Our Icelandic Landscape Crew

About the middle of summer, the grass always seems to start to fade and thin out under the two giant maple trees in our yard because of the dense shad, heat and lack of rain. Our all Icelandic landscape crew has completely transformed our yard so we set them to work on this project. They assembled their very best Lawn watering team for the task! Although their landscape designs might not be for everyone, our landscape crew provides us with hours of entertainment.

We have also been designated as an official wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation we are now Habitat No. 105,533. We have had countless rabbit families raised in the backyard, butterflies abound, robins hatch regularly, hummingbirds are frequent visitors and now we are raising pheasants for release next spring. I sincerely doubt that they had the kind of "wildlife" pictured in our little video in mind when they granted it that Certification. Kaffi and Jolasveinn have the very best time playing together.

A young Robin looking for a hand-out and one of our young pheasants

Fox Meadow Jolasveinn and Trommari discover swimming

Fox Meadow Trommari learned recently that not only could he swim....

but that he really liked it!
His family took him to the lake and he discovered his dog paddling talents!

He was even retreiving balls in the water and paling around with his boy! I bet Trommari will never look at a deep mud-puddle the same again!


Fox Meadow Jolasveinn recently had his own deep water experience with expert swimmer Viking Hippi at his side while visiting Hippi's kennel Mom and Dad, Liz and Bob Hurley



Hippi swims like a Beaver and even clears Beaver Creek of sticks while he's at it. Hipp' doesn't even create a splash when he swims.

Jolasveinn was really enjoying exploring the creek

He had this fabulous idea that he was going out to join Hippi, since he was just "walking around" out there.

Little did Jolasveinn know but Hippi was swimming around in a pretty deep trout hole..... one of the best in Beaver Creek! He bounced over and went right under like a chocolate submarine. It was one of those moments you wished you had a camera and did! Here he is "resurfacing"

Hippi looking out for the little guy led our Chocolate Submarine back to shore

where Jon assisted with the rescue!

My Friends Iceland

It still totaly astounds me how having Icelandic Sheepdogs in your life can open so many doors for you that you never imagined before. One of those doors is the friendships we've made in the Icelandic Sheepdog Community both here in the United States and throughout Iceland and Europe. One of these fabulous people is Brynhildur Inga Einarsdottir at Reykjadals Kennels in Iceland

http://notendur.centrum.is/~borg1

Brynhildur Inga recently had a litter of three Black -Tri-color boys out of her Tofra Homfrildur Hrifla and our Elsie's half brother Thordunu Sera Somi. These puppies will be incredible, both their parents are beautiful examples of the breed. Meet Reykjadals Séra Skolli and
Reykjadals Kópur Páfi
and Reykjadals Bróðir Djákni. they were born on June 23, 2008. These pups belong to the rare "O" family in the Icelandic Sheepdog, commected to it by their dam Homfrildur Hrifla



Brynhildur has been so very generous to share with me her Iceland while out on adventures with her dogs and grandchildren. I have had the opportunity to learn a little about Iceland and the Icelandic Sheepdog through her. It is gratifying to know that ISD owners everywhere are pretty much the same. We all enjoy our time spent with our dogs and family most of all. It is photos like these and information on Iceland's history that help us learn how to be better stewards of this incredible breed in the United States. Learning why an Icelandic Sheepdogs coat must be a certain way, or their ears, why their effortles gait is so important after seeing photos of the snowy mountainous countryside; without them being correct, a dog could not have been able to function in the manner in which it was intended.

A photo taken by another dear friend and native Icelander Maggy Pease while Visiting Brynhildur. A gal in traditional dress in an old sod house at a living history museum. Brynhildur says that....

Þjóðveldisbærinn is the name of this special sod house which was build in 1974 after the one at Stöng that went under the ash from the Hekla eruption back in 1104. Even Reykjadals Mori was able to visit.






I wonder if the original sod house this one was modeled after had an Icelandic Sheepdog like Mori walking around its low walls.... bet it did!








On another Adventure with a very expectant Hrifla.

The Reykjadals gang exploring Volcanic Rock covered in a beautiful thick moss

Mori enjoying a warm day by the falls in Iceland. What could be prettier than this place?

Thanks Brynhildur for sharing your Iceland with me!