The photographs were taken at Kaisaniemi botanic garden in Helsinki on November 1st.
They are promising quite a lot of snow for tomorrow. The bicycle needs repairs, and not only the flat tire needs to be fixed, so I'll commute by car and train.
(Posting title is from the poem The Old Water-Wheel by Clark Ashton Smith.)
The photograph was taken at Kaisaniemi botanic garden in Helsinki on November 1st.
This morning there was a little bit of snow on the road when I started riding the bicycle. During the day the snow melted away. On the way home I noticed that the tire pressure is going down. I'm not sure whether there is a puncture or a problem with the valve.
The length of day is now less than 6 1/2 hours. The weather has been rainy and clouded, so it has been dark indeed.
(Posting title is from the poem The Wheel King by Howard Nemerov.)
The photograph was taken in Helsinki on November 1st.
I commuted by bicycle today. In the morning there was strong headwind, and in the afternoon backwind. While commuting home it rained half of the way, and then it started snowing. So far this year I have got 5,937 km of riding the bicycle.
(Posting title is from the poem The Old Man at the Wheel by Frank Bidart.)
The photographs were taken at Niihama outdoor area in Tampere on October 28th.
Today I commuted by car and train. I got one hour of walking.
(Posting title is from the poem Water Wheel by Gary Soto.)
The photographs were taken at Niihama outdoor area in Tampere on October 28th.
It is snowing, once again. Depth of snow is 1 cm, and it may be that the snow melts away today.
(Posting title is from the poem Wheel by Michael Palmer.)
The photographs were taken at Niihama outdoor area in Tampere on October 28th.
This morning I walked for 1 1/2 hours, and the rubber boots were useful as the paths were muddy and the swamps and ditches were flooding.
Donald Trump is seeping deeper and deeper into the mire. "The president is incorrect" applies to everything he does, not only the lies but also the mistakes and the stupidities, not to speak of the money-grabbing.
(Posting title is from the poem Grayed In by Martha Collins.)
The photographs were taken at Niihama outdoor area in Tampere on October 28th.
The snow from yesterday melted away during the night. It rained in the morning, and I got wet when riding the bicycle. In the afternoon the temperature rose to 7 °C, and it was still wet even though the rain stopped.
(Posting title is from the poem D.O.A. by Tim Dlugos.)
The photograph was taken on October 22nd.
In the morning there was heavy headwind, up to 16 m/s, and commuting by bicycle took an hour. During the day we got 6 cm of snow, and it turned into slush. There was strong backwind, which helped, and it took an hour to get home.
(Posting title is from the poem The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: The Argument by William Blake.)
The photographs were taken on October 22nd.
The snow from yesterday was melting today, but in the afternoon we got new snow. The studded winter tires were once again necessary when riding the bicycle.
The length of day is now 6 hours 57 minutes.
(Posting title is from the poem Chekhov by Howard Moss.)
The photographs were taken on October 21st.
In the morning the depth of snow was 4 cm, and in the afternoon 2 cm, due to melting. Commuting by bicycle was otherwise ok but when big wet snowflakes were falling and hit the eyes, visibility got poor. The studded winter tires provided plenty of grip.
(Posting title is from the song Out in the fields by Gary Moore.)
The photograph was taken on October 21st.
Today was a wet day, and there was snow and rain. I commuted by car and train, which was pleasant. It some point in the middle of day it wasn't quite so dark, but there was no hint of sun.
(Posting title is from the poem Cabin by Anne Waldman.)
The photograph was taken on October 20th in Petikko.
Today is a rainy day. In the morning I looked at the weather radar, and it seemed that the rain would be a little bit easier for an hour or so, so I went for a walk, and got quite soaked. The swamps and ditches are flooding, and water level is high in the lakes.
I need to do some repairs to the bicycle. The front tire is leaking air pressure, and I need to replace the inner tube. I'm using Marathon Winter tires, which have puncture protection, so developing a leak is bit of a surprise.
(Posting title is from the poem Come in from the Rain by Tim Dlugos.)
The photograph was taken on October 20th in Petikko.
This morning I walked for two hours, enjoying the early morning landscape. There was some frost and ice, and a little bit of fog in the open fields.
I met a man who wanted to say a few words. He warned that there is black ice on the road, dangerous for those who use rubber boots. Then he asked if I had some money to give to him. And then he quoted Bible and told that Donald Trump is working with the Israelis against the Israelis, hinting that Trump is the Antichrist intending to destroy the world. At this point I left, saying that the world is indeed strange, and wishing him a nice day.
But I wonder. If Trump is the Antichrist, that would fit all the lying, cheating, swindling, grabbing and molesting he has been indulging in. So maybe there was a mite of truth in what the man was saying. So, when do the righteous people in the USA realise what Trump is, and lock him up? (I'm being a bit ironic here.)
(Posting title is from the poem Dora Williams by Edgar Lee Masters.)
The photograph was taken on October 20th.
It rained this morning, and there was strong headwind when commuting by bicycle. In the afternoon there was partial headwind, but the rain had stopped. In five days I got 10 hours of exercise even though I took one rest day when I commuted by car and train.
