worlds away

pictured: rosenhills and blossoming trees // the cafe // the caravan where we sleep

though close in proximity and even perhaps in concept, rosenhills and appelfabriken couldn't be more different.

plentiful in apple, plum, and cherry trees - amongst other fruits and vegetables - rosenhills is more like a "farm" and less like a "house garden" (ie appelfabriken). the cafe, too, is larger, with a range of yummy offerings, both sweet and savory - which many customers come to enjoy during the summer weekends. there's also more wwoofers - currently there are 7 of us, but we've heard that when it's really hopping there can be 15 or more - so it kinda feels a bit like camp, at least for a girl who's never been to camp.

and there's a very different vibe here, just as predicted - hippy-ish. which is interesting, since that's not me at all. people are calm, things get done when they do, and there's lots and LOTS of breaks. it's nice i suppose, but it's weird, as i always have an inherent urge to want to work, when i feel i should be working. something to work on (haha), perhaps...or not...hmmm.

but anyways, it's nice. and there's lots to do (when you feel like working). just look at the picture above. it's alex and it's me, doing what our papas probably always wished we had done at home...weed whacking (why use a lawn mower?). and then there's our "morning routines" - the two i signed up for are feeding the hens (and taking their eggs) and trash duty (which i felt no one else would take, so i should). and alex is the dish man - it's better for his sensitive skin that's now surprisingly brown-ish (at least from a far, when all the freckles start to blur). and we've done lots more. like putting up a pig fence (which unfortunately we will miss the arrival of the pigs...and i'm really sad about that), weeded the biggest, toughest weeds known to land, and pimped the "new" wwoofer "apartment" (it's a trailer type thing that i'm happy won't be up and running until we are gone). and i've picked herbs from the woods and from the ditches to make teas and body scrubs and other stuff with. and alex has arranged wild flowers.

pictured: picking birch leaves - used for lemonade, scrubs, and much more! // gathered Älgört (elkherb) - used for medicinal teas // arranging flowers - used for tables

and we sleep in a caravan thingy, which is nice in a way, because it's one of the only private "rooms" around. but there's a downside to sleeping in an old trailer that lies under a bunch of blossoming plum trees - lots and lots of flying "animals" (people here call insects animals). we even have had multiple visits from what we think is either a really big queen bee or wasp, or possibly a big hornet (which we're told is good, because they eat wasps). to us, none of the above are good. but it flies in the night, buzzing about, and alex wakes up as though a bear were about to eat him, which wakes me up, and it's only 2:30am and the sun is coming up, and then my brain gets all confused and then i'm cold, and then my muscles remember they hurt, and yeah. not good. but besides that, it's not so bad.

plus, the family that owns the place is very nice and the wwoofers are a pleasant group to be around. we even played a game of soccer together a couple nights ago, which i was pretty horrible at (having only ever played at other kids' birthday parties in elementary school). alex of course was much better, having had pro training from his dad back in the day. and since we were playing during swedish dusk, there were swarms of mosquitoes attacking us. (seriously, swarms. i've never seen so many in one place, and i'm from swampy florida). and after the game we rode in a VW bus (classic hippy) singing songs with a ukulele (classic hippy) to a lake for a swim (classic swedish). too bad the water was about 13 celsius (approx 55 fahrenheit, aka really COLD). but alex and i stripped down and jumped in. good sports, right? brrr. i was sneezing all night.

back to the hens. below is a picture. hens are starting to creep me out. i don't like these hens. they are white, and scary. i hope they don't peck my eyes out as i steal their unborn babies. sorry...

pictured: hen house // farm fresh eggs