Squirrel

Sunshine in the garden

I don't remember the name of these flowers, but they are pretty and like small suns in the garden. :o)

Eriophorum

To Eriksbu

This sign leads you to Eriksbu. Eriksbu is one of the Norwegian Trekking Association's many self-service cabins, and it is located at Blefjell in Rollag.

These self-service cabins are equipped with all that trekkers need for cooking and sleeping. Firewood, gas, kitchen utensils, table linen and bunks with blanks or duvets and pillows (hut sacks, also known as hut sleepers, are required!) The cabins are also stocked with provisions including tinned goods, coffee, tea, rye crispbread and powdered soup packets, but the selection can vary from cabin to cabin.

Here trekkers look after themselves: fetch water, cook food, wash up and chop wood. In high seasons, some cabins have wardens that assist in organising work. You can pay by direct debit single authorization or by a bank giro drawn on your account.

Forest

About 37 percent of the surface area in Norway is covered by forest. The total forested area amounts to 12 million hectares, including 7 million hectares of productive forest. 15 percent of the productive forest has been estimated as non-economic operational areas due to difficult terrain and long distance transport, which means that economical forestry may only be operated in 50 percent of the forested area. The most important species are Norway spruce (47%), Scots pine (33%) and birch (18%).

Read more about the Norwegian forest here.

Chives

Rhododendron

This is summer! :o)

Fireweed

A mystery

Last summer this chair suddenly showed up at the roadside, not far from my parents place. Nobody knew who placed it there, or why. One year after - and it is still standing there! And still nobody knows where it came from! A real mystery! :o)

Confirmation

Confirmation is a rite of initiation in many Christian Churches. This picture is taken outside Rollag church after this years confirmation ceremony. The priest gives the youths a copy of his speech. After the ceremony in the church they go home and continue the celebration separate, whith their families and friends. :o)

The grocery store

This is the entrance to the grocery store in Rollag - a small, but very nice grocery store! :o)

Lupins

Rollag by air

Another picture of Rollag from the air. This picture is a couple of years old. It gives you a closer look of the civic center. :o)

LN-BDL

And this is the plane we flew. It's a Cessna 172p Skyhawk II that belongs to Ringerikes Motorflyklubb. Translated to English, the text under the wing "brannvakt", says "fireguard". :o)

Looking for wildfire

There has been several wildfires in the south part of Norway this week. High temperatures and no rain the last weeks have made everything extremely arid.

In Norway wildfire surveillance happens as a cooperation between the municipalities in each county, and airplane associations. In clear weather, smoke from campfires and small wildfires is visible in a long distance from a plane. The planes usually have contact with the firebrigade in one of the biggest municipalities in the county.

The surveillance happens in two ways. First: when arid, the planes fly defined routes, looking for smoke. When extremely arid they fly the routes several times every day. If observation of smoke or fire, they contact the firebrigade. They describe the fire and guide the firefighters to the right place. The second: If the firebrigade recive messages about observed smoke, the plane gets into the air to locate the fire, and to assist as described above.

A friend of mine is a pilot, and he participates in this wildfire surveillance every summer. I've joined him a couple of times, and this weekend I took this picture of Rollag from the air. Luckily we didn't see any fires that day! :o) (The picture is not as sharp as I wished for though, the plane was shaking a bit...)

Old building

Old building at a farm in Rollag.

The roof

Another view of Rollag church.

Detail of a stabbur

This is part of a door - it's a keyhole and a doorknob. The door is placed on a stabbur. Not the ones I posted in May though, but a similar stabbur.

Julehuset - The Christmas House

In Rollag you can find the farm shop "Julehuset gaver og hobby". They sell arts and crafts made in Numedal, and of course trolls and "nisser" (small alves, the traditional Norwegian Santa Claus).

They are usually open every day - even in the summer! And these funny alves are sitting on the stair to welcome the customers! :o)

Rollag stave church

We have a stave church in Rollag. A stave church is a medieval wooden church with a post and beam construction related to timber framing. The wall frames are filled with vertical planks. The load-bearing posts (stafr in Old Norse) have lent their name to the building technique. Related church types are post church and churches with palisade walls.

All of the existing stave churches except one are found in Norway, but related church types were once common all over northwestern Europe.