A daily blog to keep my friends and family up-to-speed with my 3-month sabbatical at the Finnish Forest Research Institute (METLA) in Suonenjoki, Finland. For my birding friends, I'll post the "new" birds seen each day.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Thursday, 2 Jul

Today was spent trying to get ready for tomorrow. After lunch tomorrow, we are heading for a weekend in Lappeenranta. The first half of next week we'll be in Juensuu visiting another METLA station, and then on to Helsinki before heading back to Idaho. So I tried to take care of as much busy work as possible today, but I have a bunch more to squeeze in tomorrow. Deb and I backed up the last of her research tools to ship back to the states (rather than lug them through eastern Finland). That also means we are cleaning out the refrigerator, which should make for an interesting dinner. I'm guessing that when I return to Suonenjoki later this summer, I'll be back in the guest apartments... so no more enjoying the rustic cabin. I'll have to take a good-bye sauna tonight.

Bird news is pretty slow.... but the woodpeckers have fledged, as have the Nightingales that I think had a nest under the eaves of the cabin.

Wednesday, 1 Jul

Going back and forth from the cabin to the station is a nice walk. Here is our version of a Finnish tread-master. I'm not sure how many steps there are (maybe I'll count them), but it sure gets the blood pumping in the morning. It's still very warm... Deb says some kids came down and swam in the lake this afternoon. It was more interesting when the girls changed their clothes out in the open. No, Niklaas was with me at the time up in the station. This evening, the cuckoo lived up to its name... calling cu-cu... and enjoying itself, I think, listening to the echo across the lake... CU-CU, cu-cu, CU-CU, cu-cu...

BTW, 151 steps.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Tuesday, 30 Jun


Another tough day in the office. I wish I could say I spent all my time in this office by the lake, but the truth is that I end up doing most of my real work in the second floor office in the station. I spent the day trying to better understand the nuances among water retention curves, media shrikage, particle density, and bulk density. Maybe I should have stayed by the lake! We Dumroeses are falling into a predictable pattern. Deb joins me in the office in the morning to take advantage of the Internet, and then escapes to the cabin (she probably uses the lake office). Niklaas does likewise, having discovered he can communicate with his buds if he gets on-line early enough and they stay up late enough. In the afternoon, Niklaas and I go down for coffee and our sweet tooth fix. Then, by 16:30ish, when nearly all the Finns have already left for the day, we wander back to the cabin. So.... it's 16:30. I think it's time to go to the other office. I have some papers to read and that spot looks more comfortable....

Monday, June 29, 2009

Weekend, 27 and 28 Jun



It was a hot weekend in Finland. Temperatures were near 30 C (86 F). After securing a couple more bicycles, and buying some tickets on-line, we cruised into Suonenjoki Saturday morning and boarded the 9:06 train to Kuopio. The trip to Kuopio is actually faster by train than by car, and by 9:36 we were walking toward the center market area, right next to City Hall. As I mentioned earlier, they have food vendors, craft people, folks selling produce, and on this particular day, a large rummage sale. At the far end of the square is another building containing a variety of other vendors, including folks selling cheeses, meats, chocolate, and souvenirs. Inside, we perused a bit and then enjoyed a cup of coffee before heading out for more investigating. After a morning of shopping we ended up on the outdoor patio of the Kummisetä restaurant . After a nice meal, more shopping, including some fresh Suonenjoki strawberries that are coming into season (not quite as big as the one in the photo). Niklaas thought it was pretty funny to see a Tex-Mex restaurant in Finland. By 15:00 we were pretty much done sightseeing and shopping, so we took seats near the square at an outdoor coffee/beer house (in the shade, thankfully) and watched Kuopio walk by. We saw a lot of very white people whose legs and arms had probably not seen sun in a very long time. We also noted a lot of black clothing. Deb and I both commented that we also saw a lot of pregnant women, not that we were particularly looking for them, which makes their sheer number that much more significant. I guess we know what the Finns do on the winter solstice. We waited about 40 minutes for the train, got in the wrong car (oops, who would guess that the first car behind the locomotive would be car 6, and the last car would be 1?), and in 18 minutes were back in Suonenjoki. We sent Niklaas off in a flash to get some supplies in the 6 minutes before the grocery store closed at 18:00. Deb and I took a leisurely ride back to the station.

Sunday was warm, very warm. We all slept in and then lazed around the cabin. After brunch, Deb decided to take a walk in the woods and Niklaas and I made our usual and customary run to the grocery store for a few supplies. We figure if we buy just a little each day, it gives a good reason for Niklaas to peddle to the store everyday and keep those soccer legs in shape. We picked up some more Suonenjoki strawberries from the local girl, and cruised back home.

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About Me

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Moscow, Idaho, United States
I'm a research plant physiologist with the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Grassland, Shrubland, and Desert Ecosystem Program. I'm also the National Nursery Specialist for the Forest Service.