May in Finland. Outdoor pictures of budding trees
and blooming flowers.
Pictures of the month of May in Finland. If you
like traveling and being outside in the spring time? I'll show you
where I drive around in the Finnish countryside. The point of
this page is to help you see how the environment changes in a
few weeks time.
It
is May 1st in Finland. Let's observe the
awakening of nature, by looking at a bottle of Cherry Coke.-Huh?
Then let your eye look through the window behind the Coke bottle. See
the maroon color of the Coke label in contrast with the barren
background. There is not much color in the background.
Of course, that never stopped a Finn from enjoying a day at a summer
cottage.
Grinding out a stump at a summer cottage near Virrat. The grinder is
halted.
After the jobs is done, I head for the open road.
A picture of a lock in Virrat, Finland, taken from a bridge.
Early May in Finland
Driving along the popular Finnish route 66.
Entering Ruovesi
The green grass has yet to appear!!
On to my next job in Vesilahti.
Entering the dirt roads of the Finnish countryside.
Safe travel
tips for smaller dirt roads in Finland.
Many of the so called country roads in Finland have potholes,
and some
roads are
privately owned. Road conditions are not always the most favorable,
since road maintenance crews repair country roads only
periodically
with a special rock/sand fill.
Caution! While driving a vehicle in Finland, set your navigational
device to use the most economic/fastest route setting,
otherwise the GPS device
may lead you across small roads not built for
passenger cars.
About to climb up this tree...
...to see what is up there?
As I climb above the 3 meter mark and higher, besides the occasional
high power cable...
...I discover something interesting growing around a lower
branch.
Up close, it looks like this.
A picture of what the locals call 'Naava(In
Finnish)' 'Usnea barbata(Latin)', or Lichen in
English.
Lichen
is both an algae and a
fungus growing together. Anglophones call it 'Old Man's beard.' Auras
says:
"When Lichen grows on trees like this, it is a sign of clean
air."
What this
Finnish yard looks during early May in Finland.
I continue my climb up...
...while gaining altitude. Now, 13 meters above the ground, I look
down...
to my left side...my leg and climbing rope.
...then to the right...It's my right leg. Yes, Jeff you have
two legs!
This is Also how most summer cottage yards look like during the month
of May in Finland. Brown with patches of green coloration.
May 4 th. --Budding birch, on front of a birch trunk back-drop.
Derived from the previous picture, here are two buds up closer.
Finnish birch buds pointing downward.
Birch
tree facts: Birch trees are very useful. The
inner bark can be
eaten. Of course you might need to boil, and grind it up.(Don't quote
me on that ;-/ )
Healthy Finnish
Candy fact: Xylitol sweetener contain Xylose. Xylose is taken
from the
birch wood. The benefits of Xylitol is that it actually prevents tooth
decay.
5 th. of May
in Finland -- We'll drive back to the previous location.
An open field on the right, still no grass. Out in the
boondocks, our next major city is Tampere which is 45 kilometers away.
A sure
sign of spring in Finland.
You will notice at the entrance of this forest.
This picture is quite plain and colorless, except for ---> those violet
colors peeking through. See the bottom right corner of the picture.
Violet flowers close-up.
These flowers are called Sinivuokko Hepatica nobilis.
Nearby I notice an onion type white-flower growing in this yard.
Up closer
A quick visit
to a nearby farmer, where I pick up some fresh milk.
At a dairy farm in Vesilahti.
A young calf at our friend Harry's dairy farm.
Ahh! The smells inside the barn.
Now we'll
drive from Vesilahti, to Raisio, which is near Turku in south-western
Finland.
Raisio is about 160 kilometers south of Vesilahti, 15
kilometers north of Turku.
First, a snapshot of the landscape. Shades of green.
10.00 a.m. 12th. of May in Finland. Leaving Vesilahti, driving
direction Raisio.
In Raisio,
Finland
Traveling 150 kilometers down to a more southern location. Here I
notice that spring is in full swing, compared to Vesilahti.
Budding birch trees.
Same as previous picture -- just focusing on the new growth.
A photo from another Finnish birch in Raisio.
Same as previous picture. Notice the jagged shaped perimeter of the
birch leaves.
Budding bushes
Can you guess what this is?
Canopy of a typical 'tree-at-a-park' in Raisio, Finland.
Picture of the whole tree
The blue flowers below are interesting...
...to see up closer.
Photo of the above tree --Zooming into the base of the tree.
In the same park area there is a plant patch. A bit barren, but hey...
...look at this grassy plant patch up closer. Once in bloom, expect
more color.
Middle of May in Finland. It feels like spring time in Finland.
Left: A hard-wood tree species. Right: Birch tree beginning to bud.
When the birch bud leaves begin opening, the trees appear
yellowish.
Like in this pictures here.
From Raisio I
drive back home to Vesilahti
More birch budding action.
The following three pictures of the same location are taken from May 12
to May 14. This shows the changing green of the birch trees.
May 12th. Time: 10.00 p.m.
May 13th. -Time: 10.30 p.m.
May 14th. Time: 4.30 p.m.
May 15. -
At the same location. A picture of the sun going down behind the trees.
A sunny
and clear day is good tree spotting weather.
While driving to Valkeakoski to pick up a friend, I just happened to
spot this dried up pine tree.
An old dried up pine picture with the sun behind the tree.
Quick traveling phrase in Finnish for an: 'old dried pine' = keloutunut mänty.
Difficult! Nah! The Finns use one word for this natural phenomenon.
Easy to speak Finnish right!
Adding a bit of color to the picture never hurts.
From Valkeakoski we
travel to Helsinki. -15th. of May in Finland
A shot of a budding maple in Vantaa.
Close up view of the maple tree buds, as seen from the above picture.
Lempäälä, Finland,
on a sunny 'May in Finland' day.
Dandelion season in Finland.
Yellow everywhere. I like dandelions, since they are edible. Brew tea
out of em. They are rich in vitamins. Just pick the young leaves which
are away from pesticides, wash and eat them raw or cooked. (Again,
don't quote me verbatim.)
Dandelions in Vesilahti.
A single dandelion picture. It is already May 21st.
Dandelions, or Voikukka
in Finnish: According
to Wikipedia -- A cup of dandelion leaves has over 110% daily
recommendation of vitamin A, 30% or more of vitamin C... also iron, etc.
Sigh! It's May 30. This last picture is taken at 10.30 p.m., and, yep,
this one is in Vesilahti, near Rämsöö.
Three trees near a paved road.
A real cheap vacation idea: Rent a car, and drive through
various country roads in Finland. Here are two examples of
routes I took during the month of May in Finland as shown in the
above pictures. Follow these links to get simple Michelin recommended driving directions.
1. Between Vesilahti and Lempäälä
2. Between Vesilahti and Raisio
is more highway than country, but once you get to Raisio, drive to the
center. Since Rasio is so close to Turku, you can see lot's of the
coast if you like.
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