Long Time No Blog

We have a truly magical garden in Kaskinen. The Murrays have their garden open in the summer for everybody to walk around and feel the special atmosphere of a freshly modern lush and green garden with huge rocks and high plants in the middle of a complex consisting of several wooden houses from the late 19th century. One of the houses is the pottery, one is for the lovely pottery shop plus living quarters. The third is more of a shed/henhouse. Strongly recommended! A corridor leads from the Murray's to Bladh's House garden, which is a unique experience, too, arranged in a more traditional manner as to illustrate the garden of olden times. Both gardens well worth a visit. The photo above is one of the Murray's plant boxes, quite unique in style. No ordinary blooming, but a delicate combination of various shades of exciting greens.

The text above was to explain the photo. Now I want to tell that I really and truly intended to blog regularly from early on and feel disappointed with myself for the very long break, as such a lot of interesting things happen in my hometown all the time.

The reason for the break originally was that I left for a short three-week holiday in Bulgaria in early July more than a year ago. There, various unexpected turns of events followed one another, so I finally ended up returning home in mid-August with a new puppy and a Bulgarian car. All my ambitious plans about the new garden here in Kaskinen were, in consequence, ruined, as I had been absent for more than two months.

After that, it was trainng the puppy as well as a lot of great forest walks with the dogs. Basically, the same agenda every day. Home from work, forest with the dogs, picking mushrooms, home. Slicing and frying, drying, packing and freezing the harvest the remaining hours of the day.  Very time-consuming.  But now we'll be self-sufficient with mushrooms till all eternity!

Then I got the crazy idea of a crochet Christmas tree. The amazing people in Kaskinen got really involved in the project and as a result of hard work and great many cups of coffee we were able to present the new 3,5 metre granny square Christmas tree to decorate the pavillion in Town Park. The tree received quite a lot of media attention and visitors to our town from near and far. Shame we didn't come to think if a guest book fot the tree.

As to other excuses, the twists and turns in our local politics have been a keen intrest of mine. After a lot of profound disagreement we finally stayed independent. Now it seems that not everybody accepts the fact, and not much seems to be done to sort things out. The next local elections are to be extremely interesting.

At the moment a new crafts project is going on. Crochet ladies meet in the new cafe, Cafe M & R, to crochet flowers and butterflies for a midsommarstång/juhannussalko. That's more of a Swedish tradition common in the Swedish-speaking communities in Finland. The latest one has been photographed in Kaskinen in the 1970's. It can be seen online in the local museum's digital collection. The traditional ones are made if birch-twigs and real flowers. Our six-metre version will be crochet and knitwork and it will be placed close to the music pavillion as we also hope to have some programme and activities around the pole to celebrate the Finnish midsummer.

We even have a new facebook forum for all crafts-oriented people here. It's named craftsislandkaskinen. The page is meant for communication between us all, as well as for sharing our new projects, both common and individual. I hope it will also work for marketing purposes for those of us who sell their products. We even have Instagram, but so far there's hardly any material there, as no Instagram guru has appeared among us to make the page great😕. But we're working on it...

After the Storm

St John's day, the Finns pet party and barbeque celebration, was cold and stormy in the whole country. The strongest storm was measured in Kaskinen. We even had a short power cut, which is not very common here.

The following Sunday was cool and sunny. We walked the dogs to Camping Marianranta located in a lovely spot in the northern tip of the island close to the beach. We had huge slices of a magnificent cake, made by Marja-Leena Roos, whose family also run the camping in summers.  We heard that the only camper destined to stay overnight during the storm had cancelled and there had been no damage at all. Most cottages had been occupied.

We had a look around the town and saw trees cut down by the storm. A really huge spruce was lying close to the railroad. It must have been one of the oldest trees in town, and as it was located close to a commonly used shortcut over the railroad, it is known to many a town-dweller.  Shame, really!

