The formalists present minutiae

Red

The photograph was taken by Ahvenisto lake on October 18th.

(Posting title is from the poem Schools by Paula Tatarunis.)

You are falling in the streets

Lake 1

Lake 2

The photographs were taken by Ahvenisto lake on October 18th.

(Posting title is from the poem Glow Flesh by Victor Hernández Cruz.)

Must have been, the great booming flashes of it

Lake 1

Lake 2

The photographs were taken by Ahvenisto lake on October 18th.

(Posting title is from the poem Dancing by Robert Hass.)

North to the facility

View 1

View 2

View 3

The photographs were taken at Hämeenlinna castle on October 19th.

(Posting title is from the poem Goggles and Helmet by Donald Hall.)

Everybody can see

View 1

View 2

View 3

The photographs were taken at Ahvenisto in Hämeenlinna on October 9th.

Today I commuted by bicycle through the central park in Helsinki. It was quiet both in the morning and in the afternoon, and only a few people were riding a bicycle. The paths were icy, but the studded winter tires provided a good grip.

(Posting title is from the song Locker Room Talk by Cold War Kids.)

A light to countervail, no longer

View 1

View 2

View 3

View 4

The photographs were taken on October 8th at Häme Castle in Hämeenlinna, visiting the "Heavy Metal" exhibition. Originally from Graz Austria, the exhibition featured a large collection of arms and armours from the 16th to 18th century.

I commuted by bicycle today, and it took about one hour to ride to work, and the same time back home. Part of the way the snow was melting or had melted, probably due to salt spread on the road. Otherwise the road was covered by ice, very slippery and bumpy. The Schwalbe Marathon Winter tires were quite good. I'm getting to know how they behave on snow and ice. It is good to have 240 studs, but even with these tires there was some sliding on ice.

(Posting title is from the poem Makin' It Great Again by Andrew St. James.)

A pity, how we misspeak and mishear

Castle 1

Castle 2

Castle 3

Castle 4

These photographs were taken at Häme Castle in Hämeenlinna on May 4th. We attended a guided tour of the castle, and the children seemed to enjoy it.

Today I thought about misunderstandings. One should not take understanding granted.

(Posting title is from the poem The Poem of the Little House at the Corner of Misapprehension and Marvel by Albert Goldbarth.)

Little souls who thirst for fight

War 1

War 2

Keys

Phones

On May 4th we went to Hämeenlinna, and in addition to Häme Castle we visited other museums nearby, including Museo Militaria, which is "a war history museum showcasing the history of Finnish artillery, engineering and signalling from the Middle Ages to modern times."

I'm not really into war, but I took some photographs nevertheless.

(Posting title is from War is Kind by Stephen Crane.)

Who filled the moat

Gull 1

Gull 2

Fence

Moat

Duck

Here are some views of the museum area at Häme Castle in Hämeenlinna. The photographs were taken on May 4th.

I have got 10 hours of exercise this week, half of it riding bicycle, and the rest walking and various other activities. Nowadays I'm getting 2-3 times the amount of exercise I got three years ago, and it is good.

I have recognized only recently one benefit of walking in forests and swamps, and that is improved balance. It used to be so that when in an old forest there was a dense thicket of fallen trees across the way, I got an "Oh no!" reaction. Nowadays I usually get on "Oh yes!" reaction.

In fact, the so-called obstacle course is meant to be training for this kind of situations, and I'm getting the real thing when walking in forests and swamps. In addition to fallen trees some of the landscape is rugged so that one needs to climb across boulders, and up and down rocky hillsides.

But that doesn't change the fact that while my balance and coordination has improved, I'm still far from excellent in these skills. So, you won't see me doing parkour or engaging in rock climbing. However, even though balance and coordination is something that generally won't be improving when one gets older, I'm better than I used to be, which is fine.

(Posting title is from the poem A Song for Myself by Melvin B. Tolson.)

Your pure face turned away

Prison 1

Prison 2

Prison 3

Prison 4

Here are photographs taken at Hämeenlinna Prison Museum. The children wanted to visit Häme Castle in Hämeenlinna, and we bought area tickets, allowing us to visit other museums in the area. The prison museum had been organized rather well, but I must admit that spending even a little bit of time inside the building started to feel constricting.

(Posting title is from the poem In Prison by Jean Valentine.)

Easter landscapes

Evening

Paths

Outdoor museum

Easter

Here are four more photographs taken during the Easter weekend, at Hämeenlinna and on the road back to home. The last one shows the Easter decorations at Riihimäki, quite colorful.

Visiting the castle at Hämeenlinna

Model

Ceiling

Yard

Views

Water and stones

Moat

Here are photographs taken yesterday at the medieval red brick castle at Hämeenlinna. It is a calm place, even on such a sunny day.

City of Hämeenlinna

Bridge

Fir

Boat

Flood

Library

Bicycles

We visited during the Easter weekend the city of Hämeenlinna, about 100 km north of Helsinki. Here are some views - it was warm and sunny.

Greetings from Aulanko

Aulanko, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Riding, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Stable, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

I'm today in a seminar in Aulanko, Hämeenlinna, a well-known conference center and spa. In the first photograph you see a view of the park, which is nice even in winter, although this place is at its best during the summer. The other two images provide a closer look at the Aulanko scenery.