Today my beloved doggy Lisen turned twelve years old, Happy Birthday Lisen!
I am sure you all have noticed that I love this dog dearly and that I am very grateful to have her in my life. Lisen is so much more than just a pet to me, she is my best friend and a cherished family member. Lisen has also taught me so much through the years, without ever saying a single word. Which is a lesson in itself I think, that you do not have to say anything in order to be a loving, compassionate friend - to just be there is more than enough. So Thank You Lisen for being here for the past twelve years! I look forward to many more.
I am also very grateful for the fact that Lisen is still a lively, playful and healthy dog. Naturally she is a bit slower in everything she does today, but she still loves to go on long walks, run around in the forest, play in the ocean and other activities she has always been fond of. Another thing Lisen still loooves is to get treats and presents, so of course I and the rest of the family could not resist to spoil our amazing birthday girl with some of those today. :-)
Below are some pics of our wonderful Lisen's twelfth birthday.
Cupcakes!
Though these were more for the humans in the family, Lisen did get to decide if she wanted one.
Which, from this expression, she did. Lol!
But she only got a half one, Diva (my sister's dog and Lisen's daughter) got the other half.
Birthday gift time! Because I do not really think that dogs understand the whole birthday concept I/we always make sure both dogs get the same treats and/or gifts when we celebrate something. So even though it was Lisen's birthday today, Diva also got everything she got. :p
Lisen LOOOVES to get presents!
And both dogs LOOOVES to open presents! Lol!
Hmm, what is this?
It was two bones with chicken meat wrapped around them. Lisen looking over at Diva to make sure she got the same thing, which she did.
Birthday dinner! Well, Lisen seemed to enjoy it. Hehe.
It is not often Lisen get to eat these many treats in one day, so I hope she at least understood that it was some sort of special occasion. Either way, she is sound asleep next to me now. Which I always find very comforting. Happy Birthday Dreams, my beloved twelve-year-old. ♥♥♥
My dog Lisen and I have been on quite a few walks in the snowy weather here in Karlskrona in Sweden the past few weeks. And because I Iove to photograph I have taken quite a few photos during these walks. So in this post I thought I would share some of those snowy photos, I give you - For The Love Of Snow.
On a snowy walk along Lyckeby River.
Lisen and I love to walk here, we usually walk on the other side of the river though.
Hm, those tracks look interesting.
Hmmm...
Our walk continued.
In among a residential area in Lyckeby.
Row-houses in Lyckeby.
More houses.
On another snowy walk, here Lisen and I were in the Rodeby forest.
Where Lisen decided to take a snow bath.
On this snowy, but very nice day, walk we stopped by the Lycka Castle Ruin.
Where Lisen got in the mood to play. :p
On a mission.
Come on, you know what I want.
Yupp, Lisen wanted to carry her leash - as usual. Hehe.
Now although I do love snow, not nearly as much as Lisen though, I do look forward to spring with its lovely colours, brightness and warmth. So hopefully it will not be too long until she arrives again. But until she does, Lisen and I will simply continue to enjoy our snowy walks. Because, although we have had a few sunny, lovely days here lately, it does seem like the snow will linger on a little while longer.
Today we celebrate Fat Tuesday in Sweden, which means that we eat a super delicious pastry called Semla. But not only is today a treat filled day because of this, it also happens that today is my mum's birthday. Happy Birthday Mum! Which has meant that I also got treated to a very yummy Sandwich Cake earlier today when we celebrated her birthday. Of course she got treated to a lot of birthday presents in return. :-)
Close up of the amazing Sandwich Cake we had earlier today.
It was filled with lots of yummy seafood, salmon, eggs, vegetables, cheese and more.
Y-U-M-M-Y-Y-Y!!!
My (not so small) piece. Lol! ;p
My dog Lisen waited patiently for her turn. :-)
A bit later it was time for dessert, a Danish pastry type of Lenten Bun (Semla) filled with the traditional sweet filling of almond paste and whipped cream. So we did not eat a traditional Lenten Bun to celebrate Fat Tuesday this year. I first tried this version of a Semla - Lenten Bun last year and really liked it, because it was not as heavy as a traditional one. Which fitted great today, because of the Sandwich Cake we had earlier.
