At the time of the writing of this article, it’s the end of March 2020, the time of restrictions and lockdown, except when we are in nature, following recommendations.
Over the past few years, the number of visitors in local nature destinations has increased considerably (…source? Doesn’t exist. Based on my own experiences): people have found lovely places near their homes, and areas have been restored and services developed by administrators (Metsähallitus (Finnish forestry organisation) / associations / cities / municipalities). Signs are shining bright, campfire sites are in great condition. There are more and more accessible trails available. And that is great.
The actually positive problem _for time being_ is that maintained outdoor recreation areas are becoming a little bit too popular(!):
- Metsähallitus recommends avoiding the most popular campfire sites.
- Suomen Latu has published guidelines for outdoor activities during Covid-19 (in Finnish).
Now I’ve seen everything.
Personally, I don't know my neighbourhood's local forest very well, because I haven't lived here very long. The regular routes where I walk with my dog are familiar, sure, but at times, I would like to see something new and stimulating. I am used to seek variety in outdoor recreational areas and national parks that have become important to me (exactly the same places where everyone is nowadays).
The most fruitful thing about the fact that you are not familiar with local forests is that when you take an approximate direction and just head into thick woods, you do see new, stimulating things. And you don’t need to look at other people or think about social or physical distancing.
There is a reason why recreational areas are where they are and why they are so popular: landscapes and nature are usually unique and beautiful. Nearby forests aren’t probably that wonderful. At least not in this suburb where I live.
The positive thing about this time is that it’s spring: at this time of the year, the local forest seems quite interesting.
Even though the places I've found during these weeks of quarantine are not that large geographically speaking, you can wander around and explore them – it doesn’t matter if the hike isn’t that long in kilometres. In the spirit of urban exploration, you can find traces of old settlements, buildings, or old objects. Wartime trenches or other interesting things. Keep your mind open. Have you checked the geocaches in your neighbourhood?
Nature enthousiasme is a whole other story, and I’ll stop before I start telling you about all the things I found today.
Instead, I'll list a few things that I find enjoyable. Below, you’ll also see some pictures I took with my mobile phone of my Monday afterwork in a nearby forest.
Because I will do these little trips after work a lot in the near future, I am pretty sure that I will be able to tell you more and give you more tips on this topic also in the future.
SIGNS OF SPRING / CHECKLIST FOR YOUR NEXT TRIP
Come up with more or vary the following tips if you like:
[_] Find a spring mushroom you don’t know yet. Learn to identify it (and you will see them everywhere on your next trip)
[_] Explore the bud situation. Are there differences between plants of the same species that grow in different spots? (Tips: there are.)
[_] How many birds do you spot? By sight or by hearing. If you don't know the species you spot, find out what it is.
[_] Flowers? What species did you find?
If you go out and do interesting things and tell about them in social media, hashtag them with #varusteetkunnossa #varustenet and we will show them to others so that they can be inspired by them too. Share your ideas of an active outdoor life!
This leafless forest looked beautiful in the low afternoon sunlight. The thickness also hided some original inhabitants of this mini forest: three deer that we would see in this picture if they were not hiding. It was also nice to watch the birds and listen to them singing: we met beautifully warbling blackbirds, great tits, sparrows, siskins, finches, woodpeckers and one lonely crane that flew overhead.
I won't say I know what species this psychedelic, worm-like thing growing in the ground is. But if I had to guess something, I would say spinulose wood fern. Why? Around this growth, there was something that looked like it (been under snow for the whole winter), AND it might be some kind of fern because it looks so weird.
Colourful elegance of the spring mushrooms. It is quite easy to distinguish typical cup fungi, and the beautiful fungus in this picture is called scarlet elfcup. Impressive looking? Yes. Poisonous? No, but not eatable either. Or does someone think it looks delicious? Either way, it is pretty, that’s for sure. And bright-coloured in otherwise grey and brown nature!
A treasure hunting patrol. This area that used to be a seabed is now very popular among different deer species. It is fun to find their tracks, dogs get excited when they find their bedding spots, and everyone in the group keeps their eyes and ears open for shed antlers.
Last time we found an antler, this time we didn’t. But we did find a fox burrow, didn’t go too close.