Jojowski

Last weekend was the midsummer's celebration here in Finland and we were at the family cottage. We use a composting outhouse there and it's really brilliant! I prefer the thing to a regular toilet: it's more private, the styrofoam ring is quite comfortable and I find the technology (if you can even talk about technology as it's basically nature doing its thing) interesting! Normally outhouses are disgusting and awful, so it's surprising how such a simple upgrade makes all the difference!

It's very common in here to have one of those at summer cottages. I wonder if these are used elsewhere?

Anyways, for those who don't know a composting toilet is basically a big plastic bin with a hole on top, simple ventilation, a drain for excess moisture and a hatch in the back to remove pre-composted waste. After doing your business you throw some compost litter (store-bought one is made from a mixture of wood bark chip and peat or dried moss or similar) in to absorb moisture and smells. It's usable during winter too, although the compost eventually freezes, but it will start again once the cake thaws.

When it's working as it should and the usage is within its capabilities the toilet doesn't smell bad and also the stuff coming out looks and smells like, well, pre-compost. Once removed from the toilet bin it needs to further compost in another bin for at least a year before it can be safely used for crops and such.

The maintenance is quite satisfying: open the hatch from the back and take out a few buckets of pre-compost. The stuff is usually packed well enough to not drop down even though some of it is shoveled off from underneath. Close the hatch and push with a log or similar through the toilet hole to drop the cake to the bottom. Add some litter. There shouldn't be any need to mix the insides etc when used properly, except occasionally pushing the tip of the shit cake to the side to make room in the bin.

This time however there was an ant nest inside the toilet bin, in the middle of the stuff, which was quite surprising. One would think that environment is pretty hostile for ants, but I guess they like the warmth and easy food source (bio waste from kitchen is also discarded in the toilet). It seemed that the pre-compost was unusually moist, which could be the reason for uninvited guests, so I made a batch of compost litter mixed with some bark chips and other chaff to see if that helps.

Me and SO went to a decent but not too fancy restaurant that had really good reviews, however the food was so bad that when the waiter asked if we enjoyed our meal we told them it wasn't quite as expected. We have never given negative feedback in a restaurant before and we aren't too picky eaters either, as we follow a diet and don't expect restaurant to put much effort into it. I feel kinda ashamed even though I know honesty should be appreciated, I'm sure they tried their best, but in this case a microwaved ready meal would've been a better choice. We didn't ask for discount but they gave it anyways. Phew what a stressful day!

Running in the 90's!

Not the most popular choice for remote roads but as long as it's mostly asphalt the Universal Japanese Motorcycles do their trick just fine. We are riding for 10 days, around 350kms daily, smaller roads and sand roads in Lapland in Finland. Weather has been amazing, it's not too busy either and nights are still warm enough for camping.

The yellow -99 Suzuki GS500e is actually my first bike and first motor vehicle I've ever owned, I bought it in really worn out condition 3 years back and have pretty much fixed every bit that can be fixed and it has been a great teacher! I've put around 20k on it so far. My partner is riding a -96 Honda CB750 which is definitely more comfotable for touring that my GS. 😅

It's actually possible to take a night train from Lapland that also transports vehicles back south so we will ride our bikes in the train and skip a couple boring riding days to spend a few more nights riding in the north.

This article about owlets being rescued from a chimney made it to the national news! It's in Finnish, but here's a quick google translation.

Tl,dr: two owlets were stuck in a mansion's chimney in Tervakoski, Finland. They were rescued after a 24-hour operation and both were in good health, although very hungry.

The rescue operation lasted a day in Janakkala, Kanta-Häme, when two barn owl chicks were trapped in the labyrinthine chimney of the Tervakoski manor.

Locals visiting the old manor were eating dinner on Thursday when a strange creaking sound started coming from a nearby chimney. Someone recognized the voice as an owl.

The rescue service that was alerted for help arrived at the manor, but the means ran out. The complaint about the flue noise continued overnight.

The owls have had to climb more often than usual this spring, because they have suffered from a shortage of nests . In April, the rescue service had to rescue two pairs of owls that got lost in the wrong place within a week in Päijät-Hämee.

Two sooty baby owls roost at the bottom of the chimney.

The next day, the message went to Annulii Koponen, a wild animal manager from Riihimäki. Koponen called for help and got in touch with Piia Raunio, who rings birds.

When Raunio arrived on Friday, the task seemed impossible.

• The chimney of the old mansion is slightly L-shaped, and it turned out to be extremely deep.

Scars or other aids were of no use, because only a small hole led to the chimney.

• When we got a better picture with the flashlight, there were indeed two baby owls there, and they both screamed, Raunio says.

Manor owner: the owls must be saved The chirping and screeching of the little owls was heartbreaking, Raunio describes.

It seemed that the only way to get the birds out was to dismantle the chimneys.

The rescuers called Inga Chaudhary, the owner of the Tervakoski mansion. She made a decision: the chimney must be dismantled and the owls saved.

• It didn't even occur to me to leave them there. The chimney can be repaired, says Chaudhary.

A handyman arrived and started work. It was quickly revealed that the chimneys of the old manor had two walls that had to be passed through.

Handyman made an owl-like opening in the chimney. Rescuing the exhausted chicks began to look possible.

The helpers glued the butterfly swatter to the telescope arm and lifted both owls to safety. The video shows the moment when one of the owls gets to safety.

• There is no way they would have gotten out of there on their own. It felt really good when we got both of them out of there, says Piia Raunio.

Back to nature The animals' torment lasted at least a day. After the ordeal, the birds were in surprisingly good shape, albeit hungry.

• The wings functioned normally, and there were no bruises, Raunio says.

How did the owls practicing the life of a bird of prey end up in the chimneys of the old mansion?

The chicks weighed about 300 grams. So young chicks don't fly properly yet.

• However, the manor's chimney is relatively high. Only the little owls know how they got there.

One possibility is that there was a nesting place for owls in the chimney, from which the fledglings fell into the chimney.

The little owls were returned to the wild that same evening.

According to Rauni, nets will be installed in the chimneys of the Tervakoski mansion, so that owls or other animals do not get stuck in the mazes of the old building in the future.

Here's a little Finnish fellow nesting in their wooden cottage.

This is the second film I'm shooting and first one on this camera, so lots of learning ahead!

https://www.hs.fi/sarjakuvat/jarla/car-2000009719301.html