What part of Norway are you in?

the south point
http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Aust-Agder/Lillesand/H%c3%b8v%c3%a5g/hour_by_hour.html
This weather station link is located half a mile from my house

What are the predominate tree species in your area? Looks like more deciduous trees than I thought would be in Norway. I guess southern Norway is fairly mild though.

Oak and birch, how ever its been planted diferente types of pines
because they are faster growers.
I'm in to walnut, right now.
They are not common but they do fine, and the moose and deers
leave them alone.

Not sure what the common name in Europe would be, but I am guessing the walnut you're growing would be what we call English or White Walnut?

I like the progress that you've made. The place looks good!

The trees is a Canadian type, I got from UK.
The link shows the diferente available to me here.
http://www.walnuttrees.co.uk/WTC_leaflet_webversion.pdf

How ever I'm trying to grow some from nuts, and the mother tree from those is probably black walnut.
It was planted by a sailor(seaman) in 1890-1900, and he brought it back from the US.

I might need to see this in person!!!!

I'w been strugeling a bit the last few years, for two reasons.
I got biten by a tick, that has given me all sorts of health problems, so progres is slow from my point of view.
Then we (Norway)has adopted/ratified the EC Water directive,

http://www.fwr.org/environw/frg0001.htm

wich means there is a new regime of rules I have to comply with.
I am in general happy that there is strict rules, problem is more
the lack off guidence, from public offices, they don't now the rules yet.
I can get 100% public funding on my project with these new rules,
but then they are in charge, and I don't want that, at least not yet or for the time being
I like to be my own manager, on my own land.

Great post!

andedammen, whats that maroon metal thing in the photo that looks like a Mercury space capsule, is it a cooker of some kind?

BEWARE when the Government says we're here to help, they usually mean to help themselves.

If it is a space capsule, keep Cody away from it if he ever comes to Norway.

Wow, not very many people own an Excavator. If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for a living Andedammen.



Some things are universal no matter which country you are in.

The space capsule is originaly a garbeage burner.
It,s now converted to a smoke'r for warm smoking fish/meat,
I'll be happy to converte it again if someone else do the flying.

I'm a HSE-Instructor Used to woork offshore as a safety officer, but thats 20 years agoe.

Well its not needed to have a excavtor they can be mounted on a tractor as well. thats more common here in Norway also.
I bought a exscavator because I do all the woork my self, so it was cheaper to buy a used one than renting one in the long run.
A fairly good used comes at around $15-20K.
To rent one for all my differente projects would cost much more.
PAUL

This is the kind of creatures that constantly, is braking down fruit threes in my garden. But walnut seems to be left alone.
Pics are taken from window in my house
PAUL

Elg and hjorten, no?

Paul, very nice setting! Looks like that deer is in a hurry, neat pic! Hope you well with your battle against lime disease.

Yes and no.

Elg and rådyr.

It's a rodeer wich is much smaller than the crowndeer(hjorten)
The crowndeer is also visiting my garden on a regular basis but are much more shy, so i'w newer gotten a picture of it yet.

PAUL

What a beautiful mess you have there Andedammen.

Very neat and beautiful place. Otto, pack your bags and lets go see. Wait a minute, let's wait until it warms up.

Agust - september best months to visit Norway.
Weather is stable, still fishing season, hunting seasen started.
And prices have dropd,do to the common vacation/holiday season is over, but most seasonal turist/recreational atractiones are stil open to the public.
May - June have a litle bit of the same,but no hunting and salmon/throut season starts at 15.june, so thats only 14 days.
Sun peeks 23/24 June, so for the midnightsun experience those are the 2 weeks to pay Norway a visit.
July is crowded most Norwegians including schools are on wacatione,prices are awfull, and nothing is vacante.
PAUL

O K DAVE WE JUST MISSED THE BEST TIME BUT PUT IT ON THE SCHEDUAL FOR NEXT YEAR.

Hey, at this time of year I would have to go buy a coat. Don't know whatever happened to the one I had.

I can just see it now. Pond Boss IV -- Akevitt and fresh salmon on the beach at Lillesand.

All my kids have birth dates that are easy to remember because it is in conection with some start/end of hunting season of differente kind.
Here is my oldest son now 20 years, the pic is taken on his birthday 6 years old. season opening the day before.
His mom would not let him atende or come along on opening day,
She argued he is only 5 years.
Vell the day after we didn't ask, went out with his new knife and outfit, and got lucky.
She was a bit angry, but as he said : " mum i'm a year older now it was yesterday I was 5, and you said yourself I only had to be 1 more year."

PAUL

He has a quick mind (thinks fast). He must be like his parents - smart ! A good looking young man as well. Thanks for sharing the pic.

Paul, my Grandson started hunting with me when he 4.

Here they are the two people that probably has been the most important in keepeing my habitat together.
My wife and my "Hunting steward"
I don't think they know how importante they have been in my strugale the last 6 years, hope I can make them understand my thankfulnes and pay them back. see the thread tick if you wonder what I'm talking about.
From to to day forward I think its a new world
PAUL

My youngest son on his first under watter dive at age 4 months, he is turning 3 yeares end of january next year.

Paul,

You are a lucky man. Typical beautiful Scandinavian wife. Typical happy looking Scandinavian friends. Handsome children. It is no mystery why Norway keeps being voted as the best place on earth to live.

I couldn't help but notice your "Edit Reason" above. Your English is great. Today, I mentioned to a friend that we had a new Pond Boss member from Norway. I told him that you write with a Norwegian accent. He was puzzled. What I really like about your writing is that it reads just like I would expect it to sound if we were sitting around a big roaring fire talking and enjoying a glass of Aass and some fine rakfisk on fresh lefse.

Ken

Edit:

My post got me to thinking it is time to prepare some fish for the holidays. I don't try to make rakfisk or surströmming. They are too explosive. Instead, I make pickled trout and bluegill using sweet wine, vinegar, salt, and onions.

Preparation for pickled fish:


Pickled fish on rye crackers:

Mmmm... That food looks good! I love trying new regional dishes!

I youst had to put up a trap (conibar 160) after seeing all the tracs in the snow on the ice off my pond.
So I set it up monday afternoon, then yesterday afternoon
(less than 24 hours) it looked like, it was sett off, but I couldn't see anything in it.
This morning I went up to resett it,and gues what.
It must have been flying in, no wonder I couldn't see it from distance.
Trap is set straigt up from pond aprox 90-100 yards from my house

? pine martin looking for squirrels.

I haven't seen sqirrels for a couple off years so ?
This pine martin was only 1 kg a yearling, I set the trap again cause from the tracks he was not alone, at least one more(grown)

Neat picture Paul

It must have been moving pretty quick to get that far thru the trap before it closed!

Agree good picture