Summer Squash ~ Zucchini

In the end of the spring, beginning of the summer my friend gave me two summer squash plants. For a long time nothing happened. It very much looked the plants had stopped growing. Then suddenly the leaves were huge and not long ago there was the first flower. A large, yellow flower. In a couple of days we were able to see there would be a summer squash. The other day there was two of them, big enough to pick and use. Yay, my first summer squashes 😀 Thank you my friend 🙂 I made a summer squash cauliflower gratin. I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of it. Well, next time because there will be many more of them very soon.

Cool Tool

A photo from last week. Isn’t this really a cool, beautiful tool made by the nature in ice ? I think it looks like a spade blade or why not the tip of a spear.

Saturday at Iron and Kerosene ~ Sunday Visiting Friends

The event Rauta ja Petrooli / Iron and Kerosene took place in Riihimäki on Saturday and Sunday. We visited the event on Saturday. It was the most beautiful last day of summer. The event R&P is mainly about tractors but there are also all kind of machines, classic cars, trucks, busses, motorbikes, flea market etc. etc. This time I was a lazy photographer. I took very few pictures.   

On Sunday we visited our friends. It was so nice. The weather was nice but not at all as warm as it was on Saturday. The summer definitely is gone. Look at these adorable beautiful gladiolus my friend has. I think I will buy some next spring.  Thank you dear friends for having us there.

Warm August Evening

What a beautiful August Saturday evening. Warm, blue skies, no wind. We took a trip to Helsinki. Down at Café Ursula , where you have wonderful seaside views was, as always, an evening like this, a lot of people.

A sailing ship from Åland Islands according to the flag.

Young men jumping bungee. On the way up.

Eeeeeeek ! You could hear some of the guys scream. Many jumped without a sound.

Soon they were back down.

My goodness how many Barnacle Geese there are in “Kaivopuisto ! I think many hundreds. They are  big birds. They eat a lot and what goes in comes out. You really need to watch your step to avoid getting your shoes dirty.

Yes, it was a lovely evening. I’d loved to stay until sunset but my husband. No, no he said. It’s already late. Let’s go home. Hmmm, late at 9 pm !  Home we went.

Jacob’s Stairs

Yes, we call them Jacob’s stairs. That is because we had a dog who originally named Jaakko. When he at about one year old came to us we called him Jacke but many people used the name Jaakko in swedish which is Jakob 🙂 Back then when both Jacke and I where young we used make several short walks and one long walk every day. The long one about seven to ten kilometers. Very often week took these stairs connecting Pitkäjärventie to Huvilatie. We soon began to call them Jacob’s Stairs. Very seldom I have walked the Jacob’s Stairs with Canelo.

The winter was hard. Plenty of snow and very slippery. It was very difficult to really walk. I found out I now need a good exercise. I took the cross trainer in use. It was not working properly last summer now it, unfortunately, is broke. So what now ? Son said go walk the Malminkartanon täyttömäki stairs. Yes, why not, there are 426 steps. I have climbed them, The view from the top is nice. Then, yes, Canelo, let’s go climb the Jaco’s Stairs. There are about 80 steps we can do them for five to six times which makes the same amount steps as täyttömäki. Good thing is they are only about one kilometer away from us. The past week we have walked the stairs up and down and up and down. Good for the legs. Yes 🙂 Last night on the way home I saw the first bird cherry tree in bloom. The smell is good.

Have A Great 36th Birthday Son !

Time flies. I keep saying the same thing every year when it is our son’s birthday 🙂 In the morning I asked him is there anything special you would like to have to eat today. Yes he said. Big Carolina meal. Big Carolina at Carrols used to be his favorite burger. For, I don’t know how long it’s not been available but now it’s back. This time at Hesburger. We said we’d stop at Hesburger on the way back from the supermarket.

While Leif was buying the burgers I took Canelo out from the car to let him do what he had to do. I saw this bird eating berries and picked up my pocket camera to take some pictures. I was able to shoot a few pictures before he flew away. I turned to walk back to the car and saw him bathing in a puddle. He was splashing a lot.
 Yep hurray, here comes Leif. 

Yummy 🙂For the dessert, homemade ‘kinuskikaka’ caramel cake.

Happy Birthday Son !

 

Virginia Creeper

Yesterday was a very gray and drizzly day. This fiery red Virginia creeper at the Lady Line gym entrance really cheered me up and made me smile.

   

It’s unbelievable how high up this plant can climb. I’ve seen it on six to seven story tall buildings. According to Wikipedia, it can climb as high as 30 m.

Nightingale

I have only, so far, been shooting very few video clips with my Canon PowerShot SX230 HS.

For some weeks I have wondered what kind of bird makes the sound you now can hear on my clip.

During my walks I have discussed this with several people. They all say it is a nightingale. I checked on YouTube and yes, they all are right. There were many clips on YouTube of singing nightingales.  After the woodpecker I was walking further down the road by the lake when I hear the bird singing and shoot a clip.  Just a simple clip to try out the camera.

Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major

Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major

When on my morning walk with Canelo I saw two of these woodpeckers in a tree just to the right of me.  Well, it was not that early morning anymore as it was at about 9:30. Anyway, I had my pocket camera in my pocket (always have) and I tried to as easy as possible wiggle it out from there and turn it on. Canelo is so used to that I stop to take pictures. He was just sitting there very still and quietly. The birds in the tree intensely following my doings. As soon as I was ready and lifted my camera to shoot they both flew away.

       

Oh, now what ? Yeah, either I go or I wait. I decided to wait. After about 4 minutes waiting the other one returned. He sat down a bit higher this time. All the time keeping an eye on me and my doings. I was able to shoot 8-10 pictures then he got annoyed and left.

I was surfing the net for the great spotted woodpecker. Oh my goodness there are plenty, plenty absolutely wonderful pictures.  Seeing all the great pictures I really was very unsure of me at all putting up “my woodpecker” here. Complaining to my husband about my bad pictures he said just stop complaining they are not that bad.

Okay then,  I think they are good enough. I shot all the pictures in landscape mode as the one at the top. Portrait mode would have been better. I just didn’t dare making any kind of movements to scare the bird away. The tree other pictures I have cropped from landscape mode.

These birds really can make terrible loud sound when sitting up on the top of a lamp pole on the metal lamp cap 🙂

Almost Spring

Hepatica Nobilis = Sinivuokko = Blåsippa

Already for some days, when walking Canelo,  I have looked for “Blåsippor”.  I was so pleased to find some today. Spring is here 🙂

Well, almost.  Still some snow.

By the way.  I took these pictures with my Olympus camera.  Our son fixed the broken battery cover using Epoxy super glue !  My new pocket camera is nice but I missed my Olympus.  Thank you dear son 🙂