Nocturnal play

We rarely see northern lights here in the southern part of the country, but yesterday they danced above us for several hours. I took these pictures from my balcony without a tripod, so the quality is poor, but hopefully next time I have a proper equipment for the job.

"The origin of the northern lights has various explanations in folklore and mythology. The Finnish name for the northern lights "revontulet" is associated with the arctic fox. According to a folk tale, an arctic fox is running far in the north and touching the mountains with its fur, so that sparks fly off into the sky as the northern lights. Another version of the story says the fox throws the northern lights up into the sky by sweeping snow upwards with its tail. A more developed version then explains how moonlight is reflected from the snowflakes swept up into the sky by the fox's tail."
From thisisFinland

Bring it on

I needed new shoes and fast, because spring has definitely arrived and my knee-high New Rock boots are not too comfortable during these warm days. I also have a small pile of high heels, but as a person who spends more time in the forest than in the city, I needed something more casual. 

Now, I don't use sneakers. I need shoes which are cool enough to fit my style (hah) and made from sturdy material so every thorn is not going to pierce through my foot when I'm rambling around forests with dogs. Also, they have to be comfortable enough for longer hikes, so it was time to get new combat boots. I found a perfect pair from Vegetarian shoes, but 150€ was a high price to pay, considering my current situation (I've been on a sick leave for several weeks this year so my paychecks are a joke.) I decided to check nearby flea markets before placing an order, and found what I was looking for:

I already polished them, and with new laces they're going to be almost as good as new! I paid only three euros for these, gotta love flea markets. Or maybe it was karma paying me back for donating most of my clothes during winter? 

The Raven

I'm overly fond of some objects, I don't know what I would do if I lost them. When people ask: "What is the one object you would save if your house was on fire?", I have no idea what to answer. Probably the external hard drive which includes all my photographs. But what about my camera? It was so ridiculously expensive and in addition, I love it! And my books, all my lovely, dear books. I couldn't just leave them. I would probably burn to death while trying to save everything important.

And then there's this thing. How could I leave this to a burning house? I got this as a Christmas present from my boyfriend few years ago, and it's surely one of my most precious items. It's truly beautifully detailed and I like how it's ticking quietly - I used to keep it next to my pillow whenever I had to sleep alone, because the sound was so calming.

I long for thee, King Winter

I love Winter. Nothing beats the feeling you get when you are in a silent, snowy birch forest during that blue moment of dusk when the brightest stars are already visible, or in the middle of moonlit field during the darkest time of the year. Sometimes I go to the nearby forest with my sister and our total of five dogs, and we climb on a hill, sip some hot chocolate and admire the starry sky above us.

This Winter was beautiful and snowy, but so very short - usually we still have a nice blanket of snow in March, but now all we have is wet, grey ground with little white spots here and there. It makes me sad to see my favourite season dying, although I'm eager to see how trees cover themselves with leaves and colourful flowers lure butterflies to dance around. But today Winter made its one final push and we had such a beautiful snowfall I almost felt a need to cry. Unfortunately I have a fever, so I did not dare to go out, but hopefully we'll meet again next year.

I look like a hamster.

Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen

(This text and photos are from my Instagram, that's why I'm talking about character limit etc.)

After seeing ONCE AGAIN how a young puppy was looking for a new home because it was biting its owner and chewing things, I decided to write a little something and I am now posting it in four parts, thanks to character limit. This is for everyone thinking about getting a dog:

Part 1. 

First and maybe the most important thing to learn: What is a dog, actually? It is NOT just a creature which will sit nicely and pose for your Instagram photos. It has its own mind and believe me, it will use it. A dog behaves like a dog and expresses its feelings like a dog, so you really should learn certain things. For example, why do dogs hump other dogs and even humans? What on earth means the term "whale eye"? What kind of nutrition is suitable for them?

Also, a dog is not a human being, so don't treat it like one. It has its own feet for walking, it's usually perfectly capable to eat things like raw meat, and it really does not need "stylish" outfits during hot summer days if it already has a perfectly good coat.

Part 2. 

