Spring Fallen Back

Neighbor's tree on Spring Ridge Drive

Following our quick trip back to Atlanta in early March we reset our internal seasonal clocks to “springtime mode.”  With forsythias, azaleas and pear trees in full, colorful bloom, we dutifully reset our clocks on 11-Mar to spring forward one hour to Day Light Savings Time.  These are well-worn seasonal rhythms.

Back home in Stockholm by mid-March, we were greeted with temperatures of 12⁰ C (low 50’s Fahrenheit), which continued our acceptance of springtime mode.   We even pulled out our bicycles and took a quick spin around the neighborhood. 

Not everything, however, went according to plan.  We awoke on Monday morning 26-Mar to a sun-filled sky and simply took this morning light to be part of the Swedish journey to endless daylight that will soon be with us. Oops…Sweden springs forward another hour on 25-Mar. Helen missed half of her gym class.  Jay showed up late at the office. Our Stockholm clocks are now synchronized with Swedish rhythms.  Another springtime custom to incorporate into our Nordic adventure.

0 degrees Celsius

So you can imagine our confusion when it snowed yesterday.

Temperatures are again hugging 0⁰ C.   Our scarves and gloves are back in service.  The bicycles sit idle.  We are sure that this too shall pass and suspect we are becoming more Swedish than Southern with our anxious wait for blooms and blossoms.

House in Tanto Norra with "ingrown" tree

We have also discovered a section on our island home of Södermalm where Swedes fully engage in springtime with small gardens of vegetables and flowers. Tucked up against the rocky island outcroppings are the small cottages (10 sq meters – about 107 sq ft) of Tanto Norra with large garden plots of rich soil just waiting for seed, water and sunshine.

Edged bed plots

This tradition of garden plots extends deep into Stockholm history. Although neutral, World War I brought food shortages to Stockholm. City officials authorized the use of front yards and allocated garden plots in Tanto Norra for the growing of potatoes. This increased the food supply and also gave rise to a “potato war” with neighborly raids and counter-raids. Egad!

All yards and houses are fenced

Life may be more settled now, but in land-scarce Stockholm the demand for a plot allotment traces an arc of desire similar to the hunger for European potatoes seen in the opening of the last century.  Over 200 people pay a yearly fee of SEK 100 ($15) to be on the “interest list” for an allotment.  Swedes are patient and orderly.

Tiny Houses at Tanto Norra

For the wait, as the literature says, one can enjoy the pleasure of a small piece for earth beneath one’s feet and the experience of a “warm summer evening with tack herring in a divine sour cream sauce with chopped chives and the aroma of dill boiled potatoes mixed with meatballs filling the honeysuckle scented air.  One can only sigh that a summer in Tanto beats everything.” Another custom learned in our Nordic wanderings.