'Blue'

This week's prompt was blue and although I could have posted my blue plum jam, I decided against it. Even if it tastes lovely! Instead I decided on this photo taken in our accommodation before my last hike (the fumes one). It's the door to the dining/breakfast room and it's... well... blue! So, I think that passes muster!

This is my 64th entry for Photo Theme for Thursday. Why not join? 

'Animal'

I think I may have mentioned the occasional animal walking in front of my car or bus. I've had sheep in front of the bus, cows in front of my car, deer crossing the road and of course plenty of birds. A few weeks ago however...

As I was driving towards the start of my line, I all of a sudden saw a horse! in the middle of the road. I slowed down immediately (from about 30km/hour), because I know how horses can be spooked by a speck of dust and having my bus ruined on a near-deserted road was not my idea of having a nice day at work. Fortunately the horse was a clever horse and although it wasn't as fast as sheep, it wasn't as stupid as cows either. It trotted off to the nearest field and when I came back only three minutes later, it was still there. Good horsey!

This is my 63rd entry for Photo Theme for Thursday. Why not join?

'Blue'

No, this isn't a photo of Norway. This is a photo I took (or my sister, I am not quite sure) when I was in the Netherlands in May. It's quite easy to spot the difference: Norway has mountains and hills. The Netherlands do not! At least not to the extent that Norway has. 

But the prompt this week asked for blue, so I had to look for one with blue in it. I think I found one! The photo was taken while we were driving along the River IJssel to get to a mill where they sold rye which my sister wanted for some reason. 

This is my 62nd entry for Photo Theme for Thursday. Why not join?

'Rain'

Over the past week and a half we have had some strange weather here in Norway. At least the West coast where I reside. Like the past weekend. Friday had been awfully hot and the expectations had been that early Saturday morning (basically the middle of the night) there would be thunderstorms and a lot of rain. A great deal of rain! But I slept soundly and when I woke up to go to work, the roads were dry and the sky wasn't clear, but it wasn't threatening either.

Only an hour or so later it changed. The professed rain was arriving! And my did it arrive! Within minutes of the rain starting, rivers came down the road. Swirling water where it would go down into the sewage system, deep puddles and even bigger splash-ups while driving through said puddles. 

It seemed to come down in waves though. It would ease off for a few minutes and then a new load would be coming down. The photo was take from the bus during a lull. It was still raining, but not as heavily. This brave man is holding an umbrella, but I know from experience that that was quite futile, since there was quite a bit of wind as well!

This is my 61st entry for Photo Theme for Thursday. Why not join?

'Modern'

A few years ago I was driving for the Airforce Days in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands. Since we had to cross several canals there were also several bridges and this one bridge had to come up to let some boat or other through. It was very wonky and crooked and modern looking and where I normally don't take photos of bridges, I did take one of this one. 

This is my 60th entry for Photo Theme for Thursday. Why not join?

'Hard'

I had another post all planned and then I walked up a mountain (Preikestolen) last Saturday. Which was hard on more than one level. First of all it was hard (as in difficult) climbing the thing. Secondly it was hard (as in hard like stone) because the path was mainly made of boulders and rocks and stuff. And I noticed both!

It took me and my friends nearly twice as long to reach the top than most fit people. And I fell over twice. Once backwards where I got stuck in a little pool of water with hard rocks surrounding me. On the way down I fell forwards where I probably was very lucky not to fall any further than I did: it was a nice drop! It hurt enough though. Although at the time it was mostly my ego that was bruised, once I was home, I noticed several other bruises.

It was however very worth it, the view was absolutely fantastic. A sheer drop of around 600 meters into very turquoisy water. Amazing. Never to be repeated however! Too hard....

This is my 59th entry for Photo Theme for Thursday. Why not join?

'Abundance'

This one had me stumped for quite a while. It bugged me before going to sleep and while I was at work, but I do think I finally found a photo that shows abundance. To some degree anyway!

The photo was taken in Skudenes a few weeks ago and shows a so-called antiques shop's wares. Basically a lot of old junk that was sold, but since I love looking at old junk, it was fantastic for me!

This is my 58th entry for Photo Theme on Thursday. Why not join?

'Machines'

After a little lull I thought to get back to Photo Theme for Thursday. This week's theme is machines and I had to look in my archive a bit. However, the last set of photos I took last week when my parents were here, showed that I didn't have to look very far. I give you: a barometer!

Barometers were used to help predict the weather. It uses the air pressure and can then help you determine whether the weather will be nice or rainy or what. This one was hanging on an outside wall in Skudenes. And if ustadigt means unsteady weather I don't think this barometer is a good one. Since the weather was lovely the whole weekend!

Anyway, this is my 57th entry for Photo Theme for Thursday. Why not join?

'Wheels'

On May 17th there were a lot of different groups going past us in one of the three parades. The second parade especially was filled with clubs and teams and stuff and one of the clubs was a motor club. The rider in the photo was just coming down on two wheels again, after having done some little stunt or other. 

