owlnature – Page 18

Hailing, snowing, grounding…

It started to snow last night. Some very big snowflakes – snowflakes weren’t that big in the winter… and today there was snow on the ground:

But now it has already started to melt and the sun’s been shining, too, buuut… some more snow is falling right now again, too. Anyway. 🙂

Well, this was on Saturday, it hailed one more time on that day. The tiny snow balls were quite beautiful on the growing field in our garden. It’s actually nice to stand in the hail fall – the bouncing tiny snow balls are fun.

Yesterday ended with snowfall, but earlier it was sunny and warm. As I took this pic, I was sitting on the ground, half in our garden, half in the woods. 🙂 I had to put a cap on my head because the sun felt so hot on my head, and after coffee I felt the need to get some fresh tap water with cucumber. I like very much making these kind of tasty waters; with veggies, herbs, berries, fruits…

Just wait for it… Is it going to hail or sleet or…? – A bit later I was sitting on the ground on an other spot in our garden, watching the clouds approaching…

This was actually the first time I took my slippers off outdoors this spring. And the sunshine was dazzling. It felt so nice!

A person in Finland takes off the slippers and feels some dry earth beneath the woolen socks… feels heavenly. 😉 I love sitting on the ground and getting some good energy from the earth. 🙂

Did I say we don’t have crocuses in our garden…? Well, the thing is, last spring, which was our first spring in this house, we had this one in the pic. 😀 The previous owners of this house have planted something… It wasn’t and it’s not like a whole crocus flower, it’s just… half the crocus flower. I was so sure this won’t spring up anymore, but what do you know… all of a sudden it’s just there. The funny thing is that I’ve been watching this spot, checking it almost every day for this flower, but haven’t been able to see anything, but just suddenly – there it is again! 😀 Well, if this now opens up to be a whole flower…

And yesterday I dug up the remains of the summer flowers from last year and worked the soil barehanded – I love it! Black-tipped fingernails are in again. 😉 The previous owners of this house have made this flower bed. And I am grateful for it! This has a beautiful shape and the mossy edges are lovely.

Ok, being outside in the garden and in nature is wonderful, but sometimes you just need to be an inseparable part of the couch… and that’s completely fine, too! You don’t always have to be outdoors… 🙂

-Leena

Hail, sleet, sunshine… and these growing in the garden right now

But first one pic from Thursday… we had like ‘forgotten’ all about our Nordic walking poles, but on Thursday we felt the need…

…the need for speed. 😉 In the forests here at home. Hopefully there will be some more pics and stories about my Nordic walking here in my blog later on. I mean, that I will now continue this hobby of mine…

So the weather has been a bit on the weird side lately; it’s been hailing and sleeting, but there’s been a lot of sunshine, too – even at the same instant – for example yesterday, it was hailing heavily and the sun was shining at the same time, I even ate one of the tiny snow balls yesterday, but today, is it summer yet…? No, today it’s been sleeting, again, but the sun’s been shining, too. Clearly, the summer is coming to Finland. 😉

Dandelion greens – food! (Not weed… 🙂 ) I already started the nettle tasting season. Yummies, let us eat more nettles and dandelions – the buds and flowers, too, later on, here in my blog…

A garden bunny is a happy bunny.

Just one pic of the whole narcissus plant we have in the flower pot…

In our garden there’s narcissus growing from the ground, too. Here’s some of them. They have bigger flowers and also some different colours in the flowers. The previous owners of this house have planted them. Thank you!

Rhubarb, coming through! We’re used to having a rhubarb overflow, had to cut some of them down last summer. The previous owners of this house have planted these, too. Thanks! 🙂

The peonies! Here’s some of my growing darlings. Aand, the previous owners of this house have planted these as well. And I am so thankful! 🙂 Peonies are my great favourites.

