Finland 100: 90 – Axe with Deckchair

This is another shot from my recent visit to my mother-in-law’s place just outside Turku and, like every other Finn living in the countryside, there’s always at least one axe and saw close to hand. A plentiful supply of chopped wood is needed throughout the year, not just for the winter months, because there has to be wood for the sauna whenever the mood grabs you, no excuses. I still remember my first visit down here and been given a bow saw by my yet-to-be mother-in-law and left to cut through a huge pile of wood by the side of the house. It took me a long time, maybe a couple of hours, to get it done but I did it. Only afterwards did she let me know that she’d left a blunt blade on the saw just to see how I would react. Her and Anitta laughed themselves silly. Luckily, at that time I was very fit and wanted to make a good impression so I was able to power through all the times the blade jammed in the log, blisters be damned. I like to think I made a favourable impression.