Facts/pictures about your country

[Karhu]

Huge ancient dead tree not far from home:

 

[Karhu]

Bog wheere I deer hunt:

 

[Karhu]

One of my favorite camping places to fish, Moore Island. It's a mile to portage to get there, big effort but when we get there, there's nobody for miles:

 

[Karhu]

And of course, we get snow too:

 

[Tiiti]

And not far from home I discovered a hidden pond that the beavers dammed up. It killed the trees that were growing there but now it is a Great Blue Heron rookery. There were dozens of nests in the dead trees. It felt like some sort of scene from Lord of The Rings

Those trees and the place are cool. Beautifull but bare.

 

[xptrinity]

Jan 1, 2013, Sofia under the fog.

Actually, check out this guy's photostream - the captions are in English

 

[Eurynome]

Jan 1, 2013, Sofia under the fog.

Wow, that's an awesome shot. And Karhu, your whole gallery is stunning. No wonder the Finnish emigrants chose that place when they came to the States...

 

[xptrinity]

Did you check the other pics by this guy? There're some pretty nice photos.

 

[Karhu]

Not in Minnesota, but New Mexico:

 

[Karhu]

Luv the Sophia fog pic. :Spin:

 

[Eurynome]

Weird thing I saw in the sky today, looked like a rainbow but obviously (at -10°C) it wasn't raining, and not really snowing either. A little bit foggy, though. Blizk, if you see this - you're the weather guy, is there a name for this phenomenon? Sorry that it looks a bit faint on the photo, it's that vertical strip of half-light on the left above the cafe hut. It wasn't really any longer than what you see in the picture, at least not the discernible part of it.

 

[xptrinity]

If it's foggy, there's humidity in the air, so maybe it was the particles refracting the light. Oddly enough, I have a similar photo of a similar phenomenon at roughly the same place, from January 2011. Must dig it up...

There:

 

[Luoto]

Weird thing I saw in the sky today, looked like a rainbow but obviously (at -10°C) it wasn't raining, and not really snowing either. A little bit foggy, though. Blizk, if you see this - you're the weather guy, is there a name for this phenomenon?

It's a type of halo called a sundog, one of the most common shapes. They form when lightrays disperse in ice particles, which often are located in ice fog during winter (and in high altitude clouds during other seasons).

Finnish observations of halos are gathered into Taivaanvahti.

 

[Eurynome]

It's a type of halo called a sundog

Wow, thanks! Never heard of sundogs, but I do like the name

I have a similar photo of a similar phenomenon at roughly the same place

Same place indeed. I was facing south, you were looking west towards Rajasaari, the dog island. (Hmm, sundogs above the dog park. Kinda figures.)

 

[Tuuletar]

I was browsing my archives and thought post about one prominent part of Finnish nature; swans, the national birds (besides the mythological side of these animals is quite interesting as well). There are two swan families in my area - another family has been around since I was eleven, so that's pretty long time...

They come back when there are snow and ice yet. After that starts the mating season, when they chase each others and there might be even fights:

Late spring is more tranquil period - it's hatching time:

In June it's time for the offspring. These little swans aren't very old yet:

About one week old:

They already have little wings, these seem to think that they can fly, hehe...

But the little ones grow pretty fast, in Midsummer they look like this:

When autumn comes, young swans are learning to fly. But also accidents happen, when the young ones crash into power lines and die because of that (every year the other family has lost at least one young one - there are some power lines in their area, so that's very likely reason).

One misty October morning:

In October the swans are gathering in large flocks in the fields and preparing to leave Finland.

But some swans won't move anywhere, but stay here and that's why you can see swans even in Christmas time. They just need some unfrozen water...

 

[xptrinity]

Me <3 swans!

 

[Tuuletar]

I like these sunny winter days.

 

[Karhu]

One misty October morning:

That photo is unreal Looks like a painting, or lost artwork from Silent Waters.

 

[Eurynome]

Awesome time-lapse video of a typical year in Helsinki:

 

[Tuuletar]

When I was coming home a moment ago; I noticed that the sky looked pretty neat. Very bright full moon and a strange kind of a cloud...