It is remarkable how Donald Trump's cabinet members fit the stereotype of villains in old James Bond movies. They are crazy, and they crab things.
(Posting title is from the poem The Villain by Michael Benedikt.)
The photographs were taken on October 19th. (Photographs taken with an iPhone SE.)
Today I commuted by car and train, so this was a rest day from commuting by bicycle. For tomorrow they promise rain and warmer weather, 6 °C.
(Posting title is from the poem The Bear at the Dump by William Matthews.)
The photograph was taken in Vaakkoi on October 18th, at lake Saaren-Musta.
In three days I have got 7 1/2 hours of exercise. This morning there was black ice on the road, and I wondered why the studded winter tires are so silent, until I realized: "It's the ice, stupid!"
(Posting title is from the poem The Man on the Dump by Wallace Stevens.)
The photograph was taken at Vaakkoi on October 18th.
Today I got 2 1/2 hours of exercise, the same as yesterday. The length of day is now 7 h 33 min, and getting shorter rather fast.
(Posting title is from the poem The Town Dump by Howard Nemerov.)
The photographs were taken in Luukki at lake Kaitalampi on October 17th.
Today I got 2 1/2 hours of exercise. Weather is getting cooler again, next night will be below 0 °C.
(Posting title is from the poem Summer Mowing by Jennifer Gray.)
The photograph was taken in Luukki on October 17th.
This morning I walked two hours, exploring nearby forests and swamps. The swamps and ditches are flooding, because of rain and melted snow. The water level is higher than it was last spring.
(Posting title is from the poem Dead Man’s Dump by Isaac Rosenberg.)
The photograph was taken in Luukki on October 17th. The red sun was remarkable, caused by dust in the air.
(Posting title is from the poem A Woman on the Dump by Debora Greger.)
The photograph was taken in Luukki by lake Kaitalampi on October 17th.
I commuted by bicycle on five days this week, getting 9 1/2 hours of exercise. So far this year I have got 5,631 km of riding the bicycle. By the end of the year I should get over 6,000 km, but I won't reach 6,500 km which I got last year.
(Posting title is from the poem The Crystal Lithium by James Schuyler.)
The photograph was taken in Luukki by lake Kaitalampi on October 17th.
The length of day is now less than 8 hours, which means that we are really in the dark season. The day will shorten to less than six hours, but then it will start brightening again.
(Posting title is from the poem A Nocturnal upon St. Lucy's Day by John Donne.)
The photographs were taken at Malminkartano hill in Helsinki on October 16th.
There were some local elections in the USA, and Trump and his minions lost bigly. Maybe people are waking up and/or behaving like adults?
(Posting title is from the poem Nothing Is Really Hard but to Be Real by John Ciardi.)
The photographs were taken at Malminkartano hill in Helsinki on October 16th.
Temperature dropped below 0 °C during the night, and there were some icy spots on the road. To help those who walk, gravel has been spread in some places to cope with slippery conditions, but for riding the bicycle this is bad.
(Posting title is from the poem A Friendly Address by Thomas Hood.)
The photograph was taken on October 16th.
In a previous posting I wrote: "I thought about stereotypes, for example the feeling that many people from the USA are not really grown up even though they may look like adults." One thing which fits this stereotype extreme well is gun ownership. Only people who haven't grown up can allow such a lax attitude to guns as is the case in the USA.
(Posting title is from the poem Kills bugs dead by Harryette Mullen.)
The photographs were taken on October 15th.
This morning I walked for 1 1/2 hours at Tremanskärr, exploring the swamps that were flooding. Some snow still remains.
(Posting title is from the poem Idiot Psalm 12 by Scott Cairns.)
The photographs were taken on October 15th.
This morning I walked for 2 1/2 hours at Timmermalmi nature protection area, exploring the swamps, which were flooding due to melting snow. I thought about stereotypes, for example the feeling that many people from the USA are not really grown up even though they may look like adults. And when you meet US people the stereotype usually doesn't hold, but still it persists. And then Donald Trump is elected president, and that fits completely the stereotype. Who except people who are not adults would elect Trump?
(Posting title is from the poem Slavery by Hannah More.)
The photographs were taken on October 15th.
I commuted by bicycle on four days this week, and got eight hours of exercise. The weather has been dry. I have been riding the bicycle through the central park in Helsinki, as the paths are no longer so muddy. I met a horse this morning, which was a nice start for the day.
(Posting title is from the poem Chomei at Toyama by Basil Bunting.)
The photograph was taken on September 14th.
(Posting title is from the poem Scenes of Life at the Capital by Philip Whalen.)
The photograph was taken on October 14th.
We are having cold and dry weather, but for the weekend the weather forecast promises somewhat warmer. Today I commuted by car and train, but tomorrow I'm once again riding the bicycle.
In Finland, the amount of taxes carried for each person and company is public information. Today was the day the information was released for the year 2016, and this produced quite a lot of interest and discussions.
(Posting title is from the poem Pyrography by John Ashbery.)
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