L'aura del Campo

Eksjö, Mariannelund and Hässleby

Winter: 10 Mulk (February 16)

2006-02-16
afternoon, 25 degrees. 54 in Tulsa, OK.

Temp is falling. After such a mild January, we will pay! (Evening now, and it is already down to 35 in Tulsa. This morning it was in the 60s there!)

Well, AL is probably right. There is a Hässleby outside of Mariannelund in the eastern part of Eksjö (which is part of Jönköping in Småland).

What I learned: ek = oak, sjö = lake; therefore, 'Oak Lake'. The coat of arms has an oak tree with acorns. It's a rural area of 16,000, most of whom live in Eksjö town. There was a bit of an insurrection in Småland back in the 1500s and Eksjö paid the price. It has been a center for the military, for wood processing and sawmills, known for music (woodwinds), historically for oxen.

This is interesting, as my cousin works in a furniture factory that is still open in Jamestown, NY. It was surrounded by forest and sits on Lake Chautauqua. Must've reminded some of the Swedes of home.

Link to some pictures of Eksjö (click on icons within Charlotta's site):

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/30bb6/308a3/

Charlotta also has photos of Vimmerby where her family is from. Very close by to Hässleby.

What is shocking to me in these photos are the number of red buildings. I grew up in a red house this color; my sister still lives there and it is still red. My cousins camp (complete with pond) in Busti outside of Jamestown is also painted red, always has been. When I was a child the house had green trim. My mother called them 'Swedish colors'.

Can't find 'hässle' in a Swedish ordbok (dictionary) but 'hässja' has something to do with hay and in Danish 'le' can mean a scythe for cutting hay. 'by' = town. Could Hässleby have been in an upland valley where there was alot of hay? A place they gathered to cut it, or a place to make scythes? Who knows! I'd have to really research that! Did find a sanitarium just north of Mariannelund (which is a wide spot on Highway 33) where the name Hässleby is mentioned. There is a sanitarium there (sykhus ?). Which at tea today, talking to Kylie, lead to the idea of writing a poem to the theme of 'going home'. I wonder what kind of sanitarium it is. I need the rest. Do they have an extra bed? Would I learn Swedish?

So, again I didn't get a lot accomplished today. Did get my brochure printed out for Tea at Three. I'm happy with the poems: Constellation of the ox and Winter reflections of the bells both of which I wrote in the last week and posted in my blog. They show promise. Gave copies to Richard, Ryan, Kylie, Allison, Alex, Jo-dan and Douglas at Tea.

There is a special Oscar Night event in town. At tea, mentioned that the SUA should have a chocolate oscar for each award and present them to someone in the audience who is 'representing' that actor, actress, director, etc! If they can't make oscars, bunnies will do. (The key here folks is chocolate !

SENSED

Used condom; bottle cap; bits of plastic; seed pods; abandoned blanket and sheet; patchquilt drapes in a window, fresh poop.

Also, saw a flurry or two. If it's going to get cold, it would be nice to have a layer of insulation. 3 to 5 inches would do. The pansies and dandelions have tried to bloom all winter. Now the hyacinths and quince want to join in. But it will be bitter cold tonight, tomorrow. Warming up in about 5 days.

Argh, no edited poem today. Too late to hurry.