Tag Archives: Flora

Musk Ox Safari Part 2

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Yes, you’ve guessed it right: this is the second part of my recent musk ox safari at Dovrefjell. Here you can finally see some close-ups of these interesting animals.

Another group that was on a musk ox safari.
Yes!! Your phone photo will look awesome from up there!
The musk ox that we came to see.
It’s a good idea to over-expose when shooting snow…
…so that you don’t end up with grey snow like this.
They were always keeping an eye on us.
A muskox can reach speeds of up to 60 km/h (37 mph (Come on! Use the Metric system!)).
Their life expectancy is 12–20 years.
Calves are able to keep up with the herd within just a few hours after birth.
Taking a piss. (Remember: Don’t eat the yellow snow.)
Both male and female muskoxen have long, curved horns.
Cows communicate with their calves through braying. The calf’s bond with its mother weakens after two years.
The thick coat and large head suggests a larger animal than the muskox truly is; the bison, to which the muskox is often compared, can weigh up to twice as much.
Cows do not calve every year. When winters are severe, cows will not go into estrus and thus not calve the next year.
Natural camouflage.
The mating (or “rutting”) season of the muskoxen begins in late June or early July. During this time, dominant bulls will fight others out of the herds and establish harems of usually six or seven cows and their offspring.
After the first two months of nursing, a calf then begins eating vegetation and nurses only occasionally.
As we were leaving they headed down from the patch of snow to eat.
Quite obvious, but this is the local flora.
Spectacular view.
Here are some typical “ND filter and water” photos.
ND32 is the filter that I used for these.
With a filter you’ll get the standard “blurry water effect”.
It’s not an original effect, but it looks nice.
The building of cairns for recreational purposes along trails, to mark one’s personal passage through the area, can result in an overabundance of rock piles. This distracts from cairns used as genuine navigational guides, and also conflicts with the Leave No Trace ethic. This ethic of outdoor practice advocates for leaving the outdoors undisturbed and in its natural condition.
Back in the low-lands…
..you can spot Forget-me-nots (Forglemmegei).
You can also come across horses
and trains.
It’s amazing how something that eats grass can become this big.
They look good in B&W too.
This was my entry for Leanne’s “Monochrome Madness” this week.
I like the sound of them eating.
He/she looks a bit sad.
A common dandelion with ripe fruits.
Skogstorkenebb – Geranium sylvaticum (wood cranesbill, woodland geranium) is a species of hardy flowering plant in the Geraniaceae family, native to Europe and northern Turkey. The Latin specific epithet sylvaticum means “of woodland”, referring to the plant’s native habitat, as does its common name “wood cranesbill”.
My hiking-partner in crime.
Advarsel – Warning – Achtung
Info poster on Dovrefjell–Sunndalsfjella National Park (see the previous post for the full info in English).
In case you were wondering: this is a bridge.
You’re not allowed to ride bicycles in the national park.
Before we left I was waiting for a train to pass by, because I knew that the red would be a nice colour contrast against all the green.
When I’d given up on waiting, the train finally came (which was luck, because they don’t pass by often in these parts).

Muskoxen stand 1.1 to 1.5 m high at the shoulder, with females measuring 135 to 200 cm in length, and the larger males 200 to 250 cm. The small tail, often concealed under a layer of fur, measures only 10 cm long. Adults, on average, weigh 285 kg and range from 180 to 410 kg. Source: Wikipedia

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Musk Ox Safari Part 1

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This is the first part of two posts with photos from my recent musk ox safari at Dovrefjell.

At the start of the hike.
An old barn
In the lowlands
My nephew and hiking-partner in crime.
Landscape
We walked up a small creek.
Beautiful mountains
A bird is resting on a stone while eating it’s prey.
The landscape looks like it’s only green and earthy…
but when you look closely
you’ll find all these hiddden gems.
Red, white
and all kinds of colours
Who put #5/S in the bokeh??
Reflections.
Myrull
Cottongrass
Eriophorum
Another group of hikers.
Here they are again.
Notice the black dots in the hill.
They’re heading up the patch of snow now,
but they’re still far away.
So we decided to get some rest. (to be continued…)

Dovrefjell–Sunndalsfjella National Park (Norwegian: Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella nasjonalpark) is a National Park in Norway. It was founded in 2002 to replace and enlarge the former Dovrefjell National Park, originally founded in 1974. It occupies 1,693 km² and encompasses areas in three Norwegian counties: Oppland, Sør-Trøndelag, and Møre og Romsdal and includes large parts of the mountain range of Dovrefjell.

Although it is a harsh environment, the mountains, the highest being Snøhetta at 2,286 m, make for spectacular hiking during the summer and skiing in the winter. Due to rather long walks between mostly unstaffed huts, great areas without huts and trails and harsh and unstable weather conditions, this area is recommended for experienced and well-equipped wanderers only.

The park is divided into a major western part and a minor eastern part by the European route E6 paralleled with the main railway between Oslo and Trondheim. Altogether the protected area amounts 4,365 km² and also includes areas in the county of Hedmark in addition to the three of the National Park. Source: Wikipedia

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella-National-Park

May Day at the Botanical Garden in Oslo

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I know for a fact that many of my readers and many bloggers out there love photos of Flora. Some of them are even borderline obsessed with it. So, if you’re one of those who are obsessed, borderline obsessed or just enjoy photos of plants & flowers. Consider this your lucky day!

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