A tourist volcano?

When I arrived home tonight after being out and about all day I went straight to the east windows to check on the volcano.  There are now 2 places where we can see the lava spouting into the air, on either side of the peak. The billowing steam resulting from the lava hitting the snow rose high above and is illuminated with a red glow.  I had hoped to drive over closer to the site, but was waiting for Eman to arrive back from town.  The town had organised a meeting with the police, health officials, Red Cross and everybody who was anybody in connection with the volcano.  But he was so tired he just went to bed and I never got to hear what happened at the meeting....so that will have to wait.

I saw a very hyped up Fox news program tonight from YouTube  and now I can tell you how totally hyped up out of proportion the media really is!!!!!  Do not believe anything you hear on the news outside of Iceland because I am telling you it is the "Chinese Telephone" playing out right before your very eyes.

Toxic Deadly Volcanic Eruption?

www.youtube.com

Scientists says situation unfolding in Iceland could pose danger for entire planet

 You can watch it on YouTube if you really must.
How is it then that volcanologists in Iceland have such a different take on the subject?  Consider today's article in the Iceland Review..
"Haraldur Sigurdsson, one of Iceland’s most acclaimed volcanologists, visited the scene yesterday. He believes that the lava currently spurting from the crater on Fimmvörduháls is related to the lava flow of the 1973 volcanic eruption in theWestman Islands.

“The source of the magma underneath this area is similar. It is located at a significant depth and is then carried up to the crust,” Sigurdsson said. “This magma has risen to a depth of ten kilometers in the past weeks and remained there and then a small leak has spurted to the surface.”

Sigurdsson does not believe that the eruption will grow in volume or that other fissures will open up. “I believe what we see now is the way it’s going to be, little lava, which will flow for a few weeks, maybe months, and then it will be over. But, who knows? We just have to keep following it.”

“It is fortunate that it is in an area where there is little danger so it will probably just be a tourist eruption,” Sigurdsson added."


It is now 1:50 am and I was going to add the credits to the photo above but am way too tired.  I will do that tommorrow!  Stay well!

The Latest on the volcano.....

This photo was taken a 2am this morning, March 22nd, probably 15 kms from our house.   As of this evening at 9 pm the news reports that have come out are saying that the eruption is steadily growing stronger, the fissure had lengthened and the intensity is growing slowly but surely.  The fissure is located between Eyfjallajökull and Myrdalsjökull, at Fimmvöruduháls pass, so now it is being referred to as the Fimmvörduháls eruption, in case you were wondering.  If the fissure widens there is a danger that it could spread to underneith Eyafjallajökull, thereby causing a massive geysir as the tons and tons of water in the glacier erupt and flood the area.  Our home is not in the path of the flood plain or the lava flow but there is a danger of ash fallout and gases...either way, we would be evacuated again, no doubt about that.

Right now we are having gale force winds, so no planes will be flying over the fissure until the wind dies down some time tommorrow night.  So we ask for your prayers for protection for us and all the inhabitants and livestock in the area.  Thank you!

Unusual Sunset for Iceland in February no less

It may be happening folks.....we are on amber alert!

This is where Lena and I crossed the glacial river, Markafjlótt, basically just down the road from our farm.  I did not take this photo, so no credit to me, but this is the view we have everyday.   Love the lenticular cloud!  But that was last year.....

For over a week now, we have had our eyes glued to the Icelandic National Weather Service earthquake page, Iceland's equivalent to NOAA.  There have been so many mini earthquakes under Eyfjallajökull, which is the glacier we see out our east windows, that I have lost count....We don't feel any of them, but something serious is going on underfoot!  Usually there might be the lone one, two or three mini-quakes per month in this glacier.


 So. I phoned the Weather Service this morning and they told me that they will be holding a meeting with government officials  to discuss the matter, so this is happening as I write this!  They will post the outcome of this on their site later today.....Meantime Eman and I decided that each family member will pack one small suitcase with enough clothes and essentials for one week, which we will keep in the car ready to go on moments notice. One danger, which I already experienced last summer is the possibility of natural gas escaping from the glacier, not to mention that we are within 20 kms of this glacier so any major earthquake or volcanic action we need to be prepared for.  


The guy I spoke to from the Weather Service, said there was no imminent danger, then  added "but you never know".   When I told him which farm we are on, he said, oh yes, I went school with Sigrun from Lambalaekur (no idea who she is)  ....and my parents live on another farm very close to you.  Ahhhhh Iceland!

Ok Brandy.....what did you do now?

I just had to post this incredible photo of a boxer who looks exactly like our Brandy in Zimbabwe.  She was my all around best buddy and confidante and my most loyal friend during  difficult times.  She was definitely the Alpha Female as she was the one who ruled the roost.  Her brother, Brindle, played 2nd fiddle to her.

