Autumn

Autumn has arrived, a wonderful time that brings with it all kinds of work in the countryside, including sheep gatherings and roundups.

Some time ago, I came across this picture, which came with little to no information. The author was not correctly credited. It was stated that the German, Franz-Karl Freiherr von Linden, had taken the picture, but he visited Iceland in 1868. The bridge over Fnjóská was built in 1908, so that can't be correct. However, the picture is interesting because it shows a sheep drive, probably driving sheep for slaughter westward over the bridge, into Vaðlaheiði mountain pass. In the picture, you can see two dogs behind the herd. The atmosphere is so Icelandic!

I used the past summer to "practice" telling stories about the Icelandic sheepdog and to explore where people's interests lie in learning about the dog. Every group of tourists who visited us at Lýtingsstaðir received an introduction to the Icelandic horse and the Icelandic dog. It was very noticeable that most foreign visitors were unaware of the existence of the Icelandic sheepdog, but they were certainly not lacking in interest in learning more about it.

I was often asked about the dog's working nature, and it was enjoyable to explain how the dog is used in our vast country to drive the sheep home from the mountains. But through these stories, it also became increasingly clear to me how incredibly versatile the Icelandic dog is, and it is not possible to talk about it merely as a "sheepdog" — it is so much more than that.

The construction of the house for the exhibition is progressing well, but the work inside the house remains to be done. I will make good use of the time this autumn to prepare the setup of the exhibition and hope that it will be possible to secure more funding for the project.