Hurray!!! The sun is here. For those who don’t live so close to arctic circle may wonder why it’s news. But I can tell that it makes a huge difference. I have described our winter as a giant freezer and somebody even switched the lights off. There’s only about 6 hours of daylight, cold, snow and you nose freezes if you dare to put it out of the door. But summer!! Oh, those long hours of daylight, warmth and rain. You can go out without dressing 5 layers of clothes and everywhere is green and it’s growing so fast.

As you can tell already, I’m a summer person. Summers, sunshine and swimming in the lakes have kept me alive through horrible, lonely winter time. Last winter showed another feature about sunshine. There are solar panels that give electricity in my storage building, and when it’s sunny, they produce practically all the electricity needed for home devices. Washing machine, dryer, computer, fridge, freezer, lights, AC… all the devices used in modern house. And no other source of energy needed in day time.

What makes this even more funny, is that still in 1990’s it was “common knowledge” that solar and wind power would never be profitable in Finland. Maybe in south or by the ocean, but never here. And so little they understood about new discoveries! New wind parks are to be built and solar panels are so common in the country, that fossil energy starts to be ancient form of energy. Of course, one of the biggest motivators was the high price of energy, that makes it more profitable to find new resources. But for me it only shows that people are creative and able to find solutions when forced to.

Unfortunately these new sustainable sources of energy can’t stop the climate change that is already going on. People are not good at decisions when the proof is not type on on/off. Like phreones were banned so quickly, and now the holes in ozone layer are practically closed. But climate change is different, and I’m not the priest of doom day. But I have already seen the change where I live. The time the lake is covered by ice has reduced by one month within 40 years, and if it continues like that it’s going to cause trouble for Saimaa ringed seal. We can help them by providing artificial nests, but what shall we do with all the people who can’t live in the places where they live now? In middle Europe temperatures will rise during summer season causing more deaths, the rainy season may become shorter around equator and food crops would need more support to survive making it too expensive for the poor people. All these would cause more people to leave their homes making the world more restless.

But so far it’s all good and I can continue enjoying my summer vibes. I believe in humankind and our ability to solve problems. I will continue gardening, producing more food to this world and giving advice to those who are willing to receive it. After all, we need only few things in our lives, and for me learning new things is essential. Learning, and of course clean water, food, shelter, warmth and some close people, that’s making me happy.

With happiness and sunshine

Joana