When the sun is setting, between dusk and darkness, there is a moment when the light turns blue. And the world stops for a heartbeat.
Some time back I saw an interesting post about photographing frozen flowers. With some cut sunflowers on their last legs, I decided to throw them in a freezer and give it a try.
Cool idea,with a somewhat lazy execution. Next time, I will need more considered arrangement and better lighting. Trying to take the photos during a break between meetings – just because the sun happened to be shining – only added to the string of poor choices.
But – I think – worth trying again.
I went mushrooming on my own. Major feat. Actually bringing home almost 10l was an even bigger feat.
Good mushroom spots seem to be big secrets, shared only with the closest family. Asking experts (or anyone who regularly picks mushrooms) where to go is almost sacrilege. You either get a very vague answer, or they tell you outright they only go to their family spot. Even internet forums come up empty.
Having no family who go mushrooming – especially not in Espoo – I was on my own. I used AI to identify a right type of forest. And went in blind.
The first hour was pretty desperate… Not helped by the fact that it had been windy, so the forest floor was covered in fallen leaves – each exactly the same shade as the mushrooms I was looking for.
But then I found them. And the best thing is that where you find one, you are bound to find another.
I marked the spot.
With the possible exception of ecstatic puppies, nothing in the world conveys happiness like a sunflower. Sunflowers are not elegant, exquisite, cute or even particularly beautiful.
But they are happy.
I have always thought there are really no “cool” bugs in Finland. After a walk with Alanna in the sunny forest, I have to admit: there are. I am just really bad at spotting them.
Girls’ hobbies consume the beginning of my week – Monday circus school, Tuesday cheerleading and comic club, Wednesday Scouts…
On most days, it is better to wait nearby than drive back and forth. In decent weather, I try to take a walk. And maybe take a picture of an acorn.
My SLR has become temperamental, working only when it wants to. Therefore I don’t often carry it with me on random walks.
I regretted it bitterly as I stumbled upon a collection of perfect spider webs and the hunter on the prowl.
Then again, if I had been carrying my camera, it’ unlikely I would’ve have seen it. That’s how it seems to go.
Transition day: laudry, unpacking, preparation, cleaning…
One of the biggest disappointments of becoming an adult is that you don’t magically know how to do things right. For example, packing for a trip.
Or folding a fitted sheet.
In Finnish forests, the flowers tend to bloom early and only briefly. Season is short, so this time of the year, forest are mostly a sea of different greens.
Mushroom season is starting, tho, so it’s worth keeping your eyes on the ground!
Every year, the terraces of Helsinki seem to collude to invent one new drink or ingredient. This year it’s rhubarb – and, more specifically, the Rhubarb Spritz.
Luckily it’s rather good.
I’ve had quite a few.
Daffodils have always been my favorite flowers. The close second (depending on the mood) are sunflowers. Both are just so unashamedly happy.
