Soggy Suonenjoki Saturday, 6 Jun

I had a really lazy morning… didn’t drag my carcass out of bed until nearly 10:00. The purported better weather was nowhere to be seen; it was still overcast and raining lightly. I did some reading, but by 14:00 the sun was trying to poke out, so I decided to go for a bike ride. At the last moment, my gut said, “Put on your raincoat and rainpants.” If you want to follow my route on a Google map or Google Earth, here we go. From the station, you know, Metsänturkimuslaitoksen tutkimusasema, I headed northeast on Juntintie, turning right (southeast) onto the bike path that follows Iisvedentie toward Suonenjoki. I went under E63, the main route to Kuopio. At the intersection with Rautalammintie, I zigged a block to the east and then followed Herralante for a block, before turning left and going under the railroad tracks and emerging onto Asemakatu. A right (south) turn and in a couple of blocks I took the photo of this church. I continued south and stayed left onto Siioninsllankatu and followed it until it ended at a bike path that goes up and over Suonenjoki River. Okay. Good thing I listened to my gut because the sky opened up and poured buckets on me, probably because I was at the farthest point from home. Anyway, I trudged on, looping north back to Rautalammintie, past the apartment I stayed in last August, under the railroad, which brought me back to the bike path which led me home. Even with the rain gear, I was a bit soggy, so I’ve fired up the sauna. I see some blue sky now and the forecast is for improving weather…

I brought my bike helmet with me. You know, the number one cause of death of people my age is accidents…. Apparently nobody in Finland knows that or cares about that, as everyone I saw on a bike today had a bare noggin. On the flip side, near this church is the customary cemetery. Extremely well kept, with a station containing a wheelbarrow, rakes, shovels, baskets… all unlocked and available for use. How long do you suppose they’d last in a cemetery in the US?

While on my little adventure, I saw quite a few birds. I heard a lot more but they are still a mystery. I'm now ignoring the clacking Fieldfares and the melodious Chaffinch, but the rest of the calls are just teasing me. Keeping with the Finnish today, here are the birds I saw: Keltasirkku, Vihervarpunen, Kirjosieppo, Punakylkirastas, Sepelkyyhky, Kalatiira, and Isokoskelo. Okay, fine, I’ll list them with English names too.

Birds of the Day: Yellowhammer (lifer), Eurasian Siskin, Pied Flycatcher, Redwing, Wood Pigeon, Common Tern, and Goosander.

Sweet Ride, Friday, 5 Jun

Yesterday after work I hopped on my new ride and headed toward Suonenjoki. The wind was howling, but I needed a couple of things I forgot at the grocery, so off I went. The station sits up on a hill, so once I got to the edge of the station, the next 500 meters was all downhill. I cruised onto the bike path and 15 minutes later was visiting Otto in downtown Suonenjoki. Otto is Finnish for ATM. From there I rode a block to the Alko (yup, exactly what it is; and if you want a real beer, it's where you have to go), and then to the grocery for my necessary odds and ends. I stopped at a little "sports" store and bought a pair of mittens (dang, I had forgotten my gloves). The owner didn't speak any English but gesturing worked. He also let me borrow a wrench so I could adjust my seat. It needed to be raised, what a surprise. The bike ride back was fine, except for those last 500 m uphill... This morning the wind was still blowing and light rain still falling. Apparently thousands of Finns woke up to no power, so I was fortunate. Otherwise, another day at the office. I've had a pile of literature that I've wanted to read for the past year or so and never seem to be able to find time... I shipped it to myself and today that box arrived... that should keep me busy. Tomorrow I plan to head to "the river" (if that's what you really call the connection between two long lakes) and do some birding. The weather is suppose to be better and I'm hoping the birds are lively.


Bird of the day: Hooded Crow.

Long Day But Still Dark, Thursday, 4 Jun

It's been a gray day... on and off rain showers and a lot of wind. Right after lunch the power went out at the station for about 2 hours. I managed to keep pecking away at things on my laptop, figuring that if the power didn't come back on before my 3 hours of battery life, well, so be it. Two and a half hours later, presto, power. I had a nice chat this afternoon with the director, Heikki Smolander, METLA scientists Risto Rikala, Jaana Luoranen, Juha Heiskanen, and Markku Nygren, and Markku's PhD student Katri. We laid out some ideas for how to proceed this summer, what topics sounded timely, and our respective schedules. It was good to get that groundwork done. Otherwise, same o same o... potatos for lunch and work on manuscripts. I took a break from volume 2 of the tribal manual to grind on the Fusarium biocontrol paper. Variety is the spice of life. I'm going to call it a workday and grab my loaner bike and ride into town... I could use some fresh air and a bit of exercise. The owner of this car was loading up his trailer with seedlings. This is great tree planting weather. Part of me says that looks like fun; most of me knows that's a lot of work!

