Day 17: Bónus, Waterfalls, and Urine

I started my day at 330am to switch shifts with Melissa at the barn. I opened the door to see a dusting of snow on the fields. This unusually cold spring has been tough on the sheep and us. The cold, rain, hail, and snow has put a halt on us being able to let groups of moms and lambs out to the fields which means we need to continue making room for the new moms and lambs we have already lambed out in the three barns. The moms and lambs that are currently out in the fields, with the help from their leadersheep, Becca Jr., have found different spots to protect themselves and their babies from the wind and wet. 

There is a bit of an overhang on the house and I saw the lamb (in the picture below) napping by the door. He and his mom have been sleeping against the house regularly now, and Carly and I have run into him before. I tried not to disturb his nap, or run him off from the nice shelter, so I took another exit from the house. 

It has been a very uneventful doing the early morning shift. All the sheep are still sleeping, or just waking up and hoping for some food. In the past few days, it seems to only be Melissa being graced as the chosen sheep midwife. The pregnant girls have had their feeders shut at night for a few days now and they have come to accept it. There are still the odd ewes that stand on the feeder and give me a staredown, but most are very close to (or past) their due date, making them very uncomfortable and without the energy to continually stare me down without a payoff. 

Staredown for food

 Without anyone lambing, I check on the lambs that need a little help nursing, or supplemental bottle feeding and the ewes with health problems. I am happy to say our two ewes with milk fever are recovering nicely. Both have nice warm ears, are up and moving, and are happily eating their extra portion of grain and hay, to their neighbors' displeasure.
Helgi came to switch shifts with me so I could get a quick nap in before heading out to do some sightseeing. Our first stop was at Hespuhúsið, a wool dyeing studio run by a woman named Guðrún. 

Although it is usually by appointment only, Snædís was able to get us in last minute because some of the yarn at the studio has been made from wool from Hestur farm. What makes Guðrún's studio so interesting is that she uses traditional techniques and plants to dye her wools. In fact, she did a Master's thesis on the traditional uses of native plants in Iceland, Sweden, and Denmark, and has written a book on just the Iceland botanical traditions with the attached folklore (I have already pre-ordered my copy). One of the very old techniques for wool dyeing was using urine to set the dye. We were all a little bit put-off by the idea, but she went on to explain some of the mysteries behind why urine works well and one big chemical component is ammonia. She has only tried to use urine once to set a dye and it was with cow urine. She put an ad in the newspaper asking for help and a local dairy farmer provided her with what she needed (after a few questions). It took close to 200L of cow urine and over a week of heating it, letting it cool and oxygenating the mixture. (I could not imagine the smell.) She said urine from different species (including human) and ages creates different color changes and no one is really sure why (if anyone in the chemistry field is looking for a Master's thesis). And if you are wondering (because that was my first question), the wool, once rinsed, does not smell like urine after the process. We segued from urine into the native plants used and what color they turned the dye. Plants including lupine, different types of lichen, spruce cones, onion peel, etc. 

She had plenty of dye pots going in the studio and we got to see the rainbow of colors she was able to produce by all parts of the plants. 

Some colors cannot be made from native plants in Iceland like blue, purple, and pink, and the plants required are imported or have become an invasive species on the island. Hot pink, on the other hand, can only be made from a South American beetle that lives on cacti. This beetle is also used for hot pink food dye as well (something to think about when you are biting into a pink colored baked good). 
We spent about equal amount of time picking out yarn to purchase. 

Melissa pondering if she should get a skein of every color

All of the colors she had available were mesmerizing. It really got all of us motivated to knit our own Icelandic sweaters. Before we left Guðrún suggested we go see her very beautiful and a bit spoiled Icelandic chickens. 

Chicken Whisperer Melissa

While we were on our way to our next stop we saw a local stable moving some of their young horses to another field by running them along the road with a dog in the front and a dog in the back. It was an amazing experience, making Carly very happy.

Our next stop was to get a quick meal from a bakery in Borgarnes and stop at Bónus to pick up some licorice candy for home (I got all of your favorites, mom!). Bónus is a grocery store with a disturbing pig icon that both terrifies and mystifies. I also picked up a reusable bag so that I can mystify those at my local Hannaford the next time I get groceries. 

Once we fueled up, we headed out to Húsafell to go see Hraunfoss, a very beautiful waterfall. It had been raining most of the day and the sky opened up for just the right amount of time for us to check out the waterfall and get back into the car. 

After a great day of sightseeing, we returned back to Hestur for a nap and prepare for our night shifts.