Beauty in Nature

30.10.17

Beauty in Nature

Taken on an island, on one of the highest rocks to climb that shows a 360 view

One of my favorite things about living here is the absolute beauty I get to see everywhere I look. From the fields, the forests, lake sides and seas views there is so much for the eye to see and for me, most of the time when I am out walking around I get overwhelmed. I just cannot get over sites here.

Growing up in Illinois, all you ever see is flat land which are mostly corn fields and it just feels blah all the time. At least that was how I felt. To me, it was boring and dull. If I wanted to experience beautiful nature I had to go to a designated place like a forest preserve, or a protected park to walk in the woods and look for wildlife. I could not just walk outside my front door of my childhood home and enjoy the view because there were buildings and houses everywhere, and light polluted the night sky so even if you could see stars they were very faded. When I moved out of my parent's home and into what I considered at the time, country, I enjoyed it a lot more, feeling a little isolated, fields all around, and the sky was clearer too. In the winters when snow was on the ground I would love looking outside to see how the ground glowed from the moon shining bright above.

Woods about 2 miles from our house.

When I first arrived here I could not believe my eyes. Even in the cities they have tried to keep as much nature reserved it would seem. Even near downtown you could go from what you expect from a city to look like to all of a sudden seeing someplace you would love to hike in or camp. There are forests everywhere of all sizes, beautiful swamps, lakes and fields (NOT A SINGLE CORN FIELD EITHER!) and they all have a certain harmony and balance that makes many different areas here seem magical.

There are many times when I walk through a wooded area I feel like I am in a different
time, with it so quiet and still. The ground is covered in moss and lichen, wild berries all over and a variety of mushrooms to pick too. There are many clear paths that show where the deer and moose have been and many many ant hills too. (Some almost 5 ft tall!) I have even seen some trees with what would appear to have markings from a bear or lynx cat. I still prefer walking on the bigger paths that run through wooded areas, but because it is not so flat either in the woods like some might expect. The terrain can be rough, with moss everywhere you cannot be too sure if it is just thick squishy padding you are stepping on or if it is a rock, and if the rock is stable or not. I still struggle with walking deep in the woods because I am so clumsy and have a hard time finding my footing, I cannot just walk around and enjoy the views in totality where when I walk in a bigger path, usually made my trucks or just large paths that are hundreds of years old I can enjoy the views much more.

The woods here have so much color too, not just with the moss and lichen of all sorts of colors, but the trees and other plant life, this is where I start to feel like I am lost in a fairy tale storybook.

One of the cool things about the woods here, especially with where I live, there is a particular moss that grows and hangs from the trees, the thing about this moss is that it only grows where the air is the cleanest, no pollution at all. It is a wonderful thing to see it grow in your own backyard. Although you do not even need to see this moss to know how much cleaner the environment is here. One of the first things I noticed was that everything has that "fresh" look. The colors are more bold, the air is more crisp. Even the first night I saw the stars as clear and bright as they were, it was breathtaking. Never did I think I could be able to see the milky way in my own yard.

As you can probably tell the woods are some of my favorite views and places to be. Near our home we have many paths that lead to different forests. One of my favorite things to do around here, when I feel motivated enough, is to take a long walk where I can look into the woods and try to see the wildlife.

In September the fields are ready for harvest.

Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the other views too. Our house not only has the woods, but there are many fields around us. For me it reminds me a little bit of Illinois, so it has some comfort for me, although what is really nice about the fields here is that they are not corn. Corn actually isn't grown here because the ground does not have the right kind of soil for it, although I have seen a house that has just a few corn stalks growing in her yard but other than that, zero corn here. The fields around us are mainly canola, barley and rye.

It is so nice to think how you can be in one place with fields and woods and you do not have to go too far to see the Baltic Sea and spend time on the rocky shores and smooth beaches. My first full day here my husband took me to see where the cruise ships went out into the sea, and we spent all morning walking around the island, and climbing the rocks along the water. My feet hurt after all the climbing around but it was a lot of fun.

Where the cruise ships pass, just before leaving Turku
and moving into the archipelago.

The water is super clear here too, nothing like what I am used to with Lake Michigan where the water is so murky and polluted. Here the water is blue and the farther out to see you go the clearer the water becomes. You can even stand on the shore and see all the little fish gathering around. Every time I am cruising through the archipelago, on the ferries, or on the cruise ships I always feel the only thing that could make the sight even more perfect would be if a whale popped up. But so far I have only seen a seal sitting on a rock. :)

As you can see from these photos, there is such a variety of sceneries, how can you not enjoy nature even more with having this all around you day to day.