The promise of summer

In Finland, there is often a spring phenomenon called hankikanto. It means that due to daily temperature fluctuations, the snow surface freezes hard enough to support human weight. This spring, hankikanto has gone on for an exceptionally long time, and at the moment it is a joy from dawn to dusk, opening up new horizons for outdoor recreation. This morning, after a couple of hours of walking the dog on the snow, I checked our neighbour’s dirt pile to see if the first coltsfoots of spring were there, and they were!

Even though we hear of wars and emerging famines from far and near, being in nature is comforting. There you feel yourself in touch with the Supreme. Here are some plans for this sailing season, along the same lines as last year.

• both new and familiar destinations in Saimaa
• a more distant lake, like Pielinen or Päijänne, or minor waters of Saimaa
• a remote island in the Gulf of Finland National Park
• finishing Scamp project before the lake freezes over

In addition to the gardening and renovation work, there should be time to get out on the water every now and then.