Seurasaari

Yet another location from my book. (You can tell many of the things that impacted me as a kid, because they show up in it.) Here's me with Dad on the bridge leading into Seurasaari, which is an outdoor museum. It has lots of historic buildings and other structures brought from all over the country.

We brought bread and trail mix to feed the animals. The ducks and even some swans gathered around real quick when they saw us throwing bread into the water.

Not far into the park, we had birds following us. On a lark (no pun intended) Rob decided to try feeding them to see if they'd come. Several birds came and ate right out of his hand!

We had several squirrels following us as well, especially this little guy. He ate plenty that we dropped in front of him, but he seemed so comfortable around people I thought he just might eat from my hand. Waddaya know!

Dad and me strolling along the paths.



A neat fence: simple to construct, yet effective. Once we noticed them at Seurasaari, we noticed them in other historic locations we went to.



A tree that is protected and is considered a landmark of sorts because it's got a giant ant hill inside.

Hanging out by an old cabin.

I decided to use this picture as my computer wallpaper for a while. It's so pretty, and it's very Finnish. You can't go anywhere without seeing colorful flowers in windows, and seeing them inside a historic building has just that much more flavor.




A windmill.


A close-up of the windmill's construction. I can't even imagine how long it would take (not to mention the craftsmanship involved) in making this kind of thing.


An old wooden swing.

What food storage looked like for northern Finns long ago: high enough so bears and other animals couldn't get to it.

Weird natural phenomenon here: a perfectly round cut-out filled with water. As you can see, it even has its own sign announcing its bizarre presence. A close-up is below.