Nature bursts into bloom
The seasons in Lapland are all worth experiencing in themselves, I am rich as I got the opportunity to settle down in the middle of nature. June was very hot this year, I wouldn't have believed the hot spells would continue for so long. After the beautiful and snowy winter the skin can breathe - I enjoy feeling water, wind and sun on my body. Therefore, the best place in the mornings is Metsä Kolo's swimming platform, over a cup of coffee, listening to the hum of the wind. You feel lust for yoga on the platform. This was one of my dreams when planning to move to a lakeside place in Finland. The cat is purring around my legs. My slow waking up ritual is crowned by a dip in the lake. The soul and mind rest in the summer mornings and evenings, and at lunch and always.
In June, the forest offers several of its treasures that are worth collecting and utilizing for your own well-being. In the evening I take my beautiful basket made of wood chips as well as garden shears with me and head towards the forest in the yard. This summer I first started collecting Marsh labrador tea (Rhododendron tomentosum in Latin), which is a plant that makes me intoxicated by its scent. By far the nicest job of the summer is to hang out clean sheets to dry on the clothesline above plants of Marsh labrador tea. There are plans to make Metsä Kolo's OWN soap from the flowers. Another hit delicacy are young tips of a spruce tree that I used for making a refreshing forest drink sweetened with honey - to be served with fresh well water or sparkling wine… The third luxury of early summer are birch leaves, and a sauna whip tied of the birch branches (this is used to stimulate circulation by slapping oneself with it). It is fun to explain this tradition to my international guests. Many of them are occupied with the mere nudity, let alone beating in the sauna. Small is big. Small is big.
The gathering ritual is beautiful. For me, it consists of meditative quality time, deep gratitude, and a sense of happiness.
As late as in mid-May, the lake was covered by ice, but in June the water had warmed to as much as 25 degrees Centigrade. The birds nested and made such a noise on the pond, I am amused at night when I wake up. By June we have lived for a year in Metsä Kolo. The major job of the month we had been waiting for a long time already was the relocation and renovation of the old warehouse. The location of the warehouse in the best place by the lake was annoying, as it was a also bit rickety and ugly. I wanted to give it a new life, so a machinery contractor and an experienced, trusted villager was engaged to help, and the warehouse was pulled to its new location next to a woodshed. When the boards are removed, turned over and boarded up, we have a new-old and a functional warehouse.
The highlight of the summer is Midsummer. Our traditions include a little break from work, tying wreaths while rowing in a wooden boat among the family, going to sauna, swimming and laying the table beautifully in the garden and eating a variety of delicacies there. And champagne must not be missing. At this time of the year, the swamp in the yard is white with the flowers of cotton-grass. The delicate joys of a short time live in images and mind for a long time.
PS. In early summer the small friends do not bother you, either. Oh, are there any of them in Lapland, the mosquitos? Sometimes there are, often not. We have been thinning out the small trees and bushes to allow a small breath of wind to sweep in the yard. In addition, we have a mosquito trap in use. friends do not bother. Oh, are there any of them in Lapland? Sometimes it is, often it is not. We have thinned out the small trees and bushes to allow a small gust of wind to sweep in the yard. In addition, we have a mosquito net in use.
The author is the owner, CEO and caretaker of Metsä Kolo.