This is how a Semla should be eaten, the lid first with some delicious filling that has been scooped up. And with a big cup of black coffee. :p
Of course this little lady got some Semla too! :-)
Another fun thing I found out recently was that my blog was chosen as number 24 on a list of Top 100 Pet Blogs to follow in 2013 - yay! I have posted the entire list at Top 100 Pet Blogs To Follow In 2013.
So it certainly has been a treat filled day today, in more than one delicious way. ;p
It has been a very hectic and intense past week for me, which is why I have fallen behind with my blog activities - yikes! But finally yesterday I had a chance to breathe again and take an unwind walk with my beloved doggy Lisen in the forest in Rodeby here in Sweden. With me I of course also had my camera. So below are some photos from my unwind Wednesday morning walk in the forest with Lisen.
Lisen is always very happy to take a walk in the forest, lots of smells and tracks to check out.
For some reason Lisen prefer to walk across the ice rather than on the road...
Come on Alex, you can walk across the ice too. Ehum, naaaw. I do not think so Lisen. Hehe.
Because the ice had cracks here and there, like this one.
Which Lisen loved of course (she loves water of any kind).
So Lisen started do dig around a bit in the crack there.
Then we moved on with our walk, not sure what Lisen was on the lookout for yesterday..? Hm...
Another one of Lisen's favourite activities to do in snow, roll around in it of course! :p
Ahhhhhhh!!!
Niceeee. Let's take a little nap Alex, yes?
OK, no. Let's walk across some more ice then.
One thing I love about snow is that footprints are so easy to spot. I think this is from a deer?
There were some green plants out there in the snow, though this one looked a bit exhausted.
But this green thing looked quite healthy and strong out there in the cold, wet and snowy weather.
Now this was a treat to find. It was a snowflake caught on a spider web string. And I can tell you that I spent quite a while here to try and get a good shot of it. This was the best one. To me it actually looks like a person on a walk with a grocery bag in his/her arms.
Lisen looks like she thinks I should put down the camera and just walk. Lol!
Finally we arrived at the halfway point, and my favourite spot in the entire Rodeby forest. This is where I unwind the best. Love it!
When it was time to head back to the car Lisen thought it was her turn to carry her leash.
Which I of course let her do. :-)
And after about one hour we arrived back to the beginning of our unwind walk, which really did wonders for me. It was such a wonderful feeling to simply be in the forest and focus on breathing and taking in the surroundings. For me that is the perfect way to put things in perspective and to quiet down the noise inside which sometimes can make it hard to hear and see clearly. So Thank You Mother Nature for being the best source of comfort ever!
Now the reason I have fallen behind with everything is because of work and some potential job related meetings. So I have had quite a lot on my mind lately. But I am now almost completely back in my relaxed, comfortable and peaceful present self again. Which feels very nice indeed. :-) Ahhh!
Though the snow has pretty much melted away because of the mild weather we have had here in Lyckeby in Sweden lately, we have now once again gotten a bit of cold weather and sun - yay! So when my dog Lisen and I were on one of our walks along the lovely Lyckeby River recently we took the opportunity to step out on one of the many bridges there to simply enjoy this beautiful weather. Which was very relaxing and peaceful indeed. Ahhh. :-)
Below are some photos from our Moment By The Bridge.
Lisen enjoying the moment and inspecting "the other side".
Last week my dog Lisen and her daughter Diva (my sister's dog) decided to play around in the snow together for a little while. I always love to watch them play together, though Lisen (who turns 12 in March) is rarely in the mood to play with Diva (7 years old) nowadays. I think she thinks Diva is a bit to wild for her now. Hehe. Because Lisen likes to play, but in slow motion and very carefully - the opposite of how Diva likes to play. So when Lisen decided to actually accept Diva's play invitation in the forest last week, I think Diva was as surprised (but very happy) as I was. :-)
Below are some pics I snapped of them playing in the snow together.
Play time!
Let's see what we can find then.
Searching for something fun to play with in the snow.
Found it!
A stick that is stuck of course, what could possibly be more fun to play with than that?
Grrroooowwwwl...
Whaoo! I won (Lisen).
Diva running around in the snow.
Lisen, relaxing in the snow.
Until she realizes she has some snowballs stuck between her paws...
Coming Ma.
