One frosty morning in Norway

 

A small birch in the Norwegian winter

 

Frozen grass

Our area in the west coast of Norway is not among the coldest. It benefits from the sea and the warm currents from the gulf of Mexico, so the temperature rarely drops beneath zero, rarely above 25, and usually lies between 0 and 10 in the winter, 10 and 20 in summer. And it rains a lot.

So when we have a clear winter morning with sun and light snow and frost, we take our pictures even if it is only in our own garden.

A tree one winter morning in Norway

Many of the plants I had also taken pictures of in other seasons, or just a few days ahead, but without the frost. 

 

Without frost

The same plant in frost

 One of my favourite plants is the Norwegian “Kristorn”, that is the Norwegian name, a name easily recognized as “Christ” and “thorns”, so it makes it “the thorns of Christ”. The leaves are stiff and hard, and they have kind of teeth on the edges, somewhat sharp, so it could remind of thorns. These leaves stay on for the winter. I would like to know the reason for the English name, holly, or European holly. I do not think it has anything to do with “holy”.

European holly (Ilex aquifolium) in Norway, winter

 

 

The same holly, in autumn, October

 But the winter morning is holy, indeed….

 

Here is the shadow of me, taken the pictures

There are a few more pictures in my Norwegian blog.

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