Category Archives: News

I recently recorded an interview for The Master Pods. The sustainability podcast is hosted by Rachael Gradeen, Olivier Rostang, and Laura Meßner. Guests in their first season were fellow students in the Master’s Programme in Sustainable Development at Uppsala University / Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). The podcast is a valuable resource whether you areContinue reading “What IS sustainability?”

My, how time flies. Hmm, it was winter the last time I wrote. Since then, the days have grown much longer and already begin to grow shorter again. Trees have flowered (loads! —the worst pollen allergies I’ve experienced), family and friends have visited, and it’s soon time to take to the marked trails of NorwayContinue reading “It’s summer, get outside!”

The change from November to December was a big one this year because I swapped high summer for the first snow of the season. The bonus of visiting family in the southern hemisphere when you live in the northern one. The purpose of trading grey winter for sunny summer wasn’t just for the sun orContinue reading “Winter Wonderland”

Mountains and reindeer and sun, oh my Wow, it’s been a while. Here’s a long-overdue update. August is a fine time for a holiday because you have the paths to yourself. Tromsø is a pretty city and the mountains around it are an excellent playground. TJ ran in the Tromsø Skyrace and we hiked together.Continue reading “Above the Earth”

Approaching Rondvassbu hytte in Rondane National Park It’s been a very dry and sunny summer in Norway, which means a struggle for farmers but enjoyable outdoors adventures for the rest of us. The first weekend of summer mountain getaways began with torrential rain and ended with three days of practically perfect summer weather. This four-day tourContinue reading “A Different Pace”

At the train station in Kløfta, Norway I jumped into a new world this summer when I said yes to a retail job. Each day teaches me something, and I want to share an interaction from this past week. A customer asked me the price for an item, and I informed her: førtini (forty nine)Continue reading “Life is all about learning”

Time to break out the sunscreen It’s Eastertime in southern Norway and winter’s coldness is giving way to spring sunshine.  The nights are still below freezing but the bright daytime sun is working hard. The snow on the side of the road may be grey and crusty but in the forest it’s still white andContinue reading “Sunny everywhere”

Bambi: Hey mama, what’s all that white stuff?  Mama: It’s snow. Winter has come to the forest. When it really snows In our little town northeast of Oslo, we have 125-180 cm (50-70 inches) of snow (info courtesy of Skiforeningen). This is great news – I am a product of the northern hemisphere and believe that winterContinue reading “Let It Snow!”

I am a little late in the game, but I went for it anyway.  Someone you know needs a wall calendar – why not buy one of mine?  I still didn’t have one and that was enough reason to start creating.  With friends and family on both sides of the ocean, you can begin theContinue reading “New Year, New Creativity”

The world is a pretty big place, but I get pretty good opportunities to explore it.  I am blessed with a husband who likes to adventure, and we have friends and family who live in beautiful places.  The next stop on the adventure list is Lesotho, a small country in Southern Africa. We like toContinue reading “Next mountain kingdom”

Three-hundred and eighty-five kilometers over rivers and bogs and mountains, oh my. My intrepid husband and I hiked north through Norway from Ringebu toward Kristiansund for three weeks in July.  We slept in our trusty tent two weeks and overnighted in DNT cabins the other seven days, when we decided our bodies and gear couldContinue reading “Wilderness hiking”

… Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. -Robert Frost Getting outdoors in Norway is very easy.  There are walking and bicycling paths in the city. There so many marked hiking trails in the forest and mountains that youContinue reading “The Road Less Travelled”

It’s that time of year when the word Påskestemning starts getting tossed around a lot. Translation: Easter feeling/mood. What it truly represents: The coming of spring.  It is best known as skiing in your t-shirt because it’s warm and sunny and winter is ending. This is most often experienced in the mountains at Eastertime (Påske) and involves a stayContinue reading “Sun through the fog”

We’re one week away from spring and the skies shift from snow to sun nearly every day. This is the time of year when I desperately hope for a huge snowstorm because I know winter will soon melt into spring and chances for snowy camera walks will soon disappear. At the same time, I am readyContinue reading “Wishing for Winter and Chasing Spring”

