Everywhere you turn is luck

Lake 1

Lake 2

Lake 3

Lake 4

Lake 5

Lake 6

I commuted by bus today, because I didn't feel too good, and it was the right decision, as even a little bit of physical exertion (such as walking) makes me sweat. The flu symptoms have diminished, but it is not over yet.

These photographs were taken in Nuuksio on May 16th. I walked for 3 1/2 hours and visited ten lakes: Saarijärvi, Sarkkinen, Suolikas, Mustalampi, Pikku Pöksynhaara, Orajärvi, Pikku Orajärvi, Urja, Iso Majaslampi and Pieni Majaslampi.

(Posting title is from the poem The Undertaking by Louise Glück.)

The shape of the landscape

View 1

View 2

View 3

Here are three photographs, taken on May 15th. I couldn't get much sleep during the night, so I'm feeling blue, but maybe the worst of the flu starts to be over.

(Posting title is from the poem The Waste Carpet by William Matthews.)

In the presence of selected perceptions

Trees 1

Trees 2

Trees 3

Trees 4

Trees 5

I'm still suffering from flu symptoms, but no fever, only sore throat and a runny nose. Despite the symptoms, I was able to commute by bicycle on four days this week, and the commute time was almost the usual, 45 minutes. During May I have got 448 km riding the bicycle.

These photographs were taken in Nuuksio near Pirttimäki on May 14th.

(Posting title is from the poem Hugh Selwyn Mauberley by Ezra Pound.)

Ask vatic questions, exact a magic answer

Snow 1

Snow 2

I'm feeling far from normal, and didn't sleep properly. But at least the fever went down on Sunday. Similar things have happened to colleagues as well, and there is risk of further unpleasentness, for example sinusitis.

Today was a rainy day, and it may be that this whole week will be the same: +2 °C, clouded with regular showers. Depth of snow will certainly go down.

These photographs were taken on February 7th when we still had plenty of snow.

(Posting title is from the poem Vowel Movements by Daryl Hine.)

What’s unseen may not exist

Ditch 1

Ditch 2

Ditch 3

Last night was probably the worst since I got sick with the flu, all kinds of pains, fever, coughing, runny nose, etc. But perhaps this was the worst and now it will be getting better.

These photographs were taken on December 24th, walking in the nearby forests.

(Posting title is from the poem Nightwatchman's Song by W. D. Snodgrass.)

The one whose daily work is close to prophecy

Street

City

I commuted by bicycle, which felt good, but I'm rather tired, because of all the recent busyness. A little bit of sickness - fever and sore throat are symptoms - is going around in the family, but luckily it hasn't hit me yet. Maybe the physical shock of the bicycle commute keeps up resistance to bugs ... at least one can hope it is so.

(Posting title is from the poem Unravelling / Shock by Nathaniel Tarn.)

I become 4,000 yellow flowers, chirruping

Street

No fire

Shore

Silhouette

Barn

Our youngest daughter got fever today, above 39 °C, some kind of summer flu I guess. Our middle daughter wanted to go for a walk after dinner, so I took her to Luukki, to have a look at the lake there. A lot of pollen was floating in the water near the shore.

I was a bit tired after commuting by bicycle, but walking helped and I started to feel better.

(Posting title is from the poem The Chocolate Infection by G. E. Murray.)

Will you get me out of this bird suit?

Construct

Boat

Steps

Sunny

Water

Wood

I'm feeling a bit better, after taking some antihistamin yesterday night, which helped with the nose, it doesn't burn so badly any more. But there are symptoms of weakness still, little aches in the joints and muscles. But no fever, just headache, throat soreness and pain in the nose.

Here are some photographs taken today, from the car and from a little slow walk which I managed to do just before sunset.

Today at lunch I listened a colleague telling a story of how to take a photograph of an owl catching a mice on top of a snow field. He told about the constraints, that with his Canon (?) he was able to shoot 8 frames per second, but the buffer only holds 42 photographs, so one has to be able to anticipate the place where the catch will take place. And even then there are challenges in getting the focus right, and so on. And all the waiting to get those few shots that matter.

I just couldn't do anything like that. In fact, I feel that if a rare bird would land in front of my camera, I would wait for it to fly away, and then take a photograph. For some reason I'm interested in the ordinary, common moments, daily moments when there is nothing really unique about them, and at the same time everything is unique.

(Posting title is from the poem Siren Song by Margaret Atwood.)

Snow and sickness

Fence

Walk

Ships

Ice

Boat

Twigs

Catkins

Here are some photographs from yesterday and today. I'm once again suffering from flu symptoms, and it has been a difficult day to concentrate on anything. I do hope this time I'll recover quickly, the three weeks of flu last time were just too much.

And see the wet interior of souls

Lines

Snow

View

Ice

The flu turned to worse. Today I finally needed antibiotics to cope with the sinus infection. I hope this finally helps, I have been suffering from the flu symptoms for over three weeks now.

And I'm still late with the photographs, these are once again from yesterday.

(Posting title is from the poem What the Body Told by Rafael Campo.)

I am always a little ahead of things that don’t think

Boat

Street

Ice

House

Birch

Moon

Once again, an extremely busy day. And the the flu symptoms returned with a vengeance: I forgot to take antihistamin last night, and today the nose was painful and I had a headache as well.

And I'm falling behind in posting my photographs; these were taken yesterday.

(Posting title is from the poem The Way by Marin Sorescu, translated By Michael Hamburger.)

From coffee addiction to green tea

Snow

Portrait

Shadows

Curves

Water

Road

I read from a book that it takes only two weeks to change a habit, any habit. The author got rid of her coffee addiction in two weeks, which was impressive.

Not impressed? Maybe I should mention that Finland is number one in coffee consumption per capita, 12 kg annually. (Norway is second but far behind: 9.9 kg.)

And this means that coffee is consumed in meetings, at lunch, during breaks at work, and so on. So it is quite hard to stop drinking coffee when you are used to it.

My daily average intake has been 2-4 cups of coffee for over 20 years, but that is little compared to the average Finn. Anyway, in January I decided to try drinking tea instead of coffee, because I noticed that my coffee consumption was increasing.

One contributing factor was that I had bought an infuser for brewing tea (I have now two of them), which is a convenient way of making fresh tea as long as you have hot water.

During workdays I now drink 4-6 cups of tea daily, and during weekends 2-4 cups. And this week was the first one when I haven't consumed a single cup of coffee. Last week I drank one cup.

Of course, I haven't completely escaped the coffee addiction. When I smell coffee, I get the craving, but coping with it is getting easier and easier.

However, long meetings pose a problem. Often the tea that is served is almost undrinkable. Either too hot water - at boiling point - has been used, or the tea has been brewing too long. (Another matter is that often the coffee isn't so good either, but when you have the habit, you drink it anyway.)

And I much prefer green tea, which is not so often available. So, at work I often go to meetings carrying a cup of green tea that I made myself.

Of course, you could think that I have just replaced an addiction with another. But I don't think green tea is anywhere comparable to coffee in terms of addiction.

Finally, something about photography. Mike Moats made a posting in which the title caught my eye: "Do you have the natural ability to see art in nature?"

My spontaneus reaction was: that is the wrong question. The right one is: "Do you have the ability to see nature?" At least it is so for me. I don't try to see art, I try to see what is there to be seen.

Today was a sunny day. But I didn't go skiing, as the doctor recommended not doing any exercise which makes you sweat as long as the flu is bothering. So I went walking instead.

And what was surprising was that it was warm when you were in the sunshine. A novel feeling after the long winter: sun isn't so low on the horizon any more.