Diva helping Lisen removing snowballs from her paws. :)
Mama (left) and daughter (right) after a fun filled time in the snow. :p
It is now officially winter here in Lyckeby in Sweden! Because yesterday evening snow began to fall over Lyckeby, which resulted in me waking up this morning to a crispy, cold and snowy white view over Ekebacken Nature Reserve from my window. And the snow could not have arrived more perfectly, just in time to make this first Advent Sunday of four before Christmas feel extra Christmas like. In other words, Lisen and I had A Perfect Snowy Advent Premiere here in Lyckeby today.
And below are some pics from our first walk in the snow this morning.
View from my window.
Outside walking in the snow.
Lisen sniffing away in the snow.
And in the air.
Snow Dog. :p
More sniffing.
Let's moooove!
Ekebacken Nature Reserve.
Enjoying the snow fall.
The walk continues.
Fa la la la la - la la la la... :-)
Come on Alex.
Pretty branches.
The only thing Lisen finds annoying about the snow...
... is that it forms small snowballs between her paws, which she has to stop and try to gnaw away.
Lisen and I on the lookout...
... until Lisen remembers that with Advent and Christmas comes a lot of yummy Christmas treats and presents. Yuuum!!!
Which is true, December is definitely a fun and delicious month in Sweden indeed. So here's to the start of this year's Advent season, to a great start to this year's Christmas season and to a fabulous snowy December month! Happy First Advent Everyone!
To read more about why and how we celebrate Advent in Sweden, check out: Advent In Sweden.
So I am back home in Lyckeby, Sweden, with my doggy Lisen again. Yay! :-) And though we have been on quite a few walks since I got back from Rome, our walk here in Lyckeby today included both horse drama and glove stealing. Incidents I coincidentally happen to capture a few shots of with my iphone. Therefore, below are some photos of the horse drama and glove stealing which took place earlier today on my walk with Lisen.
It was a rather quiet and nice day for a walk in Lyckeby today by the way.
But when we got to the horse pastures, quite a lot of drama was going on between some of the horses.
More specifically between these two horses, who kind of look like they are kissing here though...
Ops, we were spotted quite quickly by the curious and feisty horse pals.
Good Day.
"Hello there.", said the White Horse to Lisen.
Lisen, who is not very comfortable around horses, looked at them for a few seconds and then quickly replied with a loud "Wouff!".
So off they went.
And continued with their drama.
"Look now, I am going to show you something.", said the Brown Horse.
"Arrgh!!"
"Oh please.", said the White Horse.
Then they started to run around together.
Wahooo!!!
And when we had left the horse drama behind us, Lisen suddenly remembered something.
"Give it to me."
"Come on, let go."
"Giiiive it!!!."
"Giiiiive meeee it."
"Now, was that so hard? Come on, let's go home Alex." And off we went, with one glove each. Hehe.
Lisen of course dropped her glove a bit further ahead. Lol! Sometimes she will carry my glove, her leash, a water bottle or something else all the way home or to the car. But mostly she just drops whatever she is carrying whenever she does not feel like carry it anymore... Therefore I always have to keep a close eye on her whenever she has nicked something from me to carry in her mouth.
Anyway, life is back to normal again here in Lyckeby. Which is rather nice, though Christmas is just around the corner with its many preparations, markets, Advent Sundays and so on. Which is why I am sure this somewhat calmness that is at the moment will soon transform into usual December madness. Or, maybe it won't? I guess I will just have to wait and see. Until then though, I am sure there will be plenty of daily "horse drama" and "glove stealing" going on here in Lyckeby. Hehe. Because there is always something happening in our little neighbourhood here in Sweden. ;p
Today I took my dog Lisen for a visit to The Wamo Park, or Wämöparken in Swedish, here in Karlskrona in Sweden. And, to my surprise, Lisen was actually very interested in saying hello to both the rabbit and pig there (she usually does not really care that much about other animals). But of course while Lisen was busy trying to communicate with the rabbit and pig, I just had to take some photos of them all. Hehe. So below are some photos of Doggy Meets Rabbit And Pig In The Wamo Park.
Lisen trying to get the rabbit's attention.
Finally the rabbit looks at her.
And even gets a bit closer.
Communication in process.
But then Lisen got a bit too eager and wanted to play (I hope that is what she wanted anyway...).
So then the rabbit got a bit spooked and walked away from her.
But Lisen did not want to leave the rabbit, I had to drag her away.
Bye, bye rabbit.
