Wishing to experience snow (lumi) during the month of December (Joulukuu), and especially leading up to Christmas Day, (Joulu) is a rather quaint, folksy, tradition for many of us. And admittedly, fresh white snow is breathtakingly beautiful (henkeäsalpaavan kaunis) and is, still (to me at least) awe-inspiring in its transformative ability to magically alter the landscape, change the mood, and inspire a transformation within the human psyche. First snow, or even just new snow, alters every nook and cranny with new perspectives, creating new shapes, shades and vistas. The crisp winter air seems to slowly cleanse the soul. The thawing out after being outdoors is also a wonderful, euphoric feeling. Hot coffee, cider, or glöggi just tastes better going down. Quick nips of cold beverages while on long walks, hayrides, or skiing (fondly recalling distant memories) also seem to soothe the throat, and that bloom in the stomach which soon follows is very warming indeed 🙂

Ah, then there’s the slowness of winter that a heavy snowfall commands. The extra vigilance while driving, the having to dig one’s way out to even get to the car! And for us, the several lengths of walkways Pekka shovels to get to the driveway, and the shed. Snow can be detested by many for several, if not all, of those reasons. But once again inside, and the work is done, the magic of a snowfall is rekindled with the first glance out of the window. I never knew I had a love affair for snow, but maybe after all this time, it’s quite possible that I do. I just love looking out there at it, with every peering somehow expecting to see something even more remarkable, and hardly ever being disappointed with the view. Granted, this is December and that’s a wholly expected feeling to be experiencing, I think. But when April comes around, I really would rather not see another flake of snow, and enough is enough already!!

Whichever side of the fence you find yourself regarding snow, I hope you will enjoy a few recent photos of what’s been happening here at Vanha Talo Suomi. Think of this as a How It Started and How It’s Going sort of post!

Pekka doing some light pruning on the apple trees, October 2, 2022

Here we are on October 24, 2022

Things get a tad bit more than frosty around November 16, 2022

By December 9, 2022, it’s fair to say snow has officially arrived

December 10, 2022, a heavy snow event settled over southern Finland

Snow levels really accelerated during this event. Today there’s 45 cm of snow out there. More in some areas.

Pekka went out there to start tackling the driveway. I ventured outside once I heard the hum of the farmers’ tractor. Sure enough, he was plowing out his own driveway, which just happens to be that long winding dirt ‘road’ that fronts our house. He moved a lot of the snow, which the city snow plowers usually dump right at the end of our driveway as it meets the main roadway curve. Thank you, Joel Aro!!

While it’s actually not too cold out, just about -5c there seems to be a bit of reprieve on any new snow until tomorrow evening when 3-5 cm more snow is expected. More later in the week, so says Finnish Weather service

It appears pretty obvious, and I’m highly confident to declare we’ll be having a very merry, white Christmas here at Vanha Talo Suomi!

It’s only the December 11th and there’s still a good stretch of wintry, Christmastime fun awaiting many of us. We sincerely wish you all the best for the holidays, and hope this winter season finds you at peace and that it brings you joy.

While I haven’t posted as much this year, there’s always something happening here. I’m excited about what the new year will bring and look forward to sharing our continuous little adventure with you. As always, we thank you for your comments and visits to our pages. Hearing from so many wonderful people through the years that our blog has allowed us to reach, is just truly phenomenal. Thank you so much! Dear Kaisa, we wish you a very Merry Christmas! Please invite us to your new place next year. I’d love to see your garden and visit with you again. (It’s Pekka’s Facebook account that our FB page is linked to, which today I just realized he sometimes forgets to monitor. So sorry!!!)

Hyvää Joulua Kaikkile! Merry Christmas everyone!

Until next time, friends! ❤ Vanha Talo Suomi