On
5. veebruar, also known as
hundi/kuu, wolf month, (Estonia's
rahvus/loom, national animal), the Estonian Weather Service's
lume/kaart (snow map) showed Tallinn as having 34 cm on the ground. This never happens in one huge (s)
torm à la nor'easters in Eastern Canada, but has accumulated steadfastly as
mere/efekti (sea effect) snow over the course of many weeks of sub-zero weather, set to continue. It's the same as
Suur järvistu (Great Lakes) lake-effect snow and is nature's gift to kids and winter sports lovers of all ages in an otherwise compromised time. Photo: Ülle Mesikäpp
"
Laud on kaetud!" writes jewellery artist Ülle Mesikäpp from her home in the Tallinn suburb of Nõmme.
Katma lauda = to set the table in preparation for a meal and when the
laud is
kaetud, you're welcome to take a seat (
asuma lauda, võtma istet).
Katma is also simply to cover. This table is covered. In snow. And set. (Ready, set, go! =
Tähelepanu, valmis olla, läks!) The artist continues: "
Kui puudu jääb, saab puu/otsast lisa!" If there's not enough, help yourself to more off the tree! "
Eelmise talve sadamata jäänud lumi tuli ka maha!" Last year's "unfallen" snow has also now fallen. Eesti has not seen a lot of snow in recent winters, but last
talv (winter) was exceptionally, excrutiatingly
lume/vaene ("snow poor"), practically flakeless. This year, ALL of Eesti is snow-covered and is being blessed with the extended
külma/kraadid (cold temperatures) to enjoy it.
So,
mida pakutakse (what's being offered), if the table is ready and set? A
laste/aia/laps (kindergarden kid) might offer a heavily garnished
lume/tort or
jää/tort (ice torte) frozen in a bucket and full of suspended beauty, while someone with a little more expertise in the
köök (kitchen) might find
lume/palli/supp ("snowball soup") especially fitting. What has been made from milk and eggs in Eesti, and is very widely known and enjoyed throughout Europe, is the classic French dessert they call
oeufs à la neige (snow eggs) – pillowy, airy poached meringues (
pošeeritud beseed) in a custard.
Prantslased (the French) also call it
île flottante (floating island), while Estonians plural it up as
ujuvad saared. A true bath of
crème anglaise (English custard) includes double cream, which down-to-earth eestlased tend to skip, but
vanilli/suhkur, if not
ekstrakt, adds a lot.
A bird feeder is a
linnu/söögi/maja ("bird feeding house") or
linnu/söögi/LAUD (table), where
ise/teenindus self-serve is the name of the game, as is the case with a
külm/laud ("cold table" of traditional Estonian savoury foods) and
Rootsi laud ("Swedish table", i.e. a buffet).
Linnud would really appreciate if their
laud was
kaetud right now as well.
Watch Estonian birds enjoying lunch
otse (live) via the bird camera at:
www.looduskalender.ee >
tali/linnu/kaamera. Be sure to also see what's happening on the
hülge (seal) beach on Saaremaa island's western coast via the
hall/hüljeste seire/kaamera (grey seal monitoring camera) on the same page. If you're lucky, you can catch a peek of newborn seal pups nursing and a good amount of rolling and playing.
People often wish each other
kuhjaga õnne – heaps of luck.
Kuhjaga õnne =
kuhjaga lund. The bigger the mounds of snow, the more, the merrier.
Riina Kindlam, Tallinn
