"Spring-winter" Sweden's fifth season

"Vårvinter" is how Swedish people describe a unique season, in between winter and spring, when the days are warmer and the nights are still below zero. A gorgeous time of renewal and excitement among splendid surreal landscapes.

Sweden has a very specific way of determining the seasons. Winter is deemed to be arrived if the temperatures have been below zero for 5 consecutive days, while it's spring after 7 days of temperatures above zero ... In the middle, there is "vårvinter" which literally, simply means "spring-winter".

Sweden weather agency calls it the "fifth season" explaining that "during the latter part of winter, high pressure often means sunny warmer days and clear, cold nights" that's to say above zero during the day, below zero at night.

It is such a unique time, and one of my favorite seasons. In fact, even a winter lover as myself welcomes with immense joy the first warm sun rays and the longer hours of daylight after 6 months of cold temperatures and darkness.

Everything gets a little easier ... your car starts with no issues, there's no ice on the windshield, the ground under your feet is no longer a peril, no need to keep the fire alive or to worry about the animals of the forest lacking food ....

The sun rays eagerly absorbed by your body fills you with a renewed energy ... although, all that super bright light, all of the sudden, can give you migraines, especially when snow is still on the ground, as its reflection is extremely blinding.

There's excitement and little confusion, as occasionally snow can fall again if a perturbation comes ... but then again, you enjoy that break too, as it helps you gradually adjusting to the incoming warm season, especially when you are back from a very cold winter.

That's when you can't wait to open the conservatory, unwrap the outdoor furniture and the deckchairs on your balcony, often only to realize that yep ... maybe it was too soon!

It's the time when nature emerges from darkness, starting from the heather and their gorgeous pink-purple tones and shades. They are the first color patches that you can see on a ground that has been covered in white for months, and the first textures that your hands can touch, which I can assure you, is an immensely pleasant sensation when you have been under the snow mantle for a long time ... exactly like when you walk for the first time on snowless soil and you feel grounded again ... such an unforgettable feeling!

It's the time when the ice in the lakes is thawing ...

the snow starts melting in some forests ...

while in others it's totally gone ...

When misty cold dawns

turn into summer like sunny days ...

A time of contrasts and beautiful surreal landscapes ...

When it's finally easy to stay outside, hike in the forests, explore again ... when the mosquitoes aren't yet arrived and you can sit on the ground undisturbed ... when you take off your jacket ...

and when the sweaters are finally stored in the closet ... Oh I miss them already!!

It's a time of hope and renewal, of new projects and ideas, a time of adjustment, a beautiful one to be alive.... so however you call it, wherever you are, whatever you like to do, I wish you all a joyful vårvinter!

Till the next time ... remember to enjoy the outdoors and take good care of you!

Love, Simona 💜🌿💜

Autumn is almost here ... at last!

Forget the summer's end blues! There are thousands of reasons to love September, finally bringing some peace and contemplation after the turmoil of the warm season, like its misty mornings

Go with the flow ...

Hello everyone! 🤍

Summer is definitely over, at least in this part of the earth where Sweden is located ...

I hope you are not suffering too much from the summer's end blues as they call it?! 😉

It is definitely hard to leave behind the nice season, the travels, the good, relaxing times and to return to our jobs and our daily routines ... This is exactly when you realize whether or not you like your life, I guess 🤪

September can be a challenging month of the year, but it is also a time of new beginnings, changes and opportunities ... I think it all depends on how we live it.

To me it's like the calm after the storm ... I feel an extreme sense of "regained" peace.

Summer brings a lot of commitments, occupations, expectations that I am finally free from.

In summer we renovate our red wooden houses, they are beautiful and super cozy, but they need a lot of maintenance as wood is a living material. Firewood needs to be taken home, dried and stored to keep us warm during winter. The grass in the garden grows at the speed of light and the vegetables need to be taken care of. Bluberries and raspberries are ripe in the forests and need to be picked up, washed, used to make jams or cakes ...