-Leena

Some things to one’s heart’s content

I visited the city of Turku last week, and visited the garden store Plantagen in the town of Raisio on Friday, too. I met this wonderful plant there… just had to take a couple of pics of it. I like very much going to Plantagen – there are so many flowers, plants, bushes, trees… everywhere around there. It’s actually one of my favourite places in the Turku region. 🙂

A garden croton or variegated croton are the names I could find in English, in Finnish this plant is literally a wonder bush – ihmepensas. 🙂

Just for the colours…

On Saturday here in the region of Satakunta, my home region.

In the evening we stopped by the lake Pyhäjärvi, the lake that is our great pride and joy here in Satakunta. A lake large in size, a bit sealike. It was windy and the sound of the waves was so powerful and lovely. I like very much visiting the lake in any kind of weather.

On Saturday, a bit later, a campfire in our garden. We, me and my boyfriend, are real campfire people. 🙂 We build campfires here and there, all year round, and in our garden, too. I love the scent, the sound, the atmosphere…

The food… We have a wok pan for the campfire. We like campfire cooking very much, too – on a wok pan, on a grill grate, on a stick… all year round.

The first fully opened flower of the narcissus in our garden yesterday. It was a rainy day again. But this beauty dazzles!

And yesterday in our garden, nettles – food! Nettles have started to grow nicely, let us eat nettles and speak of them later on. 🙂

-Leena

For the sun of today

Today it’s like spring and summer at once. 😉 It’s been warm and sunny this spring already before, but now it’s beginning to be like the real deal…

…I can take my coffee pic with green grass in it.

So warm and nice to sit on the warm bench. And the sky is blue…

But what’s up with growing wine grapes in Finland? 🙂

Dazzled by the sun beside the flower bed waiting for summer flowers…

-Leena

Some sun internally and a few delights in the garden right now

Today it was again time to get some sun… internally. 😉

Egypt meets Finland… Navel Oranges are so juicy and delicious, and cheap at this time of the year, even in Finland. 😀 After some heavy rain today I was sitting on the wet garden bench again, devouring my orange and after that I took a short tour with my camera around our garden.

Leopard’s Bane or doronicum has started to grow. Waiting for the yellow flowers, last spring there were so many…

Yesterday I noticed that one part of our chives has started to grow, too. I tasted a bit of one of them – the taste was so good and fresh!

The first yellow bud of the narcissus that was in my previous blog post.

This I’ve been watching the whole winter and even now; the blackberry bush in our garden has a few very strong leaves – they have endured there on the twigs the whole time. All the other bushes and trees have lost all their leaves many months ago. 🙂

-Leena

Early springtime

It sounds better than it looks, the early springtime – it’s all still very brownish, nature and garden both, but oh, the sound of the so many birds chirping, tweeting, chirruping, a woodpecker knocking… everywhere around you, even when the sun is not shining. It’s like some jungle… or just the springtime here in Finland! 🙂

One part of our vegetable garden. Our growing field will be expanded a bit this spring…

I was sitting on a bench, having my coffee and taking some pics.

I love these evergreen pine trees… I like to think them as palm trees here in the north… 😉

What’s your favourite colour?

Narcissus, Tête-à-Tête. Waiting for the yellow delights to spring up…

-Leena

Finding stars – with a planisphere

To begin with, this is actually not my very own planisphere or star chart. This is my Christmas present for my boyfriend who last autumn said that he would like to learn how to navigate by the stars.

Well, I would like to learn something about it, too, now that there’s a planisphere in the house. 🙂 We’re both still on the learning curve with this, but I can say this is a fun and useful hobby, and a cheap hobby, even a free hobby, once you’ve got your planisphere. I ordered this one from the Ursa Astronomical Association in Finland.

Match the date and time.

The planisphere should be held above your head so that it’s like the stars above you. And in the pic there’s the bright moon as it was yesterday at 21:22. 🙂 (The planisphere wasn’t properly positioned as I was taking the pic.) I was standing in the light of our garden lamp post, but they say that the best light to read the planisphere in, is actually red light, because the red light doesn’t interfere with your night vision.

-Leena