Hello Miss Piggy.
Who was more interested in drinking water than communicating with Lisen when we came by though.
So then Lisen decided to check out the grass instead, which she had a few bites of.
So really, Lisen ate grass and Miss Piggy hung around the water the entire time we were there. Hehe.
But I do think Lisen had a great time in the park though, despite being snubbed by Miss Piggy. Lol! ;p Here we are on our merry way to the car again.
And we had great weather today too! So that combined with a fun visit to the Wamo Park earlier, well - certainly a perfect way to start the weekend in my book. :p
Though fall is a beautiful, vibrant and colourful season - it is also a season often visited by wind, clouds and rain. Which is what we have been experiencing lately here in Lyckeby in Sweden. So this morning I captured how my walks with Lisen have looked like these last few days...
Wet... (We live in one of those houses on the hill here in Lyckeby.)
... and rainy. (Lisen looks about how I feel there... Lol!)
Now I sure hope we will get back that beautiful sun we had a visit from in the beginning of last week, because I actually feel like the weather has quite an impact on my energy levels. In fact, I think Lisen is a bit extra slow and sleepy when the weather is like this as well. Though outside she does not seem to mind the rain as much as I do. But I do feel like we both need a little energy boost right about now. So: "Please Sunny Sunshine, come back again!". Let's hope that does the trick. ;-) Hehe. For now however, soon time for one of those rainy fall walks with Lisen again... Aye, aye - phew!
When I woke up this morning it was to an absolutely gorgeous day! Windless, blue skies, a beaming sun and, though it was a bit chilly outside, the air was so beautifully fresh and crisp that the coldness just made it nicer than usual to breathe in. In other words, it was a perfect day for an outing together with my doggy Lisen. But instead of going to our favourite forest in Rodeby (Rödeby), I decided to take Lisen on a walk around a lake called Lake Farskesjon (Färskesjön in Swedish) near Jamjo (Jämjö) here in Karlskrona in Sweden - about 18 kilometers from where we live in Lyckeby. So I packed a bag with my camera, a thermos with coffee, a sandwich, a bag with treats for Lisen and off we went.
Now Lake Farskesjon is a freshwater lake which is partially located in a nature reserve.
Beautiful Lake Farskesjon. This is where we started our 4K walk around the lake.
Of course this was the first thing Lisen did when we arrived. :p
Wahooo!!!
After a few minutes of intense joy over being in the lake, she spotted the hundreds of birds over there.
But Lisen was more interested in playing around in the lake than chasing after them.
La di da di da...
And let's run some more.
I just absolutely love how clear this lake is by the way.
"Did you say something?"
It is also a very shallow lake. "Hellooooo!!"
Lisen felt a bit brave today, which of course made me nervous! (She made it fine out there though.)
Lisen also felt rather playful (as usual, hehe) - peekaboo!
Climbing a mountain.
Enjoying the view. :-)
"Hey, how about that lunch you packed now Alex? I am hungry."
And this is a common "eat scene" in the Lisen and Alex household.
"Hey, I want some tooo! Pleeeeeeaseeeeeeee!"
"That's more like it. Thank you." :-)
The terrain around the lake was mixed, some parts looked like this.
Others more like this.
As well as like this.
And Lisen always found something to do on our walk... Bad doggy! (She was rolling around in something smelly...)
But it was a really nice walk though, I love when it really feels like I am in a forest (sort of).
There were also plenty of colorful trees and rocks around.
As well as a cute little island in the lake.
Over there on that rock was where we had our lunch.
Of course all around the lake there were lots of opportunities to enjoy the view.
Like here. :-)
Hm... That boat looks a bit too wet to me...
After about two and a half hours, including many stops, we finally arrived back where we started.
And it truly was such a lovely and peaceful walk. We actually only saw two dogs and heard one human voice (shouting at the dogs, lol) on our entire walk, and they were on the opposite side of the lake as us. Which was really quite nice. Even more nice is that Lisen is so exhausted right now, hehe. Besides barking at me when she wanted her food earlier, she has just been sleeping since we got back home. Though I do think her body is a bit sore right now, so I will have to take it easy with her in the next few days. But all in all, we certainly had a gorgeous walk around Lake Farskesjon today - one I will definitely try to take more often. :-)
"Hello there.", said the White Horse to Lisen. 
