Photo: Norwegian Marshmallows – AKA tractor eggs – in freshly cut field in late July, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. July 25, 2022. 01:42

Every year beginning sometime in mid July the summer harvest of the fields begin to provide winter feed for the few sheep still remaining on Lofoten. Until two years ago my neighbor used to farm this field, but he has since retired, leaving only one sheep farmer left in my small village. Even without local sheep, the grazing land remains quite important and other nearby farmers have taken over the cutting and harvesting of the fields.

A few weeks ago – Friday Photo #496 – I posted an image of the field on a stormy summer evening, still full of flowers but already becoming quite overgrown. It felt a little later of a harvest this year, even though the summer has been a good one and the overall feel of the landscape to me is that things are a few weeks ahead of ‘normal.’ Perhaps it was the fairly cold and wet weather in the second half of July this year that has seen them waiting.

And indeed they seemed to be in a hurry once the tractors did arrive; working until after midnight on both Saturday and Sunday nights. This picture was taken at near 02:00 early Monday morning just after they had finished wrapping the bailing the loose grass. And still later they returned to collect everything!

So for the farm meadows, the flowers are now gone for this year and harvested fields remain. In a while, once the grasses grow a little taller again, the sheep and lambs will be moved into the fields during the autumn after they’ve been collected from the mountains. And then they will also be gone, along with the migratory birds and one day I’ll stand out in my yard and notice that its eerily silent; all the life and noise of summer has gone. From then on, winter is not far away.

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 14-30mm f/4
28mm
ISO 100
f 10
1/13 second
WB Daylight

Photo: Three seagull hatchlings in evening light, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. July 1, 2022, 03:59

With summer will underway it is the beginning of hatching season for the local seabirds. What are usually already loud nights have become even louder as the various bird species squabble and fight to defend their chicks which are now free from the nests and generally just walk around. While there are (supposedly) no foxes on Flakstadøy, these three have a risky few months ahead of them, with predation from other birds the largest threat.

Beyond the wild lands of Lofoten, these little fuzzballs can be seen walking around literally everywhere during the next months: from parking lots in Leknes, sidewalks in Reine, piers in Henningsvær, and basically everyplace else. On my drive home from the Moskenes ferry late Monday night, there were multiple times I had to slow down on the E10 as there were various hatchlings just standing in the middle of the road.

These three have spend the last couple days on a rock just outside my house while the mother keeps watch the telephone pole in my backyard. Usually they take a bit more shelter in the grasses during the day and come out more in the evening hours. Though it does seem awfully exposed for them to just stand on top of a rock for several hours and I’m surprised I haven’t seen or heard any major attacks on them yet. Although perhaps the rock is safer, as the field will likely be cut within the week for winter feed for the local sheep, so probably best they stay out of the way of the tractor and mower.

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6
500mm
ISO 400
f 6.3
1/640 second
WB Daylight

Photo: Summer house by the sea, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 17, 2022. 17:28

With midsummer less than a week away Lofoten is now reaching its peak summer lushness. The landscape is bright green and the fields filled with the endless colors of wildflowers (though mostly yellow). While the temperatures have been a little on the cooler side still, hovering around 10˚C, the sun provides plenty of warmth for an evening bbq.

I was out in the ‘myr’ – or boggy marshland of my valley this afternoon attempting to photograph the local pair or arctic Skuas. They are fast, and hard to photograph, and more so because the valley is surrounded on 3 sides by high mountains. So I can only really get clean shots while looking north towards the sea, but they never seem to be in that direction! And, they are fast. It was much easier to photograph them on Svalbard last summer, where the surrounding landscape was much more open.

Walking back, my neighbour’s house was looking quite ‘summery’ set against the distant mountains of Vestvågøy and surrounded by wildflowers. I would have like to go a little wider, but there is an old barn just off to the left which I didn’t want to include in the frame. It’s only a quick snapshot, but I think it sums up quite well a nice summer afternoon on Lofoten.

This look will only last a few more weeks at most after which any areas which are actually farm fields will be mowed for winter feed for Lofoten’s sheep and cows. While the wild areas still remain, quite a lot of the meadows are actually farm fields, especially on Vestvågøy and Flakstadøy.

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 24-200 f/4-6.3
67mm
ISO 100
f 8
1/400 second
WB Daylight