The very place?

Hi,

An old apple tree and a pond. This might be the place my dear kids and grandkids. The place where I lived my last days on earth and the place where my two sons and three daughters Oscar, August, Emma, Anna and Maria grew up. There were several houses of the north farm of Hovdinge at my days, ending back in 1870. One of them was situated where this pond is according to the father of the present owner. Today in 2008 there are two houses called Hovdinge North Farm and nearby the pond is one of them. The other one looked like this in 1984:

Photograph above taken by one of my dear grandkids Cypress. I have not yet managed to get it all clear through the pipelines to my secretary, which spot it was. You just have to rely on her guesses, supported by intelligent, logical mapreaders gratefully having come to my help. The present owner knows that there was an old house in the front garden in the right hand corner of this picture. That house was torn down and the wood was reused when the new house was erected at the present place in 1894. The wood was said to last up to the lower edge of the window sills.

Up to the year of 1903 when my son Oscar went all the way back to Hovdinge to visit his old mother she had become the grandmother of 37 and the great grandmother of more than my secretary can count! The youngest little one was called Hulda. She was born just in that year of grace 1903 and her daughter Lu is eagerly waiting in her beutiful home in Florida, to read about the rest of that family. But patience please, next in line, up to the same year of 1903 is August, and then Emma, Anna and Maria. Birthright you know!

But before leaving the beautiful lot descending from Oscar, let me show you his daughter Amanda's grandkids again. At the place where Oscar raised his family, in Näs, just outside the town of Ljungby, the siblings Ian, Valerie and Boyd, together covering the whole of Canada!

Summer holiday anybody? I did not have much of that stuff down there being a farmer, but we are richly compensated now up here. What ever you do, remember enjoying your days and do what you like. Until next time, may God bless you too,

Göran.

What a reunion 2008

Hi down there,

Up here in my heavenly places we rejoice today! These happenings which I am going to tell you about do happen now and then but we never get used to it. We get all warm inside everytime it happens, as last year, when Helen brought her family to Hovdinge, and today, when we rejoice about our son Oscar's granddaughter Amy's three kids Ian, Valerie and Boyd.

Those examplary have crossed the ocean to get back to where it all started, in Hovdinge in Sweden. They have even brought some of their own kids to teach them to value the memories of us striving to feed our families in the stony soil of that place. That's the way we like it up here you see, to be valued and remembered. Who does not dream of that?! My only concern just now is about my secretary. She has been most excited all day. Now, having been praised for cooking and blogging, I am a bit worried about her soul soaring too high up from where she belongs. Well, they all look like they are having a party, don't they?

Tomorrow I'll see too it that they go to all cemetaries available in the area, churches in use when Oscar's kids where baptized and places of interest, like where my farm was situated. Some of them will still have that happy smile on their faces when we've finished with that tour. Those are called genealogists, hopelessly incurable, but needed for the good of mankind...

With a happy smile on my face, I remain your great grandfather Göran Danielsson, dead in 1870, still in business.

Wagtail chatter

Dear readers,
Today my great grand son, the farmer, was surprised hearing the wagtails chatter intensively when he was getting near to his wagon which he was trying to prepare for harvesting the grass. So when lifting the lid of the wagon, this is what he found:

Six little one, getting all upset, while their mum and dad got crazy chattering up in the sky. Suddenly one of the them lifted, flying away, to be followed by them all. I wondered if it was their first attempt, they managed perfectly well to use their wings, better than I did up here. They all made a fantastic show for the farmer and his wife and kids, having to do this to them, in order to save their lives. Their parents seemed to keep track of them all and we just have to hope they were grown enough to manage a life outside their secure nest.

The wagtails come back to the place of their birth and it is almost always on the very exact date they arrive in Hovdinge. Amazing! My boss up here know how it works: The wagtail use the same nest their whole life. So hopefully these ones will find their nest which was placed nearby on an old wagon not needed any more. The nest is hidden on strange places, preferably under the engine on a car which is not in use - well, this vehicle was in use! The young birds stay in the nest 11-16 days. Hopefully this was day #16!

I was amused up here! My secretary tells me that this is not the proper way to handle a genealogy blog, just getting excited over a little nest, but I tell her she should learn from the birds, they don't sow, they don't harvest, but are well taken care of. There will be time for the Oscarson's and the Goranson's and the Johansson's and the Johnson's and other dear descendants!

Yours, Göran.

Ps. I'll give you a close up too!