Aby-a-Day – 23 May 2020: All hail HAIL! (Swedish Saturday)

This afternoon we had a freak hailstorm.

Alfred was fascinated – he leapt to the top of the balcony door to watch it! I don’t think he’s ever seen hail before.

It built up quite quickly on the balcony windowsill and railings.

Lorelai also wanted to see the hail from the top of the door.

I scooped up some of the hail so Freddy could look at it close up.

“That…that’s what was falling from the sky? Little ice balls?”

I am not sure why he was so puzzled by the hail. He’s seen snow plenty of time.

Rory hopped down from the door to look at the hailstones.

“Check this stuff out…it’s awesome!”

Freddy still seemed amazed at the fact the hail came from the sky.

Meanwhile, Rory examined the tiny ice balls.

“What is this magical ice, Mom?”

Aby-a-Day – 5 Mars 2020: It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s SuperFreddy! (Thursday Things)

As you saw yesterday, Alfred went a little bit crazy running around in the snow when we had it. He was the last one who wanted to come in from the cold.

He just wanted to run and run….

It was a little frustrating. I was only wearing a hoody so I would be as cold as the unclothed cats, and I was ready to go in, too.

He broke away from me at the door and made a beeline for the swing set that is always so popular in summer.

He was wicked hard to catch.

And he was super naughty! First, he peed in the snow. AGAIN.

Then he moved on and started digging. I thought he was just playing with the snow…

…And it looked like that was all it was, at first.

But no. And, yes, that is exactly what it looks like. He pooped in the snow, too! I feel a little bad about leaving it there in the play area, but I guess kids won’t be swinging anytime soon.

Soon after, he ran back towards our house. Guess that’s why he didn’t want to go back in. But I have never seen him go to the bathroom outside anytime except in snow. Weirdo.

While I was out there in the “backyard,” I saw some things that I wouldn’t have had Freddy not run back there. Like hare tracks.

And bird landing/take-off prints. This is probably a magpie.

I love bird footprints in snow.

I also love wingprints.

I think this is a jackdaw picking something up.

I am guessing this is another magpie.

Walking and then a take-off. Magpies make tailprints, so this is either a crow or a jackdaw.

Of course, there were also some cat footprints.

As snowy as it looks, it was also melting fast.

Crocuses are already blooming!

And, as you can see, a large area at the back of our building was all green grass. I think we’ll be lucky if we get any more snow this year.

Aby-a-Day – 15 Februari 2020: The weather, it’s a’changing (Swedish Saturday)

As I have mentioned previously, we’ve been having what can only be described as a crap winter. It’s only snowed four times all winter (if you can call it that), and the fourth time it didn’t even stick.

This. This right here is what’s wrong with winter in Sweden. I took these photos on 11 February. Those are DAISIES.

Daisies don’t usually pop up in February. There’s usually still snow on the ground in February. Daisies don’t usually pop up until late March, early April. And, yet, here they are.

So, it’s wet and muddy…but it’s also green and warm. So, cats got to go outside.

They weren’t as excited about being outside as usual…but it was muddy and wet.

You could see them being picky about where they put their feet.

Still, even though it was kind of sloshy outside, it was also 6-7° C (about 43-45°F) which, for February, is pretty damn warm, especially in Sweden. But, you know…climate change isn’t a real thing, right?

Regardless, I think they enjoyed getting outside so early in the year.

Aby-a-Day – 4 Juli: The rain in Spain stays mainly on the Fred (Thursday Things)

Our part of Sweden and New England have a lot in common, including summer weather. We can have many rainy days in a row in the middle of summer, both here and there. Of course, the cats don’t realise this; to them, outside is outside, regardless of weather.

Until they actually go outside and find out it’s raining. This was a couple of weeks ago. Lorelai had gone out to run, despite the rain. I went back to grab my camera in order to capture the silly girl running in the rain…but she had had enough of the water falling out of the sky and ran back in when I opened the door…but Alfred ran out as she was running in.

It didn’t take him long to understand why Rory actually wanted to come back inside.

Nope, nope, nope, nope…

…NOPE!

Aby-a-Day – 19 March: “Storm” (Saturday Photo Hunt)

This week’s Photo Hunt subject is “Storm.”

We’ve had some crazy weather lately. It’s been raining for two days (this was the sky yesterday), and it’s even supposed to snow tomorrow night!

But we all know the best place to be in during a storm, right?

That’s right! Your blanket fort!

Jacoby says he’ll be here till May…thank you and good night.

Aby-a-Day – 15 February: Cold Snap! (Hipstamatic Monday)

It’s been really cold in Boston this weekend. I mean, really cold.

This is how Angel coped with it. Smart girl, our Angel.

Aby-a-Day – April 2: The sun is a lie

We’ve had a few sunny days in amongst the rain and snow.

Despite the sun, it’s still wicked cold outside. It’s barely cracked 60° this “spring.”

The morning I took these photos, it was about 25°F.

In general, when you see a bright, sunny day in winter or early spring it usually means it’s cold outside. Clouds bring warmth.

Which is exactly the opposite of what Angel and I learned growing up in Northern California. There, clouds (especially fog) = cold.

It takes some getting used to. Fifteen years of living here and sometimes I still forget.

So, yeah, the sun is a lie.

At least, the sun outside is a lie.

The sun inside, however…

…that sun is lovely and warm and perfect for bathing and napping. Even if the glass is a bit cold to lie against…