Things are very busy here at Hetta Huskies. There is a very steep learning curve, that includes - but is not limited to - learning the names of all the dogs. J is pronounced Y, Y is pronounced U, double vowels are elongated and double consonants are separated. Add to that umlauts and vowel phonetics. Basically the language is beautiful spoken but a dick to read and write - Tolkien agreed and used Finnish (in part) as his base for the Sinarian tongue.
The colours of the flora of the Taiga that were so vivid and beautiful when I first landed are now beginning to fade. Flyer Garrick mushrooms are succumbing to the frost, and the skinny Birches are running out of leaves to drop. On the subject of trees, here they have the peculiar habit of presenting a twisted grain, something that can only be seen in the trees of the higher latitudes.
Flyer Garrick without a visiting fairy |
This can make the wood difficult to work with - I'd appreciate and answer to this anomaly |
Much prettier than the Greys |
I must apologise for the delay in posting. In hindsight it was foolish to ever expect myself to get anything written in the early weeks. After a day of pooping, watering and feeding the dogs in addition to any training, construction work, computer updates and cleaning the last thing on my mind was blog writing and a quest for carbohydrates was the only thing achievable when I returned to the guide house.
Anyway, five weeks have passed to since I arrived and I am beginning to settle in. I have learnt the majority of the names and personalities of the dogs (and fellow guides) on both farms. Interaction with the dogs is becoming more natural and timelines are almost being reached (almost being the operative word).
Kravitz with his lakeside view |
Bruno |
The best night of my Finnish adventure occurred at Välimaa and it gave the title of this post. We finally succumbed to the pile of dishes that had grown in the kitchen. Gathering the plates we started to walk to the Dog kitchen. However we were rudely interrupted by an amazing performance staring the northern lights. A symphony of green with highlights of red and purple, conducted by the constant presence of the edge of the Milky Way