The place to be this summer? Of course Stuðlagil in Easticeland. Everybody went there, some did rather stupid stuff and posted it online, but others just enjoyed the beautiful scenery.
We took a daytrip and actually hit on the hottest day this summer. Good that there's a small river on the way where you can cool down and take a drink. Well, it was definitely worth the trip and the walk and I'd love to go there again, but maybe more around the evening, think it could make nice effects for taking pics. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Or was it just a mirage? We got lucky today and had a rather rare visitor in our garden. A butterfly! To be precise a Red Admiral, which is rather big. Butterflies are very uncommon in Iceland, at least those big and colourful we know from Europe. Don't know where it went, but at least I got a few pics. 

 

 

or should I call it "landscaping"? Anyway, I finished the flowerbed at the eastside of the house today. There was a part with just gravel, which I emptied and changed into a flowerbed, too. Jón had already put some driftwood and a handmade bird in there, which of course stayed the way they already were. But the stones had to go and make place for flowers. The plan is to have aquilegia in different shapes and colours alongside the wall and have space for some summerflowers in front of them. Therefore I dug up and planted all aquilegia I found in the garden growing in different places at the new place. Hope they'll start growing well next year. Next to our entrance I'm going to put a pink peony. And then I have to go shopping for plants... Think I'm gonna like that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of my favourite seabirds is the Northern gannet or Súla as it is called in Icelandic. We sometimes see one or two around here when they are hunting for fish, but they don't nest in our area. On the other hand they do so at Langanes peninsula and at Rauðinúpur, a huge rock in the sea just a few meters from the coast where you can walk very close and have a good look at them. I've never been there before, but really liked the place and the walk there. We were more or less alone with the birds, which were rather nosy and had a good look at us when flying by. Great experience!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of my favourite things. And when you get a new garden you never know what you get and which surprises await you. This morning I was rather surprised to discover quite some Birch boletes in the lawn. They are in  mycorrhizal association with our birch trees and which shows that things are working quite well here. Nice not to have to go looking for mushrooms, they just grow in our garden and are edible. 
Later today our golden rain was in for a cut. Didn't like to do it, but it was clearly necessary. Hope it won't be too angry with me and bloom again next year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

we got our sink! Already installed it and I'm loving it! Hope I'll still love it after having to clean it a few times...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...but so clearly worth it! We ordered a glass sliding door for our kitchen and of course wanted it to be unique and good looking. After going through a huge amount of ideas we decided it would look great to have a horsepic in there. And of course not just any, but one I took and changed the way the vinyl plotter could cut it in to etched glass window film. We chose a pic of Aldís running towards us and after many hours in front of the computer, cursing now and then the pic was ready to be cut. Today we installed the pic in the door and I can't wait until tomorrow to take the transfer paper off. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Went on a road trip today to Öxafjörður. On our way back we stopped at a spot we already had seen a lot of cars stop over the time. Decided to have a closer look and it was puffin paradise! Sooo many, sooo close! 

 

 

 

 

 

Today was definitely not Hugleikur's favourite day so far. After having fun with his girls since 10th of May he was castrated today. We never intended in keeping him a stallion as we wouldn't be able to offer him a life worth living as a stallion. Too many restrictions and already too many stallions around. Think he'll be a happy gelding with a lot of friends later on. Things went well and he was up again in no time. Soon he will be allowed to the summer pasture.

 

 

After living with an unfinished kitchen for quite some time now, we finally managed to order and get our countertop. We decided to go for real wood, oak to be precise. Ingólfur's dad helped us cutting and installing it the right way. Afterwards it was my job to sand and oil it. Looks good I'd say. Now the last thing to arrive is the sink. Wonder how long that will take, we ordered in May...

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We decided to take some time off the work at home and take a short riding tour with friends. Luckily there are great places to go very closeby and we have great friends coming with us. 
Bjössi, Ingólfur and me started the ride at Saltvík, each of us with 3 horses as it's a great way to trim all of them and good to change inbetween. On our way to Þeistareykir we met a group of riders with a herd taking a break at Geldingadalur. Think our horses would have loved to turn back home and follow that herd. Sorry, but that wasn't how we planned it. So on we went even over snowfields. At Sæluhús our friend Stefán and his family were waiting for us. After a break we continued our ride over the most beautiful pathes to the Þeistareykir mountainhut where the horses were going to stay overnight. 
The next day we took a ride to the big craters (Stóra Víti and Litla Víti) and from there downhill on soft slopes back to the hut where the horses stayed another night. We rode about 20 km that day.
Today we rode back home, but it was just Bjössi, Ófeigur, Ingólfur and me. The scenery was breathtaking, but the riding path wasn't all the time. I was quite tired afterwards, the horses, too. Anyway it was a great weekendtrip!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There're quite some trees and bushes in the garden that need trimming. And there's a man with tools that was eager to do some trimming. Well, it endet with a horsetrailer full of branches and leaves...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We fetched Vordís from the summerpasture a few days ago as we were counting on her giving birth very soon. Unfortunately we had to acknowledge that she had lost her foal sometime during winter and wasn't going to give birth at all. As we didn't want to drive her to a stallion to just get her not in foal back, we decided to let Hugleikur have a try. So we'll have to wait and see what comes out of that. Of course we hope for her to get pregnant and give birth to a healthy foal next year.

Well, not that lazy as the president of our riding club had invited all of us for a ride and a party at his garden afterwards. The weather was perfect and there were so many more than I had expected. Great to do stuff together in times like these. 
Later today we got great visitors from the east, Pétur and Marietta. Long time since we've met. Looking forward to a great weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful weather and enough to do, so no way to keep me inside doing some flooring! Ingólfur and his dad took care of that and I started to rearrange things in the garden. Saw quite some nice ideas about how to design lawn edges and modified them the way I could use them here. The bed edges are made out of wood which was placed on paving stones. Now it's no problem to cut the grass as you can drive on the paving. Our friend Rakel helped me with making straight lines and levelling the stones. Quite some work, but very interesting. I filled the flowerbeds with compost soil, which we get free from the local garbage disposal facility, and well seasoned horse manure. The plants like that kind of planting ground quite a lot and I hope they'll grow superb roots in their new places. I moved the big peonies and hope they won't be too upset about that after growing in the same spot for many years.