Winter News from Finland
By Risto Jäntti
This winter has been hard. The temperature was below zero
constantly almost for two months. Only once the temperature has risen over the freezing point, but it
lasted only one day and after that it has been frost all the time. Last week we had -30 deg, but now it
has been between -5 and -10. Actually quite warm. I think 0 to -10 is warm, -10 to -20 is cool and -20 to -30 is
cold and -30 and colder is very cold (this time I am not joking). When I was younger, I used to walk
for hours in our forest when it was -30 deg and everything was covered with snow and the sun was shining,
although low. The snow made bushes and small trees look like different animals, it was so great, you
could even imagine yourself being in the middle of a fairy tale... Now, being older I find it more
comfortable indoors when it is -30 deg. Needless to say that Finnish houses must be warm in
winter. Trying to fight global warming is a real challenge in our conditions because even houses should
consume less ans less energy, and now they are already starting to build houses which get all the
heating energy they need from the people living in those houses and all kinds of electrical devices that
flood houses nowadays. I hope those systems will function in reality.
Exactly a month ago, the 22nd of December, there was
the winter solstice, the shortest day and longest night in the Northern Hemisphere. At that point
the day lasts in our horizon less than for 4 hours. People here say that there is actually
no day but the dawn is directly followed by the dusk. Well, that is exaggeration, but it is not far
from the truth at least when the sky is darkened by clouds. Now the days have already grown longer,
not much but the change can be clearly noticed.
You must be relieved as the swallows have - at least partially
- returned to Mount Moreland. For how long do swallows use a reedbed for roosting in South
Africa? Has that ever been studied? Since there were no pollutants found in the Mount
Moreland waters, could it be that the reason for the swallows´ roosting pattern change would be - the
planes? Is that not the only thing that has changed recently? Let us hope that the swallows
will not completely move away from Mount Moreland since you have done so much for the swallows
there.
Enjoy your summer with swallows.
Risto
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