Notes from Norway

[Robert]

Trond,

At one time I grew Betula nana as a containerized shrub. It needed much attention to survive the long hot summers, i.e. some afternoon shade, plenty of water at all times. The tiny leaves, twiggy growth, and some trimming made it look like a bonsai or niwaki.

Thank you for all the other information. Given the photographs you have posted I can see how much of the land is unforested.

[Hoy]

My father in law tried to grow Betula nana in his garden but they never behaved like in the mountains. Especially the fall colours were inferior.

[Hoy]

I have several rowan trees in the garden. They are wild and grew here before I started gardening. Here is one of them in fruit.





The berries are very good to make jelly of!

[Maggi Young]

The Rowans  seem to be well berried this year here - always such a pretty tree. Rowan jelly is a tasty treat - very good with meats.

As an aside, our  dear Web Master, Fred, has very recently become a grandfather for the first time  - his beautiful grand-daughter, born to Fred's son Gordon and his wife Claire, is called Rowan  !
 Congratulations to all the family  on this new addition!

[Hoy]

Congrat to Fred and his family

Seems Rowan can be used both as a girl's and a boy's name? I am thinking of a man sometimes called Mr. Bean

Rowan is rogn in Norwegian if you have wondered



PS. All kinds of wild berries are plentiful but late this year. Unfortunately we have not have the chance to pick cloudberries this season.

[Maggi Young]

Yes, Trond, it can be used for girls and boys. Mostly used for girls in Scotland.

[Hoy]

We have some such names here also but I think they are rarely used for both sexes nowadays. One such name is Tore. Today Tore is mostly used for males and Tora for females.

[Hoy]

Last Sunday we made another walk in Karmøy. This time we visited the Visnes area.

Some of you should recognize this statue? 






Karmøy once had a copper mine (1865 - 1972). Now it is a museum. The area around is a kind of park. It is said that the copper from "Vigsnes Kobberverk" is used in the Statue of Liberty. The reason is that the mine was owned by the French during  the building of the statue.

Some of the mine buildings. The mine shaft is 730m deep (below the sea). A telephone network was installed in the town here in 1880 and electric light in 1885.






The harbour:

[Hoy]

The smelt hut (where the furnace was) is a short way from the town and lacks roof. (Is it called a smelt hut in English?)






The wall-rue (Adiantum ruta-muraria) has established itself in the walls!

[Hoy]

I was especially looking for ferns. The flora consist mostly of heather on the barren hills. Where it is enough soil sitka spruce is planted

Another nice find was black spleenwort (Asplenium adiantum-nigrum).






Also northern spleenwort (Asplenium septentrionale) was common. In the first picture together with a yellow form of the common heath.






I also found a few maidenhair spleenwort while looking for A. adulterinum (which I didn't find)




I found several other ferns like Polystichum aculeatum too , but didn't take pictures

[Maggi Young]

Wall-rue is one of our favourite little ferns.

We would  call the smelt-huts smelting houses - and I believe in Cornwall they also call their smelting houses "blowing houses" too.

[Hoy]

Thanks Maggi! I'll try to remember smelting house till next time In N. it is smeltehytte.

Wall-rue is one of my favorites too and I have a couple in my garden.

[Hoy]

Our daughters are home this weekend and they had planned an excursion to a new site: a walk up to Folgefonna. Folgefonna is the 3rd biggest glacier in Norway (>200sq. km and one of the most southerly). We (or the girls) had chosen a long walk and as it turned out we didn't quite reach the ice.

Our path started almost at the shore of Sandvinsvatnet in Odda and climbed rather steep for 450m up to a small tarn by Fossasete. Although it is steep the path is good and stairs have been made at several places as this is a much used route into the terrain (and up to the cabins/setrer from old).




It was difficult to take pictures of the river we followed but on the other side of the Odda valley was a similar river. It is a lot of rivers here and they all make scenic waterfalls of about 500m.




"Our" river through the forest:





The forest here consists of birch, pine, alder, rowan, aspen, ash and planted spruce.

[Hoy]

The locals use this cableway to bring their gear up or down the steep part of the track.




A small building along the track:




Pine forest at 500m:




Higher up it was mostly birch forest:

[Hoy]

We followed a valley gradually higher up. The valleys here are "hanging" valleys high above the main valley. They are carved by the glacier, that once covered all Norway. The hanging valleys climb step by step steadily higher up but often ends blind in a botn. The valley floor usually has several small lakes and tarns. The valley we followed do not drain the Folgefonna but other small fenner (patches of snow).

An outhouse!




A small tarn.




The birch forest floor is covered by ferns (Blechnum spicant and Athyrium distentifolium) and bilberry bushes (Vaccinium myrtillus).