Day 10 - Tuesday 15th July

Fans of Scottish speedway team, the Edinburgh Monarchs (me included) have been marvelling at our team's amazing run this year; currently the team is unbeaten since the season started back in mid-March and some have begun to suggest on the internet that this run could even last until the end of the season in October!
Here in Finland, we are beginning to wonder the same thing about the weather this year: Could this amazing run of great weather we have had since we arrived back on Sunday 6th July possibly continue until we leave on Tuesday 22nd July? One thing's for sure- it's the best weather we have experienced here at Palvajarvi, and it's the best run of weather we have seen in Finland since our visit in July 2011.

Out for a walk together in the morning.

This morning, after our mid-morning coffee and sunbathing session in the garden, we headed off on foot up the road to explore the area and see what was along one of the close-by roads that branches off further on.

 Time to give a piggy-back.

 Typical Finnish asphalt road.

Strange to find such elaborate graffiti miles from anywhere.

The sun was already hot, so we tried to keep in the shade where possible, and I was busy trying to take some interesting pictures on the deserted road in the middle of nowhere when I was certain I could hear the footsteps of a runner plodding along. I looked around and right enough, there, in the middle of nowhere, was a woman running along, and she was polite enough to shout "Huomenta" (Morning) cheerily as she passed! A bit farther on, and a girl with a dog appeared out of a side track. Maybe it's not so deserted here after all!

 Looking back to the gorgeous house!

Birch and lily leaves together.

Back home for lunch, I was already heating the sauna, as the weather forecast had suggested again that we'd be likely to have thunderstorms in the afternoon. Anna and I relaxed by the sauna, reading and drinking tea and juice all afternoon, while Sandy, Olivia and Keith swam, read and repeatedly took saunas. Once again, the weather stayed good all day, so we simply carried on doing what we like best!

Playing and swimming in the late evening sunlight.

The owner of our cottage, Timo, came round this evening to cut the grass here and chat for a while, and it was nice to see him once again. During the discussions, we were delighted to arrange that we'll be back here again next July for the same two weeks. When we first came to Finland in 2006, we thought we'd found the perfect place to stay in Kotka, but then between 2008 and 2012 we tried a variety of cottages in different areas of the country, including this one in 2012. We've come back in 2013 and 2014, and it'll be a pleasure to look forward to coming here to Palvajarvi again in 2015, so thanks Timo for confirming we can return!