Vuollerim 6000 years stone age museum continued

Here are some Birch bark containers

This is a small pouch made from a goose foot

and some nice coiled baskets made from Club Moss/Ground Pine (I’m planning to make one of these)

We also visited the dig site to see one of the buildings they excavated.

The dwellings are a long way from the current course of the Lulea river

but at the time the dwellings were occupied the Lulea river flowed next to the dwellings here

We decided to camp out for the night in the forest, using a parachute as our tent

It was a very pleasant evening fishing with a beer

After a cold night we had bacon sandwiches for breakfast

Plant walk

Last week we had a plant walk at the nature center.

Wood Crane’s-bill (Geranium sylvaticum) Thank you for correcting me Elma.

Sidebells Wintergreen (Pyrola secunda)

Round-leaved Wintergreen (pyrola rotundifolia) – a decoction of the leaves can be used as an antiseptic wash or to treat skin complaints.

False Lilly of the Valley (Maianthemum bifolium)

Mountain Everlasting or Cat’s-foot (Antennaria dioica)

There were also many Mayflies emerging from the lake

and we found a Fen Raft Spider (Dolomedes plantarius) a rarity in the UK.

Dokkas 23-4-11

Yesterday I was in Dokkas (the village where we are trying to create a nature center) for the day.

My first visit was to the Jerttlompolo Nature Reserve, created by Arthur Leidgren due to the are being incredibly important to both migrating and breeding birds.  Unfortunately the lake there was still frozen but there were two Bean Geese, I Robin singing (not a common bird up here) and one Tengmalm’s owl singing during the day.

I then visited the much larger lake in Dokkas, where we have two birdwatching towers

We will be repairing the towers during the summer and we are currently seeking financial support to build another tower with access for disabled  people.

As I sat in one of the towers I heard another Tengmalm’s Owl singing.  There was also a Woodpigeon singing on the far side of the lake (which is another rare bird up here).  A pair of Kestrels have set up residence in one of the Goldeneye nest boxes we have put up and although the lake is frozen, there were four Whooper Swan present.  There was also a White-tailed Sea Eagle circling over the lake, 2 Common Cranes flew west calling and I saw the first Meadow Pipit of the year.

I made a small fire on the edge of the lake to cook coffee and grill some sausage

It was a beautiful warm sunny day and really nice to just sit there and look and listen.  There was even a Fox that ran within two metres of me carrying a vole in  its mouth, so I guess it has young nearby.

Where the snow had melted I found many Cranberries left from last summer

Gathering food

Here’s one prior to my camera stopping working…..

August is the time that the berry collecting season gets underway,

beginning with Clouberry (Hjortron in Swedish).  Cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus) is a member of the same family as Blackberry, but grows close to the ground and only bears one fruit.  But not all plants bear fruit as some are male and some are female.

The fruit is orange/yellow in colour and has a distinctive smell which travels for some distance when the fruit are ripe.

This is a typical area where Cloudberry grows.

Once home, the Cloudberries are cleaned and divided up into small bags for use during the long winter.

The Blueberries will be gathered next and shortly after the Cow Berry/Lingon.

We are also harvesting our potatoes now after our first frost last week.  The first ones we harvested were at the cabin

There was a surprisingly good crop from ten plants, which were set in June.

We store the food in a cold store in the cellar.

We found this while out collecting

So thanks to Jonas we now know that this is “gul parasollmossa (Splachnum luteum) which is Norrbottens landskapsmossa”…..Thanks Jonas :>)

Rådjebalges/Gränsleden Guiding Course – Part 5

My project in the evenings while staying at the cabin had been to make a bone needle from a Reindeer rib bone I found near to the lake shore.  I used an old nail from a piece of wood I found nearby to score the bone and remove a small piece.  I used a flat stone to abrade the bone into a needle shape

I used the tip of my knife to make a hole in the needle

There was much Cotton Grass along the shore

and as expected this proved to be incredibly good for firelighting with firesteel.

At 11am we boarded a boat at Ritsem

to travel 20kms up the lake, where the boat dropped us on the lake shore

we then had to walk a short distance to join Gränsleden and walk back to Ritsem along the trail.  But first we made fire on the lake shore and made coffee

After a short break we were soon on our way.

Rådjebalges/Gränsleden Guiding Course – Part 4

We also found Rosenrot (Rhodiola rosea) which was referred to as natural viagra for the Sami people and has many other uses.

Can you guess what family this little plant belongs to…

Its a willow and  the Latin name is Salix herbacea and its English name is Dwarf Willow and it has adapted itself to the harsh life in the fjalls.

