Sweden: skol!

Well, this post took a bit longer than I expected. I traveled to Sweden a few weeks ago for a workshop. I came back two days before classes began, and then had a grant to write, and then, and then, and you get the idea. I had wanted to write something in the same scope as the Finland trip last year, but even though I had a great time, and in many ways, I enjoyed this trip more than the Finland trip, I feel less inspired to write about this trip. So, I'm hitting "publish post" as-is.

I was able to spend two days in Stockholm before heading out to a field station for the workshop. Most of the photos are from Stockholm, because I didn't take many at the field station.

Stockholm is situated on an archipelago that bridges Lake Malaren and the Baltic Sea. Every where you turn, there is another island surrounded by dramatic cliffs and sparkling water. They tell the tourists that no fishing license is required, and that the water is clean enough that you could live off the fish you caught in the city.

An example of one of the little islands, with a government building on it.


Day one consisted of arriving in Stockholm at 8 AM local time (1 AM my time). We (I convinced a friend from grad school to make this trip with me) couldn't check into the hotel, so we did a boat tour in the morning. It was a great way to start the trip, because it's a quick orientation to Stockholm and you don't they don't mind if you fall asleep on the boat! That night, we ate tapas and crashed.

The next day, after the jetlag had been addressed, we went to Gamla Stan, which translates to "Old Town." We visited the Stockholm Castle. We saw the changing of the guard (well, I *heard* the changing of the guard) and the crown jewels. Next, we hit the Nobel Museum which was fascinating, but no pictures were allowed.

A star within a star at Stockholm Castle.

Gamla Stan is a very touristy portion of Stockholm, but a good way to introduce yourself to the city if you've never been. I also did some shopping, ate lunch (meatballs with lignonberries).
Here's a square on Gamla Stan. The Nobel Museum is just to right, out of frame.

The Royal Church on Riddarholmen. Generations of Swedish royalty are buried here.

The train station. Great public transit in Sweden.

A plaza on Riddarholmen, where I had a cup of tea. The building across the water is the Stockholm's city hall (Stadshuset).

An alley I liked on Riddarholmen.

It's not every day that I sit in an outdoor cafe in Stockholm, drinking a Coke costing 35 SEK (~$5.50). So, I photographed it.

I stayed at the Nordic Sea Hotel which houses the Absolute Icebar. The Absolute Icebar is essentially a refrigerated room with walls, seats, and bar of carved iced. Even the cocktail glasses are made of ice. You're given heavy coats at the front door and you're only allowed 45 minutes in the bar. I stayed long enough to drink lignonberry-vanilla vodka cocktail and take a few photos.

What can I say? It was cool.

After two days in Stockholm, I took a bus to the workshop, which was held at Tovetorp Research Station. The station supports many zoological research projects.

Some phlox (?) in the front of one of the research buildings. The red colored building is common in the farming areas.

Sven, who is the director at the research station. Sven knows more about sperm competition than anyone I've every met before.

Me with a fallow (tame) deer.

The Little Plants that Could

I think the plants that I admire the most are the ones that seem to defy the odds. Sometimes I have begrudging admiration for even pesky plants that manage to trudge along and find their way despite of less-that-perfect circumstances.

For example, I planted three caladium bulbs under the giant bonsai tree this spring. And I watered and waited. And nothing happened. I figured they were goners, and filed them in the "plants that don't survive in my yard" box and forgot about them.

Then, in mid-July, I saw a spike of growth coming out of the ground. A few days later, this emerged:
One of the other caladium bulbs managed too:

Surprise Lilies; the name says it all. They produce thick foliage in the spring and then appear to die back. Then, in August, just when you think they're goners, they bloom beautifully. I fall for it every time. They even smell nice, too.

I started these coleus from seed this spring. They are now taller than O. This is the first time I've found a good spot for coleus, because they seem happy in a spot with lots of morning and early afternoon sun but protection from the late-day heat. This finding has inspired me to fill out this flower bed more, and I hope to try some additional varieties of coleus next year.

I planted the barberry below last fall to replace the thuja that died last summer. This barberry is supposed to about 5 feet tall and doesn't branch out much, which is why I thought it was appropriate for this spot. Unfortunately, this spot is just off the patio in the backyard, where O. like to play, and he tends to run right through this spot, crushing tiny shrubs in his path. We placed the fence you see in the photo around the barberry last fall, but O. insisted that it was a great thing to make shapes with. We gave him his own fence, saying that one fence was for him and one was for the barberry, but the urge to create hexagons was too great, and he ripped the second fence out of the ground as soon as we weren't looking.

Winter came, I thought this would be help; less time outside for O. which would give the barberry a fighting chance. But the ice storm of 2008 proved, once again, too tempting for O., and before I could scream "NOOOOOO!" he snapped the little barberry off at its base. He liked to like the sound of the ice breaking off the branches and clinking on the ice-covered snow. I can't say I blame him for that, but the bad news was that by spring, the barberry was down to a one inch stub above the ground.


And look at it now: the tallest spike is ten inches at least, and still going. O. is doing a better job of staying away from it, too.

And in other news, yesterday O. decided that he was a baby bird. A grey and blue jay, in fact, as noted in his choice of t-shirt and wash cloths. He flapped around the yard, hopped on rocks, and slept in his nest (the castle) most of yesterday morning. J. and I convinced him to do his best fledgling blue jay imitation:
A decent imitation in my opinion.