedish flag day. At that time, the day was renamed to the national day by the Riksdag.
The tradition of celebrating this date began 1916 at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium, in honor of the election of King Gustav Vasa in 1523, as this was considered the foundation of modern Sweden.

Some question the validity of this as a national holiday, as it was not observed as a holiday until decades later. However this event does signify the end of the Danish-ruled Kalmar Union, so in a sense it is a marking of Swedish independence, though the event occurred so long ago that it does not have as strong of a presence in the social consciousness as does, for example, Norway's 17 May

In 2005 it became an official Swedish public holiday, replacing Whit Monday. This change led to fewer days off from work (more working days) as 6 June will periodically fall on the weekend, unlike Whit Monday, which was always celebrated on a Monday. This has in turn, led to complaints from some Swedish unions.

Wonder if Dad and Lilly knows to haul the Swedish flag today ? 

ALL IS WELL

BUTTONS

Early morning and I really don't feel like getting out of bed, but as usual Mom gets up and make coffee and are always in such a hurry to make the bed, so I have to get up. Good thing I can go back to sleep after my morning whizz. For the first night, we're staying at a campsite so Mom could take care of the laundry and we have free WiFi, that works like a charm despite the fact we're now far into the mountain forests. 

We're in a small town nice and quiet and mountains all around, not like the kind we saw last year in Norway, but still pretty. Amazingly enough, they do have traffic lights here, and people wait for the green light before crossing the streets, despite no cars coming.

This is supposed to look like a bear but not quite sure ? It's all made of planks, but I think the artist made some miss calculations and had to prop up his head after he finished.

Driving along I could tell Mom was happy when she saw the snowcapped mountains like she's really at home. She says this is pretty but under no circumstances would she be smiling if she was here in the cold and dark winter. There was nowhere to pull over for pictures of that, but we did stop at a stream in a place called Noppikoski, a name that sounds funny to Mom so she kept repeating it for me .....ha

This river is about 70 miles long, and in the old times they used to send the logs down to the coast by 
floating them down stream.
 Here at Noppikoski is a narrow passage and a waterfall, so there was a battle in this section and it caused 
some concern about logs getting stuck.There are many stories about the timber getting stuck and forming big stacks here during the 
floating operations . Once, in the early 1900s ther was a hughe stack of more than two hundred thousand 
logs here. A man with the nickname "The Beak", was summoned . He was a specialist in how to 
blow timber stacks apart.
 Just when he was at the bottom of the river channel and loading the dynaminte, the timber began to move.
 All except "the Beak" made it to saftey. He was hit with a large stone and disappeared in the stream.
 He got up again , but a log hit him in the back and everybody thought that it was the end of him. 
A moment later, however, the spectators see how "the Beak" crawled up on the shore, bruised and wet.
 He went to the hut , changed clothes and went back to work as if nothing had happened .Don't know the truth about this story , but it's a little amusing.

   
Driving along in a slow pace taking in all what nature offers, hoping to see a moose or a bear or
or something wild..........but no such luck
Here's a swamp, but no gators here.......

   

This is a spot where you can take a break, fish and cook the catch on the fire. It's so peaceful and the best part
no mosquitos yet. There's plenty of pollen though, makes it a little tough on Mom, but she'll 
have to choke it up.

  
   

    

   

After we set up camp, and Mom loaded the washing machine we went for a walk along the river,
it was a gorgeous evening.

    

   

in this little town, they have a charge station for cars, looks like something from a sience fiction movie
but soon a reality in many parts of Sweden.

        

    
Now I'm caught up in my story, and it all happened while I was taking a nap. Later today
we'll continue the drive north, to visit with Moms aunt.
All is well, miss you all.
Buttons

Once again Mom is giving me the excuse of no WiFi where we have been and yes I know her modem does not work well at Lotta's house. There's a lot of nice little birds at her house.This guy lives where we park Lucy, and it's very difficult to get a picture since they are such quick flyers

We stayed there waiting for the mailman hoping he'll bring the letter from the bank Mom needed and he did, so with the new card in hand we waved goodbye to Lotta and Morre and continued north.

