The lightness of Kökar

This morning we woke up in sunshine and bird song. We had our breakfast and headed to the cliffs of Kökar church, as we usually always do on our first day.

As we sat on the cliffs and inhaled the fresh sea air and the view Timo spotted a snake below us. It was a Common European Viper (Vipera berus). Vipera berus is a venomous viper species. There are lots of these snakes on Kökar.

I have had a snake phobia since I was small. So I have questioned myself what am I doing on an island full of snakes. The only answer is that I'm so drawn to Kökar that I have to accept the fact that I'll bump into these animals. I have also thought that I'll get used to them.

We climbed down the cliffs to the water line, sat there and just enjoyed the silence. While climbing up again we saw this Tussock Cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum). Because I couldn't decide which of these three shots I liked the most I made a triptych.

Best viewed as large.