The sun shines until midnight outside your windows, the same one that will set at noon and that you will miss a lot during the very short, dark days of our long winters. You can't be inside without someone reminding you that you should be outside instead, taking advantage of the beautiful sunny day! The water in the lakes is sweet and warm, why are you not enjoying a good swim?! And then it's camping season, how can you miss that? And ... what about midsommar and kräftskiva parties (that's when you eat a lot of crayfish and drink beer) ... are you not attending? 😅

Although the Swedish summer is beautiful and very enjoyable, I often feel a kind of pressing sense of "I must do this or that".... There is a lot of expectation, a constant turmoil of events and people moving around, even nature is super excited with its millions of insects flying around the lush vegetation, mosquitos feeding on you, snakes coming out for a sunbathe, green shining all over making you blind!

So, when September finally comes, I start to relax .... Nothing is due or expected anymore, not with the same urgence. I can rest, be in, be out, focus and contemplate ...

I can even return to the forests as the pestiferous, ravenous, itchy mosquitos, that in Sweden are as big as hummingbirds, are finally gone!

As a photographer, September to me is mostly "the door to autumn" one of the most beautiful, photogenic season of the year 🥰

And you know that autumn is approaching when the mist comes ... magical, charming, sometimes spooky.

"Suspended … like droplets of warm water in colder air"

"Can you hear the whispers of the forest carried by the mist?"

I have already spent many dawns by the forest lake near home, mesmerized by the mist hovering over the water, flowing by, carrying sounds from the forest along with the ghosts of the trees ....

By the way, they came numerous this morning on their misty carriage to visit the living, lingering for a good while, careless of the rising sun… Can you see them? 👇

I couldn't help but taking a bath... Have you ever swum in a misty lake? Well, you should definitely try if you have the opportunity.

On the one hand it is good to swim in colder water, I mean, until it gets too icy. It's a real boost to our immune system! It's unbelievable what an immediate sense of energy you get after a bath in cool water, it is like electricity is running through your body! If you bathe in the morning, rest assured that you are going to have a very productive day!

On the other hand, it's quite a magical experience .... You feel like there's a kind of energy fluctuating all around you, keeping you afloat ... It's like you are flowing along with the mist, heading to the unknown, while you lose your sense of time and space .... The real you, the one that's made of flesh and blood totally gone ...

Sometimes, it might almost feel like you are hallucinating, so watch out! 😎

Then, the mist disappears, you return to your body, to the real world, and once home, you just want to live the experience again and again... Give it a try!

This morning, instead of returning home, I lingered in the forest, feeling happy and blessed to be able to sit on the moss again and to look at the rising sun without having to escape from the mosquitos feeding on me! The first return to the woods after the summer is always the most magical one!

Everything around me looked like coming out from a fantasy movie, and I am not sure whether it was actually like that, or it was just me, still hallucinated by the mist. 😄

I'll let you judge by the picture below.

"And the older trees made space for the little birch surrounding her like guardian towers. They asked the sun to be gentle on her, and he agreed to rise timid in the background letting in just a few rays to warm her up. This is her home now, here she will grow up loved and protected"

Actually, this forest is still very green ...

But I think the picture below, that I took in another forest after the rain, is a good introduction into autumn and its cozy mood .... although the colors are still missing of course ...

Just a little more patience, we are almost there .... 🍂🍄🍂

In the forest after the rain

September is also the time for coziness, when you feel like you want to wrap yourself in your first light jumper, bake a cake, drink an herbal tea with your best friend sitting in a bar while outside it is raining, go hiking or looking for mushrooms in the forests.

When you discover a new book, that you will read on a lazy weekend, when new exciting tv series are released. It's the time of good stories ... when your mind relaxes and get focused, letting creativity arise ...

It's the time of new beginnings ... a new job, a new course, a new interest, the time of new friendships, new opportunities, a never-ending list of new things to do and discover ....

And you will soon forget your summer's end blues, I promise...

Well, I guess it's time to wrap up now. Thank you for reading my friend, let me know what you think of the pictures if you feel like... Feedbacks are always welcome and your thoughts as well!

All the pictures are available for licensing and printing here ...

If you have any questions, you can always reach me at contact@simonadauria.com

Until next time, I wish you all a great weekend! 🤗

🤍Simona