No new birds today... too windy for both bird and watcher. I gave my Finnish bird wishlist to Risto today, so hopefully he can point me in some good directions!

Going Cuckoo, Wednesday, 3 Jun

I got up early this morning and did a little birding. The birds had been calling since 2:00! It was like the call of the siren to me.... Although the forecast was promising clouds and rain, the morning started off pleasant and sunny. And, fortunately, it wasn't too buggy. I strolled around the lake that is right behind my apartment. The grounds near the station are covered with Scots Pine and criss-crossed with cross country skiing trails. I really was after one bird: the Common Cuckoo. Those rascals were calling all night. I've heard them in Switzerland and Sweden, but never really got an upclose and personal look until this morning. (Yes, I saw them, lots of them.) I made it to the office by 8:00 and slaved that whole hour before coffee break. Whew. I spent the day, when not drinking coffee, working on volume 2 of the "tribal nursery manual." After receiving word yesterday that we have already distributed almost all of the first 1000 copies of volume 1 (in about a month), I was motivated to get going on the second volume, which will contain nearly 300 propagation protocols. There's still a lot to do... but without the distractions of my usual office, I made good progress today. Lunch was a great salmon and potato soup (hey, I'm from Idaho, the potato state, but Idaho has nothing on Finland... every meal here includes the humble potato). A brisk, cool breeze is blowing in some rain now. I've retreated to my abode, figuring I can work on the computer there just as easy as in my office.

Birds of the day: White Wagtail, Crested Tit, Great Tit, Mistle Thrush, Fieldfare, Tree Pipit (lifer), and Whimbrel (flying by).

First Day on the Job, Tuesday, 2 Jun

Thankfully I slept well, nearly 8 hours. That should preclude any weird jet-lag... I started the day with a little yoga to see if I could "un-stiff" what 14.5 hours inside an airplane had done to me. It helped. About 8:00 I walked the short distance to the main building. The day was essentially spent meeting old friends, filling out paperwork, getting my key card (the Finns can do this in 2 hours; I'm still waiting after months for my new Forest Service card) and starting discussions about what exactly I'm doing here.... oh yeah, and having coffee breaks. The first one is at 9:00, along with some real breakfast goodies. No sugary donuts! Just some hard bread, a slice of cheese, and some fresh veggies (tomatos, peppers, and cucumbers). Most of the staff attend. Then, lunch at 11:30. Again, served up hot and fresh. And if you feel the afternoon grind taking its toll, don't worry. There's another coffee break at 14:00! My office is on the second floor. When I came back from lunch, they had put my name on the door. These Finns are a class act. About 16:30 Risto Rikala, one of the researchers I'm working with, took me into Suonenjoki to get groceries. I love buying stuff by only looking at the pictures on the label. A real adventure! More adventure at the check-out line... my credit card wouldn't work. Fortunately I had some Euros left over from last fall; just enough to get me out the door. I found out that Deb had used the card in Moscow, and then I tried it shortly thereafter in Suonenjoki--a big red flag to the credit card company! Hopefully by tomorrow they will have found me a bicycle so I have some mobility and can go purchase what I forgot today... it's about a 5 km ride to Suonenjoki.

Birds of the day: Coal Tit (and a nest with 4 just-hatched chicks), Common Swift, Great Spotted Woodpecker, House Sparrow.

Getting to Finland - 31 May through 1 Jun

I flew out of the Pullman-Moscow airport at 6:40 on Sunday, given a bon voyage by Deb and Niklaas. Landed in Seattle under perfect conditions, with Mt. Rainier looking glorious. After a 4 hour layover, my boarding pass turned out to be invalid... only because I had been upgraded to first class. Yee-haw. It's a 10-hour flight to Amsterdam, and then it seems like it takes about as long to go through "passport control". Fortunately, I had plenty of lay-over (but not too long). Then it was another 2.5 hours to Helsinki and another hour on Finnair to Kuopio, the nearest airport to Suonenjoki. I landed about 17:30; the weather was perfect. Marja Poteri from METLA (that's the Finnish abbreviation for Finnish Forest Research Institute, the folks sponsoring my trip) met me at the airport and after an hour or so, we arrived at the Suonenjoki Research Station. The station is in the small town of Suonenjoki (about 8000 residents), about 300 km north northeast of Helsinki. I'm in the flat, room #2. Marja was thoughtful and provided me a sack full of groceries to tied me over. After a long walk and a bit of birding, I hit the sauna. Felt like I was re-visiting my Midwestern roots... Then, early to bed to see if I could ward off the jet-lag.

Birds of the day: Mallard, Black-billed Magpie, Eurasian Jackdaw, Barn Swallow, Eurasian Wigeon, Common Goldeneye, Little Ringed Plover (lifer), Common Cuckoo, Spotted Flycatcher, Common Chaffinch, Winter Wren.