Lithuania Top 10 natural events
Lithuania is a country with extremely distinct seasons and every month in it is different. Here are top 10 regular natural events (calendar) that paint Lithuania in different light:
1.Nemunas delta floods annually submerge vast areas of Lithuanian coastal countryside every spring, as Nemunas waters rise due to melting snow and ice. People of the area are well adapted: farmsteads are built on hilltops (that become islands), public transportation is organized by amphibious buses and temporary tractor ferries.
2.Yellowing leafs (October-November) of Lithuanian trees paint the entire Lithuanian nature in deep yellow in Autumn. As the leafs fall, they also cover the ground, making it yellow as well. The Lithuanian Word for November is "Lapkritis" (literally Leaffall).
3.Freezing of rivers and lakes takes hold of Lithuanian waters for at least several weeks each winter. Recreational fishermen love to go ice fishing at the time, while others may walk on ice or even drive (but they should be extremely careful and check the ice thickness). Before the ice cover forms and after it melts the rivers carry floating ices and the hotter-than-air water sends steam into the air.
4.Blossoming (May) turn Lithuanian fields and trees into multicolor canvases in late Spring.
5.Baltic Sea sunset attracts romantic couples to the beaches of Lithuanian resorts every summer evening. As Lithuanian shoreline faces West in its entirety, the iconic "sunset into the sea" is visible from Lithuania's every Baltic beach on clear days.
6.Berry and mushroom season (Autumn) sends entire Lithuanian families to foraging as a hobby. This is perfectly legal, often freely allowed even in private property areas. However, those who are unsure of their ability to distinguish edible from inedible should buy their berries at mushrooms at many forest roadside stalls or marketplaces instead.
7.Harvest season still brings many Lithuanian urban dwellers to the countryside, where they help their villager relatives to do the harvest. Once a nearly universal practice, this becomes rarer as the generations change, but the harvest is still more than visible in a society where agriculture employs some 12% of the entire workforce.
8.Bird migration takes place every Spring and Autumn, as many species of birds spend summers in Lithuania but winters somewhere further south. Curonian Lagoon area falls under massive bird migration corridors and it became the birthplace of bird ringing (Ventė station in Lithuania still operates). One could see flocks of birds in many places during the migrations.
9.Longest day in Lithuania is over 17 hours long from sunrise to sunset. You can read outside all night as it never actually gets fully dark. The shortest night is celebrated by a traditional Lithuanian festival of Joninės (Rasos).
10.Longest night of Lithuania is 17 hours long. Daytime is merely 7 hours, meaning that most employees begin their daily jobs before sunrise and complete them after sunset. Luckily, much of this darkest period falls during holidays, offering nice Christmas illuminations, New Year fireworks, commemorations of Baby Jesus birth, expectations for Christmas presents or just Christmas shopping for the materialistic.
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