Jack’s Walk

I think someone forgot to give Mother Nature the memo that it’s springtime. Yesterday we had a blizzard and today it continues to snow off and on. The temperature is hovering around -5 and everywhere I go people are grumbling. Jack and I decided to go to the park this morning and even the ducks and geese seemed out of sorts. Over at the frog pond the water is still frozen and there isn’t a single thing even close to blooming. What few bulbs that had poked their heads up have come no further. I don’t blame them. If not for Jack, I wouldn’t be outside today either.

Frog Pond

Frog Pond

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K Is For Käytöstä poistettu.

Käytöstä poistettu.

Finnish for “no longer in use”. The pictures are from spring 2017 and taken in the Vallilanlaakso park (in English: Vallila Valley). This is what was left of the one-track unelectrified railway to the port in Sörnäinen. The port facilities were relocated to Vuosaari in the southeastern corner of Helsinki and the rails and sleepers had been removed and junked. The tunnel leads to Pasila railyard and railway station, where various shunting operations for the trains from the port were done.

The port areas in Helsinki peninsula, apart from passenger and vehicle terminals for car ferries, high-speed passenger ferries and cruise ships to Sweden, Russia and Estonia are now in the process of being redeveloped into residential areas. This process has resulted in two railways becoming “käytöstä poistettu”.

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© Ice Swimmer, all rights reserved.

Jack’s Walk

It’s snowing here today with high winds (gusts up to 90 km/hr) and I just can’t bear to take one more wintry photo this spring. Instead, I give you this beautiful old willow tree that caught my eye the day Jack and I went to the lake. It looked so sculptural silhouetted against the blue, blue sky. I’m actually very fond of the look of bare trees in the winter. You can see how unique each one is and that they all have their own personality. Normally, I don’t find them depressing at all. Today, though, I would give a lot to see a tree fully dressed. Heck, today just a few leaf buds would thrill me.

Willow tree

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J Is For Juoni.

Juoni.

The Finnish word juoni has multiple meanings. Plot (of a book or a play) or intrigue. As a geological term it means a dike. This dike is (I think) a magmatic intrusion, probably thousands of millions years old. This rock is in Kaivopuisto, Helsinki and the (otherwise) paved seaside way/path for pedestrians goes over it.

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Jack’s Walk

Over the weekend Charly wrote an interesting post about different types of fungal infections in trees. Today, Jack and I came upon this downed tree and if I remember his post correctly this is a sapwood infection with unaffected heartwood. The damage is quite extreme and I think the infection is parasitic rather than fungal. So much of the wood has been eaten away that I suspect some sort of critter made a banquet of this tree.

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I Is For Ilma.

Ilma.

Ilma is Finnish for air and also colloquially weather. In November 2017, it was windy and wet snow was falling in Hesperia park in Helsinki. With flash, it was possible to catch the trajectories of the falling snowflakes in the air (thanks for the advice in this blog a few months before, Caine).

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© Ice Swimmer, all rights reserved.

Jack’s Walk

We went to the lake today to look at the lingering ice and there was none! This was cause for celebration and Jack chose to do his happy dance in the cold, cold water. Don’t worry, though, he’s fine. Jack’s coat is so dense that only his guard hairs get wet. His undercoat and skin stay completely dry. Labs are thoroughly built to be swimmers. They even have webbed feet.

 

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Russia – Red Square, Moscow

I remember the days of watching Soviet military parades on the evening news. The route always went through Red Square and I grew up thinking that the square was so named because of the connection between communism and the colour red. I could not have been more wrong. In Russian, the name Red Square translates to “Beautiful Square” and the place is indeed very beautiful. The entire square has a fairy tale feel about it and is entirely majestic. It is bordered on all 4 sides by iconic Russian buildings erected during the Imperial days of the country. The building that everyone is the most familiar with is St. Basil’s Cathedral, built in 1552 by Ivan The Terrible. Its candy coloured onion domes are emblematic of Russia herself.

St.Basil's Cathedral

St.Basil’s Cathedral

Directly across from St. Basil’s is the Russian State Historical Museum. It was built in the late 1800’s especially to house over 4 million state treasures ranging from fossils to fine gems and everything in between.

Russian State Museum

Russian State Museum

Beside the sate museum resides the Upper Trade Rows, better known as the GUM department complex. It is known for its glazed roofs, interior bridges, fountains and galleries. Today it houses the finest of designer stores and is very exclusive.

GUM Department store

GUM Department store

Interior, GUM department store

Interior, GUM department store

Finally, the last side of the square is occupied by the fort wall of the Kremlin.

Kremlin with Lenin's tomb

Kremlin with Lenin’s tomb

In this photo you see Lenin’s tomb in the foreground, then the central nexus of the Kremlin Fort wall and finally one of the main buildings of the Kremlin in the the background. Lenin’s body is still on display and open to visitors everyday except Sunday, which is, of course, the day we were there.

 

Link to previous post – Russian Adventure