Research the breed. For example huskies are crazy popular these days (thanks to media, I guess), which isn't a good thing in my honest opinion. I've seen several cases where the breed was clearly chosen based on a cool appearance - and then, because absolutely zero research was made before getting a dog, in about 1-6 months it will be put down or needs a new home because people had no idea what kind of dog they were getting. 

And remember: even though selective breeding has resulted with hundreds of different kinds of dog breeds, that seemingly perfect breed is still full of individual dogs. They are not all the same, and you can't expect a dog to behave JUST as the book says.

Part 3. 

Do you have enough time and interest to train your dog properly and are you willing to solve its possible behavioral problems? I tell you, it's much nicer to go for a walk with a dog who won't try to attack everyone it sees, and it's definitely better for both of you if the dog does not pull on a leash. 

Puppies bite and growl when they play. They will most likely try to destroy everything you own. They will poop on your floor, on your bed and on your sofa. And guess what? It's not just puppies, even adults do that in some cases. Ever heard about separation anxiety? Yeah, you should definitely take a look. We had that problem with Cira after we moved, and it was absolute hell. But with simple tricks and loads of patience we solved the problem, and for last four years Cira has been sleeping well while we are away from home. 

Some dogs are easy to train, some are not. It took less than a month for Isla to figure out that she needs to poop and urinate outside the house, but with Cira it took almost a year. Then again, Cira has never been afraid of anything, but Isla was afraid of almost everything, even doors. It took more than a year of hard work, but now she's a really calm dog and doesn't scare easily.

Part 4. 

And finally: do you have enough time and resources to take care of an animal for over ten years? The dog itself can cost even several thousands or you can get it for free, but what about sudden vet bills? Food, toys, leashes, collars, possible raincoats, harnesses, meds etc.? What about their messiness? Some of them simply love rolling around in mud, and they carry tons of sand in their coats right into your home. And shedding, oh, the shedding... Taking care of a dog does not only mean that you lay on a sofa with it and keep it company: it needs to go out several times per day, preferably for long walks. Many dogs need much more than that, and they need mental activities too or they'll find something to do on their own (chewing furniture is a favourite thing of many bored dogs.) I don't want to make owning a dog sound like work, but it seems like some people just don't realise that they are not only getting a pretty picture to show people on Instagram: they are getting an alive, feeling family member and they can't really expect it to instantly behave like that perfect dog they saw in a movie. Life with pets is very different behind the scenes, but I wouldn't give up our dogs for any price. 

Epilogue

First of all, I'm not a native English speaker so pardon my lack of eloquence and occasional grammatical errors.

Once again I felt a need to write and share my thoughts, so a blog is an obvious answer. I tried using Tumblr, but didn't feel good in a place where copyright goes to die. Also, all those people posting tons of nude pictures of themselves or others are not my thing. I'm not a prude, but I think if you're always flashing your intimate areas, they're not that interesting anymore. It loses something, like a movie you've already seen. Yes, there are few movies I could watch again several times, but now we are taking this thing too far so I'm just going to stop.

Anyway, I've tried writing a blog several times, but it always ends up dead because I lose my interest - usually because readers are so demanding. You always write too much or not enough, you don't talk about interesting things or your blog is too mainstream... Well, you know what? You can't please everyone, and here's what I'm going to do:
- I will not write every day just to be a good blogger. I write whenever I feel like, so it may be several times per day or once in few months.
- my posts can include only text, only photos or both, and they can be short or agonizingly long.
- I will write about anything I want, and if I feel like posting tons of pictures of food or sharing song lyrics, that's what I'll do. This is my blog, and I don't really give a shit if someone's not interested. I admit, caring about what other people think about my posts was always one of the reasons I quit blogging. I'm doing this for fun, not as an ego boost or to seek other's approval.
So, if anyone ever stumbles upon my blog (which is not probable because I rarely follow anyone else's), you may expect to see long posts about my dog's nails with way too many photos, or a post including only a pretentious quote. I'm a grown-up now (HAH), and not an insecure teen, so let's see how this goes.