Dustbowl

I've never been a big fan of springtime with all the, "In like a lion, out like a lamb", quips regarding its variable weather. I like weather that isn't going to change its mind at mid-day that 13C with sunshsine isn't doing it for Mother Nature and decides that snow flurries are much better. If spring were a person, she'd get a free trip to the local nuthouse and be prescribed Zoloft for those mood swings after a few days of that crap. The weather has been gorgeous this year with only one brief winter flashback a few weeks ago so I can't complain. It's warmer now than it was in June last year and I was even sweating today. I don't know that I'll be able to return south during the warm months ever again as I might melt or burst into flames.

Helsinki has an altogether different hazard of spring; grit. Where once stood mounds of snow remain only piles of pea gravel on the sidewalks and streets. After months of being driven and walked over while embedded in the snow and ice, the thick gravel gets ground into the pavement which generates tons of ultra-fine dust and grit awaiting a breeze to set it aloft. Since the weather has been warm and dry, Helsinki is a swirling dustbowl of this grit, especially on days with strong winds. Even a passing car, bus, tram or train can leave you diving for cover from the ensuing gritty backwash that makes it hard to breathe. You feel it cover your hair, your face and, worst of all, your mouth. I watched a grit devil come speeding up the street towards me and even though I turned my back to it and covered my camera, I still felt like I had just been rolling in a sand dune. While the rest of the world worries about the loss of topsoil, Finland replenishes it every spring. HB's fur has a surface area approximately equal to that of Texas, so he loves all the dirt procurement opportunities the grit season has to offer. Perhaps I should just sow some seeds on him and cultivate a chia-chia garden. :)

There are those who say that spring officially begins in Helsinki when the streets and sidewalks are cleaned, the grit removed and the cafés resume outdoor service. Grit removal is a serious and coordinated business with the street cleaners traversing the city in a grid. Signs are placed a week in advance to warn those who park along the street that they will be towed if they park there on the designated day. The crews come with their own tow trucks who stay pretty busy since they tow all the violating cars to the block that they just cleaned. I'd love to see the faces of some of the drivers who come looking for their car only to find it has mysteriously moved one block over. I'm sure the ticket and the tow charge they receive in the mail or under the wiper is far less mysterious. :) I've been hoping for a good Missouri-style gulleywasher to freshen things up, but the street cleaners and the fog of dirt should be over in another week or so, just in time for Vappu to fill the streets with summertime dirt.