Pictures from Saturday’s 5 km (almost 4 hours with all the stops) walk along the Homla river canyon from Storfossen (this area’s second highest waterfall) to the sea at Hommelvik! As usual, a memorable trip!
We were joined for the weekend by Amandine Faury from France, a new student of Agroecology at Ås, on her way to a hiking holiday in Lofoten!
Kidney vetch (fjellsyre) is found along the river
Another mountain plant, not previously registered this low down in Malvik was found by the waterfall: Thalictrum alpinum
Very little water in the river!
Ostrich fern
Ostrich fern
Ostrich fern
Cicerbita alpina
Mountain queen (fjelldronning)
Campanula latifolia (eaten for lunch!)
Eirik Lillebøe Wiken and the giant ostrich fern!
Kidney vetch (fjellsyre)
Taraxacum eirikii (Eirik proclaimed this one to be a new species) ;)
Eirik Lillebøe Wiken poses at the famous permaveggies course ostrich fern patch!
A demonstration wood for growing quality alder wood for furniture!
Another magical walk along the Homla Canyon in Malvik in the company of wwoofer of the week :) First, a parade of Ostrich Ferns along the bank of the Homla river
A dipper (fossekall), Norway’s national bird flew past us singing as it flew and landed conveniently on some rocks 50m upstream:
A curly whirly dandelion
Although popular in the past, Gyromitra esculenta (sandmorkel) is no longer recommended as edible due to toxic compounds that may not even be neutralised by cooking…
Alternate leaved golden saxifrage /maigull in seed already
Fomitopsis pinicola (Red belt CONK or rødrandkjuke)
Bracken fern / einstape
Violets are blue….not only..here yellow-flowered Viola biflora
I’ve never before met a bear in the woods…well spotted by my companion wwoofer!
Lathyrus vernus (Spring pea / vårerteknapp) is a rare plant in Malvik
The path crosses the site of an old charcoal burning site
Charcoal in the path
Our goal was the ostrich fern site (strutseving) where I’d been with Berit Børte Ane Mari Aakernes and Marit By only two weeks ago (see http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=11108), the plants had grown a lot in the meantime and only a few young fiddleheads were to be found!
Ostrich fern with meadowsweet (mjødurt) and rosebay willowherb (geitrams)
Ostrich fern with an understory of nettles
Tasty Cardamine flexuosa, Wavy Bittercress / skogkarse in the path
We took a new path used by salmon fishermen down to the river and discovered new large stands of ostrich fern
Homla river
Large stands of ostrich fern also on the other bank!
…and then magic happened as I noticed the moon rising from the forest high up on the ridge on the other side of the river! WOW!
Caltha palustris
The first flowers of Cornus suecica
The first flowers of Cornus suecica
A song thrush (måltrost) was alarming as we passed near his nest sire, a shy forest bird here!
Spruce tree grasping the earth…
Alpine sow thistle (turt) hanging on in an area that had once upon a time been a luxuriant meadow..
Large leaved raspberry in deep shade
Masses of Campanula rapunculoides in alder wood on the edge of Hommelvik
On the 2nd day of the Malvik permaveggies course, we walked the Homlastien (path along the mighty Homla river) from the waterfall down to the station at Hommelvik! As always it takes longer than expected and my estimated 4 hours became 6-7 hours with all the stops!
See the pictures here:
