As I arrived in Rovaniemi in September 2006 it was all new to me. I had never been that up north in my home country Finland. In September the beautiful “ruska” time was going on. Ruska is when the leaves on the trees turn from green to yellow and red before they finally fall off. I walked along the riverside of Kemijoki near my apartment and took a lot of pictures of the phenomenon with the yellow and red colored trees and the red colored ground. Where I used to live before the “ruska” never seemed to be as bright as it was here in Lapland. I just loved and enjoyed it now. The yellow color is the color of happiness and well-being and it appealed very good to my mental health. I got a happy and warm feeling inside.

 

As you walk around on Ounasvaara hill there is the possibility to meet a reindeer and the chances to meet one when driving your car along the roads are also big. You have to be aware of that and look out for the grey, or sometimes even white, animals. They move very slowly though. They are not like the quick footed deer in the south of Finland, who just without warning jump out from nowhere in front of your car. Once as I was driving my car I met with a sleeping reindeer on the road! And it did not even bothered to move away as cars drove by! No wonder there are so many killed reindeer during the dark time of the year. There are also elks in this part of Finland, but I have not seen many of them during my stay here.