Humanity, tolerance and the beautiful unnecessity
All the apples have been picked and processed, the real life harvest moon is over and Kaija’s cauldron is back in the box. Bet the dark matter would have been solved already, had Newton chosen to have his nap under this tree.
Information overload.
Picking apples is a child’s play compared to ensiharvennus, directly translated first thinning of the forest. These pines below were planted by Risto (dad) and Kalle (bro) in 1995 and the time has come to cut down all the surrounding trees and bushes to maximise the growth of the trees. Many Finns own a bit of forest for added income. The trees are cut down and replanted every 80 years or so and the forests are carefully looked after. In Southern Finland it is very difficult to find authentic ikimetsä, natural forest untouched by people.
A view to the young pine forest
Kalle opts for a brand new Stihl 1D10 bush saw for maximum damage.
Everything but the pines must go.
I am considering of dual wielding it for added dps.
Time is money has lately meant to me having money but no time to use it 
This autumn I have finally had plenty of time instead of money and can do things I haven’t done before. Picking mushrooms is great fun – no joke. Whilst Chef Kalle prepares our daily 1000+ kcal lunch in his Trangia, I run around looking for mushrooms Mario style.
This autumn I have finally had plenty of time instead of money and can do things I haven’t done before. Picking mushrooms is great fun – no joke. Whilst Chef Kalle prepares our daily 1000+ kcal lunch in his Trangia, I run around looking for mushrooms Mario style.
Chef Kalle
Look at the size of that thing!
The evenings I have burned a vainovalkea by the lake. Remember the scene in Return of the King, where Pippin lights up the Minas Tirith beacon? Similar signal fire system used to exist in Finland / Scandinavia warning people about the approaching invader fleets. Those were the times, my signal fire only burns for enjoyment.
The beacons of Amon Din are lit!
Let me stand next to your fire.
This year celebrates the 100th year from Finnish novelist Mika Waltari’s birth (1908-1979). Waltari is the internationally best-known Finnish writer with over two hundred translations in more than twenty languages. When my mum Kaija was a kid, Waltari spent his summers in a nearby cottage, where he wrote several of his books. So, I join her to the main celebration in the Kuusisto youth club in Pornainen on 21th September.
Kuusisto, Pornainen
In his time Waltari was not much of a party animal and did not like being famous and celebrated. Some signaling systems (beacons? 
) were familiar to him, too: According to the locals, he had a secret signal system warning him about approaching reporters that gave him enough time to sneak out to the nearby forest before they were able to get to his house.
) were familiar to him, too: According to the locals, he had a secret signal system warning him about approaching reporters that gave him enough time to sneak out to the nearby forest before they were able to get to his house.Waltari’s capturing historical stories and fluent writing is still beyond comparison. His first and most successful historical novel, beloved The Egyptian was published in 1945 and immediately became an international bestseller. It gets repeatedly voted as the nation’s favorite novel. Waltari was a quick and productive writer completing at least 29 novels, 15 novellas, 6 collections of stories or fairy-tales, 6 collections of poetry and 26 plays, as well as screenplays, radioplays, non-fiction, translations, and hundreds of reviews and articles – even poems for Kieku ja Kaiku comics I loved as a kid.
Kieku & Kaiku comics colored by kids in Pornainen
In the book Ihmisen ääni (1978), Waltari names three most important personal values to him: suvaitsevaisuus, inhimillisyys ja kaunis turhuus. The first two translate easily to tolerance and humanity, but the third one is harder to translate. Is it beautiful vanity? Beautiful uselessness? Beautiful unnecessity? So, I crawl through the book to find out what he means:
Tässä maailmassa on paljon loistavia näyteikkunoita ja vaaditaan huomattavaa kasvamista yksinäisyyteen ennen kun voi kohtalaisen vilpittömästi huokaista itselleen: Noin paljon on sellaista mitä en tarvitse. Tällä en tietenkään tarkoita vain esineitä. On olemassa muunkinlaisia turhuuden markkinoita. Itse annan suuren arvon kauniille turhuudelle. Se helpottaa ja tekee elämän siedettäväksi. Mutta se ei koskaan saa kädä itse tarkoituksekseen. Tällaisenkin kiusauksen voittaminen, jos sen pystyy voittamaan, on suojelevan yksinäisyyden ansiota.This world has plenty of bright display windows and it takes a lot of personal growth to loneliness, before one can say without any hesitation: There are so many things I do not need. With this I do not mean only objects. There are also other kind of markets for unnecessities. Personally, I give credit to the beautiful unnecessity that releases the pressure and makes life bearable. But it must never become the reason. Winning the temptation, if one can do it, happens through protective loneliness.
Kids from local schools perform a song about Waltari where they have written their own lyrics. That piece alone is worth coming to the celebration.
Laukkoski and Jokimäki schools combine forces
Brelo performed several pieces for four kanteles. Kantele is the national instrument of Finland, but bands like this are more of a curiosity. Kids still play metal more often
Brelo live.
I googled if anyone has done kantele metala and turns out that a Finnish luthiery, Koistinen[1], has developed an electric kantele [2], which employs pick-ups similar as those on electric guitars and that has gained popularity amongst Finnish heavy metal composers. I only found Kalevala melody by Finnish folk metal band Ensiferum and a traditional Finnish song My Kantele by the legendary Amorphis – kantele is only present in the lyrics, though. So, kantele is definately not mainstream.
Bit more about Kantele: in the Finnish national epic Kalevala, the Finnish superhero Väinämöinen – and Gandalf-lookalike – owns a kantele made of huge pike’s jaw. He has got a handy special skill being able to kill people by singing and playing his kantele. Death metal dirge?
Wikipedia: There can be found some similarities between Väinämöinen and wizards in fantasy literature, first and foremost among them Gandalf in J. R. R. Tolkien‘s The Lord of the Rings. Both are unearthly sages of divine origins, both in possession of unearthly knowledge. Another wizard of Tolkien’s, Saruman the White, possessed a great power of voice and persuasion, which also somewhat mirrors Väinämöinen’s (who was able to charm all manner of woodland creatures with his song and kantele). Tolkien indicated that his stories of Túrin Turambar were a retelling of the Kullervo myth from Kalevala so it is possible that similarities between Gandalf and Väinämöinen were intentional or unconscious rather than coincidental.
A view to my room
The fire is crackling in the fireplace. I will go and enjoy it for as long as it lasts.
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1 Response
Hi Venla
Before off to Asia, to heal my brain from the wounds it received in this brainless, drunken ozzie society.
its a great read, your blog, I seriously enjoy reading about your experience being back home again, picking apples and mushroom, seeing the fireplace next to the odd looking armchair and being amazed about the caption “my room”
Im still in Sydney but have decided to move on soon, not sure yet where though, but finally it might be Europe again
Cheers & hugs
Torsten