Three Months in Skåne – Dampness, Wind and Turkeys
On the 1st of September, we moved to Skåne, and now—just over two months later—we’re finally beginning to settle in. Everything still feels new: the scents, the light, the wind (good grief, the wind!), and the dampness that seems to have decided it’s here to stay.
We’ve also started adopting the Scanian way of life, where everything is just around the corner. I actually caught myself yesterday thinking that a 30-minute drive was a long way. Compared to northern Sweden, where that was considered close, it’s almost comical how quickly you adapt.
October has certainly made an entrance. The humidity has reached entirely new levels, and combined with the wind, it feels like living in a steam room without the heat. At the same time, it’s still warm enough for the grass to keep growing. Moss is spreading like wildfire—on stone, wood, soil… everything. And you quickly learn not to leave a container of chicken feed sitting around for two weeks, because by then it won’t just be covered in moss—it’ll have developed an entirely new ecosystem of unidentified lifeforms.
Yesterday, while casually browsing local buy-and-sell groups (the selection of second-hand treasures here is absolutely insane!), I came across an ad for three six-month-old turkeys. Since I have both a complete lack of impulse control and a strong desire to own turkeys, I bought them immediately.
So, meet Cletus, Daisy-Mae and Loretta—the beginning of my new breeding flock. They moved into the stable with the chickens, who currently occupy two large horse stalls, and immediately set about knocking over every feed container, destroying the water dispenser, and making themselves completely at home.
But then again, Pär needs something to keep him busy too.
On the slightly more grown-up side of things, we’ve ordered solar panels that are due to be installed before Christmas. One particular energy company will soon have complete control over us—first by occupying most of Pär’s time, then by tying us to their electricity services, and finally by delivering the system just in time for me to start putting up the Christmas lights.
I have a feeling I’m not going to come out the winner in that arrangement.
The previous owners also left behind quite a bit of old furniture and cabinetry (bless them!), which quickly turned into a pantry upgrade project. In one of the outbuildings, I found three kitchen cabinets that were far too good to leave collecting dust. One quick trip to Bauhaus later—where I found a worktop on sale for less than 500 SEK—and four hours later (shopping included), we’d given the pantry a serious upgrade.
It’s not perfect, and I’d still like to finish it off with some trim and a few details, but that can wait until we need to rewire some electrics and organise proper storage containers.
At least now I have plenty more room to build the real-life version of Gas Station Simulator.
Storm Gudrun is welcome to pay us a visit—we won’t need to go grocery shopping for weeks unless we absolutely have to.
I’ve also requested a quote—and received a surprisingly good offer—to restore the beautiful wood-fired baking oven in the kitchen. I really want to make it the heart of the room when we eventually renovate the kitchen. But that project will have to wait another month… or at least until after Christmas.
And there we are again… back to that whole impulse control issue, which seems to be the recurring theme of my life.
