White Trees

Have you ever seen a perfectly all white tree before? When I say white, I mean from the ground to the tips of the tree branches. I certainly have not experienced the site of a white tree until I got here to Finland. A teammate and I were talking about how hard and complicated an explanation of the white trees to anyone who hasn't seen them for themselves would be. Words and pictures just don't do justice to the real thing. However, I will try to do my best and show you through words and photographs what it is to see white trees.
I usually wake up every morning before 10am, luckily the sun is about up by then. A quick reminder of the suns habits around this time of year in this location, it feels like 5am at 8am, the town is still under a heavy blanket of darkness that is a bit unerving considering where I come from. Whenever I wake up here I tend to head straight for the blinds at the windows opening them instantly to get some light in my apartment. Sometimes darkness still, blue sky, fog, etc. One morning, I went through my regular morning routine and when I opened the blinds my eyes widened and my mouth dropped. I went though those thoughts of what I was going to see that morning, but white trees? How cold was it outside?! I lingered at the window for what felt like at least 10 minutes just staring. I honestly could not believe what I was seeing, nothing looked real. I opened the balcony door, camera in hand and stepped out to the frigid cold to snap a few shots. Not just the small trees where white but every single one was incased in layers of snow and ice. Every branch was sparkling like someone had taken a can of liquid glitter and doused everything in glitter. I guess I had never seen snow sparkle as much as it does here because I find myself walking along with my head on a swivel. The environment I am living in feels worlds away from the beach town I come from, its another world out here. Numerous times I have thought, "I am living in a black and white picture...a really cold one.." The trees tower over head, shaking small particles of snow with the slightest breath of wind. A real wind storm would be a trip, all that snow flying off those trees, there would be a white out situation indefinitely.

Walking through town late at night or even during the middle of the day when people are working and the streets are pretty quite, the ghostly trees are mostly still, hang high over the streets, creating a cavernous like space. Looking up at them I wonder how on earth do they survive this type of weather. If they could talk, what would they say? "SON OF A! ITS FREEZING!!! MY BRANCHES ARE FROZEN SOLID! I need a vacation...somewhere tropical." That would be my guess considering my imagination. As cold as it is here, its definitely not a barren wasteland, its so much more interesting and beautiful. Everyday I look forward to seeing the what the weather has brought me because its usually some phenomenon I have yet to witness.