What I See: September 2011

Friday, September 30, 2011

Churches, grave yards and a tree

This historical area was very near our farm. Then, on the farm, was a church with a grass roof. The graves are not very deep, so the ground is very lumpy.

Skaftafell area

We drove over to this glacier and took a short hike, for an up close look.

The light was in and out. The rain was off and on, but we had a delightful time watching the giant blue ice floating. We walked along the shore in the rain, looking at the ice that had washed up on the shore.

Thorbergssetur cultural center

I spoke this morning with Sigurlaug this morning about the area we were at yesterday. I asked if the glacier was on a farm, since the road was very developed. She explained that the government built up the road, in order to prevent flooding along the ring road. She also explained that the farmers are able to add developments and the government gives them grants. She told us about a museum down the road on the farm of a famous writer. We stopped and it was really, really nice. It was pouring rain when we stopped and by the time we left after lunch, the heavy rain had stopped.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Farm Stay #6 Brunnholl

This is Sigurlang. They have a dairy farm. They have just built this new building. It opened in May. They were so tired from the construction process that they didn't do a lot of advertising this year, but they still had a lot of people. What is striking about the new building is the floor. What is great, is the story. Sigurlaug was eating out at the restaurant in nearby Hofn. This local guy had installed a floor, made from black stones & epoxy. She was thrilled to find her new floor! She was so excited that on her way out of the parking lot, she hit a gigantic rock and put a big dent in the car. She said that when she got home, she told her husband first, that she had found her new floor and second, that she had wrecked the car! They installed in floor heating underneath it. They used two different size stones, for two different areas of the building. She said what is amazing is that she only has to use a vaccuum on it. They do have a wet vac, if something like milk gets spilled. She has been super pleased with how the floor has worked out and also, how little work the floor has needed to stay clean. They had some leftover mixture and made a few pot holders. She gave me one to take home.

Also, notice the giant sliding doors to the outside. They are motion activated. Tonight in the pouring rain, their little farm dog came by. The door opened for him and he stood there with giant puppy eyes, but did not come in. The door would then close. Then, he'd move a little and the door opened again. This process went on 3 or 4 times, before he finally decided to move on. It was really cute. I think Zephyr would like to have a sliding door installed at our house.

Hiking to Flaajokull

The farmer's wife suggested that we drive down a 8km road and hike to the glacier. The drive was ok, but very slow. It took us an hour to get there. Good thing that we are listening to an interesting audio book..... The photo of Darwin shows the giant lake that the other photos are missing. We hiked up very close to the glacier, until the path had been washed out. The weather was dark and gray. About half way back, the sun broke out, for about 60 seconds. I saw that it was coming, so I had my camera out and ready. Then, when we got back to the car it started raining. The last photo shows that the glacier has once again disappeared for the evening.