Of course, we had to stop to see if "our"filly was running around outside yet.Hard to tell who is who now

Driving in the country there is a shortage of manned gas station, so you need to use a card with a pin code, so with the new card in hand, there was no anticipation of a problem as we pulled into a pump. There was, pin don't work. Lamp showing low fuel level turned yellow, and we're in the middle of F&^#% woods. Mom waved down a guy on a moped asking him where the closest manned station was, ca.18 miles away was the answer, but not in the direction we were going. Mom expressed her disappointment over and over with words I can't repeat here, it would upset my Buddy Max. We did this detour, Mom driving very gently, and sitting very light in the seat hoping there'll be enough fuel. It was.

Stopped to take a nap at the big horse

Mom's uncle had one of these exactly the same color, so she got a  little nostalgic

Bank issue have to be resolved, so we must head to next big city, which we did. I watched Lucy while Mom went to the bank, and the problem was an easily fixable misunderstanding. Knowing Mom she probably ripped into the bank lady anyway so I'm glad I was put on Lucy watch.
In the evening, we visited a place who had 2 cats, neither interested in making friends so I took a nap while Mom was eating strawberries drinking champagne and chatting with friends. She had forgotten her camera again.

While we were gone somebody forgot the meaning of mine or yours, but Mom didn't notice so we aren't really sure..........but highly suspicious.

Following day, Elvy came with us for a ride in Lucy. I gave her my seat, and we had some nice relaxing time at her summer place.

Mom didn't really cut grass with this thing, it's mostly a pose showing off .....

Elvy digging in the garden

When Mom sees this, she's daydreaming about being a kid again 

All is well

Monday morning and we're back at Lotta's house and Morre again. Sunday evening did we stop at a beautiful place under the bridge that leads from the island, planning to stay there, but the traffic noise made it impossible to relax, so Mom called Lotta and 2 hours later Mom was served a great omelet and I got the last of my treats she bought for me.

But now I'm getting ahead of myself again. Saturday Mom started to fix Lucy for the drive, fill water empty toilet and vacuum the carpet. Unfortunately, there's a problem with the potty, she has changed every rubber seal known, but  there's still a leak somehow. ..........crap (oh no there's no crap in there)

Anyway,we continued at a slow pace through the countryside of the island and enjoyed the bright yellow rapeseed fields. We also saw some grazing deer in the distance.

Finally, Mom managed to catch a picture of a swallow that sat down for 2 seconds to rest

There was a bicycle race going on,and I looked real hard to see if my Doctor was in it, but Mom said he couldn't leave all his patients in the USA to fly to the other side of the world to ride his bike. The bikers covered the entire road, so we had to drive real slow behind them, which was ok it gave us more time to look around. 

We drove to the biggest city on the island Borgholm, and spent the night at a cabin and fishing place where you can also park your RV.We were almost alone there, so I did get lots of time to run loose. In the morning, we went to see the ruin and made a visit to the Kings summer house.

The castle is today only a ruin of the fortress that was first built in the second half of the 12th century and rebuilt many times in later centuries. The castle was destroyed in a fire on 14 October 1806.

The construction of the original fortress was built on the Swedish east coast as a defense against enemies from the other side of the Baltic Sea. During the 13th to 15th centuries, additions and changes were made. For example, new towers were built, and a new and thicker wall was constructed. The fortress was damaged on a number of occasions during these centuries, including in 1361, when King of Denmark attacked Borgholm. Many castles and fortresses in Sweden were damaged as a result of the ongoing conflicts between Danes and Swedes. When Gustav Ericsson became Swedish king and the union was dissolved, he, together with the sons that followed him on the throne, invested huge sums of money in repairing these buildings. 

