Posts Tagged Nature
Vestre Pålsrød Herb Garden, Rygge
Posted by admin in Nature and the great outdoors on August 10, 2010
OK, it’s not Kew Botanical Gardens, nor even Monet’s Garden in Giverny, but this little herb garden in Rygge, near Moss, is a charming place for a wander. It is the brainchild of local resident Anne Sofie Larsen, who has spent the last 20 years weeding, planting, watering and generally speaking nurturing this plot of land into what it is today. A labour of love indeed. ‘Welcome to my garden’, entices the sign by the gate. From the dirt road a narrow path leads into a wood, past a little pond and on to the prize-winning garden. The idea behind Anne Sofie’s life project is for people to enjoy themselves here, and take some time to reflect on the nature around them, and the joy it gives them. She herself has been diagnosed with cancer three times, but refused to give up the fight against illness, and found much comfort working, and relaxing, in this garden. Here and there insightful quotes (in Norwegian) engraved on slate or rock have been placed by a fern, a tree trunk or by the mulch path, where a few strategically located benches also invite to contemplation. At night candles light the way. The garden itself, although small, boasts 300 different kinds of plants, including local herbs and flowers, and information on their history and use. On the day we visited earlier this summer, a multitude of butterflies and bumblebees were also buzzing in the flowerbeds. Concerts occasionally take place here, and you can buy plants in the barn if you so wish (a nice way to contribute financially to the upkeep of the garden). There are also several short walks departing from the car park if you want to explore the area further.
Vestre Pålsrød, Rygge. Tel: 69 26 33 85, www.urtehagen.no. Free entrance (please leave bikes at the gate if you cycle there).
Fishing in Østfold
Posted by admin in Nature and the great outdoors on August 1, 2010
Going fishing? You’ve come to the right place! With its long coastline and hundreds of lakes, Østfold is a fishing eldorado. Here is what you can expect to catch, and where:
- Salmon: Enningdalselva in Halden (see http://www.elusivemoose.eu/2010/03/enningdalselva-salmon-fishing/) is the best river in the county, although Ågårdselva in the Sarpsborg municipality also draws its fair share of salmon enthusiasts. August is fly-fishing season in the latter. Remember that a fishing card/permit is required. Salmon can also be caught in Tista, Halden, and in the Glomma.
- Trout: The small lakes in Trømborgfjella, Degernesfjella and Rakkestadfjella in Indre-Østfold are all good bets, and so are the ones in Vestfjella in Aremark. Again, permits are required – you can usually get those from the approach road to the lakes, where you leave the amount in a marked box with your car registration number.
- Sea trout: Can be caught along the coast, often near land. You could try your luck off Bevø, Torsnes, or Engelsviken near Fredrikstad, for example, or pretty much anywhere on Hvaler. No permit or card required for fishing in the sea.
- Perch and pike: Can be caught in most big lakes. The Glomma is particurlaly good for pike, and so are Vansjø and Haldenvassdraget. Pikes can get big – fish of 20kg and more have been caught here, and 10kg is not unusual.
- Zander: The only place you can catch zander in Østfold, and one of the few places in Norway, is Vansjø, near Moss.
The Arctic fox
Posted by admin in Nature and the great outdoors, Photos and videos on July 28, 2010
The Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus or Vulpes lagopus), also known as Polar fox, snow fox or white fox, is one of Norway’s most endangered mammals, and features on the Red List.
The Norwegian Red List
Posted by admin in Nature and the great outdoors on July 28, 2010
The variety and beauty of the Norwegian fauna and flora is what draws many travellers to this country, but did you know many endemic species were threatened? The Red List is a record of all the threatened species in Norway. Published in 2006, the list was compiled by 23 teams of experts who assessed 18,500 species in mainland Norway and on Svalbard, as well as in Norwegian seas. Close to 2,000 species currently feature on the list as critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable, and include 78 species of birds, 44 fish, 31 mammals, and 5 species of reptiles and amphibians. Top of the list are actually beetles (802 species) and fungi (744 species), followed by butterflies and moths (430 species).
