Roadtripping, northern Iceland
Getting close to Varmahlið, Iceland. Going the speed limit, enjoying the light. Photo by Eric Guth.
Iceland
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Heading north, Iceland
Moving on. Big wind, big waves, and we’re on the road to northern Iceland. Lunch stop in Búrðardalur. Photo by Eric Guth.
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At Play: Hraun-Háls, Snæsfellsnes Peninsula
(Post 1 of 3) It’s our second day on the farm when Eyberg and Lauga offer to show us what they do for fun. “My hobby,” says Eyberg at Hraun-Háls dairy farm, “my tractors.” It takes about two years to restore one of these machines to mint condition. This one belonged to his wife’s uncle….
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(Post 2 of 3) Raising sheep is Lauga’s hobby, and she is darned good at it. This is her room, within the sheep barn, where she spends the nights during lambing season. All of these framed certificates are prizes she has won. Lambing can be very quick, “Sometimes is starts and finishes within one hour,”…
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(Post 3 of 3) Before we leave Hraun-Háls, we visit in the kitchen over cake, whipped cream and fresh milk. Eyberg drinks almost nothing but milk – about 4 litres per day – and the sample he shares with us is rich and delicious (4.4% fat). We look at the trophies they have won for…
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At Work: Hraun-Háls, Snæsfellsnes Peninsula
(Post 1 of 5) We arrive to Hraun-Háls dairy farm in time for the evening chores. Eyberg and his wife Lauga are the farmers here. “I was one year old when I moved here in 1964,” says Eyberg. Lauga is the sister-in-law of our last host, which is how we ended up here. The farm…
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(Post 2 of 5) These are Icelandic cows, and each one in this barn has its own name. This is just one clue to the care they receive here, another is the yield. The average milk production for an Icelandic dairy cow is 5400 litres/year; these ladies give 7700 litres/year. “They have hay and very…
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(Post 3 of 5) “These cows are my friends,” says Eyberg, but that’s not quite what he means. He searches for the words in English and pulls his hands to his chest. “They are my good friends,” he continues, “my good friends.” There’s one cow that’s nervous about being milked. She recently had her first…
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(Post 4 of 5) Lauga hooks the milking machine overhead and gets to work. While she milks and feeds the cows, she is also checking on the new calves and the pregnant mothers. She shows me where to place my hand, near the base of the cow’s tail, in order to assess when labour will…
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(Post 5 of 5) You can’t mistake love when you see it. Guðlaug Sigurðardöttir and Jóhannes Eyberg Ragnarsson, Hraun-Háls, West Iceland. Thank you. Photo Eric Guth.