Some decades later, Sweden and Denmark fought each other in the Kalmar war. Borgholm Castle first, in 1611, surrendered to the Danish side but was reconquered by the Swedish side later the same year. The following year, after a siege of two weeks, the commander of the Swedish defense, Peter Michelsen Hammarskiöld, had to surrender. In accordance with the treaty that followed the war,  Borgholm was handed back to the Swedish.

The castle was in a bad shape after the war and it took until 1654 before a restoration and reconstruction would begin. This time, the castle was to be turned into a baroque palace. 

For a hundred years, the palace was left to fall into decay. On 14 October 1806, the castle was turned into a ruin by a fire that started on the roof of the north wing.

We didn't bother to go into the ruins, it's just a bunch of rocks, and the Swedes charge for everything. Money was better spent for a walk in the kings Sollidens garden.

We are too early for the roses to bloom, and almost too late for the tulips, which had almost finished blooming. Still a very beautiful park where we did get a ride behind a tractor to look at the property.

None of the princes or princesses were here because they were busy in Stockholm having a christening for another prince just born, they named him Oskar.

This is the children's playhouse, which has a working stove and running water? It must be hard to grow up as royalty.

Mom is not all that interested in the monarchy but enjoyed the gardens so we went for a long stroll and I loved the nice thick cool grass, which we weren't supposed to walk on, but it didn't say anything about rolling or resting on it.

Looks like Loreena Bobbitt has been here too ? good thing there's clever doctors who can stitch things back together.

This poor baby has lost both an arm and a leg, just like Mom does every time she fills the tank on Lucy. $90.00every time

This looks like one angry lion, so I approached it very carefully from behind.

Cornflowers are together with daisies and buttercups the traditional flowers in the wreath for midsummer celebrations.

This great Pyrenees mountain dog was so nice and calm, a good thing because one swat with his paw would have flattened me out to a rug.

A flower delivery bike full of geraniums named after princess Madeleine

This is the entrance to the guest house, guess they didn't have a lot of concerns about people in wheelchairs back then ?

getting back to Lucy we discovered how she was parked in. I can't wait to see how Mom plan to solve this.............and she did by driving straight into the cow pasture to turn around...........

Cows on the island have a very nice and relaxing life, they're free to roam, and the tags in their ears are some kind of chip that tells the milk machine how often they're coming in to get milked. It's all automatic, cow feels full and in the mood for a treat, so she goes to the machine and it gives her a goodie and empties her on the milk, and when done off she goes. There are grates on the roads so animals with hoofs can't cross, and you have to drive slow and give them the right of way.

They looked quite surprised at us driving by.

The island is known for the many windmills, they aren't used anymore, but it's a nice addition to the countryside.

it's now 3.30 PM and I have no idea what plans Mom has, not sure she does either ..............

The day is almost over so I guess it'll be more relaxing, reading, and crossword puzzling for her, and napping for me.

Maybe tomorrow we'll be on the road again.

All is well.

Mom woke up at 4AM and it's 5AM and Mom got up and made coffee ? I stay in my loft bed until later, don't see any reason to get up this early. Mom is used to get up as soon as the sun rises, but how is that going to work a month from now when we'll be way up north and sun never sets ? 

Oh well, that's her problem as long as  I can sleep as long as I want.
We are now on Öland island which is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. The island has an area of 1,342 km² and is located in the Baltic Sea, and has 25,000 inhabitants. We got here crossing a 6km long bridge from the mainland.

We drove south to a place we have been to a few years ago.It's a small harbor and a place to park your camper. Last time there was only two more campers, this time, there's 42. Guess more people found this wonderful place. We spent 2 nights here.

The beach is very rocky, not a great place for me but millions of ladybug shaped rocks for my Mom's project. First day here was very windy so we spent the day relaxing watching hundreds of acrobat flying swallows. Impossible to take pictures of them since they aren't still for a second. Mom thinks they have ADHD. 

The second day we went for a very long bike ride to a bird sanctuary. 

The nature Reserve carries on the legacy of the royal hunting park established in 1569 by King Johan III. The descendants of the English Fallow Deer he introduced can now be seen throughout the Reserve, but we didn't see any.  Human activity has strongly affected the entire Reserve since the first people occupied the area in the Stone Age about 6000 years ago.

