Meltdown.....

The weather continues mild here, with some rain yesterday that has melted much more of the snow. Today, in sunlight, we reached the giddy heights of about fifteen degrees. It's not even freezing again overnight, so the melt continues. The track up to the house is now virtually clear:

And the Bagarstuga/cabin is also now easily accessible:

Charlie has taken to leading Rocky astray: he takes him (willingly) out across the snow to visit old barns and other outbuildings in the fields surrounding us; he then returns alone, having managed to give Rocky the slip. Rocky, unhappy when faced with damp, thawing snow, retreats into deep cover and I generally have to plod through the cold mush to find him and bring him back home. Today, however, he went in and out a few times on his own and found his way back alone each time. Thank God!

Here's a sequence of the little booger (Charlie) leading Rocky off, presumably in an attempt to get rid of him, we both fear and feel. It's the way he seems to always return alone, invariably leaving Rocky in some snow-covered place on his tod, that makes us suspicious of his motives. And, generally, when I retrieve junior, he wails at me pitifully and purrs wildly when I grab him. I'm getting weary of trudging through the snow after him and getting me feet wet in the process (I left me special Swedish, insulated Wellies in Spain - where I'll never, ever have a need for them!):

Come on then, let's get going.....:

Oh, Hell....should I, or what? You know I don't like this snow!:

Are you coming, or not....?:

I'm coming.....:

Oi, Charlie, wait for me.....:

We collect our milk, unpasturised and healthily creamy, direct from our neighbour's milk parlour every couple of days, or as needed. The cost to us is about a quid for two litres - great value, rare for Sweden! :

The main barn before milking:

J drawing fresh milk from the chiller tank:

J filling the bottle:

The other night when we went over for milk, we found Håkan busy loading a steer calf into another guy's trailer. It put up a fine struggle, I'm glad to say, given its likely approaching demise:

We went into our local main town, Sollefteå, yesterday to stock up on shopping, provisions etc. It's the first real chance we've had since returning and we like to fill the freezer and hold plenty of basic stuff in the house. As we entered the town, we crossed the main river in the area, one that gives the region one of its monikers, Ångermanland. It is beginning to flow in parts, with a few ice-flows visible on its surface. A rare thing for March. Usually, we'd have snow and ice until late April or even May. Everyone's predicting an early Spring (Vår, in Svenska):

There's been lots of those weird Swedish letters with little circles over them (Å/å) in this post: they don't have a specific name for these, apparently and surprisingly. They change the sound of the 'a' from ah/long a to a long o, 'aw' sound. And heaven help you if you get it wrong. Swedes don't do lateral thought, I'm afraid!