Merimetsot

Photo: YLE/Jani Aarnio
Vandalism on cormorant nests in Finland has grown dramaticaly this year. About 2,700 nests have been attacked with the loss of 10,000 eggs and nestlings. Via... This can add to the stories reported at David's blog, where cormorant's life and trouble in Asturies is reported with great detail

Vandalismu'n ñeros de cormorán creció abondo esti añu'n Finlandia. Unos 2,700 ñeros fueron atacaos causando la destrucción de 10,000 huevos y críes. Via... Esto puede amestase a les histories contaes por David nel so blog, onde los cormoranes n'Asturies ocupen un sitiu especial

Chernobyl 23 years after

Relating to the previous post... it seems that Finnish mushrooms have still dangerous leveles of radioactive Celsium-137. Luckily we cooked well our recent harvest, which reduces the levels around 75%, still a bit worrying. Via...

Falando de pañar setes... parez que les setes Fineses tiene niveles peligrosos de l'isotopu Celsiu-137. Menos mal que cocinamos bien les que pillamos hai poco, lo que reduz los niveles un 75%. De toles maneres da un poco de cosa. Via...

Harvesting

In our recent trip to Päijänne we picked mushrooms, blueberries and wild strawberries :) As usual, more photos here

Nel nuestru reciente viaxín a Päijänne pañamos setes, arándanos y miruéndanos :) Como ye vezu, más fotos equí

Alcohol Smuggling

Photo of a a raid in Detroit during the prohibition times (from the Archival Research Catalog (ARC)National Archives and Records Administration USA)
via... now that our big party is getting closer and giving the difficulties we had to bring cider from Asturies this new seemed appropriate. Three men were detained on the charge of having smuggled 85,000 litres of alcohol from Estonia to Finland. Despite Finland is EU member their laws about alcohol importing, taxation and selling are more restrictive than most of European countries. As a result Finland still lives episodes reminiscent from the prohibition times
via... agora que la espichona va acercándose, y daes les dificultaes pa traer sidra equí, esta noticia vien a cuentu. Tres paisanos fueron deteníos acusaos de pasar d'estraperlu 85,000 llitros d'alcohol d'Estonia a Finlandia. A pesar de que Finlandia ye miembru de la UE, les sos lleis no tocante la importación, venta y taxación d'alcohol son muncho más restrictives que nos demás páises d'Europa. A resultes en Finlandia tovía vívense estos episodios más típicos de los tiempos la llei seca

Juhannus Tapolassa

To spend midsummer we returned to Tapola (Anne's family house). Weather wasn't very sunny but this didn't stop us for having excellent sauna and barbeque
Pasamos San Xuan de vuelta'n Tapola (la casa la familia d'Anne). El tiempu nun acompañó muncho pero disfrutamos de la sauna y parrilla

Laskiaistiistai

Yesterday was Shrove Tuesday. In Finland, people traditionally goes to play with their sledges and eat these buns (below)
En Finlandia'l martes d'Antroxu la xente nun se disfraza. La tradición ye tirase colos trineos y comer esos bollos (abaxu)

Tapando furacos - Filling gaps

Since I didn't have much blogging activity during 2004 - 2005, here you have some photos from June 2005. This is Tapola (Ypäjä), where Anne's family home is located. Here, we pick berries, have sauna in Juhannus day...
Como nun me prodigué col blog en 2004 - 2005, póngovos agora unes fotos de xunu 2005. Esto ye Tapola (Ypäjä) onde ta la casa familiar d'Anne. Equí pañamos bayes, vamos a la sauna en San Xuan...

...the house (left) and the sauna (right)...
...la casa (izda) y la sauna (dcha)...

...Zola spends its holidays here...
...Zola pasa les sus vacaciones equí...

...we pick mushrooms in this forest...
...pañamos setes nel bosque...

...all kind of imaginable flowers are cultivated...
...planten toles clases de flores...

...we grill sausages and make pancakes...
...facemos parrilles y frisuelos....

... and pick rhubarb :)
... y pañamos ruibarbo :)

Hyvää Joulua! Feliz Navidá! Merry Christmas!

As it's well known, Father Christmas is a Finnish export. Order your own!
Como ye bien sabío, Papá Noel vien de Finlandia. Encarga'l tuyu!

