Happy New Year 2015!

Vantage point

This is the best vantage point  in my cabin so far. There is no action downstairs, upstairs or in between that I would miss. I can also see outside quite nicely...

PS I look tired in the pics and I can tell you that this time of year when the Sun allows her rays to reach my sub-arctic geographics only from 9 am to 3 pm really mixes up my daily rhythm; I like to stay awake (and keep my crew awake too with my masculine verbal expressions) all the night and sleep the day.

Mountain or Fjeld cat - A poll

Now that I have started to function in my new role I am wondering if I should call myself a mountain cat or a fjeld cat? These are "my" fjelds in the pics, Iso-Syöte and Pikku-Syöte. And there is also this "magical" ridge onto which the crew seems to extend their newspaper fetching runs.

The thing is that the mountain cat sounds more international but now these my arctic hills are not technically mountains!?! Please help me by participating the poll on the right hand sidebar.

Iso-Syöte, the bigger fjeld.

Pikku-Syöte, the smaller fjeld.

Pytkynharju, the local ridge bathing in the midday Xmas sun.

Getting the Tree

The first mate liked this one. However, it was taller than three meters, and
wider than three meters too, so she could not choose this one.

So next day when the sun had raise the crew left the cabin for a new tree hunting trip.

Here you are allowed to pick a tree for a small fee.

Nice trees here growing too close to each other -
pragmatic spot to select a tree.

The captain in the action.

The captain had acquired some tools for my mountain cabin -
but are these sturdy enough for cutting a Xmas tree ;-) ?

The captain in the action, part 2.

The first mate approves.

My tree

-30 C

I wanted to start my Xmas eve by a nice brisk visit outside but it was so cold I very quickly decided to return to the cabin, find a nice location close to fireplace and relax... I hope the temperature is tempered soon as I enjoy my outings much.

Rauhallista Joulua! Happy Holidays!

Me and the crew would like to wish you relaxing and lovely Holidays!

My winter job location

More pics on my winter work place, as seen from the lake and the river.

New job

I want to reveal something about my new seasonal job, being a mountain cat. This is a view to the domain I need to manage. My duty occurs typically during weekends and vacations and I use the same crew as at sea.

Balancing and landing on my feet

I have been super busy since closing the sailing season for the year - I had to balance with all my responsibilities, preparing for the upcoming season at the sea and last but not least starting a bit like a new career too.

The vessel is hibernating in Kalmar like it did last Winter. Oh Kalmar, I could say our another home town, we miss you and wait for the summer to see you again.

In September after setting the vessel ready for the boat hangar the captain got flu. He recovered almost completely but then suddenly he got pneumonia. My advice for you is not to have your crew to get pneumonia but manage them to take care regular flus diligently. The recovery took 4 weeks for him, included several lab and doctor visits and I can tell you I have never heard that kind of coughing. For me this was busy time as I loyally attended him during his sickness and looked after his recovery. And his couching on the sofa. I do not have to refer any research as I know my capabilities but the first mate often talks about the studies indicating that a cat's presence for example decreases human's blood pressure. I personally think that my presence accelerates healing when a crew member is sick.  

In October the first mate kicked off her travel month - for four weeks she was out on her voyages and only visited my lair on land during the weekends. I have to say that I was a bit upset about this ignorance - not staying at home for me but traveling that much. However I noticed that she was tired but very inspired as she had chance to visit new countries and cities. For me this of course meant that I managed the household and attended the captain and looked after him - again very busy month.

In November I have started in a new job, in winter business. Mountain cat, that is my new wintery duty. And about this I will tell about in my upcoming posts...

Boletus

The crew proudly presented their catch to me. Well, not so impressive really but the first boletus for them so I politely gave the credits.

The orange individual was not identified and not eaten.

River trip

The crew and me feel a bit disconnected during these kind of late summer weekends when the sky has its deepest violet blue color and the Sun radiates gently its energy to the nature preparing for the winter. These are kind of of weekends that being separated from the vessel makes us simply sad. To compensate, and to have my sleeping routines in place, I sent my crew to the forest. 

The crew managed to forage some mushroom in addition to relaxing in lovely weather. They were very proud about their findings. I will report more in my next posting. (I got my outing today too, in the forest.)

Fossils

... and I am not talking about my crew this time.

Summer memories from Öland

It is cloudy and barely above 10C here in my off season city. The first mate struggles with accepting the fact that the Summer is over and the Autumn is here. 

It is time for some Summer memories from Öland. 

Life on land...

... is not exiting but certainly comfortable.

Stretching for Sunday mornings

I have been successful in motivating my crew to exercise more but how to get them to do adequate amount of stretching? Well, I show a good example how to...

Oh crab...