Tuesday, June 1, 2010



I was given an award some time ago, when I didn´t have a computer, by Liz from the blog Mitt liv på Irland, My life in Ireland.




 I´m always glad when getting one, but useless to choose other blogs to send the award forward too. I like all blogs I read and can´t choose :-) But I´ve decided to do half of this. I´m going to tell You seven interesting things about myself. I hope You think they are interesting anyway :-)





This raspberyy plant lacks most of its chlorophyll and will ost likly die young. I see some now and again here and if they just have a little bit more chlorophyll they can live quite long. But I´ve never seen berries on them.



1: I´m terrified by walking stick insects! I got a small one twenty years ago and gave it a big empty aquarium to live in. It was around 2cm (almost an inch) long. But one day when I looked in to the aquarium it suddenly was 25cm (10 inches) long!!! It had also around twenty million small ones . It showed that stick insects doesn´t need males to get offspring. Suddenly all those small ones were all over my home. Thankfully it was winter and open windows all night took care of that problem :-)

A double Greater celadine. It´s a bit of a weed to be honest, but I like it so it can stay wherever it wants to.


2: I´m both left and right handed, ambidexterity. Very practical when working in the industry as I do.


Iris 'Helge'. It must be a German variety becuase only germans can name a flower Helge :-) :-)


3: I bought a sail boat, seven meters long (21 feet) without knowing how to sail. Learning how to do it by following a after a friend listening to what he shouted from his boat what to do next :-) I never learned how to use the motor so I sailed in and out from harbours.


I don´t know the name on this aqulegia. It gets around 15cm high (6 inches).


4: I´ve been on national television three times (around six minutes each time). Swedish televisions most popular garden show back then followed me when I started my gardencentre/nursery. Lots of fun :-) They taped over forty hours where ever I was :-) :-):-) They even called the president of Volvo when the factory I worked in refused to let them in. They did after that phone call :-) :-) :-)



Stylophorum diphyllum, Wood poppy. A north american species that I´m happy to have in my garden.

5: I´m slightly dyslexic and a language snob at the same time :-) :-) That´s not easy :-) :-)


Dicentra (I think it has changed name now though) 'King of hearts'.


6: This I feel is a bit embarrassing, but I think Barry Manilow makes great music :-) :-) Otherwise I really don´t like that kind of music at all.


Euphorbia polychroma, Spurge. The closest thing we come a Poinsetta here.

7: I should have been a two egg triplet. But my mother miscarried the second one and my twin stopped developing quite early. Him I had to remove surgical from my tailbone when I got a huge inflammation there. When my mother went in to hospital for the miscarriage they told her not to be sorry because there was another one in there. My mother’s response was: My good am I pregnant :-) :-) :-)


Haberlea rhodopensis, a close relative to the African violet (Saintpaulia). Grows in my garden on a sandy spot east of the cottage.

Well now it´s time for a cup of cocoa, because I forgot to buy tea again!!
Have a great day now!

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Forgot to buy tea again . . . that's hysterical. You should be crawling from withdrawals with no tea in a week. Lovely photos today Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Z&M!
I had just twisted my left ancle, so I was a bit preoccupied by that :-) So I didn´t remember tea until I came home :-) :-)

I´m so glad that we have free coffee at work :-)
Have a great day now!
Christer.

jaz@octoberfarm said...

hi christer...hmmm...all these things we did not know about you. i hate walking sticks too and i think you just gave me a new nightmare! 10 inch walking sticks all over my house...i would just die! i took german for 11 years and in junior high we had to have german names in class and mine was helga because there was no german equivalent for joyce. in italian class i got to be giovanna though!

Larry said...

Hi again Christer... I love the depth and color in your photographs! I assume you use a filter? They are very beautiful.... I especially love the photos of the forests. I grew up in the mountains of Vermont in New England and sometimes I miss that a lot. Larry

DianeLynn said...

Are you sure you are not a professional photographer???eh?
The first pic looks like a black bear cub walking, then realized it was your dog. Cute!

Sharlene T. said...

Love the pix today, Christer. I, too, am ambidextrous and it is very handy (no pun intended), indeed, for crafting.

Can't believe you forgot the tea, again...I'll just drink some warm water...

caryn said...

Hi, Christer!
Interesting secrets. I too am ambidextrous and a closet Barry Manilow admirer. Maybe the gene for ambidextrousness has that side effect.

