Dynjandi Waterfall (Westfjords, Iceland)

After our stay in Flókalundur, we drove up the west coast to Ísafjörður. On our way, we passed by this roadside sculpture.  I don't know what it is meant to represent, but I found it intriguing.

The clouds came down to touch the mountains as we drove north.

We drove through the clouds high on a mountain road . . . it looks like the world ends just beyond that bit of road.

Our next stop was the Dynjandi waterfall, which was my favorite of the waterfalls we saw in Iceland. It was beautiful, with lots of lovely falls and a nice hike up to the top.

We were able to get quite close to the falls. It was refreshing to be able to interact with its natural beauty without the various barriers I'm used to in the natural tourist attractions in the United States.

We could get *really* close to the falls -- if you look carefully, you can see Q in the lower right corner, right next to the water.

There were also a number of interesting plants along the hike up to the top of the waterfall.  These little puffballs were all over Iceland, creating drifts of white in the fields.  Apparently, this is Eriophorum scheuchzeri (Scheuchzer's cottongrass).

Look at all the different colors of lichen and moss on this rock!

The Icelandic plants are fragile, and tourists trampling on them can damage the ecosystem. These signs and rope barriers protected the native flora from those of us hiking up the Dynjandi waterfall.

We made it to the top! Q noted that the sound of the waterfall was not constant, but varied and included a number of different sounds, depending on the flow of the water.

Gorgeously vibrant green moss lushly textured the rocks next to the main falls.

There was an intriguing vein of red rock at the top of the falls. Ah, if only a geologist had been handy to explain it to us!

After hiking back down, we walked out to the shore and watched the Arctic terns fly over the fjord and perch on the rocks.

At some point during the hike down from the top of the Dynjandi waterfall, Q managed to zip his hoodie and rain slicker together. Upon discovering it, he said that he had inadvertently invented the world's first spiral garment.  "Now if I could zip the right side of the rain slicker to the left side of the hoodie, I'd be a Moebius strip!"

Next up: Ísafjörður

Garden Remembrances

The gloomy sky offers another day of cold rain and I have been struck down by a dreadful winter illness.  In between my bouts of coughing and fevered exhaustion, I can't manage enough energy to do much of anything.  You know what I need?  Summer garden photos.  If we can have Christmas in July, why can't I have summer garden in January?

The garden wasn't really at its best in 2014, as a number of shrubs were damaged or killed by the Polar Vortex.  We lost a big rosemary plant in the front garden and had to severely cut back the hydrangea and crepe myrtle shrub in the back garden.  I still have some work to do to fill in gaps in the back garden that will continue this spring and summer.  The vegetable plot wasn't very productive, perhaps due to the increasing shade from the nearby tree.  But we had lots of new garden art, and there were lovely annual flowers.  We had some very nice (i.e., not too hot) days and I tried to keep up better with tending and weeding.  There were bunnies and butterflies and birds, including a number of hummingbird sightings, which I always find thrilling.

So let's explore the garden, shall we?

Front garden, west side (Aug 2014)

Petřín Hill and the Musaion (Prague, Czech Republic)

Lego Museum

On our fifth day in Prague, we walked to Petřín Hill, a large public park. On our way, we looked in at the Lego Museum. While we didn't actually go in to see the museum exhibits, we ogled the Lego kits in the shop and admired this mural, made entirely of Legos. 

View from the Legion Bridge (Most Legií) over the Vlatava River

On our way to Petřín Hill, we crossed over the river via the Legion Bridge, which was virtually empty of pedestrians (compared to the crush of the Charles Bridge). This photo is looking toward the Charles Bridge.  You can see beautiful pictures of the Legion Bridge here.

Wenceslas Square (Prague, Czech Republic)

After spending the morning at the Mucha museum, we walked around Wenceslas Square in New Town (Nové Město). Wenceslas Square was the site of the 1989 Velvet Revolution demonstrations and the announcement of the fall of communism in what was then Czechoslovakia. The square is now a testament to capitalism, with loads of shopping and eateries, but also has some interesting architecture and public art.

Grand Hotel Evropa

Grave statuary

Why is it that so many of the statues in cemeteries depict female figures? From our meanderings in a cemetery in Montreal, we saw a number of beautiful examples of statuary, particularly female figures. We saw this one when we first came into the cemetery, and were struck by its lovely lines and the eloquent way it depicted grief -- "how original!" we thought. Then we saw several others with the same design, and figured there was some mortuary catalogue with this headstone as one of the designs. *Sigh* It lost some of its eloquence after that. But it's still quite pretty.



This one had a bit of added whimsy, since someone replaced her bow with a stuffed animal (honestly, it wasn't me!).

And, of course, angels could be of either sex (or sexless), but seem to be depicted as female or feminine in many cases:


I love the way that metal gains additional texture with age -- she almost seems to be weeping. I'm not sure what the significance of the large feather is, though.

So, why are women keepers of the dead -- why are we charged with grieving and mourning and watching over the graves? Is this found in all cultures?

Today's visual inspiration

From a cemetery in Montreal, Canada. I love the strong vertical lines in this statue, and the swooping curve of the trailing sleeves. There is something very elegant in the clean lines, and her pose is peaceful and meditative, without being too sorrowful. Again, I see the Art Deco influence in these statues.

New garden statuary

While on vacation on the Eastern shore of Maryland, Q & I got new garden statuary, which was delivered yesterday. This statue/birdbath is in our front garden, and holds the remnants of last night's rain. She looks beautiful, peaceful, and sad.