Work has started on replacing the retaining wall around our yard. A team of workmen of Central European origin arrived this morning. Most of them then disappeared but two have been working all day, cutting away the hedge and removing the old “wall” of railway sleepers, now so rotted that some crumble to pieces when the men try to lift them.

Ingrid cooks dinner once a week; Adrian’s responsibility is to set the table for dinner every day.

ReQtest had an all-day company conference day in Malmö today. Discussions and presentations and such all day, then a quiz walk around the centre of Malmö, and dinner. This is my quiz walk group.

A beautiful, unseasonably warm day – one that wouldn’t feel out of place in July and actually felt more like summer than all of last summer did.

Adrian and I went to the Svandammen park when we got home. We packed some fruit, because Adrian is always hungry after preschool, and a water gun. I also packed his swimming trunks, just in case. And another water gun and a swimsuit for Ingrid, just in case she decided to come as well. And some extra fruit, just in case.

Ingrid did indeed join us after she left school, and I was glad I had packed all the extras. The kids had a lot of fun, so we ended up staying well over an hour and only got home when it was already time for dinner.

A few other kids watched Ingrid and Adrian rather jealously: one mum let their kids get in the water as well after rolling up or taking off their pants, but another said that this pool was not made for bathing and therefore “get out away from there right now”. No, it wasn’t made for bathing, but I can’t see what harm a bit bathing might do, as long as you don’t put your face in it.

On our way back from the birthday party in Otepää.

Yesterday when we drove from Tallinn to Otepää, I ignored Google’s #1 suggestion of taking the obvious route via Tartu and chose a shorter and more scenic route. We had some time to kill and nothing better to do with it. In the end I don’t think that road even took any longer than the primary one – the roads were slightly smaller but much emptier.

Today for various reasons we took the Otepää-Tartu-Tallinn route after all. This drive was no longer but I enjoyed it much less. An empty road is so much more pleasant.

I don’t normally enjoy driving. It’s a chore. But I now realized that the thing I don’t enjoy is in fact not driving itself but traffic. When there is none, I can relax and actually enjoy driving. Just like with skiing: when we were in Idre, I noticed that I instantly became a much better skier when there were no other skiers sharing the slope with me.

At the end of our drive we had an hour of slack time in Tallinn and spent it in Kadriorg park. The spot in the photo is one that I remember from my childhood visits to the same park. At least I believe it is the same spot: the park has changed over the years. It’s a small brook, trickling along a picturesque arrangement of mossy stones, shaded by large trees. As a child I always thought there was a fairy tale kind of feeling to it.

Ingrid and I are in Estonia for my stepmother’s 60th birthday. The birthday event began with a hike to Väike Munamägi, “Little Egg Hill”.





After the hike there was sauna, dinner and dancing, but from a photography point of view, the hike was the best part of the day.

The phone and Ingrid are unseparable.

We were invited to a Bergheden family event today, and all the cousins were there. There are now six including Ingrid and Adrian, ranging from 0 to 16 years in age. One, though, is just a little bit older than Ingrid, and they often have fun together at family get-togethers. Now Adrian is also old enough to be able to join in, most of the time.

Today’s best activity was rolling and sliding down this grassy slope. It will be interesting to see whether modern-day high-tech detergents will get the grass stains out of Ingrid’s pink dress…

I cannot help but photograph them. They are the essence of spring: beautiful, colourful, alive, eye-catching, fragile, fleeting.