Sprung
I'm going to be optimistic and say that the precipitation earlier was whitish rain, not sleet, and that the sparse white things I saw drifting on the wind this morning were due to a bird fight overhead. Not snow. Oh no.
Because, in the last few days, Spring has aggressively arrived in Helsinki. I know all the signs.
1) What used to be fields covered in snow are now lakes, with areas of farmland around the edges. And ducks. I love how ducks have this flexible view of what is a suitable body of water. "You may call this a puddle," they seem to say, "but I call it home."
2) The weather feels much colder, while actually being warmer. This is because I am (as stated above) an optimist, and have retired my winter coat and clothes too early.
3) Every walk ends with me lugging a martyred-looking Tesla into the shower because she is up to her arm/legpits in mud and freshly thawed horseshit. Now that she is over two years old, and officially grown-up, there is not one single thing about the shower that she likes anymore. I would feel guilty, except that there is plenty she still likes about sitting on my pillow, so there is no room for me being soft.
4) There is litter everywhere. Months' worth of it, hidden under successive layers of snow, and now revealed in its entirety. I call it "the sins of Winter". Not just litter. Dogshit. Drunken pukes. Mysterious piles of I-don't-want-to-know.
5) Similarly, the whole Winter's worth of grit for paths is now all in one layer on top of the path. Luckily it is still wet out there, but in a few days of fine weather the air will be filled with the dust from it and wearing contact lenses will become hazardous.
6) Everyone is much more cheerful.
Because, in the last few days, Spring has aggressively arrived in Helsinki. I know all the signs.
1) What used to be fields covered in snow are now lakes, with areas of farmland around the edges. And ducks. I love how ducks have this flexible view of what is a suitable body of water. "You may call this a puddle," they seem to say, "but I call it home."
2) The weather feels much colder, while actually being warmer. This is because I am (as stated above) an optimist, and have retired my winter coat and clothes too early.
3) Every walk ends with me lugging a martyred-looking Tesla into the shower because she is up to her arm/legpits in mud and freshly thawed horseshit. Now that she is over two years old, and officially grown-up, there is not one single thing about the shower that she likes anymore. I would feel guilty, except that there is plenty she still likes about sitting on my pillow, so there is no room for me being soft.
4) There is litter everywhere. Months' worth of it, hidden under successive layers of snow, and now revealed in its entirety. I call it "the sins of Winter". Not just litter. Dogshit. Drunken pukes. Mysterious piles of I-don't-want-to-know.
5) Similarly, the whole Winter's worth of grit for paths is now all in one layer on top of the path. Luckily it is still wet out there, but in a few days of fine weather the air will be filled with the dust from it and wearing contact lenses will become hazardous.
6) Everyone is much more cheerful.