In the branches of a tree

Meiko 1

Meiko 2

Meiko 3

Meiko 4

Meiko 5

Meiko 6

Meiko 7

The photographs were taken on January 6th in Meiko.

Today I walked for over two hours in the north parts of Nuuksio. I started at lake Suolikas, walked west to lake Lummukas, circled south to lake Syvä-Antias and lake Iso-Antias, and returned back north. In some places there was 20 cm of snow, partly frozen, but the north shore of lake Iso-Antias was bare of snow. It felt like spring, even though it is end of January.

This week I have got 12 hours of exercise. In January I rode the bicycle for only 160 kilometers, as the weather was challenging. But next week seems to be rather promising for commuting by bicycle.

(Posting title is from the poem Three Translations from Characters Found on a Lover’s Body by James Thomas Stevens.)

If I should put the water in now

Snow 1

Snow 2

Snow 3

Snow 4

The photographs were taken on January 6th at Grenomossen and Tränuhals.

Today I walked for almost two hours at Vaakkoi. It wasn't quite as flooded as I thought it would be, but in some places almost all of the snow had melted away.

(Posting title is from the poem Potato Soup by Daniel Nyikos.)

I wander through both

Snow 1

Snow 2

Snow 3

Snow 4

The photographs were taken at Pirttimäki on January 5th.

I commuted by bicycle today. Most of the snow has melted away from roads, but in the morning there was black ice in many places. The studded winter tires were necessary.

This week I have got eight hours of exercise, half riding the bicycle, half walking. During the weekend I'm planning to do some more walking. I guess there is quite a lot of flooding due to rain and melting snow, so I need to use the tall rubber boots.

(Posting title is from the poem Paths by John Montague, which reminded me of the question about potatoes at TOP.)

And his watch showed years, not hours

Lake 1

Lake 2

Lake 3

Lake 4

Lake 5

On January 5th I visited Pirttimäki. It was cold. There were plenty of tracks in the snow, but I was there well before sunrise, and few people were out that early.

The warm weather continued today. Yesterday we had 18 cm of snow, now 10 cm. But it will be colder tomorrow, -2 °C in the morning. The length of day is now 7 hours 34 minutes, so it isn't so dark even though the landscape isn't so white any more.

(Posting title is from the poem Balakirev's Dream (1905) by Tomas Tranströmer.)

Something I do not know again

Snow 1

Snow 2

Snow 3

Snow 4

Snow 5

The photographs were taken at Tremanskärr on January 4th, after snowfall.

The weather has been warm, +2 °C, and it has been raining. The depth of snow has dropped from 32 cm to 18 cm, and it is still going down.

(Posting title is from the poem Jenny by Dante Gabriel Rossetti.)

It is hard not to be appalled by existence

Snow 1

Snow 2

Snow 3

Snow 4

On January 3rd I walked in Petikko, exploring the landscape around the landfill area. The place was quiet, which was quite exceptional, as usually there are lots of big machines making big noise. It was snowing.

(Posting title is from the poem The Absolutely Huge and Incredible Injustice in the World by Ron Padgett.)

I perceived there was no time to lose

Lake 1

Lake 2

Lake 3

The photographs were taken on January 2nd at lake Meiko.

I commuted by bicycle today, and got 2 hours 15 minutes of exercise. In the morning it wasn't so bad, as the snow was hard, except in a few places where there was 15 cm of new snow. But in the afternoon the snow had started to melt, and the bicycle tires got bogged down in it, making it heavy going.

The forecast promises new snow, slush and rain for this week, so the conditions for riding the bicycle will get even worse.

(Posting title is from the poem Chomei at Toyama by Basil Bunting.)

White wonder of creation, fashioned in

Snow 1

Snow 2

Snow 3

Snow 4

Snow 5

Snow 6

The photographs were taken at Grenomossen swamp in Meiko on January 2nd. The swamp was frozen and there was a little bit of snowfall.

Today I walked at Myllyjärvi, south of Luukki, the same place as yesterday. There was new snow, and the only fresh tracks were made by snowshoes. I didn't see anyone else. There was a big spider walking slowly on top of the snow. It was -2 °C, so this was quite an achievement.

There is 10 cm of new snow already today, and there will be more. This means some extra exercise for the afternoon. So far this week I have got 10 1/2 hours of exercise.

Update: I processed some of the more recent photographs today and uploaded them to Flickr. I have been pondering whether the image stabilization of the LX100 isn't quite as good as on the LX3/LX5. But then I got the photograph shown below, taken handheld, at 3.2 seconds (!) exposure. I was standing in the snow, feet apart, taking half a dozen photographs, of which this one was the sharpest. I'm not going to complain about the image stabilization of the LX100 any more.

(Posting title is from the poem “The Octoroon” by Albery Allson Whitman.)

To decorate some fir trees but not others

Wood 1

Wood 2

Wood 3

Wood 4

The photographs were taken at Vaakkoi on December 31st and January 1st.

This morning I walked for 2 hours 15 minutes at Myllyjärvi, south of Luukki. When I started the temperature was -6 °C, and when I returned, it was -2 °C, which is 25 degrees warmer than yesterday morning. Snow is starting to drop off trees, and soon the landscape won't look as white as it was during the cold period.

The new boots are being adapted to my feet. I'm experimenting what is the best way to tie the laces, and how tight I should tie them, as there is quite a lot of scope for fine-tuning.

I followed a horse trail for some time, and said hello to a horse and a rider. It was very quiet.

(Posting title is from the poem Sea Sickness by Ilya Kutik.)

Know very clearly—or at least lie still

Lake 1

Lake 2

Lake 3

Lake 4

Lake 5

Lake 6

These photographs were taken in Vaakkoi on December 31st and January 1st. I explored the north parts of the area, finding new routes. There was a little bit of snow, and it was quite cold.

In fact, the average temperature in Finland between January 1st and 21st was -18.3 °C, which is the coldest since 1987. And I remember 1987 quite well, as I was then in the army and we spent lots of time time camping in the forest. Temperature dropped to -40 °C.

(Posting title is from the poem Don Juan: Canto 11 by Lord Byron.)

Even in what passes here for winter

Frost 1

Frost 2

Frost 3

Frost 4

Frost 5

These photographs were taken on December 30th at Oittaa. It was cold, and frost was in evidence.

Today we had -17 °C. For tomorrow morning the forecast promises -25 °C, but then it will get warmer, perhaps close to 0 °C next week.

I did some walking today with the new boots. An hour or two of walking don't really tell whether the boots are any good, but so far they have been excellent. A good pair of boots is a necessity when one walks several hours at one go. During the weekend I'll do that.

(Posting title is from the poem Fresco by Richie Hofmann.)