[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch Actually, my little island has pine trees all over it. I don't have to go far to get a little bit of the aroma and it indeed smells lovely in the summer.

Pines are not that common in Finland, birches are the most common tree, at least in inhabited areas. Something must be about the ground in here, perhaps shallow ground on the island, that caused only a handful of birches to grow in here. My allergies are happy for that, at least I can air the bedroom without inviting much more pollen in. In my previous place the floor would be green after leaving the window open for a bit...

It's a very interesting bit about your homeland, thank you for sharing!

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka Birches are notorious for their pollen, it's true. Back in my hometown, we do not have many of them, but even with as little as we do, we get that pollen everywhere.

But when it comes to pine pollen, we get a lot. During that time, it gets into the sea, and the first couple of meters of sea turn into a sort of aromatic yellowish mud. people walk barefoot in it sometimes. How are you with pine pollen?

And do you harvest birch juice, by chance? It is quite popular with us when it's that season, i Finland has many birches, maybe you do as well?

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch Finns do harvest birch juice from what I have heard, but I don't know much about it.

I have no issues with pine pollen, it's just the alders and birches that are killing me each spring. Later on it gets a lot better.

The lakes here are mostly clear, not much mud.

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka I don't think you'll get a "mud" effect in the lakes, it needs constant waves to happen. It happens because too much pine pollen gets into the sea, but waves move all of it to the shore, and you get concentrated "pollen mud". The lakes are p[probably too small for that.

I quite like birch juice, I try to have some if I visit in harvest season. It does not keep very long. And it is supposedly quite healthy for you as well.

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch Ahem, I live at the second largest lake in Finland. It's not small by any means, and there are waves quite often.

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka In that case, I imagine there could be this effect, though I never saw it on the lake or a river. This is odd, now when I think about it, there is no "pollen mud" in the river when there is in the sea... Maybe it has something to do with water being fresh or salty, I don't know.

My other guess then would be that there may not be enough pines for this to work in Finland. Though birches have more pollen than pines, so... Not sure, really.

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch The lakes defrost quite late, like late April. Ice can't make mud, right?

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka Not really, that would explain it. Though with ice melting this slowly, do you get a chance to swim in lakes or rivers in Summer at all?

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch We do, but it depends on the weather. Smaller lakes get warm rather quickly if there's a bunch of hot days. The lake I live at remains somewhat cold, it's possible to swim in it - after all ice hole swimming is popular in Finland - but you need some ahem, will force to help you get in the water. It gets better once you get moving though.

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka I guess it is good to jump in after the sauna? I know people do that, though I never tried that personally. I am more of a "hot springs" kind of guy.

Oh, who am I kidding, I simply do not have enough willpower...