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

Hi Christer!
Well, first of all your photo's of the dogs amongst the trees is lovely...
The story about the one inch stick bug...gave me the creeps! I don't like bugs at all but hate killing anything. Your BIG bug would have given me nightmares...
Sometimes I spray bug killer under the bed...just because... :)

It sounds like you are fortunate to be alive..it sounds like a very difficult pregnancy for your mother.
Thank heavens all seven of mine were just run of the mill. Your birth should have made medical history!

I am not surprised at all that your gardening ventures were followed. Nope...not at all! I hope you can get back to it one day.

Cocoa? Now you're talking! Anything with chocolate is great with me. Take care, Christer!!
Mona

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

Christer...if I sounded like an anti war "dove" as they call us in America...I am! I detest war and not sure I believe everything we are told any more. I think reasons for war is ALWAYS money, in some form...no matter how well hidden. We have but one life...and we need a different way to settle our differences. Thanks for your comment. You don't need to print this comment. I will totally understand. I am not meaning to be political...I just hate was so much!
Mona

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Joyce!
I know they doesn´t do anything to humans, they are totally harmless. But I just can´t stand those walking sticks :-) :-) :-)

Helga :-) :-) We have that name over here too, but it´s very uncommon. Naturally it comes from Germany as many of our names do. Doesn´t sound especially pretty though :-)Giovanna was a much better name!
Have a great day now!
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Larry!
No, no filters on my camera. It´s a compact little digital camera, Sony Cyber-shot and is able to take up to seven megapixle photo´s.

Nowdays I can´t even imagine living far from a forest, I love to walk around there even if the insects wants to eat me :-) :-)
Have a great day now!
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Diane!
Yes I´m quite sue :-) :-) A professional would laughe at my little camera :-) :-) :-)

I´m so glad that You like them :-)
Have a great day now!
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Sharlene!
It is very handy :-) :-) to be ambidextrous. It´s so much easier for us just to switch hand if one gets tired and perfect when one needs to work with both hands.

There WILL be tea today :-)
Have a great day now!
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Caryn!
That must be the reason for me liking Barry Manilow! :-) :-) :-)I´ve always wondered why I like his music when it really isn´t my taste at all :-) :-)
Have a great day now!
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Mona!
I don´t think she had any problems after that though. Wuld have been fun to have those siblings, but it wasn´t ment to be.

You should have seen that insect, it was enormous :-) :-) But to be honest, they are totally harmless.

It was so fun when swedish television followed me. I wish I could have had all those bloopers we made, both them an I :-) :-)

I´m glad You like my photo´s!

Naturally all wars are about money! ´They just use politics to make it looks as something else is the reason. I´m a conscientious objector so I fully understands what You mean!
Have a great day now!
Christer.

Anjas Hill said...

Det var ett långt inlägg bäste Christer!
Måste dock kommentera din halkolycka: Förlåter du mig om jag säger att jag har svårt att hålla mig för skratt (inte för det onda som du fått som följd, utan att vete 17 när jag träffade på någon som hamnar så ofta i olyckliga situationer som du;)!)

Jag ser att vi har väldigt mycket samma smak när det gäller perenner. Nästan allt du visar har även jag av de högväxta perennerna.
Haberlea finns på min önskelista.
Du har din 'näva 'Mourning Widow'i skugga, men min står i full sol.

Intressant läsning om dina sju sanningar - tv-programmen kommer jag ihåg ännu (och visst såg jag dig även i din plantskola i Tråvad)

Ang språk"snobbighet": Dyslexi har ju inget med språkbegåvning att göra. Den har med tolkningen av bokstavskoder att göra.
Jag har också lite språksnobb i mig: Hatar SÄRSKRIVNING!!!/Hejdå! Anja

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Tjänare Anja!
hade jag inte själv skrattat åt det hade jag inte skrivit om det :-) Jag verkar ha en tendens att råka ut för små olyckor då och då :-)

Har hört att det skall gå att bladföröka haberlean, fast det fungerar inte alltid. Skall testa det nu efter blomningen. Brunnävan verkar trivas överallt om vi skall vara ärliga, men min stod i tre år innan den började sprida sig. Nu gör den det jättemycket :-)

Särskrivning driver mig till vansinne ibland, men man får ju sig en hel del goa skratt också :-) :-) :-)
Ha det gott!
Christer.