We also found a Lemmings burrow

but the old droppings outside suggested it is not currently used

One reason for this may be a Rough-legged Buzzards (Fjällvråk in Swedish) nest that we found near by.  We also saw Golden Eagle, Golden Plover and Ring Ouzel.

This pile of stones is a typical way marker for old Sami trails

and although not as obvious in this picture, a well worn trail was clearly visible

Lunch was a chance to chat

and take in the views

At the end of the day it was back to the cabin to pack and prepare for two days away walking the first 20kms of the Rådjebalges trail.

Rådjebalges/Gränsleden Guiding Course – Part 3

My cabin was next to the shore of the lake that provides water for the hydro-electric dam

and opposite to a glacier on Ahkka

Day three of our course covered the geology and natural history of the area and our tutor was Thomas Öberg.

Here Thomas was explaining to us how the fjälls were once part of the Appalachian mountain range prior to platonic shift.  His slide shows how North America and Europe were joined together at that time.

Sausage or korv in Swedish is so important within Swedish culture that they even name features after them, in this case a lake

After the classroom session we moved outside and walked around in the local area looking at the natural features and wildlife.  Here Thomas is talking about a post glacial feature called a pulsa

This piece of ground in the centre is a typical feature and below it is perma-frost as he is demonstrating

Pulsa’s are important breeding habitat for the Red-necked Phalarope.

This plant with a star shaped rosette of leaves is called Common Butterwort or tätört in Swedish and both here and in the UK the leaves have been used to thicken or clot milk in the butter making process.

This plant is called Alpine Bistort or in Swedish Ormrot (snake root) and it was a staple food for the Sami people and was used like a potato and it is also rich in starch.  They can be eaten raw or cooked and tasted very good.

and this is a type of orchid that we were unable to identify

more soon……

Random days

I have not had time for staying over t the cabin recently, but have been there for some days.

The clothes drier is now completed

The mosquito’s are out in force now and we use many different methods to try and keep them away (the beer isn’t one of them!)

I have put a metal kitchen sink in the cabin so that it is easier to wash clothes and do the dishes.

I have seen pictures of Russian Birch bark craftsmen using a tool called a “sochalka” to remove complete cylinders of bark from the tree to make seamless containers.  I purchased a cheap, stainless steel, long-bladed fish filleting knife from  the Dollar Store to experiment with

It was surprisingly easy to cut around the inside of the bark, but I found impossible to remove the piece of wood from the centre.  I will let you know if I succeed with this method.

The Black Spruce Picea mariana look fantastic in bright sunlight now with bright red new cones forming on the ends of the branches.

Labrador Tea (Skvattrum in Swedish) is now in bloom on the floor of the forest

and last week a pair of Swallows appeared and commenced building a nest in my boat house.  And yesterday their presents proved very rewarding to me as their alarm calls alerted me to a Northern Hawk Owl Surnia ulula flying low over the cabin.  Unfortunately it disappeared over the forest and dispite searching I was unable to locate.

June at the cabin – Part 5

While Emma was staying with me, Ingvar (grandfather) decide to build her a swing to play on.

We cut Birch and Pine to build the swing and used rope to suspend it.

Emma also enjoys going out with me to watch the nature, using an old pair of binoculars and a telescope

We spotted a Hare in its summer colours

It appears that it will be a very good year for Bilberry/Blueberry as there are many flowers on the plants

The plants blooms at least one week before the leaves appear.

I was also pleasantly surprised to find Cloudberry (Hjortron in Swedish) flowering near to my boat house

17th & 18th May 2010

Yesterday we went out in the evening to look over some marshy areas for birds.  The extremely warm weather we are experiencing (29 degrees C yesterday) mean that the majority of snow melted during a two day period and now the rivers

and marshes are flooded

On the marsh above we had a pair of Whooper Swan and Spotted Redshanks displaying.

The next area we moved to had 5 Bean Geese, 3 Wigeon, 1 Teal, 1 pair Goosander and 1 Yellow Wagtail

The lake opposite was surprisingly quiet, except for 1 Red-throated Diver and a displaying Greenshank.

This morning I went for a walk nearer to home, along the edge of a flooded river; I place I have named “little England” and when those of you living in England see some of the names of Birds I saw there, you will understand why!

There were several Blackbirds and Dunnocks (Hedge Accentors) singing, Robin, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Woodpigeon, Song Thrush, Bullfinch, Goldcrest.  I have not seen or heard Blackbird and Dunnock anywhere else up here so it was strange to have several singing in such a small area.

There were also a pair of Common Sandpiper,2 Green Sandpipers displaying, 1 Woodcock I disturbed and White Wagtail.

In addition to birds, I also saw found the first flowers of the spring…..

Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara).