• Weather in spring 2024
• Severe thunderstorms
• Weather in 2024
• A great summer
• The lake and the beavers
• WiFi problems
• Water plants in the lake
• Pruning, planting and seeding
• New (underground) power lines
• Thanks to my guests

Dear readers!

Here is another new Newsletter.
We have had a very nice and beautiful summer with beautiful weather, and the weather here is still very nice. 
We still have (now: 21-9-24) temperatures up to 20 C and this will be the case for the coming week as well. 
I hope this Newsletter will bring you those news or tidings you like.

Kind regards,
Han van de Graaf

Spring in Savonranta just wouldn't come. Just when almost all the snow had melted away and I was looking content to get back to work outside, it started snowing heavily again. Within a day, everything was white again and we had to wait again. But from mid-May onwards (later than in other years) spring really did arrive, revealing itself with the first coltsfoot flowers.

Because it had rained heavily in autumn 2023 and because there was a lot of snow in the last winter, the water level in the lake was as much as 75cm higher than normal. 75cm, when you see that difference is a lot. Roads were even closed in this region and it was easy to see it at our place too. I had to put down extra pallets to still be able to get onto the (floating) jetty with dry feet! But after that, the long wait was rewarded with lots of beautiful weather.

Already from mid-May, the days were getting nicer and sunnier. Nature erupted in full force with flowers and trees sprouting. Insects such as butterflies, bumblebees and bees were also numerous. The high degree of biodiversity on my small patch of nature meant you saw many species. A feast for the eyes. Periods followed with temperatures up to 29 deg. C (A temperature difference of almost 60 degrees from winter which is occasionally -28 C degrees). But mostly there was a pleasant temperature interspersed with a short shower of rain. That rain was necessary for nature as well as the blueberries to grow vigorously. Several guests also picked them in abundance.

We had no shortage of interest this season, many guests, from the Netherlands, France, Estonia, Germany, Finland passed through here and all to their and my pleasure and delight. The reviews on the website finnishcottage . nl, in my guestbook and also on booking . com were only very complimentary, with a 5-star (finnishcottage . nl) and on booking . com 9.6 star rating. I am proud of this and I am very grateful to my guests for this.

Every year, I try to ensure that my guests lack for nothing. This year, this includes new curtains, an extra cupboard for guests' belongings and some mosquito nets. The improvements to the cottage are partly due to feedback from my guests, thanks for that!

As for the mosquitoes, again this year we had little trouble with them, but better prepared than being stung all the time. There is also a mosquito net from now on, in addition to the mosquito door and window screen already in place. to hang up if necessary.

I have enjoyed all my guests very much. Everyone was equally enthusiastic about the silence and the clean water and air. Even naturist guests felt very comfortable here.

I always tell my guests that we have a pair of beavers living across the jetty, which I have seen several times myself. Some guests have had the same experience, by going out onto the lake very quietly, sometimes by rowingboat.

It's great that we now have an increase in the number of beaver settlements, probably cubs of the ‘parent pair’. New beaver lodges have been seen both to the left and right of the ‘parent’ lodge, a great development and a good sign that ‘our’ lake lends itself well to these animals, due to tranquillity, clean water and sufficient food.

From the beginning of June, I had no WIFI.

On 8 June, a very violent thunderstorm broke out over Savonranta and our cottage. It took several hours before it subsided somewhat. During this time, electricity was cut several times. I am used to some things and I have since purchased an emergency power supply (UPS) to protect my computer equipment.

However, the lightning strikes here in the immediate area were so severe that the motor of the garage door was blown out. Afterwards, it was also found that my mobile internet receiver had taken hits.

Instead of a normal speed of around 30 - 60 Mbps, I had only 9 Mbps. Not a speed to stream anything or watch TV. This also hit the WIFI connection for my guests.

The problem gradually got worse, but before my provider found out after six weeks of investigation, and was willing to admit, that indeed my equipment had also been hit by the storm, it took some time before I had a normal (mobile) internet connection again.

Very annoying for my guests, (who thankfully showed understanding for this) and myself, as I still like to watch the Dutch News :-).

A lake without aquatic plants is, of course, unthinkable. Among other things, they ensure sufficient oxygen in the water and for everything that lives there. Partly because of this, the water of ‘our’ lake is crystal clear and you can drink it without any problems. 

At the lake's edge, reeds grow and grow. In the water are wild water lilies with beautiful (small) white flowers. There are also water plants growing that form a long string, spreading rather quickly, even in the immediate vicinity of the swimming part of the lake. Not everyone finds this annoying, but some guests still have trouble swimming through it.

Partly because of this, after the departure of my last guests, I will enter the water to curb this excess. Fortunately, the water still has a pleasant temperature :-).

Now is the time to start pruning again. This is necessary to maintain a view of the lake from the cottage. When pruning, I make sure to maintain and increase the diversity of species as much as possible. For example, two years ago I planted a number of oak trees, which are doing well. I make sure that the willows, known in Finland as ‘bad trees’, get enough space. After all, these are the first ‘bloomers’ and so they are essential for bees and bumblebees. Every year, I also resow part of the site with native plant species as well as plants that attract butterflies, bees and bumblebees.

From the beginning of June, the grid operator Järvi Suomen Energia has been replacing overhead cables with cables underground. This caused a minor inconvenience, due to the digging of trenches. I was amazed to see how they do it here. There are a lot of big chunks of stone in the ground here. I have to compliment the company that carried this out. Without major damage to the road and nature, they did a great job.
Now it's just waiting for the connection to be made.
What is very unfortunate is that the fibre-optic provider, did not take advantage of it to lay a fibre-optic cable right away . ..  Consultation, coordination . . . . :-(

I would like to thank this year's guests for their stay, enjoying them at my ‘dream spot’ is what drives me to continue. My guests, without exception, were extremely friendly and kind. I also enjoyed interacting with them, some more or less. Evaluations show that my guests particularly appreciate the peace, the clear air and water and the privacy. Most guests are also real nature people, just like me. I am happy to share my ‘dream spot’ with them.

Cottage Metsäranta - Savonranta
Rommikalliontie 54B - Savonranta - Finland
© 2024 Cottage Metsäranta

Previously published Newsletters are here.