Days 27 & 28: Berserk

Becca Jr. and lambs.

The least motion-blurred closeup I could get.

Another two-day post! Not much has been happening here at Hestur. The good weather has continued, as has the pressure washing, which has been going more slowly than it should because the replacement pressure washer is not as powerful as the original one. The leader lambs have been moved outside, to their delight and our slight disappointment.

Can you find all the sheep in this picture?

Eurasian oystercatchers. Not sure what they are doing here on the farm.

In the evening, Carly and I teamed up to make supper for the following day, since both chowder and whoopie pies are better on the second day than the first. She made the chowder, following her grandmother's recipe, and I made the whoopie pies (definitely at least my grandmother's recipe, quite possibly older). The shortening to butter substitution caused the cookies to spread more than rise, and the texture and color of the frosting was noticeably off. However, extensive quality control tasting suggested that the flavor of the whoopie pies would turn out just fine.

Conjoined twins???

Nope.

Polled ewe after I interrupted her scratching session.

We finally had a break in the labor strike during my night shift. I was hoping it might start a chain reaction of lambs, but alas, it did not. The first of the two lambs was so large and had such large hornbuds, they popped off during the delivery! This should not cause permanent disfigurement. Another ewe alarmed me by suddenly starting to breathe like Darth Vader. Snaedis and Helgi believe it is a mild, opportunistic bacterial infection that will resolve itself after the ewe gives birth, but she will be closely watched and treated if necessary. When Carly arrived, she also noticed that there is a ewe who is shedding down to her skin; Helgi explained that this sometimes occurs after a ewe has recovered from a fever. This particular ewe has been treated for mastitis, which is the likely cause.

End of the labor strike!

The subsequent day I pulled one long day shift in an attempt to finish the pressure washing and associated tasks. Snaedis and Helgi know that Carly and I don't like to leave a task unfinished, but they'd also like for pressure washing to not be the last thing we remember doing in Iceland, so they gently suggested we try to finish promptly (we both tend to clean more than is necessary in the interest of being thorough, which of course takes additional time). When I told Carly of this, she got a weird look in her eyes. I didn't know it then, but it was the beginning of some kind of berserker rage like they talk about in the Sagas. After a double shift for me and a single shift for Carly, we stopped for dinner. In addition to heating up the chowder from yesterday, Carly prepared some "lobster" rolls. "Lobster" because Icelandic lobster is actually langoustine, which tastes and resembles a lobster/shrimp hybrid (the rolls were still quite good). The whoopie pies were indeed a little off in texture but as tasty as normal. The chowder was a hit as well. To our surprise, since milk, potatoes, and fish all factor prominently in Icelandic cuisine, neither Snaedis nor Helgi had tried chowder before!

Majestic sunlit ewe visible from the laundry room.

Dyri inspecting our work.

Lamb chewing on... something. Really not sure what.

The minute dinner was over, Carly dashed back to the barn to cover both my night shift (which was going to be covered by Helgi) and her own, intending to pressure wash the whole time. Helgi asked her if she was sure, and she was. After having worked with her this afternoon, I certainly wasn't going to get in her way! I can only assume that the poop jumped off the pens in terror of her presence.

Milk break.

Moving on.

Group siesta.

I have run into this ewe twice now. We are not friends yet.

Off to complain to the others about me walking by her.

The scenic loaf.

Farm fields, and sheep, and mountains. Still not tired of the view.