Sheep Trail Adventures

So much has been happening lately, and I hope this year will bring both plenty of work and a lot of satisfaction from it. The materials for creating the map are practically all collected, and this year we want to finish that part of the project. At the same time, we will slowly start gathering new materials needed for the book.

Today in Suðureyri there is a celebration of the Day of the Sun (at 3 PM there will be coffee and cake at the local community center), although the first rays had already appeared earlier. The weather in the fjords is definitely more wintry than in Reykjavík, but even so, this winter has been treating us quite gently.

While walking through the village, we came across a huge flock of ravens. Beautiful animals. They have learned to make use of leftovers from the fishing industry, and as you can clearly see, it benefits the local population. I counted around 30 individuals, but there were definitely many more around.

End for today...

Still beautiful… This winter is surprisingly mild for us, with both its advantages and disadvantages.

Einir (Juniperus communis) is one of the few woody plants that occur naturally in Iceland. In a country where forests have almost disappeared and environmental conditions are exceptionally harsh, juniper has survived as a low, spreading shrub, well adapted to wind, cold, and poor soils. Icelandic botanists have long pointed to its special role in the native flora, emphasizing that this species was present on the island even before human settlement.

In folk tradition, juniper held an important place in household medicine. Ethnographic records collected in Icelandic archives show that infusions made from the berries were used for digestive complaints and conditions broadly described as bodily weakness. Twigs and needles were added to baths intended to relieve muscle and joint pain. Juniper smoke was also widely used. Burning the branches served to cleanse homes after illness, after the death of a household member, or following long absences. This was not disinfection in the modern sense, but rather an attempt to remove what was considered harmful or undesirable. Similar practices are known from other parts of northern Europe and fit well within the wider context of Nordic folk medicine.

Juniper also played a protective role. It was believed that branches placed near the entrance to a house could protect inhabitants from illness and misfortune. In Icelandic tradition, the boundary between healing and belief was fluid, and juniper belonged to the group of plants thought to be especially effective. It was not cultivated. It was gathered only from the wild, which reinforced the idea that its power came directly from nature.

For a long time, knowledge about juniper was based mainly on tradition. Only in recent years has the plant attracted greater attention from a scientific perspective. In June 2025, Icelandic public media reported the discovery of the oldest known living juniper in Iceland. The shrub was found in the northern part of the country, in the Mývatn area, during fieldwork conducted by botanist Dr. Paweł Wąsowicz. Its age was determined to be approximately 500 years based on dendrochronological analyses. The studies were carried out using minimally invasive methods in order to avoid damaging the plant.

This discovery changed previous assumptions about the longevity of plants in Iceland. Earlier, the oldest documented junipers were estimated to be around 280 years old. The newly identified specimen proved to be significantly older and became the oldest known living vascular plant on the island. Researchers point out that the extremely slow growth of juniper favors the preservation of clear annual growth rings, making it a valuable source of information about past climatic conditions in Iceland and the North Atlantic.

Although even older junipers are known from northern Scandinavia, the Icelandic specimen from the Mývatn area is of particular significance. It survived in conditions where most woody plants are unable to persist for long periods. Its history shows that in the Icelandic landscape, durability and the ability to adapt over long spans of time matter more than size or rapid growth.

The last rays of the sun falling on Göltur and the full moon. This time, just one photo taken with a camera. It’s hard to post several when this single moment takes your breath away.

The conditions are still more autumn-like than wintery, but we managed to head out for a beautiful sunset combined with the full moon. 🌅🌕

This year the winter is one of the mildest I can remember, but there’s no reason to complain. June is still a long way off.

Holtasóley (Dryas octopetala) can survive even the most extreme conditions of the Westfjords. It is therefore no surprise that it is Iceland’s national flower.