Cloudberries..

It is well known fact in Sweden that the "Gold of the Forests" -the delicious cloudberries- are to be found mainly in the northern woods of Sweden. Little is known that they can be found on the small islets and skerries far out in the Stockholm archipelago! You will have to travel rather far to the outmost islands to find them in the small, mouldy and humid canyons among the crags.

These canyons are in addition the favourite grounds of rather poisonous vipers. (These islands are known to have the largest population of venomous snakes in Europe.)

Being placed under protection they thrive in abundance among the tasty frogs of the many small island ponds. A protection enactment which no "archipelago aboriginal" really obeys, I can assure you.

So yesterday, donning a good pair of Wellingtons, I set out to search for them - the cloudberries, that is - and alas!

This is the harvest which I prompty poured into a pan and boiled with sugar until almost caramelized and then served with thin pancakes a´ la´galette and devoured on a smooth rock in the sunshine overlooking the glittering Baltic..
The summer Baltic

My cuddling grandchildren:

(photo: Lorena Gonzalez)
Thalia in the US..

(photo: Lina Ehrenpreis)
..and Isabella in Gotland!

Happy First Birthday, Izzy!

Hip hip hurray!
Niki, Isabella, Lily-Lou, my second grandchild, is turning one year old today!
She is celebrating her first birthday in Gotland!
All the love in the world to you from Grandma!

ÅF Offshore Race..

(photo: Anders Eliasson)
..The two-days regatta and the most prestigious race in the Baltic Sea - with an average of around 300 participating sailing boats, starts today from Sandhamn. The larger yachts take off from Stockholm as of this year. The photo above is from the information meeting yesterday that took place on the main jetty in Sandhamn.
Quite an international crowd are now gathered on our small island which kneels under the logistic pressure..

(photo: Anders Eliasson)
One could only wish for better weather and some sunshine!
The winds are OK though for a fair sailing start which is at least something..
We wish them all a great race around Gotland and back here in Sandhamn!
Good luck and have fun!

Now it started to rain..

..alas, and I found a few boxes of oil pastels I didn´t know I had. Still acing for an Isaac Grunewald painting, my copycat tail started to wag and..

..this is a need to satisfy this urge.
Meanwhile, it was rather nice to listen to the summer rain hammering away on the loft and to have a go at oil pastels which I had never tried to work with before. If the rain continues, I will soon do some more in oil pastels. But then, I will do some of my own. Maybe of a delicious turbot? Or some other spikey themes..