There has been quite a lot of discussion on trees in Facebook recently, after an old oak was cut when a statue was placed in the town park. Some people would like to see a lot of trees cut down so they would not fall on people in heavy storm.  Others, like me, believe in the stamina of our trees.  There have always been storms and these trees have had to suffer a lot.  Yet, here they stand, most of them totally untouched by the forces of nature.  Also it would be quite impossible to make rational decisions on which trees to cut.  The fallen ones mainly look no different from the ones standing next to them.

Another topic surfacing the public talk every year is the pavements.  I'll tackle that issue in my next blog, because I think it is something extremely interesting and also idiosyncratic.  Nowhere else... But to get a bit started, I took the picture above. where you can see the difference between more or less public areas that are taken care of by two different individuals.  Again, some would claim the the part that has been well cared for is the ideal.  In my eyes the flowery part looks far better.  And yes, I know the flowers are more like weed, they'll grow just anywhere you let them.  Still. they bring colour and a sense of careless charm, which I particularly enjoy.

The storm gave us water, too, and finally everything has really started to grow in my garden.  The well is full as well.  My flower-beds, that have been more or less of a mystery, are starting to gain shape. I'll need to photograph it all to know better next year, as now I'm afraid I have removed some nice plants as weed.    A lot is blooming now.  However, it's starting to feel like the end of summer.  A very strange year!

Tomorrow I'll go and see a really nice garden belonging to two ceramic artists, Raija and James Murray.  The garden in the southern end of Kaskinen is in the national list for garden visits tomorrow, the 1st of July.  Their garden, where hens and other domestic animals run wild, has a strong feel of an English garden, probably because James comes from Ireland.  I have of course seen it before when I have visited their beautiful ceramics shop, but tomorrow I'll concentrate on the garden.

In Search for Garden Inspiration

As I have been away from Finland for the last ten summers I have missed quite a few highlights of the Finnish summer.  One of the events I have always dreamt of participating is Open Gates in our neighbouring town, Kristinestad.  So, this year we started early yesterday and saw almost all the open gardens there were to be seen.  The event will still go on today, so be reminded!

There were plenty of people walking through the places.  The nature of the event, however, came as a surprise to me.  I had assumed there to be gardens to be introduced by their owners.  There were some gardens, yes, but mainly it all seemed a sales event with endless flea markets and coffee shops.  The entrance to one garden marked on the map was blocked by a grill and a man selling sausages.  So I was a bit disappointed.

The most interesting of the gardens in the town itself was a garden in a house from the 1830's with an original stone pavement.  Our house dates back to the same period, at least some parts of it. But no stone pavement, yet... The owner of the house was not present, but had left some written info about their projects, like transforming an old shed into a cosy summer room.

The most interesting places for us were not in the centre.  I had wanted to go to see a farm with their own products and even wine.  We drove to the place but we saw no farm, only a basement with arrows pointing the direction along a winding corridor, the empty walls of which looked like a lousy 1970's  imitation of a log house in Lapland.  At the end of the corridor, there was a room that shone yellow under some special lights that were supposed to keep some exotic plants alive.  Some of the plants looked half dead.  There were two men eating meat soup and a plate on the wall telling that alcoholic beverages are not sold there.  Quite mysterious.

Having driven far out of town we decided to go and see another farm with animals and a pop up restaurant.  We didn't lunch at their restaurant but saw some newly born bunnies, a goat, a lamb that had been bottle-fed, so it was following people all the time, a dog, a cat and also we could smell and hear the cows.  The family was very friendly, too.  Close to this place there was another totally different, a garden that was described a paradise.  In their backyard there was a heated pool, a jacuzzi, a tipi-like hut for grilling as well as luxurious sunbeds where a toddler was asleep.  The lady of the house told us to take photos, so I did.

