Serious on the 1st of April

With just a few posts in March I‘m bravely taking care of this situation right at the beginning of April – I plan to have lots of good things to share. Well, there‘ll certainly be many posts on gardening and trees that turn white, sunny days on the beach and Easter. Meanwhile, even though I‘m posting on the 1st of April, I‘m going to be serious and comment on the photos that I took last Saturday.

The white stuff on the ground is snow and we didn‘t expect to see it, but as we travelled further in land, away from the Baltic Sea, I suppose it made sense for the climate to be just a bit colder. The aim of our journey was to have a look at some old manor houses, parks and pretty churches. We didn't go far and ended up in Šateikiai - a little village, now just a shadow of its previous glory.

At the end of the 18th century a noble family (Pliateriai) built a huge manor house and lots of barns, stables, a beer brewery, a water-mill, a gardener's house and other buildings, also established a beautiful park with many rare trees and a few ponds and funded the building of the church. At the time this little village must have been a cultural centre - the manor house had a concert hall and a painting gallery. Now it's hard to believe that the most famous Lithuanian painter and composer M.K.Čiurlionis chose to get married in Šateikiai.

The neglected park hides the ghostly buildings and it seemed a bit spooky with no people to be seen around...

The wooden manor house (we haven't got many of these left in Lithuania) has last been renovated in the end of the 70s! It could be turned into a nice museum or a concert hall, or a painting gallery, well, anything that would attract people who are fond of history and culture.

I'm not sure if the locals would cheer for that idea - they might be too used to their quite life and might be too busy with their agricultural duties, but I believe that our heritage has to be looked after, especially as we haven't got that many authentic manor houses.

At least the church, that looks too big for this village, doesn't seem to be falling down... I'm sure it's full every Sunday.

My poor shabby country with insufficient funds and stupid laws. I could find a lot of things to moan about... Yet it's still number 1, ask any Lithuanian!

Cold as Ice

It’s been very cold lately, but I couldn’t think of a way to capture this in my photos…

Staying at home, while the bright sun is flooding the rooms, you can be fooled into thinking that the spring has finally arrived. The second you leave your front door - it hits you! Then the song “Cold as Ice” by Foreigner comes to my mind and I can’t get it out while shivering in the icy wind.

Today, we were walking on the frozen sea; the temperature had dropped to only -7C, but I bet that these photos won’t reflect what I’m talking about. Yeah, what am I talking about? The sky is clear and light blue just like in the summer, the sun is shining like mad… but you’d better look down under your feet as it can get very slippery.

Have you ever been skating on the sea? I haven't, but I can prove that it is actually possible.

In some places Nature forces have formed icy terraces...

In other - pretty white lace ornaments.

The frozen water has incapsulated sandy hills, created by the Baltic waves.

It has trapped colourful pebbles and water bubbles...

And some seaweed!

No matter how spectacular it all looks, it’s very cold as well. I’m afraid on that you’ll have to trust me.

The White Silence

How many photos of snow can you take before you get bored? Me? Thousands!

There’s something so special about snow covered trees, fields and little houses. The scenery is so calm and peaceful, a perfect set for proper white Christmas. And while watching TV you can be disturbed by the white noise, such “white silence” (a new term, no doubt) makes you wonder - where’s all the life gone? The sneaky foxes and the fast running hares, the vivid little birds and the hard working woodpeckers? They surely have to be hiding somewhere underneath this thick blanket?

P.S. On the way home I saw two deer in snow up to their bellies, grazing on the bushes that could still just about be seen above the piles of white.

Let it Snow?

I know I keep bragging about the snow, but the situation is – you need to see it to believe it!

The temperature keeps dropping to about -12C, but even then you could say it’s not too cold; unless it’s windy. The wind causes snow drifts that block the roads and pavements even more and if there’s blizzard outside… trust me it’s better to stay indoors.

As the song goes - "let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…" And what do we say to that? Oh, no! Not again.

The woods, on a day like today, when the sky is covered by a huge cloud that’s about to burst with more snowflakes, look more like something from a ghost story than a winter wonderland. It was so dark at 1pm that I needed to check my watch, I was convinced it was much later.

I’ve never done so much digging in my life and I don’t think my dad has ever been scared the swimming pool roof could collapse under the enormous weight.

To finish this post on a good note – not everyone’s disappointed. The bigger the pile of snow, the better! Jumping like a kangaroo our husky can’t hide the excitement. She’s asking to go out every 15 minutes and in the end it gets very annoying, but this is definitely her time of the year, so why spoil the fun?

Lithuanian Village

I bet if I asked you to think of something exclusive the last thing that would come to your mind would be “village”. Can such word be used to describe a village? I think it can, especially if we talk about a REAL Lithuanian village.

When chicken and cows are kept in big farms and our vegetables are grown only in the huge fields, that go way beyond the horizon, it’s getting impossible to find a little family that would keep their own animals and grow their own crops on a small patch of land. Impossible to find people who would be proud of their hard work, who could lead a good life in a village and get enough income from their produce and wouldn’t need to drown their sorrows in alcohol. And so, something that used to be pretty standard is getting exclusive, rare.

This weekend I went to see some friends of ours, who have kept their roots on an old estate. I took some photos as I want to “freeze” in time a real Lithuanian village that sadly is dying off: giving in to the globalization, cracking at the threshold of the economic crisis, witnessing so many broken lives.

