The gift December brings me is the gold from the scarce water which still freely flows in the rivers, colored by the winter sun reflected by snow-covered trees; or the amber tone of tannins dissolved in it, made evident by a white, spotless ice which is forming as I see it, in the very moment a new wave touches an icy rock. It is the silver forest encrusted with thick rime, when it’s already freezing but little snow has come. It is the red of the pines lit by the last sunset moment, standing out against the bluish shadow as corals or sea fans in an underwater picture. Entirely natural colors, migrated like you see them from the original scene to the memory card, and from there to the screen ... which makes the gifts even more precious.  It is now ten days since I've been back in Särna, and I found myself in the middle of a record breaking autumn: the Swedish Meteorological Institute stated that these are the highest average temperatures since weather statistics started to be recorded at the beginning of the last century.
No ice, in the South mushrooms are still picked, and I've seen lupins blooming while I was driving northward, coming back home. All through the country there isn't yet a single snowflake, which is weird in the middle of November. However, in the last couple of days in Särna – also called “the cold hole”, being one of the chillest place in Sweden, at least during the winter – we finally had temperatures way below zero. A new season is really starting, the one with the long shadows, the winter wonderland sceneries and the white blanket. To be honest, I hope that the last one will be delayed for some more time (shovelling is no fun, believe me). |
All site contents are: © Vitantonio Dell'Orto, all rights reserved worldwide. The Chronicles of Särna, and other stories from the North.
I live in Sweden, in Särna (Dalarna). The Chronicles are a photo diary about the nature (but not just) here around and from all the Scandinavian areas where my photo job takes me.
It is possible to purchase the pictures in these pages, as for all those in Exuvia, as signed prints. Here the info.
In Särna, close to national parks and nature reserves, our vandrarhem (family hostel) offers a simple but nice accommodation in private room for 21 euros a night (and even less if you are a group)
My book: "My Sweden - Tales from an Italian photographer in the North" is available in the bookstores and by the publisher.
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