Funny isn't it how we fall in love with certain breeds?  I would love to have another Boxer but not everyone in the family agrees. Maybe someday. Note to L,M,E and Em......please feel free to relate your best memory of Brandy and Brindle.  Those were the days!

Blueberry pie with whipped cream

Stunning.....

I don't know.....stunning is the only word I have for this photograph of a snowflake. What do you think?

Have you seen those Yule Lads?

Four of the original 13 Yule Lads, photo taken around 1757

They have all sorts of funny names like Skyr-gobbler, Window-Peeper, Gully-Gawker, Meat-Hook, Spoon-Licker, and Door-Sniffer, their names describing their modus operandi over the Christmas Season, starting on December 13th.  Each one arrives in turn, leaving 2 weeks later, with the last one leaving on January 6th. I won't tell you here what kinds of mischief they have been up to over the centuries .....let me tell you, you DO NOT want to know what they have been up to!  Their parents are Grýla and Leppuleði, trolls who live in the mountains with their black cat.  Luckily for the rest of the world's children, the Jolasveinar are virtually unknown outside of Iceland. And we are happy for that!

Lately it has been rumored that these naughty guys are to blame for much of Iceland's economic woes and the parents of Iceland's most notorious banksters and politicians are now in the middle of a major identity crisis.

"We just thought they were rather harmless and had no idea they would have such dissastrous effects on the moral fiber of our children" lamented one parent.

In 1857, around the time a guy named Klaus from Finland was awarded the international "Best Choice Ever" for Santa Claus award, the Yule Lads noticed that they still had a ways to go if they ever hoped to compete for the pre-eminent role of Father Christmas in their latter years.  It has been very touch and go for them in this department as the kind and benevolent qualities of Saint Klaus have been a bit beyond them.  However, to their credit, we have noticed some changes over the years including the donning of the de-rigeur red suit and placing of gifts in children's shoes if they have been good.  They who? The Yule Lads or the children?  A profound question.

Here are two of them chatting together in a shop in Hveragerði where they were greeting customers and were overheard discussing the possibility of buying a much needed corset for their mother Gryla.

A few days before Christmas they came to our house!!!  These guys are still up to tricks and are seen here pilfering a type of sausage that they helped themselves to from the fridge, without asking mind you!

Can you believe these guys?  Taking our Christmas leg of lamb out of the freezer in hopes of making off with it without me noticing?

Hey!  That's our leg of lamb you got there! Note the sac bulging with canned goods which they are not bringing to us-- they are taking from us!

You see? I told you they are making progress in their moral development!  In a rare display of repentance they decided to give back everything except two candy canes  which they took from the Christmas tree.  They  also decided that putting it all back in the washing machine was of course the most logical place.

 

After doing summersaults, they are off in the rescue jeep.  That's the jeep that rescues them out of all their disgracefully un-Christmas like behavior.  However, like I said, they have made huge progress over the centuries so this is really not too bad compared to what they used to do several hundred years ago.

The last one, named Candle-Beggar, steals candles or at least used to when they were made of tallow, which is edible.  He must have been desperately poor to have to eat candles.....but that was then and this is now.  Really not sure what he does now with wax candles, but the good news is that he leaves on January 6th when we can all rest easy.....sort of.....until next year.

Somewhere beyond the Blue

Our dear Blue, the orange cat died some time in the night. I had just realized a week ago that she was pregnant, and when I woke up yesterday morning she was sitting in the bath tub in a tiny pool of blood, the beginning of a miscarriage. Well, it was progressing well, two kitten sacs came out but then I moved her to the laundry room thinking she would be fine there. When I went back to check on her later on, there was one more kitten sac on the floor but no Blue! She had jumped out the window and was nowhere to be found. Thinking she was somewhere nearby and would soon return,I waited a few more hours and then by early evening she still wasn't anywhere around so I set off to search the open fields all around the house. She could have been anywhere. It was getting dark and hard to see and this is where I am feeling really bad because if I had not procrastinated and had gone out earlier I would have seen her down by the stream.

I went out again this morning to look for her and finally found her in the grass near the stream about 50 meters from the house. I suspect that she had not been able to push out one more kitten and she died from that, not to mention that it was very cold last night. I had NO idea a cat would die from this!! She is survived by her 5 kittens from a previous litter who are all orange, 4 of whom have found good homes so we shall keep the last one in memory of their noble mom, Blue. Till we meet again someday beyond the Blue...rip sweet kitty and good friend. Life is precious.

A Hug from the Words of Jesus