Food, farming and country side
Although I grew up in the country side and we had a few cows for milking, a working horse, couple of pigs and calves, I am afraid I no longer know in detail about Finnish farming.
However I know that we grow potatoes (potato seeds as well) and sheep, pigs and cattle are grown for meat purposes. Fishing is also a livelihood for many. Corn, grain and different vegetable crops are harvested in Finland also and tomatoes and cucumber for instance are grown in a glass house. In addition there are many garden centers that grow different types of perennial flowers and decorative trees. Dairy business is very important in Finland also (milk, cheese…).
The animals are kept indoors during the winter, although there are a few open cow house premises, where cattle can move freely in and out. Beetroots, carrots and green salads are also grown in Finland.
I was thinking my food favorites and maybe my list would sound like this: rye bread, lentils, rice, fish, vegetables, kiwi-fruit, beetroot, cheese, cauliflower, onions, avocado, mushrooms, wild berries, leeks, barley, couscous, peaches, dried tomatoes…
I must emphasize, that my knowledge about Finnish farming is not the whole picture, but I hope it gives you some idea about the subject. Maybe someone would tell more.
Rachel: How am I doing in language wise? I have a feeling that I have developed during these weeks. Also as you haven´t pointed out my mistakes lately I take it that my writing has improved? I liked the photos of your family in England. Rachel you are living a wonderful time. It is so grand when one´s child is growing and parenting is so very important.
Your pictures remind me of my daughter Katri being a baby and a young girl. She was born in London in January and I used to take her for walks in a pram all over London area; I was a home mother for three years. As we lived in Wimbledon (South London), the walks were often done around there. But many times we took a tube to central London also. If we traveled underground, Katri would lie in a push buggy.
You all have commented so kindly about my family, thank you very much. Today I want to share a photo of Katri taking part in a horse riding competition last summer. The photo has been taken by Kati Valjus. The other picture is from our hide way place and again it is taken by Katri. You can see my husband on a balcony.
I am sure you have realized that if you tap the pictures with your mouse (right hand key), you can enlarge the photo size.
As I am unable to write on Monday, I will post this blog on Sunday. On Tuesday I though that I will respond to your comments from Thursday, Friday and this one.
I hope your oncoming week is a nice one.
Comments
Hi dear Leila , How are you ? Have you enjoyed with your pretty daughter ? I 'm sure , you are proud of her , are n't you ? Like Kati , we are building a new house at the moment , and I know how much it 's difficult , building a new house , means losing all your source of money and being busy all time .( God help us ) . Thanks for all your fantastic stories about Finnish . I surf the web pages that you pointed and I like all of them , specially those related to Newsland . I liked to see more photo about Finland scenery, so I searched the Net and I found really gorgeous photo in the www.flickr.com I 'm a nature lover and I really loved them . Buy the way , I 'm really wondering about your feeling after swimming in the freezing water . Don't you catch a cold ? Another question : what kind of animal , is possum ? Have a nice weekend and bye
Hello Leila, Thank you for the information on Finnish farming, I would say that you have provided us with an overview. If I'm not mistaken, couscous is a form of broken wheat. We make a sweet dish from broken wheat called 'lapsi' and it's very delicious. As for avocado, I've seen it in BBC Food tv but have never tasted it, the reason mainly because I don't know about whether it is cultivated in Pakistan or not. Would you like to tell more about its taste. This is for Katri, Katri I'm really impressed with your photo riding a horse. The second picture is very beautiful and I must say Leila, that live you in such a beautiful place. Naheed
Hello Leila!!! I hope you are having a great Sunday :-). The pictures are great as usual, and your favourite foods sound great to me. Leila, if you have time could you please talk a bit about the time you have spent in London? I thank you in advantage. Well Leila, have a wonderful week, see you soon, Ana Paula.
The pic has been taken by Kati Valjus :) Good article about you in the newspaper!
Hi, Leila. Thank you for the idea to enlarge your pictures, I didn't know. I have just enlarged some of your pictures. Great!- Have you lived abroad elsewhere than in London and New Zealand?
