Ruska, the autumn colors of Oulu

Winter has already reached Northern Finland and I’m writing from a white and almost sunless Oulu. Winter is so long in Finland that I instinctively feel like prolonging all of the other seasons, at least in my imagination. With the temperature constantly dropping to below -10C for more than a week, I think it’s probably time to wrap up this autumn season and get into the winter mood.

Did you know?

In Finnish there is a specific word to describe the beautiful colors of autumn: Ruska. The further north you go, the stronger the ruska gets.

The best time to experience ruska is September and October, but it can vary greatly from year to year. Sometimes it comes early and sometimes it comes later. Also, the length of ruska varies. This season is such a volatile one, as even one night of stronger wind can strip all the leaves away from the trees, declaring the ruska season officially closed once and for all, like it happened this year. Fortunately before that happened, we had a few bright days that allowed us to enjoy this wonderful fall show.

With my camera I tried to capture the beauty of this season in my town, Oulu, and I hope you’ll enjoy this virtual tour full of vibrant colors.