Last of all we went to see Galleri Gottorp on our way home to Kaskinen.  And that was mind-blowing!  A proper source of inspiration in every respect.  The owner was present and told a bit about all the exhibitions there were in the various buildings.  She is an artist and a writer and we saw the paintings for her latest book.  The garden was just lovely with details that showed creativity and interest in various ways of doing things.  No copying of trendy garden magazines in this garden.  The most interesting part was an exhibition on witchcraft and witch hunt in Kristinestad.  The owner had planned and made the exhibition with her two sisters who live in Kaskinen.  It was an amazing experience.

On the way back, however, we wondered whether it was totally fair to rip 10€/day for a sales event. Or if that is OK, why don't we sell tickets for the flea market day in Kaskinen.  Or charge anyone entering the town for that matter, as our fences are so low that you will see all the gardens anyway.  That should be easy to organise.  Just fence the bridges and sell tickets for any outsider wanting to see our paradise!

Celebrating the 500th View of my Post

I baked a small cake in order to celebrate the 500th view of my post 'Only in Kaskinen'.  I'm really happy and amazed that so many people have been interested in an English-language homestead blog telling about the smallest town in Finland.  Some other of my posts are close to the same amount of reads. Thanks to all readers for your interest and encouragement!

Seems that all trees, bushes and flowers are blooming at the same time. It's really been the spring of a lifetime!  A cold wind from the north blows the minute I leave our yard, but the yard, being surrounded by fences and various buildings, has a relatively favourable micro-climate.  My daughter and her fiancé brought me a pear tree as a surprise gift. It was planted close to the greenhouse, and we'll see if it will be able to survive the harsh winters of our town.  With a lot of plants it's not the cold that actually kills them but the quick variation of temperature that goes on throughout most of the year.

The petals of our cherry tree are already scattering from the tree forming white spots in the boxes where the onions have grown long green stems.  I made some traditional Finnish summer soup using those onion stems and chives from my garden.  Also pea sprouts to replace peas.  And of course potatoes, carrots, and some garlic.  It turned a real success and what I had thought to be enough for two days was finished in the course of one meal.  Not many people make summer soup any longer. One of the forgotten gems of the past.

There's recently been a great deal of discussion on Facebook about the way our public areas are being cared for in our town.  Many writers have expressed their dissatisfaction with the way action is taken (like trees are being cut) before anyone is notified and town-dwellers opinions are not being asked. Without going into too much detail I would say the problem might not only be the lack of money but also time.

There's really much going on in the technical department with planning, building and other urgent matters and there's no expert on gardening and landscaping recruited at all.  The environment and landscape section of our technical board only meets once a year to complain about overgrown hedges or branches and stuff.  Maybe they could take a bigger role in planning the outlook of our streets and parks. I wish the problem to be solved in a sensible way.  Many of us live in this town because we like the look of it!

Coffee, food and drink

The new summer residents, two little lambs, have arrived to enjoy the summer and create a jolly atmosphere among both residents and visitors of the town. I tried to photograph them, but if you have ever tried the same, then you'll know how quick the creatures are.  I just couldn't get one single decent shot. The pair of them will pasture in our next door neighbours' lower yard, the same family that have received fame and excellent reviews for running our guest harbour. As the town suffers from the lack of funds for anything extra, even sensible plans for refurbishing the harbour have been postponed to all eternity. Yet, their friendly attitude and great service plus good coffee and buns have won the hearts of a lot of sailing people.

The beauty of our harbour in comparison to some others close by is that it is located right in the centre of the town.  Especially in case you feel like having a night out, you will easily find several good options for grabbing a pint of beer or some drinks in the total of as many as four places in the close vicinity of the harbour.  (Considering the number of inhabitants, we may be in the top league for bars etc per capita. LOL.)

In the street corner next to the market place there's the local pub named Café Kung Gustav. (Kung is the Swedish for king.) I don't quite know the idea behind the name. the Kung Gustav part is obvious because of its location in Kung Gustavs Allé, but why café?  I don't think people generally go there for a cup of coffee.  It is clearly a pub. Maybe they originally intended otherwise?

