lots of snowy pics, some of sun, the dog and birdies

whoa...i guess i should have kept up with blogger. there's been so many changes i almost just gave up. anyways, it seems darkness of the winter got me big this year, hence the long pause on this blog. i have been missing the sun. the statistics people have gathered that this winter has been cloudiest in 25 yrs, and third in 50, with mere 50 hrs of sunlight between first of december and mid february. i rest my case.

this sight was welcome this morning, despite the fog and thin clouds...

the dog seems to not have minded the darkness, he naps a lot, winter or summer

                                     the full moon on monday night, snow moon some call it 

here's what the sun does! past few evenings the sunsets have been glorious.

the fluctuating temps make fog, and if someone has a more scientific explanation, please fill me in.

i don't know what little bird this is. i only know little birds, medium birds, large birds, black birds, gulls, eagles and woodpeckers.

there was a lot more snow last year...

pod of...gosh...i forgot! fox something comes to mind...

this is a woodpecker who demonstrates acrobatics at the feeder meant for LITTLE (hint, hint) birds. whether this woodpecker is a great, middle or lesser spotted woodpecker i don't know...

UPDATE: an ornitholigist friend of mine told that this is great spotted woodpecker

these are little yellow birds, certain someone thinks they are siskins (carduelis spinus)...


UPDATE: these yellow shrirpers are yellowhammers

along the cottage road

this was taken on planet earth, and you can ask my mom, she saw this, too. weird sunrise indeed.

from another point

enjoy the snow while it lasts!

the dog gets gift

if you don't like squeaky sounds, please turn the voice off...

oh boy, time flies...

...even thought it's not been all fun and games. well, some of the time it has. this here is the last full moon of 2012.

i don't know where the last six months vanished. most of the time it seemed there were way too many things going on and that i had time for nothing, besides work (and on most days that ain't a picnic). instagram swallowed me and as posting there is instant (duh!) the more time consuming blogging was moved to the back burner. also, i noticed that my real cameras started collecting dust...

these two furry friends are patu from next door and the dog. patu isn't a year old yet and was only recently introduced to the dog. they've been barking at/with each other for months, though, much to the dismay of other neighbors i'm sure.

this year winter came pretty early and took a very cold start. it is unusual for the temps to drop to -20C (and below) this early in the winter. helsinki area almost broke the record of amount of snow by the end of december (record high was in 1965, 85 cm). the city of helsinki seems to take her time figuring out what to do with the accumulating snow and side streets are getting narrower and narrower and parking without a 4wheel drive and shovel are, shall we say, challenging.

but the snow, freezing temps and scarce daylight make great pictures, this one taken at the cottage.

how the squirrels at the cottage are able to haul themselves up this high on trees is beyond me. their midsections are getting huge with all the bird food they eat.

the dog has taken to sleeping on his chair, he rarely does that in the summer.

i'm not sure which one of these guys is more codependent...

some chocolate? i personally can't have another bite...

this was supposed to be the xmas card picture but...well, i noticed that the cards wouldn't arrive in time, not even for new year's, so there.

most of my moving boxes are where they are meant to be (at the new apt, at the shack, the cottage and mom and dad's garage...) and most of the things at the new apt have found their place. i'm still waiting for my murphy bed as there were unexpected difficulties in getting one (only one manufacturer in whole of finland, can you believe!) my books will need a home, i have a bookshelf designed, i only need to find someone to make it, or a workshop to do it myself (which, obviously, would the coolest option).

                                A THANK YOU FOR ALL MY VISITORS FOR 2012 AND
                                                  
                                                   HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR 2013!

yellowfoot soup

few posts ago i was foraging, this soup was made of the mushrooms we got. i cooked in my tiny new kitchen at the apt i've been moving into for the last few months...this really isn't a recipe, more sort of guidelines, here's what i used:

yellowfoot mushrooms (any kind will do)
onion
parsnip
stock cubes
cooking cream
all purpose flour

eww! not the kind of protein i want in my soup! he was humanely taken care of and is now a city spider.

sweated out the mushrooms on medium high heat for a few mins, then transferred them into a 3 liter pot. i like my mushrooms in chunks, but it's ok to chop them smaller.

chopped the onion and parsnip into ½ cm cubes and toasted them in a spoonful of butter on medium high heat until the onion was well translucent. meanwhile...

...added a veggie stock cube into the pot with the mushrooms...

...after the onion/parsnip mixture had been toasting for 4 or so mins, i added 2 tbsp of all purpose flour, mixed well and let flour cook for a few mins before gradually adding approx 2.5 dl of boiling water while mixing well to avoid lumps. then transferred the mixture into the pot with the mushrooms.

mixed everything well together, added another 2.5 dl of boiling water and approx 2 dl of cream and let the soup simmer for 15 mins. i don't like to cook my veggies into mush, but here the purpose was to get the parsnips really soft, to the point of them falling apart and thickening the soup.

ta-daa! this made two portions, one for my dinner, another for my lunch at work the following day. no salt you ask? yep, no added salt. there is some (tiny amount) in the stock cube, but i like my veggies as they are. feel free to add some to your taste.

no post without the dog...here having a sip at the cottage.

all saints & sky

this furry fellow ain't a saint that's for sure...his favorite toy, the monkey he got from nyc, now has only 3 limbs and no eyes...i was so close to booking flights and hotel to nyc for this week, what made me not to do it, i don't know. i would love to be there, but i guess there are people who need the warmth and comfort of a hotel room more than i do. another time...

the weather was odd all day, it was foggy at 9.30am, but cleared pretty soon after that.

walking about in the garden, i noticed the pods in the martagons (lilium martagon). i was thinking of collecting the pods and spreading the seeds later in places where the lawnmower wouldn't get to them...

in the afternoon the day started to get weirdly orange. i'm sure the dog was just happy it didn't rain all day, again.

the high clouds were vividly pinkish orange.

ok, not this vivid. this one was instagrammed and i think i used lo-fi filter on it.

while certain someone was walking the dog, i ventured closer to the lake where the fog was making magic...

the camera in my iPhone just blows my mind sometimes. it's been months that i've taken my "proper" cameras out...

since it was all saints' day here in finland we went to the village cemetary to light a candle on certain someone's dad's grave. the tradition is to remember not only saints but members of the family who have died. we do the candle lighting ceremony also at xmas eve.

not sure which spooky creature this was, but most certainly he ain't a saint!