Country view of Finland

Card from Finland

Helsinki, Finland

Tengmalm's Owl(Pearl Owl)

Tengmalm's Owl, Aegolius funereus, is a small owl. It is known as the Boreal Owl in North America. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, Strigidae, which contains most species of owl. The other grouping is the barn owls, Tytonidae. This bird is named after the Swedish naturalist Peter Gustaf Tengmalm.

The Tengmalm's Owl is 22–27 centimetres (8.7–11 in) long with a 50–62 centimetres (20–24 in) wingspan. It is brown above, with white flecking on the shoulders. Below it is whitish streaked rust color. The head is large, with yellow eyes and a white facial disc, and a "surprised" appearance. The beak is yellow light colored rather than a dark beak like its relative, the Northern Saw-whet Owl. The flight is strong and direct. Young birds are chocolate brown. The bird's call is similar in sound to the "winnowing" of the North American Wilson's Snipe. This species is not normally migratory, but in some autumns significant numbers move further south. It is rarely any great distance south of its breeding range, although this is partly due to the problems of detecting this nocturnal owl outside the breeding season when it is not calling.

Wintertime

Mushroom

Autumn is coming!

Haymaking

Four seasons in Finland

Its name is Saimaa Lake?

I can't read Finnish on the back of the card, but the writer mentioned her hometown is near the Lake Saimaa. Is it just this in the picture?

Saimaa is a lake in southeastern Finland. At approximately 4,400 square kilometres (1,700 sq mi), it is the largest lake in Finland, and the fourth largest in Europe. It was formed by glacial melting at the end of the Ice Age. Major towns on the lakeshore include Lappeenranta, Imatra, Savonlinna, Mikkeli, Varkaus, and Joensuu. The Vuoksi River flows from Saimaa to Lake Ladoga. Most of the lake is spotted with islands, and narrow canals divide the lake in many parts, each having their own names (major basins include Suur-Saimaa, Orivesi, Puruvesi, Haukivesi, Yövesi, Pihlajavesi, and Pyhäselkä). In places in the Saimaa basin (an area larger than the lake), "there is more shoreline here per unit of area than anywhere else in the world, the total length being nearly 15,000 kilometres (9,300 mi). The number of islands in the region, 14,000, also shows what a maze of detail the system is."

Wintry Finland

Is Helsinki crowded?

Is Helsinki, the capital city of Finland, crowded? I don't think so, because I live in Shanghai, a city with a population of 20,000,000.

Aurora Borealis

Auroras, sometimes called the northern and southern (polar) lights or aurorae, are natural light displays in the sky, usually observed at night, particularly in the polar regions. They typically occur in the ionosphere. They are also referred to as polar auroras. In northern latitudes, the effect is known as the aurora borealis, named after the Roman Godness of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for north wind, Boreas, by Pierre Gassendi in 1621. The aurora borealis is also called the northern polar lights, as it is only visible in the sky from the Northern Hemisphere, with the chance of visibility increasing with proximity to the Northern Magnetic Pole. Auroras seen near the magnetic pole may be high overhead, but from further away, they illuminate the northern horizon as a greenish glow or sometimes a faint red, as if the sun were rising from an unusual direction.

Helsinki, Finland

A special card from the capital city of Finland. Does it show the port of the city? It looks really nice.

Lahti, Finland

Horses

A card with an interesting stamp

Just look at the stamp at the back side! It would "move"! Stamps from Finland are always surprising me.

Fishing, Finland

Fishing is one of the favorate sports in West. I also want a go.

Finland

Seinäjoki, Finland