The first stinted winter temperatures have arrived in Ytterjärna, coupled with the first collective experience of a sub-zero climate.  Peppered within this collective are a few first-timers pulling scarves closer to chins and learning the practical language of layers and the consoling comforts provided by wool.  Already forever changed in their interpretations of Winter and Cold, the pervasive thought of …

Fall is here.  It arrived in quiet explosions of gold and yellow, brisk gusts of wind that brought down finished leaves and the swoosh-swoosh-swoosh sound of children’s boots walking along the forest paths.  Although it has been particularly dry and spectacularly sunny, jumps in the fjord are becoming less frequent and on most mornings a thickening frost covers each glassy …

As fall descends on Ytterjärna in crisp gusts, leaves begin to yellow and the day has decided to share equal time with the night, even if just for a moment.  The buzzing energy of arrival and the excitement of unexplored territory has gently receded in a comfortable exhale of growing familiarity.  The common room in Tallevana is filled with people …

Almost silence.  It came like the moment after a warm thunderstorm passes over and the birds come out from cover.  It fell upon the place like a stealthy blanket, somewhat bewildering, but graceful and soothing.  Before it arrived, a wave of nearly overwhelming energy walked beside the awareness that a culmination was approaching and stayed with everyone until the end.  …

It certainly hasn’t been the warmest of springs here in Sweden.  Quite the contrary in fact with some sources saying that it’s the coldest May since 1962 and the rainiest it has been in Sweden at this time of year in two centuries!  That being said, the spring buds have still blossomed and the shoots of grass that have been …

As the sun gets steadily warmer, stays later and becomes ever more brilliant in our little haven at the water’s edge, spring has exploded in a wave of green, yellow and purple.  Memories of times past bubble to the present, like early morning plunges into the icy fjord, campfires in the forest, or the simple things, like being comfortable outdoors …

Has spring already sprung in Järna…?  Perhaps it should not be said aloud for fear that winter might feel overlooked!  Yet a warm sun shines from blue skies today, with all the hints and smells of spring.  And despite the frosty nights, little Eranthis flowers have poked through the composted ground, strong and full of promise.  Perhaps they just needed …

The sun is shining down sideways from a crystal blue sky, decorated with faint brushstrokes of windy white.  It’s cold.  There is snow everywhere, but not too deep.  In the midst of an action, it seems as though everything alive was suddenly caught in a motionless freeze, yet still retaining a gesture of captured vitality.  The fields that once held golden rows …

Järna is covered in a thin blanket of snow.  The ponds are frozen solid and the fjord is getting there.  With this cold, a new kind of energy is shining through the cracks of the previous year, cold, crisp and fresh.  Two-weeks of wintery break from the curriculum brought some participants and OT’s away from our YIP bubble and back …

It is 2:54 in the afternoon and the sun has set in Yärnaterja.  The few sunrays that poked through the thick cotton clouds in the morning have been swallowed up by the day and a thick grey blanket has taken their place.  This is much the same routine as yesterday, the day before and many of the days before that: …