Today I got the bicycle back from the repair shop, and they didn't charge anything, as the back wheel has been in repairs so often without getting in shape. I hope it holds this time. I had a little test run, and it seemed to hold, but only time will tell.
(Posting title is from the poem Are They Shadows by Samuel Daniel.)
Here are some more berries, not to be eaten, though. I have been thinking about going for a walk on a swamp during the weekend, and the weather could be nice for that, rain and thunder, but I'm not yet sure if I have the time, as there are a lot of things to do.
(Posting title is from the poem I rose from marsh mud by Lorine Niedecker.)
Lily of the valley, in different forms.
(Posting title is from the poem Only a Curl by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.)
Today I took my bicycle to a repair shop. One of the spokes in the back wheel was broken, and this is not the first time. In fact, I have had the wheel repaired five or six times already, as spokes are breaking one after another.
Once six spokes were broken at the same time, all near the rim. And when I checked the bicycle just before leaving it at the repair shop I found another broken spoke. Well, at some point all the spokes will have been replaced with new ones.
All these problems appeared after I had the gear hub replaced in the bicycle. Something was wrong about the repair, but as I don't have any idea how the spokes should be, I can't say what is the cause for the problems.
Somehow the curled dry leaves in the photograph match how I feel right now.
(Posting title is from the poem Hunting Manual by Eleanor Wilner.)
In a recent posting the theme was green. Here it is red, maybe. The photographs are from Tremanskärr swamps and forests. Now that autumn is approaching, I'm getting an urge for exploring swamps. It would be great to have a day for walking on an open swamp, looking at what is there to be found.
(Posting title is from the poem Reverie in Open Air by Rita Dove.)
End of summer is approaching, even though the change is gradual. These photographs were taken at Tremanskärr ten days ago, then there was a little bit of rain. But this week has been dry, and so will tomorrow. Excellent weather for commuting by bicycle, morning temperature about 8-10 °C, afternoon 20-23 °C.
(Posting title is from the poem The Snowmass Cycle by Stephen Dunn.)
Green is the theme of this posting. A diverse set of subjects, with plenty of the green stuff in each.
(Posting title is from the poem The Color Green by Chana Bloch.)
Here are photographs taken at Tremanskärr on August 17th. It was a long time ago since I previously visited the swamps and forests there, and while walking I had to look at the map a few times to know where to go. It was a clouded day, with some rain at the end of the walk.
As I have mentioned here earlier, I have lost some weight since the beginning of 2012. Earlier this summer I was 13 kg down in weight, but some of that was temporary, now I'm 11 kg down and my body mass index is 25.4.
However, I noticed that some recent research suggest that (slight) overweight may be a good thing, at least it lowers mortality risk. Hmmm... I'm losing motivation for keeping my weight down. Just joking...
(Posting title is from the poem Things by Louis Simpson.)
These photographs were taken on August 18th at Nuuksio near Sorlampi where there is a place with half a dozen Giant's kettles carved into the rock during the time when glaciers covered Finland.
(Posting title is from the poem Lepanto by G. K. Chesterton.)
While riding the bicycle to Solvalla in Nuuksio and back home on Saturday, I rested for a couple of minutes by Haltia Nature Center, which is a new building, opened this summer. I didn't go exploring what is inside, but I do like how the building looks from outside. It fits well the place beside the lake. The word Finnish "haltia" is in English elf, fairy, leprechaun, but I'm not sure how that would fit the theme of the building.
On Sunday I had a walk with my daughter in Nuuksio, visiting four lakes there: Hauklampi, Häränsilmä, Valkialampi and Kolmperä. We had picnic by lake Valkialampi, at the site where camping in tents is possible. It was quiet, and we didn't meet any other people while walking. This is a part of Nuuksio which I haven't explored at all, and there is quite a lot to see.
(Posting title is from the poem Fairy Tales from the Web by Ish Klein.)
Here is a change of scenery, some urban views. I'm commuting by bicycle, even though there is one spoke broken (once again!) in the rear wheel, but I'm planning to make repairs to the bicycle before the weekend. I hope the rear wheel holds a few days more.
(Posting title is from the poem The Orange Bottle by Joshua Mehigan.)
Yesterday I had a small pause in riding the bicycle by lake Soltingsträsk, where there is a place for warming up inside a little cabin. Or there used to be, as the cabin was burned down and the chimney was broken in pieces. Even the nearby trees had suffered from the fire.
It is several years since I last was here, so I have no idea how recent the fire was, maybe this spring or early summer, looking at the fireweed growing beside the ruined cabin.
Lake Soltingsträsk is a rather beautiful place, but I haven't visited it often. Below you can see how the lake looked in November 2009. And then I took photographs from inside the cabin as well.
(Posting title is from the poem The Fire of Drift-wood by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.)
Here are photographs from Saturday, taken in Nuuksio, by the path between Solvalla and Pirttimäki. Some of the hills were too steep for riding the bicycle, so I had to walk, and at the foot of one such hill I noticed an adder crossing the path. It wasn't in a hurry, keeping still in the middle of the path, probably enjoying the warmth, but when I approached a bit closer the adder moved to the forest.
During the morning I rode the bicycle for 50 kilometers, and in the afternoon my youngest daughter wanted to go for a ride as well, so there were some additional kilometers of riding. A rather active day.
(Posting title is from the poem Snake by Dannie Abse.)
Earlier this week I started thinking about making a longer ride on the bicycle during the weekend, and this morning I decided to do it. I thought it would be interesting to ride to Solvalla in Nuuksio.
I was a bit sleepy in the morning, not paying enough attention to the route, and so I made a wrong turn, riding a road which lead to south of lake Bodom instead of Solvalla. I had to circle back, which took about 20 minutes. The road to Solvalla was in excellent condition, going up and down hills. During one downhill part the speedometer showed 53 km/h, but the speed limit was 60 km/h so no problem.
I rested for some minutes at Solvalla, by Haltia Nature Center, where a lot of other people on bicycle also stopped. For the return I went another route, not along the road but along the walking paths between Solvalla and Pirttimäki, where Route 2000 goes. This route is very hilly, and I had to walk up several of the hills, and downhill one had to be careful and use the brakes a lot. I got somewhat tired during this part, but from Pirttimäki forward there was road once again, and the hills weren't so steep any more.
All in all this was a nice trip to make, three hours and 50 km. Afterwards I was quite tired, but in a pleasant way. Maybe this trip is something to try again if there is a weekend with sunny but reasonably cool weather, such as we have today.
The photographs were taken at Nuuksio on August 10th.
(Posting title is from the poem Hymn to Life by James Schuyler.)
Lake Kämmenlampi at Vaakkoi is a fine place, and there is a resting site with a lean-to, useful especially for those who are walking longer distances through here, along Route 2000, the 110 kilometer long walking path which goes around the Nuuksio wilderness.
(Posting title is from the poem Dream-Land by Edgar Allan Poe.)
Even though I have mentioned signs of autumn appearing, mostly it is still green, even excessively green in some places.
(Posting title is from the poem Meet Me in the Green Glen by John Clare.)
Here are photographs taken at Vaakkoi on August 11th. This is the farthest I have walked in Vaakkoi, all the way to lake Kämmenlampi. And nearby there is an open swamp, Kokkoissuo, which seems to be worth exploring.
(Posting title is from the poem Way Opposite by Harryette Mullen.)
Here is how lake Saaren-Musta at Vaakkoi looks like after rain.
(Posting title is from the poem Rain by Edward Thomas.)
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