mandag 30. september 2013

søndag 22. september 2013




Hazelnuts

Of course; these delicious tasting nuts are deeply loved by squirrels too, so if you want to beat them to the ones on the lower, reachable branches you better be there early and pick them when they look like this! Then let them ripen somewhere dry until they become brown and fall out of their cups by themselves :)

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Fun fact: In the old days the hazelnut bushes were considered sacred by people in many European countries. In Norse Mythology hazel is the tree of Tor (Thor) - the thunder god. And it was believed that when eating hazelnuts it would give you wisdom and poetry. 


mandag 16. september 2013

Field Finds III

Field and Beach Flint


Flint is a mineral found in Europe and North America. Because of its hardness it has been used in the making of weapons and tools ever since the Stone Age. On the Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness, where 10 is the highest level (diamonds reaches level 10), flint reaches as high as level 7. The color varies between different shades of black, brown, grey and white and when correctly knapped it can get real rasor sharp edges. Unlike its neigbour countries in the south Norway has no natural sources of this mineral. This means that the flint that is found here was either brought here by man, or in some cases, like on the south east coast of Norway, it might have drifted over here across the sea stuck to the withdrawing ice from the past ice age. Some flint also crossed the sea as ballast on trading ships. Ships that had unloaded their cargo abroad and were about to sail 'empty' back home needed what we call ballast on their return journeys to make the ships sail deeper and steadier in the water. The ballast consisted of whatever was available from the harbor they were leaving - usually stone - and it was dumped again in the next harbor they arrived to pick up new cargo. This way many different kinds of minerals traveled long distances and could end up even in other continents. These days ships use water instead of stone as ballast. 

Whether in fields or on beaches I have always loved finding flint! Apart from a few flint stones that were once used on flintlocks from the 17th to the 19th centuries (see middle row far right), I have yet to find some really old artifacts of flint though. One day, however. One day... :)

tirsdag 10. september 2013

                                          
       "So Rambo, where is this great baaa(r) then?"

lørdag 7. september 2013

                                   /
"Hey baby, you rock my world!"   

Beach Pottery




Various types of beach tiles