FIELD WALK
At the end of the first residency week, I was able to go for a field walk around Äskhults property borders. Lucky me the sun was shining, actually, it was a warm day! The goal for this walk was to experience how the borders looked like. Did natural environment provide Äskhults contours or did human decisions made its outskirts? In the end, I can conclude that natural circumstances provided humans of borders but humans decided how to split up these resources. Below you can find photos of several kinds of lines either natural or human interventions.
NATURE RESERVE
The wooded area is a nature reserve belonging to the cultural heritage of the village of Äskhult. A small winding creek is situated in a lower and wet area with alder. The leaves are used to feed the sheep (track: 1 km). After hiking between rocks and small valleys in a more closed forest environment the landscape is radically changing. At the most northern part, the landscape is open and the horizon becomes visible again (track: foto 1). During winter moose and heavy storms could harm the fences around Äskhults property, in the spring they will be repaired. Horses pulling a car with a crane are helping the farmer to get rid of birch trees and pine out of the forest. As a result, new tracks arise.
REMOVING ROCKS AND BIRCH
In the past rocks are removed from the arable ground to its borders. To create an 1825 environment stones are replaced to make visible the small arable plots. Nowadays birch trees are considered unpleasant. Large amounts have to be removed to keep the landscape open.
