Nordic etch: Thankfully the ice has melted

Which means...dum dum dum, its outdoors, sunshine and fishing time!

The last two weeks have been filled with days consisting of a few minutes of sunshine, warmer temperatures, a bit of rain, 20 hours of sunshine, braai's, runs and of course a few days fishing. Still, its a bit early in the season, admittedly, but its no complaining getting out and having a few casts here and there to see whats, if anything is biting.

I have met up with a few friends who are crazy about outdoors and one or two who are nuts about fishing too and have explored a few regions. There are few fish to show for the effort, the memories of making a fire anywhere, viewing the awesome scenery that is to offer, and the return of smelling like a forest fire are all fondly remembered and eagerly looked forward to for the next times.

I have also spent a few days camping and doing a cycle tour. My good friend Kai and I packed out bikes recently, as lightly as we could, ie, no changes of clothes or unnecessary items (its good to be a man). Together we set off to a nearby nature reserve to enjoy some of Swedens best scenery. The great thing about swedes is their rule of the right of public access, meaning that you can camp anywhere and make a fire, as long as you are not invading someones privacy.

So, right next to a lake, we set up camp, made a HUGE fire and enjoyed a night outdoors, rain, wind and all. Despite the rain at 5 AM and gusting wind, we returned happy, smelly and filled with good memories of nature.

"What have we done moment?" with a good fire

The next night I followed more friends to yet another camping trip, to a different area and river for more camp memories. The sun tried to set at around 11 PM, we sat talking some more, set up a tent at 2 AM sans the aid of a torch it was that light, and attempted to sleep in the ever present glow of no evening. Great memories to behold.