(Surnames on the old post box - only one of the four is still alive. Parents die and their children run away, flood the big cities looking for a better life.)

Everything’s run by a 75 year old lady. She gets some help by one of her daughters, who comes to visit every weekend and other relatives, who give a hand mainly in the summer.

We sat at a table covered in a white table cloth, had massive portions of potato pie, cooked on a real fire stove, and felt very welcome, probably just like the local priest, who comes for a special meal several times a year. The yard might not look very tidy, but everything’s done with care and love. That’s what Lithuanian village used to be like, that’s how we should strive to keep it.

I’m not afraid of hard work and keep dreaming that one day I will join some small community, where we can share our goods: swap eggs for fresh milk, give advice on growing carrots and beet root and always be there for each other in case something bad happens. I still believe it’s possible! To prove it I would gladly get rid of my city life and stay closer to nature and warmer people, who saying “Good Morning” actually mean it.

Hope you enjoy the photos and realise that sometimes even the dirty and smelly, old fashioned and ordinary can at the same time be very beautiful and dare.

Before the Rain

I don’t think any of the plants or insects knew what was coming…

Just before the storm hit it was quite hot (+31C), like on a normal summer day. Yes, it might have been a bit windy, but we needed that breeze, otherwise it would have been unbearable.

After a while the sky started turning grey and we could hear thunder in the background. I did a sensible thing (for a change) – got all the washing in. Usually I’m brave and leave it till the last minute, but this time I think I wouldn’t have cared if the washing got soaked. Huge rain drops started pouring for the sky, as if someone had just emptied an enormous bucket!

This rain must have whipped the plants badly… and now I’m scared to look how many got broken…

Before This Beauty Fades

This week it has been way too hot. I get up in the morning and I feel as if I’m practicing for taking part in a slow motion film – I move very sloooowly: every move uses up too much of my energy, clothes seem to be sticking and there’s nowhere I could hide. Cool shower seems to help, but in about 15 minutes it’s the same all over again. (I even keep catching myself dreaming of autumn!)

Meanwhile very early mornings and late evenings are devoted for watering the garden. And even though July seems to be a very pretty month, with lots of flowers in bloom, I can see this fading away soon – sadly the hotter it gets, the quicker our flowers wilt.

More and more often I get out with my camera and shoot, this time becoming a director for the documentary called “Summer 2010”. I hope that this way I’ll at least gain some more time for enjoying the spectacular colours of sweet peas and roses, calendulas and hydrargeas and will be able to say – yes, we definitely had a summer, a very hot summer!

Just A Perfect Day

When I go through the photos that I took on the 1st of July for my friend’s Birthday I keep hearing the song by Lou Reed – “Perfect Day” - in my head. And even the song goes: “just a perfect day, drink sangria in the park and later, when it gets dark, we’ll go home” – I think that drinking champagne in the dunes is just as PERFECT. Oh, and a BBQ in the dark is also quite spectacular (although if things go wrong, you end up feeling like a smoked sausage)! But what made the day so special for me was meeting my friends, whom I don’t get too see very often. So I could keep singing:

“Oh, it’s such a perfect day, I’m glad I spent it with you…”

Location: Juodkrante, Lithuania. A tiny town on the Curonian Spit, with not many people, but loads of colourful old houses, green meadows, smoked fish, yahts and of course water (Curonian Lagoon on one side and the Baltic on the other).

Birthday Girl: Jovita. Eighteen again, and what did you think!? Lots of Happy Birthday's were received via mobile phone - oh, that 21st century...

One of the Guests: Dovile - another victim of the BBQ (there must have been something wrong with the logs that night?). I must admit we were good and managed to finish what we've started, without moaning too much; although eating at midnight can't be very healthy.

Flowers: A nice bunch of colourful summer flowers. You must admit, it counts as a good reason to be happy that your Birthday is in the middle of the summer!


Cake: An even better reason to celebrate choosing the best time of the year to be born! Home grown stawberries + self picked wild strawberries, whipped cream and suckulent spunge... Well, it tasted as good as it looks (if not better)!

By the Lagoon: You can see that this is the place where you can relax, think slowly and forget all your worries. Open your eyes widely and admire every single wonder of nature.

That's where we saw a pretty seagull, probably wondering if we've brought any bread with us (we hadn't).

And a busy bee on a bright green plant. (It's a pity I didn't get its companion, just half of it flying in from the right corner.)

And these neglected boats would be the best image to reflect that time in Juodkrante runs slowly: from summer to summer, as that's when the tourists bring a bit of novelty into previously probably even a bit dull life.

Beach: As I still haven't mentioned the dog, here she is! Jumping happily when she's told she's going out and at all times not trusting the guests - it's a dog that can't be touched and you have to move around the room on her terms. (Look at that balance! How doesn't she fall on one side!?)

Some soft evening colours (at around 9pm.). Couldn't wait for the sun set as we still had our BBQ to fit in!

And nearly the whole of the company (somebody had to take photos) in the dunes; hiding from not so warm summer breeze, remembering funny stories from the past, wishing all the best for the years to come...

As I said before - just a perfect day! And still humming: "I'm glad I spent it with you..."