“Ale’s Stones (or Ales stenar in Swedish) is a megalithic monument in Skåne in southern Sweden. It is a stone ship, oval in outline, with the stones at each end markedly larger than the rest. It is 67-metres long formed by 59 large boulders, weighing up to 1.8 tonnes each,” says the Wiki.

We took the road from Tomelilla to Ystad:

We passed some beautiful buildings on the way:

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It was wonderful to see so many cycles!

One cyclist reminded me of me!

We went through fields of poppies:

and potatoes:

We entered Kaseberga:

I’d made a packed lunch, and we sat and ate it with relish!

(That dahi is TEN PERCENT FAT!!!)

Both the cultivars and the wildflowers, like this Swedish Jasmine (or perhaps it is Mockorange?) were beautiful!

This Hollyhock was nearly black!

Nina id’d the Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), which can be medicinal or toxic to humans, depending on its use:

Bluebells nodded in the breeze:

Poppies laughed in the wind:

They were beautiful, whether or not I knew their names!

Imagine having rambler roses growing wild!

The souvenir shop was very colourful:

Some gates were obviously not used!

Some wall decorations were lovely:

We walked past this ancient cottage, dreaming in the sunshine.

Who’s more beautiful…Nina or the poppies?

Fat, woolly sheep were grazing everywhere:

We approached the stone “ship”:

We found some paragliding attempts in progress, but there was not a stiff enough breeze.

We sighted the Baltic Sea:

the cove had a sandy beach:

At last we were near Ales Stenar:

But you think I’m going to let you see it? I’d got sidetracked by some beautiful butterflies in the grass:

The sea called everyone:

Ok, ok! Here is the stone ship, from prehistoric times…

I was again sidetracked by many larks, that went up in the air to sing:

They landed again (I had to keep far from them!)

Here’s a short video of their behaviour:

Back to the awe-inspiring Ales Stenar!

Amongst the ancient stones, a traditional pastime, kite-flying, was being tried out:

The grasses and the sea made a stunning combination!

So did the wildflowers and the sky:

A puff of wind would play parent…

The product of this seed would set me dreaming in a different way :D

Houses talked about the past, too:

Windows were works of art:

Treasures lay spilled:

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Some houses were mute; it was their thatched roofs that harked back to ancient times, and it was as if an eye was open in that roof:

Some of the houses were pretty old, too, if not pre-historic!

I caught these two Hooded Crows, feeding:

Avoiding the ice-creams and other calorific snacks, we got into Nina’s car and drove to Glimminghuse Castle…but that’s the next post!