April is made of such wonderful things
Sunbeams and tulips and butterfly wings.

These are among the most common images of a northern hemisphere April and this week has been a combination of sunshine, new life and rain. Today, the mists rolled in from the sea, temperatures plummeted and it was grey and drizzly. Still, there is no mistaking the increasing light and the birdlife streaming in from the south.

On Tuesday, I discovered this in the back garden:



It is a nässelfjäril or small tortoise-shell butterfly. I thought it might be a small monarch butterly that I used to see in my Adelaide garden, but these are a different species. I think they are so cute, with their beautiful patterning and looking like they are wearing little fur coats.

I also heard the unmistakable yodelling song of the trädlärka or woodlark.



They are not the prettiest of the spring birds, but they have a beautiful voice that is far more melodic than the incessant twittering of the sparrows and tits busy making nests in the bush outside our bedroom window. We also have skata or magpies busy building nests. I particularly like these handsome birds that are nothing like the magpies we get in Australia. The skata looks like this ( a bit like a giant willy-wagtail), while the magpies that used to swoop down on me around Victoria Park looked like this. I love the warble of the Australian magpie early in the morning, but I don't miss their spring dive-bombing raids!

The other unwelcome returning visitors are the canadian geese. They are becoming pests here (as do a lot of introduced species) so I wasn't overjoyed to see them back.



There were six of the messy little buggers at the park, though they wouldn't stand close enough for a group shot so you have to be content with these four. And take note of the colour of the grass. Yes, these are the spring colours in Sweden. I still can't get used to dead looking, yellowing grass and leafless trees as spring. Where I am from, early spring is bright green and lush after mild weather and plentiful rains. The yellowed grass is more a late summer look. However after many months of little daylight and being covered by snow, the grass emerges and tries to regenerate.

The other site you don't see too often in Australia is this:



Here it is very common to see dad or several dads out with their baby prams catching some fresh air. You even see dads pusing the prams while the mums walk on 10 paces ahead of them chatting. When I told Lars-Göran that it was the reverse in Australia, he thought that was odd. His reasoning was that Sweden is very hilly, uneven and snowy in winter and it is easier for a man to take charge of the pram as he is often physically stronger. Now why didn't WE think of that?

And before I forget, my Mock arrived from Melbourne! My mobile phone now has its own sock to keep it warm and I'll get my boat mascots to pose with my dressed phone.



Captain Moose is holding the phone while the kangaroos, koalas and sheep look on. The mocks come in a range of patterns, but I couldn't go past the Aussie flag. Thankyou, Sandy for sending it. I now have the best dressed phone in Sweden! And I've changed my ring signal to Waltzing Matilda to celebrate. It was nice to get the mock as I have just changed mobile company and had spent a ridiculously long time transferring all of my numbers to the new SIM card. Who are all these people? At least I remembered to do it BEFORE I had destroyed my old card, unlike someone else I live with who shall remain anonymous. LOL!

I see the weather service is forecasting snow for Saturday again. I feel sorry for the people who have already planted out their spring shoots. And I feel sorry for the boys from the local Aussie rules footy team who are playing a visiting team from London that day. Still, the after party should warm everybody up nicely.