Epätodellista sunnuntaita!

Lempikuukausiani on hennon vaaleanpunaisen valon maaliskuu, mutta myös huhtikuun taivaan salaperäinen hohde on hieno. Aamulla kävelin ystävän kanssa Weizenbergi-kadulla, johon tuprutti jostakin kadun savupiipusta niin paljon savua, että siitä ja aamun kylmyydestä tuli epätodellinen olo. Mereltä tuuli, Piritan luostarin hongat olivat painuneet vinoon ja metsäpolut olivat jäässä. Illansuussa alkoi tuiskuttaa.

My favourite month is March, because I love the feeble pink light, although the secretive shimmer of April sky is nice too. I was walking on Weizenbergi street with a friend in the morning, when some chimney was billowing out so much smoke that the smoke and the coldness made everything unreal. The wind blew from the sea, the pine trees of the Pirita cloister were askew and forest paths were all frozen. Closer to the evening it started to snow.

Rantaviiva. Estonian shore.

Tallinna Piritan suunnasta. Tallinn seen from Pirita.

 

Piritan honkia. Pirita pine trees.

Luostarin seiniä. Cloister walls.

Ystävä tekee voltin. A friend doing a flip.

Ystävä tekee voltin toisinpäin. En osaa päättää, kumpi näyttää älyttömämmältä.
Friend doing a flip the other way round. I can't decide which one looks more absurd.

Huhtikuinen lumisade. April snowfall.

Huhtikuun valo. April light.

A tub reportage

It's spring. It's finally a real spring. I've seen brimstones, peacock butterflies, a heliconian, a mourning cloak and today, finally, gossamer-winged butterflies (blue-wings in Finnish). 

And I've got a tub for the summer cottage, originally used for storing cereal. I guess decades ago. I'm trying to make it swell, but there are some very persistent caps...

Sun, cat, crochet :)

Sun is shining today and Ludvig will get to go out. She doesn't look extremely eager, though. 126/135 patches ready!

Ludvig got out today.

One of the nicest things I've done in my life is making a cat happy. Because it's another creature, especially because it's not a human, and probably especially because it's a cat.

She moved in with me when my parents were losing their nerves with her peeing everywhere. I quite understand them. My personal favourite must be when she managed to drop a Bible from a bookshelf and peed on it. Only a Bible; no one book besides. She haven't peed once outside her sandbox when living with me. I try to give her a lot of positive attention and a good amount of excitement. And, admittedly, I pamper her with treats.

Today morning I looked out of my window and decided that there are enough dry spots on the ground that I can start phase two in her happiness training: teaching her that going out on a leash is actually fun. And you know what? It was. At least for her. She ate some early grass and we spent a half hour watching sparrows and wading in snow.

Happy, old cat.

Oh, March

It's a grey, dull day, clouds hanging miserably on rooftops. And after many days of surprising excessive energy, I have none. So don't imagine I'd be going outside for a second, expect slouching to the nearest grocery store to get candy. Instead, I'm spending my day pretty much like this:

The book is Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, and a DVD of Agatha Christie's Marples is just outside the picture.

I've made a bet with my boyfriend. If he finishes his bachelor's thesis before I finish my alpaca quilt, I'll treat him a dinner in Dong Bei Hu (the best Chinese restaurant in Helsinki, and the only one which number I have on my cell phone). And, obviously, vice versa. He's written some five pages of minimum 15; I'm up to 89 of 135 patches, above to which I will have to crochet the uttermost round to each 135 and sew them together.

Herbal plans for the garden

I thought the list of herbs that I am going to grow next summer would be interesting, but I realize now that it looks more like a view from someone's spice shelf. A list of herbs I am going to collect would probably be more fun, but I've not made it yet.

 - basil: sweet basil, lime basil, mammoth basil, red rubin basil
 - calendula: "Double Orange King" is supposed to have the best medical effects
 - chamomile: common; I've not been able to find seeds of Roman chamomile
 - coriander, Asian
 - dill
 - horehound
 - lemon balm
 - lemon verbena, if I'll be able to find seeds
 - mint: at least peppermint and spearmint; Dalmatian mint if I can find a sapling
 - oregano, Greek
 - parsley
 - ramsons! moles hate it and I love it
 - rosemary
 - sage, common and clary
 - thyme, common and wild
 - valerian

There has to be something I've not thought of. What is it?

As for anything else, I can hardly grow anything that ripens late, as I will probably be leaving to Japan before I can enjoy it. I've ordered seeds of leafy goosefoot and butternut squash, but as Finland is quite uncivilized when it comes to squashes and pumpkins, it's impossible to find them in stores  ̶  so, I will probably have to grow some more myself. And then of course spinach, lettuce, zuccini, sunflowers and hops. And I hope I will be able to find saplings of black elder and blackberries, too.

Greek oregano sapling