Comments

  1. says

    These are all so beautiful. I miss the ocean so much, and the fog and mist that came with it. I think I’d like Finland. A lot.

  2. Ice Swimmer says

    Thanks. Fog is fascinating.

    The first two pictures are from Hietaniemi, a sandy peninsula on the western part of Helsinki peninsula. The peninsula is home to both the old main cemetery of Helsinki and the most popular public beach. They were taken a bit more than a week ago in the dusk.

    The third is from Midsummer night 2015 in a residential area near Helsinki. A heavy fog rose from the sea in Midsummer Eve in the evening. The next day when the fourth picture was taken it was sunny on the land but foggy on the sea, which is a rare thing to happen here. Otsolahti is a small bay west from Helsinki, in Tapiola district of Espoo (basically western suburbs of Helsinki). Otso is a euphemism of bear (and a popular man’s name).

  3. says

    There’s nothing quite like an old cemetery wreathed in fog.

    Otso is a euphemism of bear (and a popular man’s name).

    Cool. That’s nice to know.

  4. Ice Swimmer says

    For example there’s Green politician Otso Kivekäs and ska/reggae/folk musician Otso Karhu (whose last name is the standard Finnish word for Bear).

  5. jimb says

    Great photos, Ice Swimmer.

    Caine @ 3:

    There’s nothing quite like an old cemetery wreathed in fog.

    Indeed. I think it’s a requirement. :-)

  6. says

    Ice Swimmer:

    ska/reggae/folk musician Otso Karhu (whose last name is the standard Finnish word for Bear).

    So he’s Bear Bear? Hee. Lakota for bear is Mahto, one of my favourite names.

    Jim:

    I think it’s a requirement.

    So do I.

  7. Ice Swimmer says

    jimb @ 5

    Thank you.

    Caine @ 6

    Yes, he is.

    Otso and its variant Ohto are the only common Finnic first names that have an animal meaning that come to mind. Animal last names such as Karhu, Susi (Wolf), Orava (squirrel), Hirvi (moose), Ilves (lynx) and Peura (deer) are more common for families from the part of southeastern Finland that was ceded to Russians in 1944.

  9. says

    Ice Swimmer @ 7:

    Animal last names such as Karhu, Susi (Wolf), Orava (squirrel), Hirvi (moose), Ilves (lynx) and Peura (deer) are more common for families from the part of southeastern Finland that was ceded to Russians in 1944.

    That’s very interesting. Is there any particular reason for that? I love picking up more Finnish words. In exchange, Lakota:

    Sumanitu taka [shoon mah needoo dahn kah] (Wolf), Zica [zee chah] (Squirrel), Heblaska [hay blah skah] (Moose), Igmuhota [ig moo ghoatah] (Lynx), and Tahca [dah gchah], Deer.

  10. Ice Swimmer says

    abear @ 8

    Thank you.

    Caine @ 9

    I don’t know, people in Eastern Finland were early adopters of family names tied to a person and their (mostly his) descendants (so that the crown officials would know who they were taxing), not to the farm (slash and burn agriculture was common in the east which made farmers more mobile than cultivating the same fields), the Karelians just took animal surnames more often, while the Savonians took names ending with nen such as Heikkinen, Kettunen or Korhonen (Heikki is Finnish version of Henry, kettu is fox and korho is an old word used about someone who doesn’t hear well, no longer in use). I think in both cases the family name referred to the name or nickname of the “founding father” of the family.

  11. says

    Ice Swimmer @ 10:

    I don’t know, people in Eastern Finland were early adopters of family names tied to a person and their (mostly his) descendants (so that the crown officials would know who they were taxing), not to the farm (slash and burn agriculture was common in the east which made farmers more mobile than cultivating the same fields), the Karelians just took animal surnames more often, while the Savonians took names ending with nen such as Heikkinen, Kettunen or Korhonen (Heikki is Finnish version of Henry, kettu is fox and korho is an old word used about someone who doesn’t hear well, no longer in use). I think in both cases the family name referred to the name or nickname of the “founding father” of the family.

    Hmmm. So everyone took names which highlighted their priority, more or less. From my perspective, people who took animal names would feel very tied to the land.

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