Snow, spring flowers – waiting…

The Easter weather is quite cold here in Finland! I wasn’t paying attention to the weather forecasts on Wednesday, and yesterday morning I had a big surprise waiting for me when I woke up: snow! And so much of it! It was white everywhere.

viola, snow, April

This was our viola yesterday morning… she had come here only the day before…

viola, snow, April

White, white. *Brr…*

Most of the snow melted during the daytime yesterday, but there still is some snow on the ground today.

viola

And now our viola is inside the house, waiting… Hopefully some more pictures of this plant a bit later, outside…

hyacinth

Now I have it! 😉 – My first ever yellow hyacinth, and this also is my first ever springtime hyacinth! – Hyacinths have traditionally been mostly Christmas plants or flowers in Finland, and for me, too. Hopefully more pictures of this plant, too, later…

I took the next five pictures on our regular walk yesterday.

April

It started to snow again.

April walk

sunshine & snowing

It was snowing and the sun tried to shine at the same time. – Spring has definitely arrived in Finland! 🙂

And the snowflakes were huge. It was actually really fun!

April walk

The sunshine disappeared, but after a moment again:

sunshine & snowing

Spring, oh, spring!

But remember to keep your paws (and head? 😉 ) warm!:

Remember to keep your paws warm!

…our tiger has a suggestion how to do it…

Just remember!

-Leena

Hoot… no, tweet… maybe :)

Today a few pictures from sunny yesterday. We’ve had some sunshine already today as well, but some hailing, too. – Spring is definitely coming. 🙂 Now just waiting for it to become warmer – the wind and the air have been cold. But fortunately, it’s been ever so warm in the sunshine…

Ibiza lizard

The Ibiza lizard in our garden…

garden bunny & Ibiza lizard

The garden bunny and Ibiza lizard…

Okay, I had been thinking about joining Twitter already for some time… and now I’ve done it; my username on Twitter: leenannik. It’s a bit weird place to be, when one doesn’t actually know anybody there, but I think I have my spot there… every once in a while. – I think it’s safe to say that I surely will use my Instagram (owlnatureleena) way more often than my Twitter. Hoot! 😀

garden me

A morning owl… garden me…

March iris

Siberian iris in March.

-Leena

Dried flowers, a campfire, one knitted owl…

It’s a sunny weekend! And now that the spring is just around the corner, it’s starting to get miscellaneous again… 😉

March

dried peonies

It was finally time to take these friends outside for a pic yesterday. My dried peonies from last summer… beauties… lovely memories…

dried flower crown

My dried flower crown from the summer of 2015 is hanging on a door window in our hall. What actually dominates this picture, however, is an unfinished door window curtain project. 🙂

campfire

Our garden campfire last night. It was warming so nicely in the beautiful but cold darkness.

knitted owl

I started knitting again. I love knitting, but I’m not always doing it. 🙂 And… I always need some practice with it. This, for example, is my first ever owl!

-Leena

Sauna & snow

Just a brief thought on the traditional combination of sauna and snow. It’s nice to take some snow with you when you are taking a sauna bath. I did it yesterday evening, for example. And as with the birch leaves in summertime, I like rubbing it, the snow, against my skin and my face, too, taking a bath with it. It’s cool and very nice indeed! Relaxing and healthy! Sauna earthing… And, naturally, it’s nice to walk from the sauna barefoot, on the snow outside, cool down a bit, and then go back to the warmth of the sauna again – just lovely! Good for your blood circulation. 😉

Of course you can roll naked in the snow. It, too, actually feels nice, but it takes some courage to start doing it. I haven’t done it this winter. Okay, perhaps I should now challenge myself to do it, there might still be time to do it this week… I dare myself to… (?) 😀

As to “there might still be time”; it is happening again, out there… the snow is melting a bit again… But at least spring is just around the corner, soon. 🙂

-Leena

It’s been winter

When it’s freezing cold, the sun is shining. When the temperature goes up, there will be clouds. It’s -3 degrees Celsius today, and was already yesterday, when I took these pics.

