Month: April 2013

Blessing of Easter Bread on Holy Saturday, March 30, 2013.  Асьвячэньне велікодных страў у Вялікую суботу. Churches in Belarus are standing-room-only on Holy Saturday as parishioners stream in throughout the day to have their Easter foods blessed.   This is a joyous rite which combines the deepest Christian and pre-Christian elements. I set out to… Continue reading Photos of the Day for April 11, 2013

Skiers, north of Kreva on the Smarhon’ road, March 30, 2013.  Лыжнікі, ля дарогі Крэва-Смаргонь, 30 сакавіка 2013 г. These cross-country skiers were taking advantage of the thick snow cover as winter refused to let go at the end of March.

Early Spring Gardening, Tsjerablichy 2012.  Ранняя вясна ў агародзе, Цераблічы 2012 год. Uncovering the seed potatoes in cold storage.  The incubator hothouse in the background contains cucumber seedlings.  Families throughout the Stolin District in the central Pripet Marshes grow cucumbers, mostly for export to Russia.  The incubators are heated day and night until it is… Continue reading Photo of the Day for April 8, 2013

Early Spring, Kreva 2007.  Ранняя вясна, Крэва 2007 год.  

Early Spring.  Kramjanjets 2007.  Ранняя вясна.  Крамянец 2007 год. These girls were having fun sharing a bike on one of the first warmish days of the year.

Digging up potatoes from cold storage.  Выкопка бульбы. People dig up their seed potatoes, carefully preserved through the winter in cold-storage pits, at the end of March in the Pripet Marshes of southern Belarus.  In a land with such a short growing season it is crucial to plant the new crop by the end of… Continue reading Photo of the Day for April 5, 2013

Collecting birch juice, Tsjerablichy 2012.  Збор бярозавага соку, Цераблічы 2012 год. It is an ancient tradition in Belarus, as elsewhere in the region, to tap birch trees as the sap runs with the onset of spring.  The watery consistency of the sap makes it a refreshing juice, most often drunk plain but sometimes flavored with… Continue reading Photo of the Day for April 4, 2013

Preparing plastic sheeting for hothouses, Tsjerablichy 2012.  Падрыхтоўка плёнак для парнікаў, Цераблічы 2012 год. Three generations of an extended family work swiftly to lap plastic sheets, which will form the sides and roof of the family’s hothouses for cucumbers.  Vegetable cultivation for export, especially of cucumbers, is a major source of income for the enterprising… Continue reading Photo of the Day for April 3, 2013

April.  Красавік. Normally one would see buds on the trees on southern Belarus at the beginning of April, as here.  However, the winter of 2012-2013 has refused to loosen its grip, with snow falling continually into the beginning of April. Tsjerablichy 2012.  Цераблічы 2012 год.