Dear Leila, hope you had a good weekend. I am kind of relieved that you are not able to post a blog today (today is Monday, the 19th) as this gives me an opportunity to catch up on my comments. Your posts are really pouring in. Honestly, sometimes I have to struggle to post my comment before your next blog entry appears. Take it as a compliment. :) So you are a former farmer-girl? Me too. Well, sort of. I used to spend my summer holidays in my grandparents' village and they kept rabbits, hens, pigs, goats or a calf or combinations of them at different points in time. I can't get my head round the fact that there are people (the number of them is increasing) who have as vague an image of the country life as they have of what is going on in the backyard of their head of the country. I think it important to have a wider picture of the world surrounding us rather than just viewing it from within the city boundaries. Now that you have mentioned you lived in London for a few years, I understand the reason why your vocabulary is so rich. Learning a language with the use of books (even good ones) is one thing, and communicating with native speakers is another. You sound as a real mother. You must take great pride in your daughter's achivements. But I am sure there were a few hairy moments in her career when you wanted her to quit. Weren't there? :) Have a good day tomorrow. Sincerely, Ana
weather,food,lifestyle all the things,it sounds very interesting.If I have the chance,I will visit by myself.
Hi Leila Your post is so nice and it recall me my childhood and teenage years. I was born to a lower middle class family in Pakistan and my father was died when I was just 9 year old. Due to our farming background, my mother decides to buy a buffalo for milking for managing house expenditures. She gives us good food, cloths and education and I proud of my mother. In our childhood, as I remember, it was our routine to go to fields to bring some green food for our buffalo and swimming with our buffalo in a nearby river.
Hi Leila Your post is so nice and it recall me my childhood and teenage years. I was born to a lower middle class family in Pakistan and my father was died when I was just 9 year old. Due to our farming background, my mother decides to buy a buffalo for milking for managing house expenditures. She gives us good food, cloths and education and I proud of my mother. In our childhood, as I remember, it was our routine to go to fields to bring some green food for our buffalo and swimming with our buffalo in a nearby river.
This is an answer to Naheed from Pakistan. I just have to tell you what the Finnish word 'lapsi' means. It means a 'child'.
Hello Leila! Mobile communication is widespread in Italy too. I think my country has the highest number of mobile phones. Yes, Nokia is a popular brand. I have a Nokia and the same goes for my sister and my father. As for the firearms, Italy has no longer a mandatory military service, therefore I have not done it. Unlike the U.S. or your country, it is not easy to get a gun licence in Italy. About food, I love herrings. Is autumn or winter the right season to eat them? Have a good day!
Hello Leila! Very nice photos and description, thank you very much! I was born and grew up in Murmanskaya region, it's the very North-West of Russia. My place's name is Polyarnye Zori, next to Kandalaksha, 120 km from Finland border and 420 km from Oulu. The nature in your living place should be very close to our Karelia region, but anyway it's very close to where I was living, too. It's really fantastic to have a chance to talk in english with person who lives in such a close nature circumstances. Since your last post touches food preferences : what kind of wild berries you like more, usually harvest and preserve? I'm a real fun of cloudberries, especially jam made from it. It looks close to raspberries but has yellow color, and grows on swamps. But of course its collecting is pretty hard because of huge clouds of very small midges. It would be great to learn more about life and nature in Finland in details, and to compare it to my homeland. Have a good day!
Hello Leila, I hope you had a good weekend. I have a question for you....(my curiosity..) Do you eat Pizza or Spaghetti? Do you like a Italian cuisine? Are in Finland Italian restaurants?? The pictures are nice as usual... Back soon Mariangela
Amazing the first picture. My mouth is watering because the second seems a coconut ice-cream. Bye Leila
at fisrt , i want to said that thanks alot bbc.com web site for everything !! ex, to learn , to make friend ... !!! i hope that i will improve my skill english with this site by some way i know!! one again !! thanks everybody who builded this site!!!
Hello Leila, Thank you for sharing your warm photos and description. I believe you have a wonderful family. Your lifestyle are totally different from mine. I live in a city and work hard day and night in order to make my family and I have a good life like yours. I hope my family and I can have a vacation like your lifestyle in country side.
good article.
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