Kiitos Finland

Gangster Sam

Finland

Finland is allegedly the ‘happiest country in the world’. I have no idea how this is the case, because every Finnish person I meet or hear about, is grumpy. Perhaps it’s different and more vibrant in the cities further south. But I’ve enjoyed learning a bit about the culture! There is a word that means sitting alone and drinking in your underwear - kalsarikännit - which directly translates to ‘underpants drunkenness’.

Apparently it’s also super common for Finnish people to bury rubbish in their gardens - Stefan and I are constantly finding random piles of plastic, glass and metal - he even found a lightbulb and some batteries once. It’s quite dangerous for the dogs so we do our best to pick this up as soon as we find it.

Left: My swimming lake. Middle: rubbish in the free-run. Right: Walk with Foxy

Summer

Since last weekend when everything magically turned green overnight, it has really felt like summer. The only downside of this, is the abundance of bugs. There is always a wave of mosquitoes at the start of summer, and if the months of May/June are dry, the first wave of mozzies won’t breed so much. Unfortunately for us, we’ve had a few weeks of solid rain…

I’m also finding it harder to sleep with the light! My brain doesn’t feel tired until it starts to dim outside at midnight, and I have to sleep with my eye-mask on (although it falls off about 5 times a night, and I have to grope blindly around my pillows trying to find it again).

We’re in the middle of a heatwave now (20°C!), so I’ve been tearing away on the bike to swim every chance I get! It’s 6km return to my swimming spot, and if I fancy a longer ride, there is a ~30km loop on a long gravel road.

Left: free-running 17 dogs. Middle: hiking in Rovaniemi. Right: the 30k ride loop

Leaving the Kennel

At the time I’m writing this, I only have 3 more days here! Stefan is currently travelling the Lofoten Islands with his girlfriend, so I’m alone until Jessie gets here on Tuesday. Of course I’m excited to go back to Sweden and see my parents, but I’ll also be super sad to leave these dogs and this kennel. It’s been the perfect place to process last season and have some quality time with myself. Stefan has taught me so much, including but not limited to:

• How to chop firewood

• What a government-owned forest looks like

• How to make necklines/tuglines

• Pedigrees and genetics

• How to make dog-houses and insulate them

• Puppy training

• Dog behaviour (yawning is a signal of de-escalation)

• Kennel laws for Finland, Sweden and Norway

• Logistics behind long-distance racing

My favourite dogs are Glød, Granite and Daria. Glød is incredibly socially awkward, and he stretches non-stop in front of me because he doesn’t know what else to do. Granite and I bonded while he spent a few days inside as a bucket boy. And I think Daria is super sweet - very different from her sister Diva (the name speaks for itself).

Left: Predator. Middle. Sun (puppy) on a walk. Right: action shot on the bike