The End and the Beginning |Blissful Solitary Wanderings

Saturday, October 3, 2015

The End and the Beginning

We officially wrapped the summer up by scouring some forests for chanterelles. We went to the same forest where we usually picked the previous years, but we had to check the nearby hill first where hubby used to pick years before we crossed paths. Just for the record, the hill is called Loberget.

While hiking up, I was attracted by the large blueberries along the narrow path and was tempted to pick. But I couldn't stop because we were focused on reaching the top. Once there, we were disappointed not to find a single mushroom. Strange, hubby muttered, for what he had known to be a rich chanterelle field.

the red berries are dwarf cornel or bunchberry (Cornus suecica)

tiny moss magnified

I wanted to climb the tower to get a bird's eye-view of the lower plane but it was chained at the bottom of the ladder with a warning that some of the wooden planks were brittle. We sat down for a moment on a fallen tree trunk while plucking blueberries from the bushes that surrounded the trunk. Our search for chanterelle being futile, we ended up picking blueberries along the way on our descent. At least we didn't leave the hill with empty baskets.

Back to the lower forest, we found a few of the mushroom we were looking for. Just enough for our dinner side dish that evening.

And then summer ended.

*****

On Sept. 13, we welcomed the fall by hiking to another mountain which was a few minutes ride from our city, Tavelsjöberget. Tavelsjö is a village we always pass by every time we take a short ride to the countryside. Though it's one of my favorite villages, I've never been to that mountain which hubby spoke highly about. I only admired the mountain as we traveled by.

That Sunday afternoon after our morning ministry, we drove to the village and parked at the foot of the mountain together with some other hikers. There were several trails to choose from and we opted for one that we felt was suited for us.

dropping by the village's special flea market day

We kept climbing the steep, through rocky and rooty steps, among the trees and giant rocks and on to the rocky slopes at higher altitude. Along the way, I kept noticing blueberries again, plucked the big ones and stuffed them in my mouth. These are the largest European blueberries that I've ever seen and picked.

Once on top of the mountain, we chose one picnic table that offered us an amazing view of the valley, and took in our sandwiches and coffee. Other hikers were already having their snacks, some made fire for grilling.

We sat there, looking admiringly at the lake below, the typical Swedish red houses and barns blending in the verdant surrounding which started to change colors. Just refreshing!

Time to climb back down. I trailed behind hubby, still awed by the rocks and vegetation along the way. I picked a handful of blueberries just for the joy of it. Then we reached the wooden stairways that concluded the downhill hike.