Piano Bar, located right next to the marketplace, doubles as the breakfast room for Hotel Kaske, the only real hotel in town.  When the weather is warm, they open their roof terrace and you can sit up on the roof and look at the sea glittering in the sunshine.  Very nice!

On Fridays pizza and drinks are being served in my favourite place, Restaurant Albatross, situated in an old building that has remained quite the same over the years, both inside and out.  As long as I can remember, it has had the cosy old-time atmosphere.  By the look of it, the furniture dates back to the 1930's.  The place is a bit dark and shabby, but definitely has the feel of the olden times. It seems a waste to have the place only open once a week, but sometimes some special events like concerts or dancing are organised there.

Any sensible pub crawler would take my round the opposite way and start with a meal in restaurant Sininen Hetki / Blå Stunden, the name meaning Blue Moment, the moment when day turns into evening and everything looks blue, just for a while.  The restaurant is located right by the sea, so it offers an amazing view to the blue moments over the sound of Kaskinen.  The menu is still a bit of a mystery because of the recent change of ownership.  The pizza they served us last weekend was very good indeed, but the rest remains to be seen.  Good luck to Pia and her team and many successful years to come!!!

And just to remind you, our Cafe Hilda is postponed due to illness.  Fortunately, there will be a lot of stalls serving coffee and food in the market during the weekend.  Plus our pub, bar and restaurants, of course.  Have a lovely spring weekend with a lot of sunshine and shopping in the market!

Cafe Hilda Postponed

Due to a nasty virus, which I don't intend to spread around among the residents of Kaskinen, there will be no pop up cafe at our place at the weekend.

I'm sure the girls would have done fine between the two of them, but the point of the cafe being mainly to see folks, it's best to postpone the date, so I will recover and have a chance for a little chat with our clients, too.

Btw, I, again, got an immediate appointment at the health centre. The diagnosis came quickly and the doctor told me (not for the first time) to avoid stress, no matter who/what I am.  The nurse seemed to suspect whether a teacher could have a stress-free rest at this time of the year. And she was right, of course.  My pupils need their reports, so I'm trying my best to count their test points before it is too late.

It's funny how I can, after all these years, correct language mistakes and grade answers quite automatically, even when I have temperature, but doing the math involved seems far too demanding. And I'm not talking about higher lever maths, but just ordinary sums like 3+ + 4- + 7.  The human brain works in mysterious ways...

The weather forecast for the coming weekend says half cloudy but warmish.  No rain.  I guess it's going to be a very good spring market.  Enjoy yourselves!!!

Only in Kaskinen

Cafe Hilda will pop up between twelve and five next Saturday and Sunday.  The same concept as in the previous address:  Coffee, tea, juice.  Something sweet and also nettle pie and salmon sandwiches. The current address is Raatihuoneenkatu/Rådhusgatan 44A.  Feel welcome, all our previous clients as well as new ones, too!  You might not meet Hilda in person, though...

Next weekend is when the annual Kaskinen Spring Market takes place in the centre of the town.  It's a lovely event with various kinds of stalls, like food, toys, clothes and candy.  It's nice especially in case the weather favours us.  If it's anything like it has been this fantastic spring, then there will be no problems.  Normally I would have bought plants at that point, but this year has been different.  This year spring made a giant in leap practically overnight.  Busy times in gardens. In ours, the pace has been rather too fast, so not nearly everything is in order, but I guess it never will.  When you have a garden, you'll always have plenty to do.  So, not much blogging because of the lack of time.

I still wish to share info on a unique event next Tuesday. A bank clerk of Kaskinen branch of Närpes Sparbank, the only bank in town, will get retired.  She has worked for the bank for 42 years and to show their gratitude the bank has arranged a locally known chef to come and wok food for all the residents of our town!  Nice!  Only in Kaskinen!