It’s not very easy to photograph while cross-country skiing – I normally end up with very candid shots like below. I am not the most graceful of skiers on a good day and Norway is not a very flat country…  But on a good note, the days are slowly growing longer. The top photo (inContinue reading “Winter Sun and Skiing”

Ah, winter! Time to get out in the white wilderness and enjoy cold and snow. There’s just one problem: Not so much white stuff down here in the lowlands. But if you travel far enough in distance (or high enough in altitude) you can find enough snow to make it worth your while. And youContinue reading “Seeking Snow”

It’s been a while since the last long hike, but I have been out with my camera.  It’s completely normal for my husband and I to walk 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) when we ‘just need to get out of the house for some sunshine’.  Even grey days are worth wandering around with your pocket camera: Keep yourContinue reading “A walkabout”

A sunny ending to the most recent exciting mountain hiking adventure – autumnal sunset at Lysefjord in Rogaland, Norway. The sun doesn’t rise very high in the skies these days nor does it stay out very long, so we must enjoy it while we can.  We took the ferry from here to Stavanger for a weekend of rehabilitation intoContinue reading “Sunrise, Sunset: Swiftly Flow the Days”

Autumn is my favourite season: Leaves are changing colour, farmers are harvesting the fruits of their labour, and it’s a fine time to wander around this lovely planet.  There isn’t much competition for trail space or cabin bunks and the weather can be beautifully sunny.  How about some adventuring in the Norwegian mountains with your best friend?  Just checkContinue reading “Season of Change”

Summer in Norway is a beautiful thing, and summer on the coast is even better.  A recent trip to Son, just south of Oslo, provided warm weather and admirable scenery. It reminds me of coastal Maine in the USA, a place of happy memories. Son is an old harbour town with beautiful wood (sail)boats thatContinue reading “Coastal Norway in Summer”

Ah, how I have missed a good thunderstorm.  On my walk home today I was drenched by big, fat, lazy rain (and less-lazy hail, but such is life).  It’s a joy to open the windows and listen to the rumbling of a local thunderstorm and then wander through the woods at sunset.  The sun doesn’tContinue reading “Summertime, and the living’s easy”

Here’s the view out our window on this fine late April day.  A fine day, indeed.  I’ll take snow over rain, thank-you-very-much, and a cold spring often brings a warm summer, or so I hear.  Here’s hoping for loads of snow and then loads of summery sun. Living in a place with four proper seasonsContinue reading “And it’s still here”

How to properly start life in your new country: Take three weeks and hike north from Oslo through Norway for 430 kilometers (268 miles). Best if done with your best friend. It will be well worth it, and you will learn many things.  There is something so freeing about walking all day and collapsing onceContinue reading “Autumn in Norway”

Some good friends gave me an excellent excuse to escape real life for a few days.  Ireland is beautiful: Castles, rainbows, and the water of life – uisce beatha – and so many green hillsides.  This is a view from the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry along the coastal path.  Get there if you can.

Back from two fantastic weeks in Norway this June, hiking, camping, and taking the train between Oslo and Bergen: Here’s a photo from the heights above Flåm and Aurlandsfjord. Norway is a beautiful place, and it will certainly keep you in shape if you want to explore it by foot.

I’m looking forward to a two-week trip to Norway, and it might lead to something big: Photos to follow. Until then, enjoy the view from the Southwest Coastal Path near Weymouth.  It’s beautiful (on a sunny day) and this view of Ringstead Bay is worth the walk.  Be sure to visit White Nothe in theContinue reading “It’s time for adventure”

Bristol is bursting with spring colours.  That means a break from grey skies, so it’s time to get outside!  The daffodils are lovely over here near Redland Parish Church, a perfect place for reading and dreaming.

2015 promises many happy changes.  I count the new blog as one, but you’ll be the judge of that. It gives me a chance to share more of what I’m doing these days. I’m finally getting to photos late-2014 South Africa, so keep your eyes peeled for new images.  I leave you with this: