Yer actual signs of spring

Actual shoots coming up. Amazing. First sighting this year! In a nice sheltered spot on the south side of a few rocks in one of the park areas abutting the huge cemetery. Hopefully next week when we pass by that place (we only usually pass here after my Pilates class on a Wednesday) there will be more to see.

Other (odd) signs of spring. Two pairs of swans having an argy bargy on the ice. The genuinely strange experience of walking around in really warm spring sunshine (around 10 degrees, I guess) whilst there is (a) still ice on the sea and (b) quite often icy patches under the trees in the shade. There remains a big temperature difference between day and night, and it is regularly well under zero at night. Actually, I forgot to say when I blipped for yesterday that when we woke up yesterday morning, everything was white again. Clouds had rolled in during the night, it had precipitated (which means snow when it's still this cold during the night), and then the clouds had rolled out again. The snow didn't stay long, but it was a noticeable covering of a couple of centimetres where it had stuck.

And Mr A has just told me the important fact that there are, on average, nine hours of sunshine per day in Helsinki between May and August. That's pretty bloody impressive, if true.

Apart from Pilates and Regatta, I spent the day reading, and doing a bit of light preparation for a short trip that starts tomorrow.