Midsummer Take 2

On the actual day of midsummer we decided to join a colleague of mine in her day's plans.  Her name is Pascale Deen.  She was born in the Netherlands, and moved to Northern Ireland at 12.  She is an instrument scientist at ESS.  She has two sons around 5 and 2.  Her husband, Steve Hall, is into science, more like the science I do, and was in Southern California for midsummer - bless his heart, that must have been terrible.  The plan was to pack a picnic, suit up Charlie, get to her house, and hike to a nearby park for midsummer activities.  She lives just east of Lund in Södra Sandby.  It so happens that the bus we take has Staffanstorp at one end and Södra Sandby at the other.

Chris made us a tasty picnic the night before consisting of chicken salad, potato salad, cheese, and strawberries.  The morning was looking a little iffy as weather goes.  It rained for a good 2 hours.  The temperature was in the 70's and the sky cleared for a bit, so we decided to head out.  There's a European saying, "There's no bad weather, only bad clothes!"  Charlie loves the bus, so it's easy to travel with him.

We made it to Pascale's with no problem.  The boys were terrified of Charlie!  They stood statue still whenever he came near, unless it was too near, then they ran in fear.  Pascale admitted that the boys hadn't really been around dogs, so it was a brand new experience for them.  The destination was Skryllegården.  We started out on our walk.  The weather had held out, so off we went.  The walk was beautiful.  Charlie was leading the charge.

We passed a canola (rapeseed) field still in bloom.  The fields around our house had already gone to seed, so this was a nice treat.

Here is the merry group.  The boys had their bikes, we had a cooler, and Pascale had this genius pram.  It was a three wheeler with a lot of storage!

Chris and Charlie were having a little race.

We walked passed this local fishing hole.  A clear day they say you can see the Turning Torso building in Malmö from here.

Here was our path.

When we got to the park, we set up for a picnic.  The hike was about 4K so it was a welcome rest.  The boys had gotten a little worn out near the end, but Pascale was determined to make it to the park by 1:00, that's when the maypole was to start.

It actually didn't come out till 2:30, so we had plenty of time to enjoy the food and the rest!  They brought the maypole out in a procession with music.  Then the crowds started to gather.

They made concentric circles around the maypole and sang and dance.  It looked like a lot of fun.

There were so many women dressed in nice summer dresses.  These two sisters had matching dresses and looked so pretty.

The maypole was beautiful!  They had spent a lot of time decorating this one.  It was very elaborate.

Here's Pascale and the boys!

The rain clouds were coming in pretty fast, so we headed out.  It was back through the woods, beside the horses, passing by the rapeseeds, and then back to Pascale's.

That last picture wasn't Pascale's house, but I thought it was quite European.  After some tea and soccer  playing, Chris, Charlie, and I headed back home.  Here we are waiting for the bus.

Oh yeah, and by the end of the day, the boys loved Charlie!