A fluffy cat and a berry patch

 Today was supposed to rain all afternoon and evening, so we decided to go out in the morning right after breakfast. Now that all of us have bikes, we can go far and fast! We had a nice picnic packed, and after some complaining, the kids agreed to explore a bit further than before, and we were so glad we went! 

We went biking along the trails by the river, and soon were on a gravel road that went through trees and by a small farm house. They had some very old looking log barns and granaries around, but then Petra spotted a fluffy creature - an incredibly friendly farm cat. It has the fluffiest backside of any cat I have seen, and simply adored attention. It’s name tag said “Nappi” (which means Button), and the owner who walked by taking an extremely friendly looking black dog for a walk confirmed its name. We were a little sad to leave Nappi, but he (?) decided he had business in the barn. We’re not sure they keep cows, as we saw a few ponies out on pasture. Sure smelled like cows, though. 

We biked a little further and the gravel road wound into a small forest. I saw there were blueberry plants in sight, and we jumped off our bikes and went to explore. Yes! At first we only found a few that were more like raisins than blueberries, but as we went further, over the smooth granite rocks and into the lush green growth, we found many patches that had likely never been picked! We picked into paper cups and brought our haul home for dessert. So, I got to explain to the kids the Finnish concept of everyman’s rights - which means that everyone has the right to go into forests and pick wild berries and mushrooms from there, as long as they stay away from yards and gardens near property. So we don’t know whose land it is - maybe it was even city owned. The point was, however, that we did not need to care, and the berries were ours to pick. Let’s come back for more another time, Petra suggested. 

I had started working at this point, and I had been up quite a bit last night, attending meetings. The last one had started at 6 am, which is a bit unusual, so I was really quite tired. After we got home, I went down for a 2.5 hour nap, and the kids edited their making of video some more, quite nicely and quietly upstairs. Every day is a bit different, so my schedule will vary, but for now, we’re all somewhat optimistic. 

We’re very sad to see the terrible smoke situation back in California, and we send our wishes to everyone to be safe and well, and for the new fires to quickly come to containment. 

PS. Everyman’s right does not include making fires - if your sharp eyes caught the fact that we sat at a nice spot with some burnt looking wood.