The Ottenby Bird Station has been operating since 1946, catching and ringing about 20,000 birds every year. Through this and other research studies, much has been learned about bird migration and about different diseases carried by birds. This is a birdwatchers paradise, and we saw many with big expensive camera equipment. 

Mom tried very hard to capture at least one of the fast flying swallows, can you see them ? 

You can also climb the 197 steps of Sweden’s tallest lighthouse, called Långe Jan (Tall John), towering 42 meters above ground, but knowing that Mom had to pedal all the way back, we passed on the climb.

Somebody at this place speaks my language and have a sense of humor

this bird had the decency to sit still so Mom could get a picture 

Lots of cows everywhere, they don't make meatballs like the horses do. They make something looking more like a pizza. Do they taste the same you ask ? Not a clue, Mom didn't let me near them, not even for a quick whiff...........I don't understand,after 11 years of cohabitating and she still doesn't understand the delicacies I'm trying to introduce to her.

15 miles, and Mom is still smiling

Many windmills out in the ocean are making efficient clean power.

Loved this gorgeous horse,and I think it was mutual because he came over to see me immediately  when Mom stopped the bike. I bet he makes gourmet meatballs, but stupid Mom didn't let me down to investigate

The massive stone wall, stretching straightforward between the two coasts of Öland, was built due the orders of Duke Karl Gustav, later King Karl X Gustav in 1653. The intention was to keep the deer in the royal hunting grounds from escaping them, although many speculate it served the double purpose of keeping the peasantry away from his sport. It was built with local materials and local labor in lieu of taxes. The surrealistic wall in the open landscape is still in good condition.

giant oak trees often frame the roads to the old mansions

these red trees are a different tree Mom doesn't know, still very pretty

Here's an old-fashioned windmill that is now refurbished and made in to a restaurant.

Finally, I'm caught up in my story, hopefully, we'll be staying in places where the wifi is working, so there will be no more interruptions.  

it's now 7 AM, and I'm still sleeping, might as well because looking out, the sun is gone and the sky has a bluish gray color.

Have a great day you all

Buttons 

Close to Lotta's house there's a horse farm where som very expensive horses are bred. They are the kind that runs on a track with a little wagon attached behind them, and in it, a person is sitting and steering. If they run really fast they make a lot of money for their owners. 

As we're driving by, Mom shouts for Lotta to stop. There's a horse laying down giving birth to, as we later found out a filly. I wasn't allowed out of the car, and Lotta quickly went back to the stable to get help if it should be needed.
Mom was nervously waiting until the stable hand arrived, she kept thinking if she's supposed to do anything? if so what ? AND the worst part, she realized the camera was left at Lotta's house...........which she was kind enough to go and get.

The filly kept trying to stand up, but didn't succeed and kept falling. Mom wanted to help it, but the stable girl and the owner were there, and they, of course, knew what to do. Guess nature takes care of itself

They went and got a wheelbarrow, and told the filly her taxi arrived. Fillies Mom followed along and they were both installed in the stable.

The owner proceeded to milk the Mom and fed the filly milk from a bottle because apparently the first milk is extremely important for her to drink to keep her healthy.

All in all, it was a beautiful experience to watch in real life, says Mom. My view from the car wasn't very interesting.

Mom painted a portrait of me on a rock, to watch over the cat there. Not sure who that kitty is ? it doesn't look anything near Morre? but we'll look for a suitable rock to make a portrait of him join.

Thursday noon we left Lotta's house and Mom drove to a place that had powerwash tools to get all the yellow stuff off Lucy.She was pretty full of dead bugs in the front too.

Now I'm almost caught up to on my story. I'll tell you about today tomorrow ............ok?
Not sure what will happen tomorrow, all I know is that we're leaving the place we're at now..............new adventures awaiting..........woo hoo.

Here's a little prewiev...............this is last night's sunset, and we went for a very long bike ride today.