A May overnighter with the kids

May is a good month to go out with the kids. The nature is becoming much more interesting again after almost six months of fall and winter. The night temperatures are generally above freezing and there are no mosquitoes out yet. In June and July the mosquitoes might be to much for smaller childrens, since you need some motivation to endure the bugs. Hence, a May is a good time to go out for an overnighter with the kids.


The area chosen was Västerby, the forests of which I roamed in during my childhood and youth. Compared to the area where I currently live, there are a lot more lakes and the nature is otherwise also a little more varying. Nowadays there are lots of trails and no less than four open shelters in the area.


We started walking a little over five in the afternoon. With the sunset at 21:40 (I love the light this time of the year) we had plenty of time to find a good tent spot.

Brain mushroom (Gyromitra esculenta), one of the very few spring mushrooms in Finland. It has a delicious taste and is also deadly. By cooking it several times and throwing away the water, the concentration of the poison gets low enough for the mushroom to become edible.

Rowan about to get leaves. Now and then the weather is very warm in the beginning of May, leading to an explosion of green, but we also have years like this one when everything happens very slowly. I actually prefer it in the latter way, since it gives plenty of time to follow the small changes on the way to summer.

A short break to get some energy.

No shortage of energy now.

The water is still very cold.

A birch turning green.

And on we go.

Look!

Two hopeful anglers trying to catch dinner while dad sets up the tent.

Hope is turning into disappointment.

Plan B. Pancakes. This turned into a disaster after a while when I got a bad grip on the pot with the batter and spilled most of it.

The few pancakes made were tasty, though.

Sunset after a short while.

A little reading before going to sleep.

Good night.

The night was a little colder than expected and rather windy as well.

As planned, the sun started to warm up the tent in the morning.

Porridge only in the morning, since the lack of fish and the pancake disaster forced us to eat the morning sandwhiches in the evening.

The morning was nice, though.

On the move again some time around 9:30.

Something interesting found.

Elk poo.

Continuing.

That's it. A nice short overnighter with the kids. And a request to go again soon...