Tales of the beautiful everyday from the North
Getting back to nature
It had barely been half a week since I was last out on this trail. I had expected many of the trees now had their leaves on the forest floor. In the days which had passed, we had a lot of wind, and sometimes even just a few still days this far north can create a dramatic change in how nature is looking during the fall.
But I just wanted to get back into the heart of nature like this so badly.
My night before had been a very, very late one out with the aurora, and I could have slept all day. But I awoke on just a couple hours of sleep feeling so much energy to go back out into nature… to feel the cool air, smell the sweet forest, hear the rushing water and find a certain stillness. Perhaps a lot of this will look very familar for you, but I couldn’t help but to go back so soon. It felt like the perfect place for the day. There are many snowy, darker days for sleeping coming soon.
“I would just want to hang out there all day and cleanse my soul.”
These beautiful words came from a close friend after I described my previous day out here, and right in the moment of reading them, I just knew I had to come back and soak up every moment that I could.
Tunnel vision
I had become, you could say obsessed, with wishing I could watch every leaf fall from it’s branch, or feel every cool breeze on my face, find every angle where the sun came through the trees to cast long, warm shadows. Truly I didn’t want to leave.
Running into the night
Just grab a hold of my hand
I will lead you through this wonderland
I dare you to close your eyes
And see all the colours in disguise
"Everybody knows that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. What few people realise, it is only through the parts that the whole gets delivered."
I know these nights of leaving the car off, of feeling such high humidity on my skin, of smelling such overwhelming sweetness from nature and hearing only the fish jumping, and loons and owls singing, will be over so soon. I can already hear in my mind the dry crunch of the snow under my boots and the ice singing in the countryside alongside the idle of my car, but right now I’m obsessed with every last drop of moisture in the air and these rare, but beautiful clear nights.
A forest full of berries & feeling grateful
It seems so cheesy to say, but I wish you can feel how peaceful it is to sit back against some of these boulders which have been here for billions of years, and be feeling the reindeer moss in your fingers. I think it’s impossible to know how amazing that can be until you are there, and when you really find this slow and conscious space.
"I think that eating berries every day during the winter can help to stay strong and healthy"
Sure it is great to have some wild berries for the winter, I am really excited for that. But to take these hours in the crisp autumn air, seeking out quiet marshes for these crowberries and cranberries.. I just love that too. I wish these days could continue forever.
From a forgetful moment
Some kilometres out from town, I had only then realized I forgot my berry picker. I had a momentary thought of if I should go back for it, but decided that no, it was alright and better just to continue on for the further out countryside and breathtaking colours as far as you could see.
I am sure I have never seen the countryside look so beautiful with colour before, ever. Not only was all the yellow still hanging from the birches, but reds and oranges like I haven’t seen here before also. After every corner, I couldn’t believe how it became more beautiful. Just kilometre after kilometre for all 46 of them.
Through the midafternoon, even sunshine broke this typical October cloud which we are experiencing in abundance these days. The air, while crisp, was completely devoid of any wind. Something so perfect for a slow coffee and snack out on a rock surrounded by flowing water.
What a great day in nature from just forgetting something so small right at the front door. The timing was unquestionably perfect.
The simple things
There is just something so perfect here. And I know you maybe tell me about the clothes drying all crunchy instead of soft from the dryer machine, but this smell of nature in your laundry, the feeling of the clothes after… You cannot find that from any other way. The smell and the sunlight, the way they blow in the breeze. It’s part of the simplest pleasures and more countryside life for me.
How I would love a little light wood floored and white interior, red exterior countryside home on some forested land with a small garden, and of course my clothesline to use from +30° to -30°.
