the west side of Kruttårns cove is mainly a red pine forest. curiously enough the trees are not norwegian pine (Pinus resinosa) which is actually a species native to North America. instead the forest is scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) which is native and abundant to Norway as well as Scotland
the path follows the coast with several nice swimming spots for those who prefer the smooth rocks to the beach
but i decided to go off the path and make my way up the hill
here i came upon a remarkable pine growing right on the bedrock with no visible root system.
of course there must be some roots hidden under the pine needles but much of the surrounding area was bare rock making it seem almost impossible for the tree to have grown so much
on top of the hill is the seaman's memorial hall- a memorial to all who lost their lives at sea in Norwegian waters during the two world wars. inside there are plaques with information on all the ships and the crew and passengers regardless of nationality
the summer flowers have gone to seed. foragers may recognize this beauty as salsify or oyster plant. while the entire plant is delicious in the spring, in the autumn the roots are the attraction but i let this one be and just took a photo
we were hoping to find parasol mushrooms or champignon on the hospital grounds so we passed Skråvika planning to go by there on the way back. we only found a few dated sjampignons
so we headed for the hospital beach. years ago this beach was maintained for use by patients but recently it has been left to the forces of nature. perhaps the staff prefers the patients to avail the warm water swimming pool or maybe they didn't want resposibility should there be any accidents in the water or maybe they lowered the priority in grounds maintenance. whatever the reason much of what was sand is now covered in washed up algae and growth adapted to marine environments
there's one apple tree that doesn't get any attention with plenty of apples rotting on the sand. we picked a few from the tree but they were quite sour
so we meandered back along the shore and came to the rocky area separating Kysthospitlaet from Skråvika. these smoothed and cracked rocks have been through a lot over the ages. many people see the rock and don't give them much thought or appreciation but to me it's like looking at time, condensed and stored in the most suitable material
this red rock seems more ready to crumble into small pieces
and these lichen are true pioneers of nature ever so slowly breaking down the rock creating habitats for other pioneer species to thrive and create growing conditions for ever more species.
the result of several of the forces of nature working through the ages and they have no plan of stopping
looking back at Minnehallen
Skråvika is a pebble beach largely left in its natural state with grasses and other salt tolerant plants
such as wild roses. these rose hips are mature, some overly so but the best are fleshy and delicious
this beach grass is a lovely mix of shades of green and gray while goldmoss stonecrop completes the scene
closer to the water seaweed has washed up. when looking closer there's an amazing variety of textures and colors but the one color it seems natural to expect is nowhere to be seen
i'd love to spend more time finding beauty in the details of what superficially looks like a mess but it's getting late so we headed back home to make some dinner