This is my 56th entry for Photo Theme for Thursday. Why not join?

'Weather'

Last Friday was the national holiday here in Norway. The day they celebrate the first constitution written for Norway back in the early 19th century. And where other countries celebrate in jeans and t-shirts, over here they do it in their finest. And a bit of rain? That won't stop them one bit!

The photos show the high street of Haugesund. Normally filled with shoppers. And on May 17th it was heaving! I had never so many people there before. The rain didn't stop them, umbrellas and rain gear galore. But then the heavens opened for real and most tried to get undercover. And for a moment the street looked like it normally does on a good dry day. As soon as the rain slacked off again, folk came back though and it was a massive throng of people again. 

This is my 55th entry for Photo Theme for Thursday. Why not join?

'Tree'

Olive trees in the Provence
Photo take a few years ago

Anybody who lives close to the sea knows one thing about trees: they grow lopsided. It's not that they want to grow that way, but they are forced to grow that way. By the wind of course, not by some nasty person holding a gun at their crown threatening to cut them down to firewood if they don't do as they are told. 

But those lopsided trees can be quite dangerous. If they lop too far, they might topple over, so occasionally those trees are cut down. The wood is then sent to flat pack furniture makers who turn them into nice tables and chairs and wardrobes. So far, so good. 

You go to the nice flat pack furniture sales room and find something you like. You buy it, take it home, curse all the way because there is another screw missing and finally have it set up. It may wobble a bit, but whatever. And then you wake up the next morning and you find that the table has moved. The chair has fallen over and the wardrobe stands sideways. What's going on?

Well, because it's made of wood that was so heavily influenced by the wind, the wood is infected you could say. And even though it's now a chair or a table or a whatever, it's still influenced by the wind. So, even the slightest breeze will make it move. And if there is a hurricane force wind you are sure to have a house that looks like it's been ransacked. 

The solution? Nail everything to the wall and/or floor. Problem solved!!

This is my 54th entry for Photo Theme for Thursday. Why not join?

'Wet'

Turns out that despite all the wet that fell from the sky in the past few weeks, I haven't got that many photos that look wet. Although any photo of any body of water is naturally of wetness of course. So I dug and I found and I posted!

It's a photo I took during the first rowing training we had and you can see the wetness nearly jumping off the screen. First of all the wetness coming from the water itself: the Karmsund (Sound of Karm) and then of course from the low-hanging clouds that only promise more rain and wetness. I can tell you from experience that it delivered and I was soaked at the end of our training.

This is my 53rd entry for Photo Theme on Thursday. Why not join?

'Nature'

Living in an area that has so much nature, it was hard to choose. In the end I went with something close by. For now anyway, since I will be moving next week. This rock can be found quite close to where I still live now though and I pass it every day. 

I actually really like this rock. It is riddled with naturally formed holes, it has moss growing on it and it seems to be very vertical where most rocks in this area at least seem to be somewhat horizontal or diagonal. And if this sounds like gobbledigook, sorry. 

This is my 52nd entry for Photo Theme for Thursday. Why not join?

'Transportation'

Well, being a busdriver I couldn't not post a photo of a bus, so here it is: it's a Setra from 1964. I actually saw it on the motorway in Germany heading in the opposite way. It was agonising! And the next day I saw it again, this time in a parking lot! I actually got to sit in it as well and had my photo taken. Unfortunately that photo is lost, but I still had this one! Taken in 2006.

Of course I did a lot of traveling and therefore saw a lot of different modes of transport. Like this one: a Search and Rescue helicopter from Germany I saw in 2009 in the Netherlands. Not on the job though: only a show and tell so to speak.

Not only did I see helicopters, I saw planes as well: this one spotted at the annual (or semi-annual) Airforce days in the Netherlands, later that same year (2009). Not quite sure what this plane is or where it's from though. 

And then there are the water transportation modes of course. Like ferries. This one being the ferry from Killimer to Tarbert in the West of Ireland. It crossed the widest bit of the river Shannon, right before it ended in the Atlantic Ocean. Photo taken in 2009 as well.

I spotted narrowboats in Manchester. Beautifully maintained and as the name suggests: narrow! Used in the past as working boats to haul coal, nowadays used as homes or moving holiday homes. Photo taken in 2008.

I went canooing in the Netherlands once. Beautiful weather and good company. Great fun. Photo taken in 2006. And no, I am not in the photo!!

Later in the same year I tried to learn how to sail. In a small boat. But I don't see the point of having the steering at the back: it should be at the front! Besides, I got sick. In one of those small boats. On a lake. Without wind! Needless to say: first and last time!!

But wait a minute: I've only shown you one land based transportation so far! Here are some more: a battered Fiat 500 I spotted in the Vatican in 2009 (busy year that). So vibrant and Italian. 