The Red List helps to draw attention to threatened species not only at a national level, but also among regional and local authorities. Its aim is to make sure species do not disappear from the country and to maintain viable and healthy plant and animal communities. The highest concentration of threatened species can be found in forest and woodland, closely followed by agricultural landscapes (kulturlandskap), where increased agricultural activity and forestry destroy habitats, as do the building of roads and houses. Pollution and climate change, unsurprisingly, also form important pressures on biological diversity.
Pretty in white…
Posted by admin in Nature and the great outdoors, Photos and videos on June 29, 2010
Bog cotton (Eriophorum angustifolium)
Posted by admin in Nature and the great outdoors on June 29, 2010
Bog cotton or cotton grass (myrull in Norwegian) is a common sight this time of year in Østfold, particularly in wet, peaty ground (acid soil), and in pools of shallow, still water, often along the coast. Bog cotton actually comes in two forms, single headed and many-headed, but the two plants are very similar, with white fluffy cotton seed heads and grassy leaves. They usually appear around June each year. The white cotton flowers, which are attached to the seed, are easily dispersed by the wind, thus ensuring the spread of the species. Bog cotton grows to about 60-70cm – the long narrow leaves which surround each stem turn from green to red-brown in autumn. In the old days bog cotton had many uses. It was used for stuffing pillows, to make candle wicks, and also as commercial cotton to make thread and cloth, but it is more brittle than cotton and do not bear twisting so well.
BBQ time is upon us
Posted by admin in Uncategorized on June 26, 2010
The weather forecast for today is 21°C and sunny here in Fredrikstad. Guess what I’m thinking? Too right – BBQ time! Apparently I’m not the only one. I read in an article recently that people in Østfold are among Norway’s most enthusiastic BBQ aficionados, only beaten by their counterparts in Vestfold and Aust-Agder on the other side of the Oslofjord. As many as 25% of local residents in Østfold barbecue once or twice a week in summer, and a further 8% as often as 3 to 5 times a week! (In Vestfold, by the way, 36% have a BBQ at least once weekly, and in Aust-Agder it’s 39%. Probably not such a good idea to hang your clothes to dry outside if you’re visiting Sørlandet in summer then!)
No garden? Not a problem. Pack an engang grill (a little disposable BBQ that you can purchase in most shops for around 20Kr) and off you go. But please take care when lighting it up, and ensure you are well away from trees and grass – it can get really dry in Østfold in summer, and forest fires start faster than you think! By the way, a reminder that there is a fire ban throughout Norway between 15 April and 15 September, so don’t even think of lighting up an open fire anywhere during that time.
A common summer visitor
Posted by admin in Nature and the great outdoors, Photos and videos on June 16, 2010
Did you know? A few facts about dragonflies
Posted by admin in Nature and the great outdoors on June 16, 2010
Dragonflies (øyenstikker in Norwegian) are insects that live by lakes, ponds, streams, dams and wetlands (their larvae, known as ‘nymphs’, are aquatic). Adult dragonflies are often brightly coloured and have a long slim abdomen. They also have two pairs of long, slender transparent wings covered in net-like veins. The wings do not fold and are held outstretched when at rest.
There are 5,000 different species worldwide, and 45 different kinds of dragonflies in Norway – 39 of which you can find in the Halden municipality. Many of them are quite rare, and three are protected in Norway, because their habitat is threatened: these are the Dark Whiteface (Leucorrhinia albifrons), the Bulbous White-faced Darter (Leucorrhinia caudalis) and the Yellow-Spotted Whiteface (Leucorrhinia pectoralis).
In most cultures dragonflies have been objects of superstition, and European folklore is no exception. Different names referring to dragonflies as the devil occur in several languages, although it is worth noting they have also been connected with love and young women (the original fairies). An old Swedish name for dragonfly is blindsticka (‘blind stinger’) – it came from the belief that a dragonfly could pick out your eyes. In Norway, on the other hand, it was thought that the dragonfly could sew together your eyelids – hence the word øyenstikker.