The summer season has now begun for us, too. The first week-long guests are already back home and will hopefully remember the beautiful hikes, cuddles with lots of dogs, and a short visit to the Russian border for a long time to come. The first Fit & Fun week is currently underway with a family of five, and if the wind calms down a bit tomorrow, we'll continue paddling!
We also regularly have friendly campers on site again. We're always happy to receive such spontaneous visits from nature lovers who have heard about us! Rest assured, we're hardly ever fully booked, so driving by and parking is always possible. However, we would like to point out that parking right at the bottom of the meadow at the edge of the forest can be tricky... as the two campers in the photo experienced. When it's wet, it gets soft there too... and be careful: our trees won't give way if you reverse too far into it... :-)
A few dogs left us in the last few weeks to begin active retirement in Central Europe. I've received positive feedback from all of them; they're all feeling comfortable and have handled the move perfectly. Oleg, Inari, Ellis, Lance, Charly, and now soon, last but not least, Holly: I wish you all a great time with your new owners! We've had some great tours together, but now you deserve a spot on the couch!
Sunrise at 2:47 a.m., sunset at 11:12 p.m.... it hasn't been really dark for a while. In fact, the nights are now so bright that the much-heralded strawberry moon probably won't be half as impressive here as it will be in other places. Besides, it's cloudy today, and we might not see the moon anyway. But even without a full moon, we're still experiencing beautiful sunsets with magnificent reflections in the water, just like every summer. Fortunately, we mostly sleep through the sunrise, because our workdays are rather packed with guests, dogs, and the constant need for special operations. Currently, there are a few items on the wildcard list: hanging up more awnings for shade, replacing more ground planks, mowing the grass in the Aittokoski (we've already done it here at the base), setting up the dog pools (as soon as it gets a bit warmer), driving another load of bulky waste to Lieksa, replacing or rotating a few fence elements, repairing dog houses when little Houdinis try to escape, etc. If anyone has time to help out for a few weeks starting in mid-July, we always have something to do! Unfortunately, Lena is leaving us soon to move to a lodge in Sweden without dogs. It wasn't the right place for her after all! Too bad, but Sweden is beautiful too!
Have a lovely summer and greetings from current refreshing 15 degrees!