Around Stockholm, January 2021

January has been a good month for weather nerds like me. The temperatures have fluctuated quite a bit and we’ve seen rain, fog and snow. Plus the sun finally came back for several hours at a time — what a good day that was.

Early January involved lots of people carrying Christmas trees to collection points around the city. The discarded trees will be converted into climate-smart biochar and used for district heating and soil improvement. I usually carve the stump into something but didn’t have time this year. On the plus side, more stump means more heat for city buildings.

Using public transport is a rare occurance for us at the moment. When it’s needed, we travel by boat if possible. They are virtually empty because there are no tourists and people are working from home. This lady was the only other person on there.

Mid January bought snow. So much snow! Then sheet ice. Then even more snow.

I love this photo because it looks like the person is giving their dog a guided tour of the city.

These orange flags are used when roofs are laden with snow but haven’t been cleared yet. We scurry past them in case something falls on our heads. I don’t mind snow but an icicle or a lump of ice would be less than ideal.

These tulpaner are a reminder of brighter days to come. Someone had poked them in the snow outside a florist and I realised it had been a while since I’d seen such colour in nature. I say that but I’ll happily live in snow for as long as it’s here.