And a bike? I can't not include a bike can I? So, here is me on a bike. Taken in 2001 and it even includes me! And if you look closely you can see the trailer behind the bike. Making the trip very tiring I can tell you!

Or you could get transported by a horse and carriage, posh style! Photo was taken on Prince's Day in 2001. The day when royalty get out of their cars and in to their royal carriages, the fanciest being reserved for the Queen and no, this is not that one!

There is of course also the not so posh horse and carriage. In which I sat in Ireland in 2007. Bobbing up and down and getting all my internal organs put back in some sort of order. All the while smelling horse! It was fun though. 

This is my 51st entry for Photo Theme for Thursday. Why not join?

'Reflection'

As soon as I read the prompt I knew exactly which photo I wanted to show. Or at least the subject of the photo. Because as it turned out, I did have the subject several times, but the best of the lot came without reflection! Grumble. 

Anyway, three years ago my parentals invited their three children, one in-law and three grandchildren to spend a week with them near Paris. We were able to go to Disney and to Paris itself. Which we of course did. I loved the Louvre, although only from the outside, neither me nor my sister wanted to go in and see all this old art (some other day). Two men were in the middle of cleaning off the pyramid of glass that has become so iconic of the Louvre. So when we took our photos it was shining and really pretty. 

The top photo shows the reflection in the glass of the actual museum building. The second photo is just showing off!

This is my 50th entry for Photo Theme on Thursday. Why not join?

'Pink'

It took some looking, but I did find something pink: suckling piglets. About two years ago I found myself (once again) in England with that school. And once again we went to Wimpole Hall. Now, I had seen Wimpole Hall on the inside several times by then, but I had yet to visit the farm. So, I trudged my way over and saw all sorts of animals. There were turkeys and geese, horses and cows, sheep and of course pigs. 

Since it was spring time there were lots of pigs and piglets. In assorted ages. However the bigger ones lost most of their pink colour. Besides, the smallest suckling piglets were the cutest anyway. It's a good thing though the internet is not smell-o-net, because the stench of all those pigs was something awful!

This is my 49th entry for Photo Theme for Thursday. Why not join?

'Spring'

You may remember the photo I posted last year in this same meme concerning spring. I actually was spending time on top of Lifjell in the Telemark region where it snowed most days. If you have forgotten: here's what it looked like. This year I am spending my spring in Norway again. However, this time I had something completely different to photograph. 

I had seen these magpies a few days ago. Flying back and forth to their 'building site'. And last Sunday they were still busy with it. So, I snapped some photos. You can see one of the magpies quite clearly, the other one is a bit harder to find, but it is there. Right underneath the other one actually, you can see the top of its head. 

This is my 48th entry to Photo Theme for Thursday. Why not join?

'Rich'

Years ago I was doing a tour in Germany. We stayed in a hotel on the former border between East and West Germany and visited several towns and smaller cities in both East and West Germany. We also visited a church. A large Roman Catholic church: the Vierzehnheiligen Basilikum (the basilica of the fourteen holy helpers).

The first thing you noticed when coming in was the opulence, the wealth and the shimmer of the place. There is a saying in Dutch: everything is not gold that shimmers. In that church? It was! At least it seemed to be. And it made me uncomfortable. Because even though the area surrounding that church weren't rocky and barren fields, I can't imagine the majority of the people living in the vicinity of that church were well to do in any way. Which meant the church was disproportionately rich. 

It was a beautiful church though and the immediate surroundings were really pretty too. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of the outside of the church, but the inside is the more stunning of the two I feel.

This is my 47th entry to Photo Team for Thursday. Why not join?

'Green'

The prompt for this week was green and I knew exactly what I wanted to show: the green buses we drive over here in Haugesund. As you can see in the photo the buses are run by Kolumbus. However, I work for Tide (pronounced Tead(uh) by the way). So, what's going on?

Well, it's quite easy really. Haugesund is in the province of Rogaland. Rogaland's public transport is organised by Kolumbus. And they ask bus companies to put in a quote and see which ones are the cheapest. The cheapest and/or best wins and gets to drive the buses. Now, Rogaland is split up in four districts and each district has its own bus company driving for Kolumbus. The district I live in was given or awarded to Tide. Easy!

The bus you see in the photo is actually the bus I drove last night. Route 5 and there was a little time before I had to drive again. I took advantage of that and took this photo. 

This is my 46th entry for Photo Theme for Thursday. Why not join?

'Mother'

Imagine what it would be like to be a mother of twelve. And not getting them one after the other, but all at once! Keep up, follow me, don't get lost! We need to get to the water, so you lot can learn to swim!

They needed a bit of help though. Mummy Duck kept running into the fence because there were too many people about. In the end she managed it though, mainly because my colleague helped her out with a firm hand. Clearing the way for her and her brood!

This is my 45th entry for Photo Theme for Thursday. Why not join?