Holiday adventure

This summer I have had a secret project going on for several weeks, and I was almost bursting not being able to say a word about it. But yesterday Melanie received her parcel and I can let my little friend Dick tell his own story.

Hello everyone, my name is Dick Callum and I'm the younger one of the D's in Swallows and Amazons. I'm interested in bird protection as a Coot Club member, mining and astronomy, among other things.

Mr. Kotkarankki made me glasses with some copper wire and his soldering iron, because I can't see much without them.

He also showed me a pigeon's egg shell that had mysteriously appeared on the  foot path he is paving.

On August 10th Mr. Kotkarankki and Auntie Ulla took me along to their holiday in Eastern Finland 30° 27' 08 E

63° 23' 28 N. I packed my rucksack and was ready to go!

In the mornings we had oat porridge with blueberry sauce.

Then Mr. K and Mr. M took me out on the lake in a rowing boat.

I borrowed Mr. K's binoculars to see the birds better.

This is the best picture I have of a diver. Is it a Red-breasted merganser? I think it was a female with three juveniles. They dived up the rapid.

This is Larus fuscus fuscus, Lesser black-backed Gull with black wings and back. Northern species.

We found an empty bird's nest in the woodshed.

Living outdoors makes a healthy appetite so between the proper meals we had coffee with slices of sweet wheat bread called pulla. This is the cooking shelter where we had all the meals except evening tea at 10 in the cabin.

At 10 it was too dark to fish - or watch birds - so everyone went to bed. I was sleeping in Auntie Ulla's top bunk wrapped in my blanket.

The trip only lasted 4 days and 3 nights, and after returning home I had to pack my things again.

I'm finally going to be with my sister Dorothea, who has been staying with Auntie Melanie for  almost 5 months already. Auntie Ulla sends her love to both of them. It feels good to go home, and I think Auntie Melanie will let us have some adventures on holidays too. She is not a normal adult, says Dot. Oh this sounds bad, I mean  she has a sense of adventure and humour. Dot had a nicer way of saying it, but I mean it is easy to love her, and she will not be mad at us very easily.