This document provides a monthly summary of events from January to December 2014 for an individual living in Dalarna, Sweden. Some of the key events included: - Taking down trees on their property in January and continuing to do so in subsequent months - Buying additional land in April and taking a forestry management course to learn how to manage their new land - Various trips around Sweden in July including to churches, castles, and fairs - Large forest fires in August that caused air quality issues for over a month - Election in September where nationalist parties gained support unexpectedly - Continuing various harvests through the fall months including cranberries and timber

1. 2014

2. January
Beginning of january was warm. The
snow did not arrive till late january.
In the meantime we enjoyed ourselves
with ”forestry” i e taking down some
trees that we thought was too close to
our house in Dalarna. According to old
unwritten knowledge winter is the
best time of year as the trees are dry
(no growth), meaning whatever you do
with the tree it will not twist or
misbehave in anyway, it’s stable. And
side effect is that in spring you don’t
see any sign of the mess you done on
the ground during the winter
This tree was the largest this winter, 52
cm (20 inches) wide at the base and
about 23 meters (75 feet) high. Stefan
is standing by the top…

3. February
In february we finally got our much
awaited chrystal glass egg.
This egg is handmade made by a friend
of ours (Markus Emilsson) that works
with glass as a artist. For a period of i
think 4 or 5 years he worked at
Orrefors, at their ”studio”. This egg he
did whiel there. Now he works at the
Konstfack, Swedens largest university
college of arts, crafts and design since
1844.
Heres a clip from when we visit him in
Orrefors:
http://youtu.be/394e_VlO0cQ

4. March
Not worth remembering i think. April
is better.

5. April
In april we continued taking trees
down. This time a birch.
Yes, we think we can do it, we have
self esteem and courage.
But reality and the Gods are against
us. On the other hand, our 1989 Volvo
survided. That is good.
Bonus: clip of the first day farmers let
their lambs run out in the free air,
filmed by me
http://youtu.be/PoJejrBoQFo

6. April
As we don’t think we have enough
trees around to handle, we decided to
buy some more land. The deal was
closed in april . Our house is in the
square in the lower right.
We now own aroudn 16 hektar i e 40
acres. We thought this would be nice
to have, in general.
The Swedish Board of Agriculture
thinks otherwise. They say we are
parttime woodfarmers. Not what we
expected. So we are now in a area that
is totally new to us. What does all this
mean? How do you sell trees? What
does hunting lease mean?
In order to find out more I decided to
take a one year course at Linnaeus
University in the south of Sweden,
Sustainable small scale forestry, aimed
at private persons, not companies.
Only course in forestry available in
Sweden, apart from educations for
foresters.

7. May
In the beginning of May we took a trip
to Värmland, Karlstad and Arvika/Älgå.
In Arvika we noticed that KK-salongen
is still open. KK means Kerstin Karlsson
and she was the grandmother of
Jessica and also daugher of Ellen,
which is my grandmother. As we asked
people there they said that they cant
change the name as it has become a
brand, that you can not destroy.
On our way to Älgå we found this
road/street. It’s a tribute to USA (of
course) but also to the cars of the 50’s
that people in the countryside
(mainly) collect and treasure. Judge it
as you wish …
The days aroudn the 25th of May
farmers of southern Dalarna let their
cows out for the season. They dont
return inside till october/november.
http://youtu.be/lJFNl5ST4PI

8. June
Hmm, no idea…

9. July
Vacation!
So we went to Karlstad, Arvika,
Ekshärad, Lidköping, Läckö castle.
First picture is from Ekshärad
churchyard with their typical hand-
forged ironcrosses they use. Ekshärad
is one of UN:s world heritages. And
this is the reason.
On our way to Läckö castle and a opera
in the courtyard we passed an church
from around AD 1000 with very
ancient and odd headstones. I have
never seen anything like it before.
North of Karlstad we went to a ”fair”
called Gammelvala. Saw a
steammachine making shingles:
http://youtu.be/597bkpDjP34

10. August
August began with the largest forest
fire since the 1950’s. The fire began as
a mistake during works in the wood.
The authorities didnt think it was
much to worry bout and sent one
truck. To the wrong place… not till 2
days later did they send more trucks.
These days was the warmest for
weeks, 30-35 C, wind spreading smoke
all over, sun was covered, smoke was
inside and out, car air condition closed
becuase air was too unclean. Not till a
month later fire was almost out.
Mid August means harvest, e g
broccoli
Also means ”Sheepday” in our local
village
By end of August I finally recieved my
Fairphone, ordered in April. First
ethical phone.
http://shop.fairphone.com

11. September
On the 14th we had election. The main
topics were integration, immigration,
equality, economy , social security and
unemplyment. Polls indicated big gains
for the lefts, green party and the
Feminists and losses for the
”nationalists”.
Results showed the opposite.
This lead to a political crisis and a new
election is now planned for march. This
time the election is (mostly) clearly a
election pro or con immigration and
equality, i e pro or con the nationalists
which has now for the first time shown
their true face and explicitly talking
about races, ”swedish values” and
”normality” and to close borders and
send ”foreigners” back to where they
came from , unless they are white… scary.
Our voting station, a old manor near us.
Foggy morning in Stockholm 9 am,
Stefans work, Gondolen restaurant.

12. October
October means the start of the last
harvests for the year. Here is a some
cranberrie jam that we picked at our
(own) fen.
Apart from this I continued with my
forest course. Here is a minute and a
half from a sawmill we visited to learn
how to determine different qualities of
timber: http://youtu.be/whXHl4XtmRk

13. November
November 11 was the definately last
day for harvest. This is part of our last
harvest.

14. December
During December we try to every year
eat a traditional swedish christmas
smorgasbord in some restaurant
around our place in Dalarna. Last year
we drove for 40 minutes. This year we
were back at our usual place that is
only 6 miles away.
Here is a picture of the desert table.
http://www.grangardegastis.se/