Snow's gone

Only a week ago we had a good 40-50cm of snow here after the Sunday blizzard. Then the temperature rose above zero and it started to rain and now the snow is mostly melted away. The sidewalks are treacherously slippery with all that wet ice and it feels like spring.

Snowy but less freezing

The temperature has risen some 15 degrees and is closing in on 0C. It's still a couple degrees below, so whatever rain comes down (and today is seriously does) is still snow. Almost perfect snowman snow, but we don't have any snowman makers in the household anymore. Teens couldn't care less.

Yesterday was a nice day for a little bit longer walk outside. Not so cold anymore, only slight wind, no snowfall and the world still pretty with the snow heavy on tree branches. So out we went, to a dog park where the dogs had a jolly good time running and playing around and getting their snouts all snowy and icy, while I was shooting some photos of them and snow and icycles hanging from the house next to the park. 

Winter wonderland

The Siberian winter hit Fnland. Temperature dipped to -25C even here in Helsinki, and a whole lot lower up north. Our world froze and then it started to snow. Now it's "only" -13C - which felt almost warm after the -25! - and snow has been fluttering down in a slow but steady pace. We have a winter wonderland here now.

Ice and water

We have had some roller coaster weather here this winter. The Christmas time winter wonderland melted away, giving way to frost, that turned into a snow world again overnight. We had 30cm of new snow within a few days and then the "heatwave" hit us again, melting everything away, leaving the world a wet icy mess.

 

From winter wonderland to frost

Our winter wonderland gave way to plus degrees and wet ice. The ground was treacherously slippery for several days until everything froze again and new snow covered the world. Not as much snow, only a few centimeters dry frosty snow that squeaks under your shoes. No fluff on the trees either, but tiny ice crystals that glisten in the January sun.

Ice art in the mud room windows

January sun

November and December are usually the rainy, cloudy winter (or late autumn) months, whereas January brings the sunny winter days. Days like today. No clouds in the sky, the sun rose from behind the horizon like a fireball. The days are getting longer in leaps and bounds; the length of our day is almost eight hours again. Moving toward the spring and summer again <3

 

White outside

With that little snow fall last week the world is nice and fluffy white. It's still been too cold to really snow more, but every now and then the sky has been full of shiny little ice crystals slowly making their way down, fluttering, making the world glisten in the January sun. I am stuck inside what with the recuperation from my surgery 11 days ago, and will be, for approximately ten more days. For once, I'd really love to be able to go outside... now that that has been taken away from me.

get well roses from my employer and pals at work

 

Winter came

The weather started freezing a bit over a week ago, during the weekend. When I went to the hospital last Wednesday morning, it was cold but there was no snow. Today, I came back home, and the snow had come while I'd been gone, and the weather had warmed a bit. Still below zero's but not -20C anymore, more like -6C or so. The rosemary and thyme on our porch still seem to be alive, though. The bonsai has dropped its leaves.

 

A little bit of snow

We had already started to think that winter was canceled this year for good, but yesterday the temperature went below zero and some snow came down. Not much, only a couple sentimeters and a couple degrees, but enough to make a lot of the ground white and frost the puddles and edges of the litlle ponds on the glof course. Streams have snowy levees, but it's not cold enough to freeze them yet.

 

The best ski tracks in town are in Paloheinä, but obviously so far this winter there's been no tracks anywhere. Yesterday, with the freeze coming in finally, they started helping the nature with snowing machines, to get the ski tracks done as soon as possible.

 

Chirping birds, leaves on bushes

Today I woke up to birds chirping when my husband opened the bedroom window. It sounded like spring! The sun came out for just a little bit, but enough to encourage all the birds to go chirping in a full blown spring concert as long as we had daylight (which currently is all of 6h and 7min in here in Helsinki).

I was listening to this concert as we went for a longish walk with the dog in the early afternoon. On our walk, I noticed a bush, that actually is pushing out new leaves! I mean, not only buds, but they are turning into actual leaves! And this ditch is growing new weeds of sorts. The ground is just green all around again. And it's only January. How strange!

 

 

Green grass and pussy willows

This winter is crazy. I remember one like this some 5 or 6 years ago, when snow came in the beginning of March, only to melt away the same week. So far, we've seen snow for a couple days in early December, and ever since the temperature has stayed on the warm side.

The grass is still growing on the meadows, and as green as it was in August. Pussy willows have popped out like it would be spring time. The nature is all confused. One friend of mine even reported crocuses peeking up from the ground! None on our yard so far, but I wouldn't be surprised.

 

 

The exceptionally snowy winter, in memoriam

Maybe not so exceptional, since it was the third "exceptionally snowy" winter in a row. At best it was beautiful, at worst, a snowhell. This way or that, here's its picture obituary.