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Never a dull moment.
We're busy chopping down trees for the winter's firewood. With 25000 trees in our "garden" we're not afraid of running out, and thinning out the forest helps new trees to grow so we're actually doing the environment a favour.
It's fun, too. We're all involved. There's the chain saw (Tim's domain), a big electric log-cutting saw, and an axe for log splitting. The felled trees need cutting into serviceable sections, dragging down from the mountain, cutting and chopping, then stacking. And unusable twigs, branches and leaves piling up out of the way.
Friend's parents thrust a cup of coffee into my hand, but I explained that I had to go off to the village, and why. "Don't be daft, we've got acres of potatos round the back. Everyone helps themselves. Take this bag and dig up a few plants. And come back when you need some more. Take a cabbage as well!"
Living half an hour's drive from the nearest shop means that everybody naturally shares resources.
Autumn is approaching. We've had a few storms, the days are getting a bit shorter and even when the sun is shining it's not as hot as it was a few weeks ago. But we're looking forward to seeing the trees in full Autumn colours.
(next day) We've now had our demonstration. It seems that we have a help-yourself fire engine in the valley. Key is hidden but we're all told where. In the event of fire, "don't ring us", says the fire brigade, "by the time we could get there you'd just be cooking sausages on the last of the smouldering remains - ring a neighbour instead!".
So we all got a chance to rig up the mobile pump, throw one end of the hose into the river and practice hosing down passers by.
The year's first meeting of the valley's youth club resulted in a 100% turnout: a range of ages from 15 down to one week old. We grilled sausages over a bonfire (the standard activity for any kind of meeting) and started on some projects. Two teams are going to build - and race - go carts.
Actually nothing to do with us at all, but this is how people move house in Norway ...
The first snow
Katie glanced up from her breakfast this morning (3 Oct) and her eyes widened. "Look!", she said, pointing out of the kitchen window. "Snow!".
And there it was on the mountain opposite. Just a little dusting on the top, but now that it's arrived it will gradually creep downwards. A taste of things to come.
... And rather more did come today (5th). Spent some time this morning watching "our" eagle (it nests in the cliffs at the top of the garden) circling high overhead.
12 October - Visiting England.
We've been here for over three months. It doesn't sound a lot, perhaps, but it's enough for our former life to start to become a distant memory.
It was brought home to us this week when we visited the UK for the first time since leaving it, in connection with a family funeral.
We landed at the airport and went to collect our Herz hire car (pre-booked, pre-paid and checked in by internet).
"What's your proper address?", asked the grumpy lady; "we can't take a foreign address, you know.
And what's your real phone number? You've only given us a foreign one: we need a real one.
You can't have a car without having a proper address in England. You foreigners keep coming and trying to steal our cars".
We fought our way through lunatic traffic, grubby facilities, dirty streets and unhelpful people.
Back to Norway, we landed at Haugesund and the passport officer smiled at us and chatted to Katie.
We set off along deserted roads.
Stood on the front deck of the ferry in glorious sunshine, cup of coffee in hand, looking at the bright-blue sea, green islands and snow on distant mountains. We're back in our valley. Peace, quiet, normality. No-where's perfect (and I'm sure that'll hit us at some point) but for the time being, Norway seems to be having a good try.
This morning (Sunday 18 October) we woke up and looked out of the bedroom window.
It was just the same as every other morning, but although we've seen it 120 other mornings so far we couldn't help reaching for the camera.
There's a limit to how many photos of "views" we can post on this website, but just so that you know what we look at in the mornings when our eyes are starting to work (other than each other, of course ... ahh!) ...
(picture, right: sunrise seen from bedroom window). Other autumnal pictures are posted on the local views bit of this site.
Saturday 17 October we invited the whole morning congregation at Tracy's church for a Saturday-afternoon visit. This resulted in more cars coming into �rsdalen than we normally get in a week, but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.
30 Oct. Enjoying a visit from Tim's brother Bob, Pat and Vicci - a wonderful excuse for outings to M�nafossen waterfall (left) where we found out that there's a reason they estimate that the 600-metre walk from the car park will take half an hour (the 600 metres is mostly vertical) and to the beach at Brusand (where it was rather blowy - right).
2 Nov. Strong winds overnight (minor damage to some houses in nearby Egersund) and squally showers. No picnic today.
4 Nov. Snowing merrily today -
but by now (a week later) it's stopped and it's just cold (2 degrees or so).
It's been suggested that we should have a webcam. Still working on the technical details, but we've made a start - see the main page.
It's starting to get a bit cold to roam the hills on foot
20 Nov Been rather busy for a couple of weeks, hence no entries. Sorry. Highlights have included Thomas Andrew and a friend heading off for a 4-hour walk into the mountains and overnight stay in a log cabin just on the night when it snowed harder than it's done all year so far, a pool and pizza party with Katie's class at school and - today - the highest rainfall ever recorded here in one single day. It's now a bit wet. Click this picture (left) for a sequence of four photos.
Probably shouldn't mention it but I'm going to anyway: after seeing a documentary about the Amazon rain forest Katie described her impressions, including noting that the male tribesmen used a belt of string to tie up their pensieves. She always was a Harry Potter fan.
What on earth is this and why is it on the blog? Tracy and I picked it up when out for a walk with the dogs today (26 Nov).
Prize (a Norwegian marzipan pig) to the first person to email us with a correct identification.
And yes, I know it's a bit of wood, but who or what has made those marks in it?
