Wednesday, July 4

 

 

We woke up at 10:00 to find a sunny summer day waiting for us outside. We had breakfast and showers and planned what to do before we leave for Sundö.

I began by pruning the tree by the shed and then carrying the bags of leaves and weeds to the car to take to the big rubbish tips in Pellinge. I then sawed two stumps down to ground level at the side of the house and began to move the stone from the back of the house.

The stones have lay behind the bushes for years and have slowly begun sinking into the ground. I sawed up some wood and made a pallette, and then dug them up and moved them onto that. While I did this Irma intercepted a bin lorry at the front and persuaded the crew to load our sacks into their truck, saving us a lot of work in Pellinge.

Irma has decided that we should eat strawberries, and that we should not feel that we have to ration them. To this end she has bought two 5kg boxes in the last week and so, for lunch, we sit and eat our way through the rest of the second box.

Finally we get ready to go. While Irma checks the house, and I wait to leave, I photograph bees on wet leaves . I watch them moving from flower to flower and shoot the digital equivalent of a roll of film trying to catch one in an interesting position. By the end of the process I will feel happy to photograph one that I can actually see. Eventually I get one.

We will leave at about 16:10 and drive to Borgå to check something. We will then drive to Sundö, unload the car, and let Sunshine out.

The midweek market has started today and so we will drive there to buy fisk biffar and vegetables. We will meet Mari Kellgren, Maurits, Marina, Åke Andersson, Pirjo, Jammu, Ritva, and more.

We will stop for a drink at Benita’s and, to my delight, she will have egg bread.