January boat

By the frozen lake Pyhäjärvi

January

On the ice, there was a cool breeze…

Winter, like in Moominvalley...

Don’t you worry… it’s only winter here now, like… in Moominvalley…? 🙂

This tiger of ours likes to warm himself up beside a warm radiator in our living room. He sleeps there beside the radiator, or looks out of the window warming up his front paws. His sister doesn’t do that.

I'll have my say...

“I’ll just have my ass on it… If anyone tries to turn down the thermostat, I’ll have the time to have my say…”

ice lantern

Making magic, when it’s freezing cold – an ice lantern! – Below freezing temperatures, a bucket and water. And, for example, some beetroot water (from a beetroot jar), too, if you wish to have a pink ice lantern, like this one in our garden now. 🙂

-Leena

New Year, amaryllis flowers, freezing cold…

Now some more amaryllis flower pics. The first four pics I took on New Year’s Eve.

amaryllis

The second flower was opening.

And the snow we had, melted, the day before – can be seen through the window…

amaryllis

amaryllis

The scent of the amaryllis flowers is gentle, sophisticated, lovely…

amaryllis

hyacinth

The last pics of Christmas hyacinths, on New Year’s Day.

And yes, it snowed again, on New Year’s Day! It snowed a lot at one point. 🙂 And the snow is still there today.

hyacinth

The scent of my four hyacinths was at its prime – marvellous! I’m dreaming of a yellow hyacinth for the coming spring…

amaryllis

The second amaryllis flower… and the third and the fourth opening.

amaryllis

I heart…

amaryllis

A majestic plant!

The next two pics I took today.

amaryllis

Four flowers. And still one bigger bud and two smaller buds. I honestly thought that there would be three flowers. A fairly nice surprise. 🙂

Okay, we think about (and try out) the growing of amaryllis as a green houseplant, here in Owlnature, a bit later, after this flowering…

amaryllis

It’s freezing cold today. The temperature’s been between -15 degrees Celsius and -20 degrees Celsius – the last mentioned was at night and in the morning. But the sun was shining today as well! The sunlight even felt slightly warm on one’s face. 🙂

I'm sorry I punched you in the face when I was hungry...

The funny black sister to her tiger brother: “I’m sorry I punched you in the face when I was hungry…” (“And, by the way, I’m not as fat as I look in this pic…”)

Yeah well, she’s not, I confirm, but oh… oh my, this really happened on New Year’s Day! – These two were lying side by side on the couch! 😀 Here in my blog you’ve always met these two separately – that’s just the way it is, they don’t normally sleep together anymore – when they were younger, they often did, but nowadays, no no, only, like, two or three times a year at most we see this. Okay, they started off 2017 like this. 🙂

And yes, that princess is in the habit of punching (not scratching) her brother in the face, with her claws, when she’s hungry or bored, or whatever… She just does it – out of the blue and randomly. But our cats do play or fight with each other,too. They have always lived together – really a sister and a brother. 🙂

-Leena

New Year, new flowers

My first ever amaryllis opened her first flower yesterday.

amaryllis

So lovely…

amaryllis

amaryllis

So pretty… A gorgeous plant – I wonder why I haven’t had this before! Yeah well, it’s good to try something new every now and then… 😉

amaryllis

And hopefully I get to take even more pics of this plant… this was just only like ‘into the New Year’ – with amaryllis flower pics, today. 🙂

hyacinth

And more hyacinths… I have actually four hyacinths now! Oh, the scent here now! Some of the tiny flowers haven’t even opened yet.

hyacinth

winter lights

And our new Christmas or winter lights in the living room, they came about two weeks ago. Ice crystals. 🙂

So, all relaxed (but all prepared?)… and taking it easy – into the New Year like:

Into the New Year like...

🙂

-Leena