We are getting fresh snow today, the landscape is once again changing. I'm not sure whether it is possible but it would be great if there would be time to go for a long walk during the weekend. But today I'm feeling tired, almost excessively so.
(Posting title is from the poem Horses in Snow by Roberta Hill Whiteman.)
These photographs were taken last Saturday at Myllyjärvi, or in fact on Myllyjärvi. I went for a walk with my daughter to three lakes in Luukki: Myllyjärvi, Hauklampi and Hepolampi. We followed the tracks of other people who had explored the lakes before us. Nobody had fallen in so the ice must have been thick enough for walking.
I haven't written much about cameras recently, mainly because the LX5 is still working fine despite the stuck click wheel and occasional other problems which so far have been fixed by removing the battery and then restarting the camera.
However, I have been browsing the hands-on previews of the Olympus OM-D E-M10, which seems to be a fine tool for a photographer, and something I probably would like to be using. But still, it is a bit too big for me, even with the new pancake zoom lens.
Then there is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 with the 12-32 mm kit lens. There wouldn't probably be much IQ advantage to the GM1 when compared with the LX7, because of the relatively slow lens. However, the size of the GM1 is rather nice, and the usability would be probably ok also.
The only problem I see is the need for a separate macro lens for closeup photographs, which would complicate things a bit too much for me. A camera (without any extras) that fits a coat pocket is what I would like to carry. What is good is that the kit lens starts at 12 mm, I wouldn't like to have a lens that is any less wide than this.
However, my LX5 is still going strong after 160,000 photographs taken with it. When the LX5 finally breaks there is probably a new crop of fine cameras available for choosing a replacement.
(Posting title is from the poem Instances of Wasted Ingenuity by Dara Wier.)
Yesterday I was feeling reasonably content, except for being tired, but this morning I got something else to think about: a cracked or broken filling in a tooth. It isn't all that bad, usually just a dull ache, except when drinking something hot, or when breathing cold air. I hope to get a temporary filling to the tooth tomorrow.
(Posting title is from Killing Him: A Radio Play by Yehuda Amichai, translated by Adam Seelig and Hadar Makov-Hasson.)
These photographs were taken in Luukki on January 25th when I went for a walk with my daughter. There was a plentiful harvest of snow-coated things.
I'm feeling tired after two consecutive days of commuting by bicycle. But maybe it is not the exercise that makes me tired. I haven't slept properly recently, and that isn't so good. Eight straight hours of sleep feels like an impossible dream.
(Posting title is from the poem Heart’s Needle by W. D. Snodgrass.)
Today some good things happened at work. And yesterday wasn't bad either. I'm getting almost a feeling of contentment. Should I start worrying instead?
I have commuted by bicycle on two days this week, which means four hours of exercise so far. Tomorrow I'm planning to take the bus, I need a rest day.
The gear I have for riding the bicycle works rather well. This morning the temperature was -9 °C, and there was headwind 7 m/s, making it rather cold, but I didn't have any problems. The Buff merino wool headwear works very well in protecting the face, and it is versatile on how to put it on, in how many layers, etc.
I haven't been using my bicycle shoes and neoprene overshoes, though, because the toes tend to get cold when the temperature drops below -7 °C. Instead I'm using my Sievi hiking shoes with two layers of socks, merino wool underneath long thick wool socks. This works well even below -15 °C.
(Posting title is from the poem Girl in a Library by Gail Mazur.)
January 20th was a cold, sunny day.
(Posting title is from the poem Retreat by John Fuller.)
Today I commuted by bicycle. In the morning I had headwind of 8 m/s, and when returning home the wind pushed from behind at 6 m/s. It was much better this way, wind helping, being a bit tired.
Sometimes things work out all right. I had a couple of such moments today. Not all days are like that.
(Posting title is from the poem Lonely Deep Affection by Ca Conrad.)
These photographs were taken last week while commuting to work. I commuted by bicycle on one day only, feeling lazy. Well, of course it was also quite cold, about -16 °C on most days. This week I'm planning to use the bicycle more often.
(Posting title is from the poem Why the Pretty One by Richard Emil Braun.)
I really should go through my recent photographs, as I have now used up those uploaded earlier to Flickr.
Anyway, the length of day is now 7 h 32 min, and in the morning when I commute to work the eastern sky shows some lighter colors, in anticipation of sunset. It doesn't feel so dark any more.
(Posting title is from the poem Image Tensed by Clemente Rèbora, translated by Geoffrey Brock.)
These photographs were taken on January 19th in Meiko. It started to be quite late when I was returning to the roadside, the blue moment coloring the landscape.
I have been reading the novel Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. This is quite a big novel, in terms of pages and themes, but maybe a bit too clever to be really convincing. But I couldn't help being moved by the story of Ursula, who lives her life again and again, changing it a little bit each time, seeking the life that would be the best there is for her. How little things can make a big difference.
(Posting title is from the poem Opportunity by Robert Winner.)
The landscape provides a lot of possibilities to explore with a camera right now, as there is a little bit of snow to provide accents, and plenty of ice wherever there was water (and there was plenty of water) when the cold period started two weeks ago.
Today it was once again quite late when I went for a walk with my daughter. Even though there is only 4-5 cm of snow in the forest, someone had pulled a sled while walking, and we followed those tracks for a while.
I wonder what was in the sled. Surely not a child, as the path was blocked by fallen trees, rocks etc. Maybe this was someone intending to spend the night camping in the forest. Or transporting equipment for ice fishing.
(Posting title is from the poem Opportunity by Helen Hunt Jackson.)
These photographs were taken a week ago at lake Tränuhals. It was a nice day to be out walking, even though the sun was mostly hidden behind clouds. I walked for two hours, and was rather tired when I got back to the roadside. But being tired felt good.
(Posting title is from the poem The Messenger by Eleanor Wilner.)
Today I planned to take a long walk, but then it turned out that there was quite a lot of things to do. A piece of paper went missing, and I searched for it for quite some time. Finally I thought that maybe it had fallen behind a book shelf, and thus I emptied the shelf of books, and moved it to see what was hidden behind. Well, there were half a dozen pieces of paper, but not the one I was looking for. But at least I got the books a bit better organized, and I also made a big pile of books which I'm going to take to the local library to be recycled.
It was somewhat late when I finally went for a walk with my daughter. We went to Luukki, walking by lake Myllyjärvi, Hauklampi and Hepolampi. Or in fact walking on these lakes, as the ice is quite thick already, and we took the opportunity to make shortcuts by walking on the ice across the lakes.
I bought a new piece of clothing for my bicycle commute, headwear made of merino wool. I think I now have everything to cope even with -20 °C coldness when commuting by bicycle. However, it is now ten degrees warmer than earlier this week, about -6 °C, and snow is starting to drop off the trees.
The photographs were taken on January 19th in Meiko.
(Posting title is from the poem The Sheep Who Fastened the Sky to the Ground by Oni Buchanan.)
In the cold weather the trees get a delicate varnish of frost.
(Posting title is from the poem Aria by David Barber.)
The cold weather generates interesting ice formations near flowing water. Now that the work week is over, I'm looking forward to the weekend. Weather is warming up a bit, up to -8 °C, and the conditions should be good for long walks in forests and swamps. And the length of day is 7 h 18 min, which means that there isn't such a hurry any more to get back before it gets dark.
The depth of snow is now at 4-5 cm, but there was enough new snow during the week so that old tracks should be mostly hidden. A fresh winter landscape is waiting for exploration...
(Posting title is from the poem Heart’s Needle by W. D. Snodgrass.)
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