Last weekend was gorgeous weather. It was around 25-26'C during the day, though on Sunday there was strong wind, but it was still HOT HOT HOT. Had BBQ party at BIL's place on Saturday and we all laughed so much while the brothers and one of their cousins reminisced of the "naughty" things they did in the past - some of which MIL had had no idea about LOL!!!
Then on Sunday we went to the woods and had fun again. I'm amazed at the amount of blueberries growing in the woods as well as the amount of blackcurrants and redcurrants growing in MIL's garden in Kelujärvi. Here are some redcurrant pics I took in Kelujärvi.
This is the forest area, the same place where we went miniskiing some years ago. The difference between winter and summer scene is just amazing, don't you think? (click on the link to compare)
Took this pic as I was lying on the grass (well, I used a big piece of paper as a cover 'coz the grass was a bit damp) and listening to the songs in my mobile phone while watching the clouds roll by (enjoying the cool breeze in the shade). :-D Pure bliss!!!
Can you see the "face" in this pic below?
YYYYYYYEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!! I could finally do lingonberry picking yesterday with my mother-in-law. Gladly I had brought with me a pair of waterproof pants and a pair of warmer long john pants. Plus I also brought my digicam, though at first I wasn't going to bring it. Yesterday started off beautifully though it was only 9'C. Then the sun shone more brightly, so after a delicious lunch, we set off to the forest. It was around 12'C under the sun. This time I was sure I would pick the right berries since there were no other similar berries with similar colours in the forest. Here are some pics of the forest:
The above pic is a pic of my in-laws, hubby, and the tractor they used to bring the firewood home. They only cut the fallen trees to make firewood.
You'd better click on the above pic to see the bigger version. As you can see in the bigger version, there are lots of berries surrounding the stump. There are lots of stumps like this and usually there are LOADS of berries surrounding them. I wonder why he he he...That's why I LOVE coming near stumps like this one. I only needed to squat (I prefer to squat while picking the berries since bending down too long hurts my back) and move around and pick, pick, pick!!! ;-D It felt GOOODDDDD, baby, to pick SO many berries in a short time HE HE HE HE...LOL!!!
We were in the forest for about 1.5 hours and we've got 3 buckets full of lingonberries. YEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!!! My mother-in-law shrieked gleefully and said, "Good girl!" and then she said some other stuff in Finnish. I didn't get each word, but I thought she said, "Three buckets full!" Then she also told her husband gleefully that I got a bucket full of lingonberries hi hi hi hi hi...She must've been so proud of me HE HE HE HE...
Last but not least...two pics of moi!!! ;-D
The below pic was just taken for fun he he he...LOOK!!! The lingonberry could substitute my beauty spot!!! LOL!!! ;-D
1. Introducing POLTTIAINEN or the Burning Bug!!!When we (me, hubby, and father-in-law) went out to pick strawberries last Saturday, I felt a burning/pricking sensation on my scalp a few times (it felt a bit sharper than the sensation of being sucked by a mosquito). Gladly I was wearing my summer hooded jacket, so I pulled on the hood as I thought they were mosquitoes trying to suck my blood. While picking the strawberries, I didn't feel anything else as I was focusing on finding the ripe ones among the thick leaves. Once I got inside the house with my bucket of strawberries, however, I felt that both my hands (uncovered by anything while picking the berries) felt SO ITCHY. The itchy parts were ALL OVER the back of my hands. I thought to myself that it couldn't have been caused by mosquitoes. It felt more like the itchy/prickly sensation of having touched a kind of caterpillar. The sensation was sharper than that of mosquito bites and definitely closer together as I felt it all over the back of my hands.Then my hubby came inside while I was vigorously scratching my hands. I told him that I hadn't felt that way the first time we picked berries the week before. He said that the burning bugs made me feel that way. He also felt their stinging/burning sensation. They are called polttiainen.
I've tried to find an English explanation of the bug, but there is none. I also have no picture of them as they're SO small. Let me try to translate polttiainen from one of the Finnish website (of course using a dictionary HE HE HE HE HE).Polttiainen is a small slender insect (around 1-2 mm), oftentimes winged and spotted. Generally they appear in Central and Northern Finland from late summer up to early autumn. They suck the blood of humans and animals and cause stinging sensation on the skin.2. My hubby read one of my earlier posts and he corrected me on something. Turns out that reindeer are tame animals. Their ears are marked, so only their owners can "kill" them. The licensed hunters are allowed to hunt moose as they're wild animals. The reindeer owners would gather the reindeer and then "kill" the weakest one to get the meat. Gee, I didn't know that! My hubby says that reindeer are like sheep (weird as it might sound). I thought they were wild as they could roam about everywhere and they even cross the roads every now and then. 3. Summer in Finland SEEMS only to begin full force in August. It's been sunny and pretty warm starting this month. My hubby chuckled when I told him that. He said, "But summer's almost over." Oh well...4. Since during summer here the sun didn't set at all until a few weeks ago, the other night when I stayed up late due to coffee, I was surprised when I looked out of the window and realized how dark it was (at around 2 am). Then a wave of realization came over me and I said to myself, "Of course, silly! It's only normal that it's dark 'coz it's already SO late at night." OH YEAAAHHHH!!! I FORGOT that!!! LOL!!! ^_________________________^ That's what experiencing Midnight Sun here did to me...my brain started to operate weirdly, expecting the sun to still hover in mid-sky at night HI HI HI HI HI...5. I have to add one more beautiful thing that happened last night. Hubby went into our bedroom first. It was SO dark already. When I entered the room, I couldn't see a thing. Then all of a sudden from the side of the doorway, he SPOOKED ME. And I SCREAMED!!! I was thinking he'd be already curled up in bed, prepared to sleep (as he usually did when he got into the bedroom first).
I'm telling you, I'm NO screamer!!! I never scream even though I love suspense, thriller, and horror movies. But HE made me SCREAM!!! Boy, I was ready to bite him or something when he confessed that he was also surprised due to my scream. LOL!!! So it was "karma" HA HA HA HA HA...
Btw, I wonder what our neighbours thought when they heard the scream. Probably they thought that somebody murdered somebody in our apartment HI HI HI HI...LOL!!! We ended up laughing together, thinking what our neighbours thought of that scream (we live on the 3rd floor). ;-D All's well that ends well. MMMMM...
6. I'm SO excited about this weekend again. It seems that my mother-in-law wants us all to go to a forest. She and I will be picking wild berries grown in the forest whereas Arttu'll be cutting down some trees to get firewood. Don't worry, there're PLENTY of forests and trees here, unlike in Indo he he he...I'd better prepare my digicam again as I've never been to the aforementioned forest. YIIIIPPPPIIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!!! BERRIIIEEESSSS!!!
Btw, in the city centre for the past few weeks, there have been stands where some people are willing to buy berries from you. INTERESTING!!! I thought there would only be stands where people sell their own berries, but I was wrong.
BERRRIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS, HERE I COMMMEEEE!!!! *jumping up and down*
