Walks on Nature during Christmas

December 2012

It was a white Christmas in southern Finland. Really white, nearly two feet of snow, trees covered by fresh powder.

Christmas time is the darkest time of the year, too. Sun rises about 10AM and sets at about 3PM in southern Finland. Snow brings some brightness for cloudy days. The sun seems to be a rare view, or so it feels too often. There's a kind of blue dim on cloudy days.

Walked on small country roads and paths with a camera. It's quite silent in forest, woodpeckers doing their daily routines, deers been crossing paths here and there, though not visible for humans.

The sun appeared on the day before Christmas eve. In forest, it stayed so low and never rose above tree line.

On Christmas eve came a sudden snowfall. Sky cleared off just before the sunset bringing yellow ball visible for a short period. Tried to shoot snowing photos, pretty difficult.

It was dark and cloudy on Christmas day. Went to see the sea. Found some places with open water. Few days more and all would be frozen for a couple of months at least. The moon appeared late in the evening. Again few shots of shadows it made in a forest.

Does Santa & Rudolph use this old forest road?

A typical disorder

A frozen pond

Challenges on forest road

Young birch trees

An Aspen tree reaching for skies

There's the sun, somewhere

A mother and her two children

Hunting season's finished, almost

Covered

Sun light

A pine forest

A sick birch tree, I presume?

This is what I typically saw there, dark and thick forest

Time to leave

So close but so far away

It's snowing

After 2 hours of snowfall

Wind

Hibernated

Edge

Sea-buckthorn bushes on winter

Winter conditions

This bird should have migrated already

Getting frozen

Traces of a hare on moon light