Equí llévase... If you're in Finland... (II)

Photos Juha Metso
Beer, sauna and lake (piglet is optional). Original source
More about Finnish cliches
Birra, sauna y llagu (el gochín ye opcional). Fuente orixinal
Más tópicos sobre Finlandia

Municipal elections 2008

The municipal elections took place in a day perfectly described by Hanna V. in the above picture. Extremely rainy and windy day which saw the consolidation of the conservative parties (National Coalition "Kokoomus" and the Centre "Keskusta") and the worrying growth (as a foreigner living in Finland) of the "True" Finns party (populist and anti-immigrants). Socialdemocrats (SDP) and leftist coalition (Vasemmistoliitto) keep going down, and the greens grew a bit. You can read more in here. In Helsinki the National Coalition won again (26 council members), the Greens are the second party (21 c.m.) and Socialdemocrats the third (16 c.m.)
Nun día de mucha lluvia y viento, perfectamente ilustráu por Hanna V. nel dibuxu enrriba, celebráronse les elecciones municipales. Los partíos conservadores "Coalición Nacional" (Kokoomus) y "El Centru" (Keskusta) consolídense como los más votaos mientres los Socialdemócrates (SDP) y Izquierda Xunida (Vasemmistoliitto) siguen la tendencia a la baxa. Preocupante (como foriatu viviendo equí) ye'l crecimientu d'un partíu pequeñu (Fineses "Auténticos") con un perfil populista y anti-inmigración estremu. Polo demás los verdes crecieron daqué. Podeis lleer más equí. En Helsinki los conservadores ganaron otra vegada (26 conceyales), los verdes van detrás (21) y terceros los socialistes (16)

Equí llévase... If you're in Finland...

Dragsfjärd II

This Sunday we visited again our friends in Dragsfjärd. All the photos of this trip here. Previous trip here
Esti domingu visitamos otra vez a los nuestros amiguinos en Dragsfjärd. Toles fotos del día equí. La otra visituca equí

We went to the forest and picked lingonberries, chantarelles and hedgehog mushrooms
Tuvimos nel bosque pañando bayes y setes (rebozuelos, trompetes pegañoses y llengües de buey. Los boletos yá pasaron equí)

We dried this ones, the yellow chantarelles and the hedgehog mushrooms went straight to the pan
Secamos les trompetuques (Cantharellus lutescens; como les de la foto) pa tener pa l'inviernu y los rebozuelos (Cantharellus cibarius) y llengües de buey (Hydnum repandum) fueron directes pala sartén

Visit to Dragsfjärd

Last weekend we visited the Holm & Koivisto family at Drasfjärd on the Kemiö Island, Southern Finland. We also visited the summer house of the Finnish businessman Amos Andersson (and enjoyed the nice landscapes (apple trees, rye fields...). On the way back we stopped in Angelniemi to see its nice wooden church. Photos here
Esti domingu visitamos los nuestros amigos Piia & Tommi en Drasfjärd, na islla de Kemiö nel suroeste de Finlandia. Ellí cerca ta la casona de branu d'un potentáu finés (Amos andersson) con playa nun llagu, pumaraes... la bomba. A la vuelta ficimos más turismu per Angelniemi pa ver una iglesiuca de maera. Ver les fotos equí

From Finland through Canada to the Spanish Civil War

Interesting article in El País about one book dealing with the Canadian Brigades fighting on the republican side during the Spanish Civil War. Coincidentally, the article focus on the figure of Jules Päiviö a Finnish-Canadian that enrolled at the Mackenzie-Papineau battalion. An article on the website Vapaa Sana states:

Around 1500 Canadians went to Spain in spite of Canadian laws against volunteering. Of those Canadians a disproportionately large number were of Finnish origin. According to Finnish author Jyrki Juusela 225 Finns in total fought in the war and of these over 70 were Finnish-Canadians

Interesante artículu n'El País d'un llibru sobre los brigadistas Canadienses que llucharon cola República na guerra civil. Menciónase a Jules Päiviö, un Finés-Canadiense que formó parte del batallón Mackenzie-Papineau. De los 1500 Canadienses que fueron a lluchar a España (contra la llei canadiense) 225 yeren d'orixen finés. Qué coses...

Porkkalanniemi

Terve! Two weeks ago we went to Porkkalaniemi a very nice peninsula located in Kirkkonummi. In the peace treaty after the Continuation War, in September 1944, Finland had to lease the Porkkala naval base to the Soviet Union and was recovered by Finland in 1955. Nowadays is an excellent area for hiking and birdwatching (especially now during the spring migration).


There were some bits of ice in the sea, but this didn't stop hundreds of eiders (Haahka) to be there.

Flooded

Last Sunday we visited the family at Ypäjä. The river Loimijoki was flooded and many birds swimming about.

I enjoyed the view a lot. The branches of the trees barely coming out of the water, the whooper swans (laulujoutsen) enjoying themselves and a marsh harrier (ruskosuohaukka) trying to catch something.

The forest birds proved to be less willing to show up at Anne's family place in Tapola (Ypäjä).

The unexpected birding experience encouraged us to try today again. This time in that nice tower in Kaitalahti, where we enjoyed more beautiful waterfowl. I liked especially a couple of goosanders (isokoskelo), which I find extremely graceful.