Today after work I packed my backpack and returned to the beaver's nest. I had about one hour left before darkness made shooting photos impossible. I was waiting for the beaver and after fifteen minutes I saw it! Then I lost it until I noticed it again after half an hour.
( got it... )

It was raining all day long. It didn't bother me much and I decided to make a short walk in Seitseminen National Park. I hiked about 10 kilometres. Paths were muddy, wet and slippery but I enjoyed the silence. I thought I was the only human in the whole park but no, I saw two girls carrying heavy backpacks in a rainforest. I didn't know such females exist!

I found another (not the same one I found last time) beaver's dam and a nest! I was lucky, I saw the beaver twice. It's a long time since I had seen a beaver. The nest is in the picture but I didn't catch the beaver itself. It was almost dark (used 3200ISO) and I decided to return some other time.

While driving back to the city, I saw a deer and a fox too!

It's been a long time since I was hiking in the old Seitseminen forest. Today I made a short walk (10 km) in the evening and enjoyed the silence of the forest. No other humans nearby.



( the forest... )

Today I made a short walk (8 km) in Seitseminen National Park again. This time I chose another path. The weather was wet and water drops fell down both from the sky and from the tree branches. It didn't bother me much. Photos are pretty grey but that's the way it was. We had some new snow. Time to time I wished I had taken skis with me because it was quite heavy to walk on a deep soft and wet snow.

Today I decided to prove myself that I'm able to climb up the mountain next month. I packed my backpack and went to the snowy forest. After some months weight watching and climbing up and down certain stairs just to mention a few tricks to be in good shape when the adventure begins.

Quite late in the afternoon I was in the Seitseminen National Park. The sun was shining. I had a plan to walk about 15 kilometres and had some water and provisions with me in the backpack. I have slowly realised how important it is what you eat and drink, how much and how often you refuel your body. With grilled sausages you just can not keep up going. For now on, sausages are temporarily forbidden. Today I ate scientifically perfect. I didn't feel tired or pain. That was something.

We made a fun trekking adventure to Seitseminen National Park with Kaitsu and Nikolai. I'm Nikolai's uncle and this was the first time we made this kind of thing. Although the weather was really cold, windy and it was snowing, we walked about seven kilometres around forests. We made a campfire and I had my black coffee pan with us... 

  

In the evening I made a short visit to the Seitseminen National Park. The spring is here, snow is almost melted from the forest and the highest temperature ever in May was recorded in many places around Finland. Some birds have already returned from the south like Whooper Swans. When the sun was setting and darkness arrived, I heard some whistling voices far from the forest. I recognised the voice, it's Pygmy Owl. I whistled back. The Owl responded and whistled to me. After a pretty long whistling concert the Owl came near to me looking amazed where the competitor was. It didn't realise it was me. I had fun and played with the small Pygmy Owl at least one hour. When I left the forest, the Owl stayed there still whistling.

Kaamos, aika jolloin aurinko ei nouse viikkoihin pohjoisessa mutta maaston valaisevat lumi, tähdet, kuu ja revontulet. Joskus myös etäinen auringon kajastus eteläisellä taivaalla. Pohjoisen ihmiset ovat onnellisia. Etelässä vain sähkövalo kiiluu hukaten vähäisen valonsa mustaan märkään sohjoon ja kuraan. Kaamoksen ihanuus ja kurjuus.



Valokuvatorstain haasteeseen "kaamos" kuva siitä kaamoksen ihanammasta puolesta.

korpun

This week's Photo Challenge theme is "polar night".

The night was cold. Thick fog floated over fields when I arrived to Manso camping area. Sleepy englishmen had just awaken. When we started driving to the Seitseminen national park sun was rising and fog was slowly disappearing.

Early bird catch the maggot. So did we. Woodpeckers were drumming and little birds were awake too when we arrived to the old forest. Hazel Grouses whistled some where in the bushes. Early morning presented it's best side.

All day we tried to see that small hen bird but every time we heard it whistling it disappeared some where. I think they were sitting just above us and looked us. Crested Tit was the only species I promised we will see and I made this promise to come true. Lucky me.

We walked small paths about 5 km (two most heavy men stayed near car). Nature was beautiful but the early morning moment passed and birds stopped voices and drumming.  Listen to the silence! And we listened and we could not hear a thing. I believe it was something great and un experienced moment to the englishmen.

During the walk they found dragonflies, owl's and badger's droppings, mushrooms, deceased shrew and moose flies from my hair but not too much birds. Still I felt they were happy. I wonder why they didn't find any moose flies! Do I smell like a moose?

After first leg we went to the national park's visitor center and ate fairly good fish soup. It was the best from the menu (nothing else on the list!). But we had no vegetarians with us.

Second leg was to walk another path about 4 km. We saw spring (good cold water) and old water mill. And we saw small forest lakes, tiny rivers, berries and we heard autumn nature silence. Some raindrops started falling from the sky. The timing was perfect and we made campfire to grill sausages (again) and my old copper coffee-pot made smooth dark drink from lake water and coffee beans. I know englishmen drink usually tea but my coffee seemed to be tasty enough and they took another cup. With coffee I had finnish christmas cookies. It started to rain heavily but we were enjoying campfire  warm (roof above us) and watched fishing Black-throated divers.



Late in the evening back in Manso camping area. We wished farewell and promised to see in Scotland or in East-Finland some day. In Finland they have still Siberian Jay and many other species waiting and to me there is ten thousand gannets waiting and 6 good friends too. Last made observation was the Famous Grouse when I started way back home.

Nokipannu