The Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata) is a wader, and the largest wader in Europe. The bird is called “storspove” in Norwegian. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. Unfortunately, the curlew population along the coast of Norway is not doing so well. It has been placed on the red list for endangered species by the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre (Artsdatabanken).
Many years ago, a friend of mine bought a large scale “double portrait” (see more information below). I am happy to say she has displayed it on her wall ever since. About 10 years later, I was contacted by a friend of hers. She wondered if I could make her something similar. Of course I took on the challenge, this time aiming for a “triple portrait”.
The Lomis farm consists of several buildings, known in Norwegian as “Lomisgardane”. The buildings are heritage listed and consist of restored old living quarters. They are located on the hillside right below the Lomen stave church in Vestre Slidre municipality, Oppland, Norway.
“Hof Hannesen” is the name of this Black Forest farm building, situated in the Black Forest in south-western Germany. The farm belongs to friends of mine, and has belonged to their family for generations. The oldest parts of the main building are over 400 years old. Over the centuries the house has been expanded and changed, from being a combined animal barn and family home to the current setup with 2-3 separate households under the same roof.
Heading north on Bruce highway out of Mackay in Queensland, Australia, you will pass by this tiny roadside hotel. If it wasn’t for the beer signs and the rather large sculpture of an aboriginal woman and child, you would probably pass by without noticing it much. But this place makes you take a closer look at history.
The great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), called «storskarv» in Norwegian, is a coastal bound diving seabird found almost all over the world. The genus name means “bald raven” and carbo is Latin for “charcoal”. The cormorant can vary greatly in size from 1.5 kg to 5.3 kg, but it is not the size or the blackness of the bird that keeps catching my eye. It is its habit of sitting in the sun or the wind to dry off its wings after the last dive for fish.
