Don’t worry about being perfect

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The photographs were taken in Petikko on June 11th.

(Posting title is from the poem Something to Look Forward To by John Yau.)

They took photos of us

Aircraft

The photograph was taken on November 11th.

(Posting title is from the poem Leviathan by Clare Pollard.)

I heard an angel crying

Plane

Cut

Forest

Twigs

Path

I went for a walk with my oldest daughter today. Originally the plan was to walk around lake Kurkijärvi, but the parking lot at the starting place is no longer free but they require payment, and I didn't like that at all. Thus we went to Petikko outdoor area and walked around the 4,8 km long path there. Some people were flying model airplanes in the field. It was foggy, and when we returned to the car it was getting dark already.

(Posting title is from the poem The Trees are Down by Charlotte Mew.)

A little child these well perceives

Flowers

Flight

Broken

Today I was too busy to take any photographs, so here are three taken yesterday at Petikko. My daughter is really good in spotting things such as butterflies. She has better eyes, or then she just sees better. I have realized that most of the time I see only a fraction of what she is able to observe of the world.

It rained this morning, but I commuted by bicycle anyway, and towards afternoon the day turned sunny and dry.

(Posting title is from the poem Walking by Thomas Traherne.)

You have to fight magic with magic

Fight

Butterfly

Thymelicus lineola

Flowers

Seeds

Bells

I went for a walk with my daughter to the fields and forests at Petikko, and we stumbled on a strange kind of model airplane flying. Two people, wearing helmets, were in the middle of the field, flying airplanes tethered from a wing to a control line. The planes had a paper strip attached to the tail, and the planes were chasing each other.

I found on the net an explanation for this thing: control line combat. There were quite many of these model airplanes ready for flying, and some got broken when they hit the ground. Some of the people flying the planes seemed to be very skilled, running fast loops on the sky, and even though it seemed like a miracle that the control lines didn't tangle that didn't happen very often.

On the other hand, the planes were quite noisy, and I wouldn't like to follow such a thing for a long time, it seemed a bit silly thing to engage in. But I guess so are most things.

(Posting title is from the poem Fairy-tale Logic by A.E. Stallings.)

Urban impressions

Reeftops

Tables

Window

Street

Books

Fast

Flock

Plane

Here is the last posting from the visit to Noordwijk (through Leiden), this time views of the urban environment.

Trouble getting to the air

Hurry

Brussels airport

Boarding

Aircraft

Flight

Helsinki airport

Air travel seems to always pose problems. At least the Icelandic ash went away just before my trip to Bristol, but other problems appeared.

I flew via Brussels, and it turned out that one hour is not really enough in between to catch the shuttle to Bristol. I managed it, but only just, running the last hundred meters. And there were passport control and security checkpoint in between as obstacles.

Returning, I had five minutes more in between, but there was the problem of not being able to check-in at Bristol for the flight from Brussels to Helsinki. However, there happened to be a strike at Helsinki airport, which caused the plane to be late. So, no hurry after all. I even managed to eat a first warm meal of the day at the Brussels airport. But I arrived in Helsinki well after midnight.

Rails and air

Train

Rails

Corner

Logistics

Car

Boarding

Helsinki airport

Corridor

Here are some photographs taken at airports and trains between Helsinki and Brussels. Sometimes it feels - like an American Indian chief said - that people travel so fast they leave their souls behind, and have to wait for them to catch up.

From Helsinki to Leuven and back

Helsinki airport, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

View from above, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Institute, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Churches, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Leuven train station, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Sunset, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Here is a story in photographs from my trip to Leuven and back. Nothing as drastic as an Icelandic volcano happened this time, only a scheduled train was cancelled. (There were strikes in some European countries preventing travel, but this didn't affect me.)

Leuven is a nice city, with an extraordinary amount of churches. Some signs of autumn were visible here and there.

Window seat between Helsinki and London

Helsinki to London, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Heartrow, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

London to Helsinki, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Here are three images from a trip to London on Wednesday. All taken through windows, so there is a unifying theme, I think.