Sticking Your Oar In
Today was a lovely trip out to see some old family friends of Laura's.
Her mum has known this couple since god was a boy, and more convivial and generous hosts you could not hope to find.
They live up in central Finland far north of Helsinki, and they are on a lakeside bordering a Finnish national park.
One of the treats today was a spell in a proper wood fired sauna. The one at home is ok, and the one in Laura's mum's building is much bigger and nicer, but this was the real deal.
To complete the authentic experience, one sits and sweats in the sauna, and then immediately hops into the lake. This seems utterly nonsensical until you actually try it, when everything crystallises into sense. I still wouldn't do it in January though!
On the grounds of moral decency however, I resisted a self portrait of my lithe and sculptured figure slipping bollock naked into a big lake. Instead, I offer you a shot from the day's end, just catching a beautiful silhouette of the family rowing boat. A lovely day indeed. Original public domain image from Flickr