As the weather was better today than yesterday we fetched our youngsters home. 
First ones to get a ride were Fönix and Kóngur as Snerpa decided it was really stupid of us to try and put a halter on her. The guys went to our stable, where they waited for us to come back and get them to the vet for deworming. Next ones to be fetched were Vordís, Snerpa and Rögnir. We got Bensi and Hrund to help us catch Rögnir and putting him in the trailer, but in the end he walked alone in there (after quite some "catch me if you can" and showing off in trott). We squeezed Vordís in and off we went. Our vet dewormed all 5 and then they were released to the big meadow by the sea.
Now it was time to get Fjördís and her foal from Helluland. Kiddi assisted us getting all the mares and foals in a small paddock, where we caught the couple we were taking home. Back home our vet dewormed the pair, took DNA samples and chipped the little guy. When we were finally releasing them into the field it was already that dark it was nearly impossible to take pics. But good to have them all back home!

New evening, new location, new luck. Went to Höfðagerðissandur to try and catch the Northernlights over Lundey. It was rather windy, but very nice lights. When the show took a break there I drove to Laxamýri and tried my luck there. Think I have to find myself a different spot next, but it was a good start.

We had a few days off from school, one or another thing to do in the South and not been there for quite a time, so we drove there last Friday. As it was impossible to get a place to stay Friday til Sunday for a reasonable price we stayed with Ingólfur's nephew and his family. Hjördís accompanied us.
We used Saturday to meet friends of ours, which we haven't meet for quite some time, eventhough we managed to talk a bit during Landsmót at Hólar. They showed us around their stable and invited us for coffee and more afterwards. Hjördís immediately made friends with the Rough Collie they were babysitting and a very nice 5 year old mare, which was happy to have somebody scratching her head.
Sunday we were tourists, taking a drive east and visiting Geysir. Eventhough the weather was not as its best, there were quite a lot of people around, clapping when Strokkur erupted and taking a walk in the area. When coming home, we fetched ourselves pizza and moved into the appartment we rented from Sunday til Tuesday. A very nice place, with enough room. Hjördís went so to stay with her mum and grandparents.
Monday morning was used to do the necessary shopping, whilst we used the evening to watch an Icelandic movie at the movie theatre and going out for dinner. Things we don't do that often.
The plan was to leave early on Tuesday, which we partly managed to, leaving Reykjavík around 11. The weather wasn't that good on the way home, but no problem when driving reasonably. Took a short stop at Íbishóll looking at the youngsters in training there, chatting a bit with Magnús and prebooking a place with his stallion Snillingur for next summer. Another short stop at Akureyri and then we hurried home. Nice to have a bit of change to the daily routine.

Whilst Marietta dwelled in Switzerland we travelled east to visit Pétur and fetch my new saddle, as I couldn't resist when Benni was offering a tryout saddle for a very reasonable price. So now I'm the proud owner of a nearly new Benni's Harmony Portos Ísland.
When horsepeople meet, they of course talk a lot about horses, have a look at horses and talk a bit more about horses and other horsepeople. This was no different. Of course we helped moving old Hrannar, his wife Sunna and her daughter Blábrá, fetching 3 geldings at a different fence and driving them home, checking the rest of the bunch, cooking, eating and drinking. We even lost the dogs and found them again.
Last but not least Pétur learned how to prepare waffers. 
Alltogether it was a wonderful weekend and good to take a bit of a break from everyday life.

After a good day at the stable training the youngster I used the good weather to have another try at my new spot for photographing the Northernlights.
There was a lot of activity when I left home, so I expected to get some good shots. In fact the lightshow rather took a break when I arrived to just explode when I already had enough and was on my way home... Well, that's the way it is sometimes, no guarantee you get a good shot. Still I like the few I got.
Hope you do, too.
 

Nature in our area has so many things to offer and I think it truly is necessary to teach our kids about it, show them around, allow them to experience and learn to apprechiate what we have. 
We were invited to accompany a small group of boys from our area being cave explorers for one day. There are many lava caves around, most of them difficult to find and the exact place only known by members of the local rescue teams (they use to train there) and a few others. In some caves are lava dripstones, which by any means are not to be broken or taken.
The group was quite excited and had great fun exploring the dark veins under the surface. When they plunged down, you never knew where they would surface again. There was always at least 1 grownup staying at the original entrance to make sure we'd find it again if something should happen. Hjördís came along, too and I think she liked it (except for walking so much).
After a good break, grilled sausages and marshmallows we went for a walk uphill to show the group a sandrock, where countless people engraved their names. We use to go there from time to time, fresh up our names and add the year. Ingólfur has been really interested in this area and knows a lot about it, so he kept telling the boys facts and stories, which ended in one of them asking him if he was a scientist. Think he was rather proud of that.

It was finally time to move the ridinghorses to their autumnpasture at Ísólfsstaðir and so we used the wonderful weather today to drive them there. First to go were Magnús' Þokki and Ösp, followed by Embla and Ögn, then List and Magnús and finally Skuggi and Sigtýr.
The horses definitely recognised the area and were soon wandering off looking for the best place to graze. They'll soon be joined by Fribbi's horses, which were already in a field closeby. As usual the farmer and his wife will have an eye on them and we can be sure, they are in best hands there, just being horses and having a holiday from us.

Instead of going to any horse roundup we decided to tidy our stable a bit before going to meet Sigga and her horses at Laxamýri. And luckily it was as I got a phonecall that our friend Pétur would arrive in the afternoon with a mare that was supposed to go south the next day. 
So after taking the shoes off the riding horses in Laxamyri and delicious coffee and waffers we headed back to Húsavík just before Pétur and his friend Einar arrived. Pétur released his mare into the field, where she got a nice welcome from the horses already there and after watching them a bit we headed for another cup of coffee to Gisli's place, where we ended the afternoon with a very nice chat. So nice to get a surprise guest, eventhough he couldn't stay.