Monday, May 18, 2009



The first flowers on my Paradiuse apple tree has opened up now.




We are going to have the election to the European parlament june 7. Normally when we have our election to the swedish parlament somewhere around 90% of us votes. But to the EU-parlament 40% is a good result. We joined the EU after a referendum but we don´t like it. We take every chans we can to complain about it :-) The EU parlament has very little power and is placed in two cities, Brussels and Strassbourg. The move between the to cities cost enormus amounts of money, but France refuses to let Brussels be the only place to have the parlament.




They are a bit pink on the outside but pure white on the inside. I´ve waited nine years for this to happen.



I wount let You have to read me whine about the EU, but they have for instance decided that a strawberry has to have a minimum size to be allowed to be called strawberry and that a cucumber is less worth if it´s bent in the shape. For a while they also put extra taxes on the bananas we like in Sweden and Germany (big and not to sweet in taste), just to protect some of the countries old colonies that grow a rather small and sweet banana.

The buds on the Tree paeony is really big now. If we get some warm weather I think they´ll open up in a week or so.



It seemes I have to get another car soon. I like the one I have now, but there are some problems with it and it would cost as much to fix it as it costed to buy it. So now I have to start looking for a new one. This time I would like to have a smaller car, preferably a small stationvagon like a Volkswagon. Normally I always have a Volvo or a Citroen but they use to much petrol. The prize on petrol is now 5,9 US dollars/ US gallon and now summer comes and the prize will be even higher. Strange really that the prize always rises when summer comes, happens every year over here. But I can have this car all summer with a bit of luck, so I have lots of time to find another.



This flower is called Skelört in swedish. That would be something like "Lazy eye wort" in english

:-)


Well, it´s time for some tea and a couple of sandwiches I think.
Have a great day now!


The first buds on my roses. This rose is called "The white rose of Finland" and is a white filled rose that can stand drought very well. It can be up to 2 meters in hight (6,6 feet).


12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nine years is a long time to wait on the apple tree. You maybe should have asked the EU to give you some seedlings for the bent cucumbers. Can even pickle them and eat in the winter. They go great with the small strawberries that don't make the cut and are then called what?? raspberries? How we love the Gubmint.

My first car was a volkswagen bug. I put over 200,000 miles on that car and in college it was great to put beer in the trunk over ice because it had holes in the frame that allowed the water to run free as I drove to the beach. I had more fun in that car than any other car since. Buy one of them!
And Good Luck with the gas prices. I think we will soon be riding horses. Return to the good old days like here in the States.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Z&M!
Yes, nine years is a long time. Now I hope the fruits will be small enough because that was why I sowed the seeds. Big apples I have enough of as I have four ordinary apple trees in my garden already :-)

A bug would be great, but they are almost impossible to get here now, at least if one doesn´t want to pay a lot of money. I used to borrow my friends bug when I was younger and I loved that car. Perhaps I should write about that some time.

If it wasn´t for the fact that I´m a bit afraid of horses I think I would get one :-) :-) The gas prises are killing us over here!

I think that small strawberries is called wild strawberries if to small. We have different names for them over here. The wild one is called "Smultron" and the big ones is called Jordgubbar (would be "soil men" in english. Sound very strange in english :-) :-) ) Pickled cucumber is delisious!
Have a great day now!
Christer.

NinaH said...

Nice to have flowers on your Paradise Apple Tree!
Yes- the EU election is confusing.... But still- I want to vote! But on what?!...Well... still some weeks left...;-)
We heard the other day it seems they will aloud bended cucumbers & strawberry of different size again! Victory!;-) If.... ?......

jaz@octoberfarm said...

hi crister..looks like you will at least get apples! i had to cover everything here last night and will have to tonight as well. i was looking at my peach tree this morning and on one branch there are 32 small green peaches. they will be ready the first week of july and then we will have peach pies and peach jam! my first car was a bug and it was in such bad shape that when i drove through puddles my feet got wet! i learned how to drive a stick on that car. have a great day! i will be watching hockey playoffs tonight..wahoo!!!!! joyce

NinaVästerplana said...

Så... du ska jaga bil... vore inte en Kangoroo eller vad dom nu heter nåt för dig o vovvarna? Små skåp du vet.... Får plats stora växter i dom ;-)
Härligt med så mycke knopp... förstår att du sett fram mot paradisäppleblommen.... den är fin.
Ha´t himla gôtt o lycka till med biljakten
Nina

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

You are going to have apples it looks like and some lovely roses too! Good for you!
About the car. Wow..you will get lost of opinions...I know..but I have owned four Volkswagons..three vans, the old dark blue and brick color, then later the green and cream and then the gold and cream..lots of room..and lastly my beautiful Impi equipted (sp?) yellow bug with all the bells and whistles! We didn't know that life could be so trouble free until we stopped owning the VW Bug. Two of you have had complete different experiences than we had! Vapor lock plagued us...and if it wasn't one thing it was another. Four bad experiences...but..hey..it got us there and we all nine fit in very well! We had good times but not always because of the Vans and the bug. Going up a hill of any sort was...(even if empty) pure torture! People used to honk and yell at us! LOL Now that I look back..with all the break downs and stress, the times were funny. Life definitely perks up when you own a bug! If you get one...enjoy Christer. If I had one I would probably GIVE it to you!! :)
~smiles~
Mona

Maria said...

En jordgubbe är en jordgubbe vare sig den är liten eller stor och en gurka är en gurka vare sig den är rak eller krokig, vilka dumma idéer.

Vad gäller skelörten så heter den visst Greater Celandine enligt Virituella floran.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi NinaH!
That was a great and important desicion they taken in the EU-parlament :-), that cucumbers can be bent again :-)
I tink I´ll vote this year, even if I think that the EU-parlament joke.
Have a great day now!
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi joyce!
Apples yes, but I´m not sure that I will get any nectarines. The two heavy frost nights made that impossible I think. But I´m still hoping. Great that You will get peaches!

For once it waswarm and rainy last night, so it didn´t matter that I forgot to cover everything outside :-)

That was a really bad bug You had :-) :-) but I can´t help loving them :-)
Have a great day now!
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Tjänare Nina!
En Kangoo skulle inte vara helt fel, men jag tror inte den finns i min prisklass tyvärr.

Fast det lilla trädet i sig är ganska fult i växtsättet. Men såna petitesser bryr jag mig inte om :-)
ha det riktigt gott nu!
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Mona!
I think all of us have some kind of relationship with old Volkswagons. I had a VW van once. That car is worth a blog of its own I think :-) Up hills was an experience with that one too. Even travelling towards strong wind could slow it down really much :-) But one can´t stop loving them :-)

I´ll probably have loads of apples. If there are to many I leave a lot to the deers to eat during winter, then they wount eat on anything else.
Have a great day now!
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Tjänare Maria!
Visst är det dumheter att bestämma hur stor en jordgubbe får vara eller om gurkan skall vara rak!

Bra att veta dess namn på engelska. Jag orkade inte leta efter det igår. Men det blev ju bra mycket roligare att direktöversätta det :-) :-)
Ha en härlig dag nu!
Christer.