Category Archives: Seasonal activities

Spud!

Posted on by
“Dig for victory”

We planted out one bed of potatoes a couple of weeks before the other beds. The plants started yellowing and drooping last week so it was time to check what Mother Nature had provided us with this year. There are a few more plants to dig up but one of the storage bins is almost full.

We cooked and ate some of them yesterday and they are good boiling potatoes that mash well. Nam nam!

There are three more beds of potatoes that will be ready to dig up in the next couple of weeks

We ate the last of the 2020 crop in July of this year. They were a bit squidgy raw but hadn’t turned green and were fine when cooked. We store them in mouse-proof bins in one of the cellar rooms and they seem to keep well there. In a good we should be self sufficient in potatoes for around 10 months.

First harvest

Posted on by

I picked our first tomato two days ago. We never had ripe tomatoes this early in Hallingdal and here are plenty more to come. We also have potato plants, some carrots, onions, kale and pumpkins that have survived the hot and dry summer.

Despite having an irrigation system none of our beans and peas have survived though so we have to upgrade the hose pipes to the “paddock” before next growing season

I ate the tomato today and it was delicious!

Ripe red plum tomato

Nam nam

The sun is back…

Posted on by

The “return of the sun” day is officially the 23rd of January but several days of overcast weather have kept the sun at bay. Today the living room was bathed in sunshine for the first time this year. Although we don’t suffer from the winter blues it is still a great moment when the sun returns to our home.

The sun just visible over the valley wall

The view, always different, always the same. Today: sunshine with a very faint corona.

Bright sunshine and dark shadows in the livingroom

Dazzle season is back… soon we will be pulling the curtains to keep out the light.

“Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…”

Posted on by

It is snowing like mad and it’s not as if we can do much about it. If King Canute had tried to stop the snow from doing its thing, instead of the sea, he would have ended up looking like a very large meringue. I’ve been out twice this evening moving snow around. Here I am doing my Banksy impersonation whilst clearing snow off the roof of the bike shed.

We'll be doing more of this in the next couple of days...

We’ll be doing more of this in the next couple of days…

It looks like it will be difficult to use the bike trailer to take Odd Egill to barnehage tomorrow. So the pulk has been taken out of storage readied for use.

First family outing with the pulk

Posted on by

Yesterday was our first family outing with the pulk. We were out of the house before nine and headed up to our favourite spot on Golsfjellet.

We were rewarded with a wonderful sunrise, bright oranges and reds in the east…

Sunrise with vivid colours on Golsfjellet

Sunrise on Golsfjellet

…and gentle pinks in the West.

Delicate pink shaded clouds sunrise over Golsfjellet

Sunrise over Golsfjellet

Damae took charge of the pulk which was nice of her. This was my first proper exercise in a couple of weeks so I needed to take things easy.

Damae pulling a pulk on Golsfjellet

Damae pulling Odd Egill in the pulk.

We threaded our way along the ski tracks towards “The Pole”. This is a signpost that stands at a junction of five prepared ski routes a couple of kilometres from Kvanhøgd turistsenter.

Damae pulling the pulk through a small wood.

Short of snow but plenty of sunshine.

The snow was actually ice and very slippery. It was a couple degrees above freezing when we left the car and warmed up for the the outward leg of our journey.

Damae heading towards Kamben on Golsfjellet

Sunshine and slippery ice.

We reached the pole as the sun started disappearing behind thin clouds. The breeze strengthened slightly making it feel colder than it actually was. We decided that it wasn’t a day to be sitting around drinking tea so we turned around and headed back to the car.

Damae heading back towards Kvanhøgd turistsenter

With the sun blocked by clouds the temperature started to drop.

Once back at Kvanhøgd we got the little man out of the pulk and into the Syncro and packed away our skis. We ate a bit of lunch and drank some tea before heading back down the hill to Gol.

We had a lovely tour despite the poor condition of the ski tracks. It was just fantastic to be sliding along on our skis again whilst taking in the views on Golsfjellet. We’d basically missed the previous skiing season entirely: by the time Odd Egill was old enough to go out in a pulk the snow had gone and our cycling season had started.

Odd Egill seemed to enjoy himself in the pulk in much the same way he likes being in his bike trailer. Which is good news!

More snow is forecast in the next few days. Fingers crossed, we might yet get few more family outings with the pulk before the cycling season starts in earnest.