To check your answer and to see a couple more pictures, just add the correct word to the end of the current web address (i.e. after the last "/" - remove "index.html" if that's there) and press enter.
In other words, if you think it was done by a woodpecker you should make the web address http://family.rishton.info/news/2009-4/woodpecker and press enter.
The prize pig is now on its way to the United States, but keep trying if you've not got it yet!
Christmas is on its way over here as well, although thankfully Norwegian shops and things don't start being "Christmassy" until at least into Advent.
Apart from the odd box or two of Christmas-tree lights and an increased amount of marzipan on sale we've not seen any real signs of Christmas as yet.
The main item in the national news this week, though, has a distinctly Christmassy theme. Someone has vandalised gingerbread houses in Bergen. Knocked down walls and dislodged smarties from the icing.
Pictures of the horror have been in the main newspapers (see left). Who could do such a thing? A major police operation has now apprehended the culprit. Seriously. If you think I'm kidding, it's reported (in Norwegian) on the national news,
that police crime-scene technicians collected DNA evidence, as a result of which a 21-year old and 26-year-old have now been arrested.
Neither, according to the police spokesman, have previous gingerbread records.
Other news. Thomas Andrew is working at the ski centre today, assembling things in preparation for the skiing season.
I forgot to mention a month ago that the "sticks" have gone up alongside the roads.
The "sticks" are bamboo or plastic canes with reflectors on that are positioned every few yards along both sides of the road.
The reason is that when the deep snow comes there is no way of seeing what is road and what is ditch, field or frozen-over pond - so you simply drive between the sticks safe in the knowledge that you're following the road.
The snow-plough driver also uses the sticks as a measure of where the edge of the road should be.
So far we've not needed them, but the time is coming closer!
New arrival in the family. Beth has bought a horse (picture,left),
which she's now enjoying amidst the feet of snow they've presently got up there!
29 Nov. Snow at the top of the garden this morning (picture, right); Andrew rang from the school bus to warn of 6 inches of snow on the road - time to change to winter tyres on the car!
It's now (1 Dec) been just below freezing for a couple of days but with absolutely clear skies.
We're enjoying something we've not seen during our years in England: the stars twinkling in the cold against a pure, dark-blue sky and the (full) moon reflecting off snow-covered mountains and lighting up every tree as light as day.
It's entrancing.
5 Dec The day started in a barn at 8am, where Katie and Andrew, together with all the other children in the valley, were making a Christmas nativity film,
with the usual cast of obstinate donkeys, escaping sheep and other creatures getting in the way (i.e. parents).
Later in the day, Tracy and Katie went shopping at the Christmas market in Egersund, whilst Tim and Andrew put Christmas lights on the fir tree in the garden. (click picture for enlargement).
The rest of the Christmas nativity film has been made - see some pictures from the filming (click the small picture on the left).
It's turned very cold today - well under freezing - and feels it, too. The river is feeling the effects (click picture, right, for some more cold snaps). We can just light the fire.
At the end of a lovely Christmas, we've had the village Christmas party, in which every person in the valley came together for a short service followed by a meal and silly games.
Some pictures to follow. During the course of that evening, Thomas Andrew asked a neighbour what his plans were for an old tractor outside his house.
The result of this conversation was Andrew has now achieved a long-standing ambition of owning a tractor, which is now being done up. Picture left (click for an enlargement)
The "midnight webcam" is all wrong at the moment. Last night, with a full moon and stars shining on the snow, it was as light as the middle of the day. You can't really capture that on a picture, but on the right is a half-light �rsdalen looking wonderful in the middle of a cold winter's night, with a full moon. Click for an enlargement and for some other pictures of outside activities today (30 Dec).
In case you're wondering, the daytime temperature is around -12° C (10° F) at the moment, though of course it goes cold at nights.
We only had one (correct) response to the "what on earth is this" competition (the photo of the bit of wood a few inches up this page). If you remember, you can test your ideas by simply putting the word you have in mind at the end of the current web address and clicking "enter". If you get it wrong you'll either get a "page not found" message or unhelpful hints.
Words attempted include:
animal,
bear,
dog,
fudge,
moose,
pig,
rat,
saw,
axe,
elk,
reindeer,
otter and
tracy.
We'll have to put the solution up early in the new year, so hurry up!
Some pictures from Christmas Day
At a loose end after Christmas? Tim's hoping to write up some of his concert stories in 2010 - here's an early draft. Enjoy!
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19-20 Dec. A good three feet of snow fell in the past 24 hours, and we've all being having fun outside.
(click pictures for enlargements).
At the moment we're officially snowed in (the road out of the valley is closed). 21 Dec. Just had a text message from the snow-plough people to say "we're trying to get through at the moment. If we're lucky we'll be in �rsdalen tonight - otherwise it'll be tomorrow". We've got the fire lit and the kettle on and are enjoying our usual tranquility. Being "cut off" doesn't actually make any difference to the pace of life here! Apparently, the snow plough that's trying to re-open the road has just been buried in an avalanche. The chief snow clearer person reports in the local paper (all in Norwegian, sorry) that "I'm not very pleased that it's started snowing again. I wasn't counting on that ... it makes it extra difficult to predict when the road can be re-opened". Hope we're out by Wednesday - Matt is coming! 22 Dec. Road re-opened today - just! Made it out of the valley (dodging drifts) but by the time we got back the road into the valley had drifted over again and even in the big 4x4 we had a lot of trouble getting home (including a brief foray into a ditch). Hope it will be OK for Matt tomorrow. 23 Dec. Matt safely here! |