No I haven't changed my mind!

With all the news about Iceland many have asked me if I have changed my mind in wanting to live there. Well the answer is no....it hasn't entered my mind to not go...I am captivated by the place and can't wait until I can return. I tend not to worry about those sorts of things...I could be killed in a car accident tomorrow...who knows what is in store and I don't think it matters where you live if something bad is going to happen to you, it will happen where ever you are! Iceland bewitches me, the landscape is incredible and reminds me exactly where we fit as humans in the scheme of things....I am drawn to the place and want to get to know it more intimately.

This picture is of a summer house in Reykir where my son and daughter-inlaw Ross and Olga held their wedding reception last year (remember it was about 22hrs daylight), most of the night we were outside

and this image on that night, with the summer house in the foreground, taken by my sister Kerry, probably best describes the feeling I get from the place.

The photographs that are around at the moment of the eruption still show that Iceland is stunning...there is something about that place and I urge you all wholeheartedly if you ever get the chance to visit...go, go, go!

Here are a few more breathtaking images of the eruption...can't have a blog post without lots of pictures.

Thick drifts of volcanic ash blanketed parts of rural Iceland on Friday as a vast, invisible plume of grit drifted over Europe, emptying the skies of planes and sending hundreds of thousands in search of hotel rooms, train tickets or rental cars. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gauti) #

Long lens view of farm near the Eyjafjallajokull volcano as it continues to billow smoke and ash during an eruption late on April 17, 2010. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images) #

Whilst most Icelanders go about their day to day activity as before and are relatively unscathed by the events of the last few days, spare a thought for the farmers in the vicinity of the volcano who have had to deal with the worst of the eruption. Fortunately Icelandic farmers have large barns where they keep their animals over the winter and have been able to round them up and get most out of immediate danger but the long term effect on agriculture is at this stage unknown.

Farmer Thorarinn Olafsson tries to lure his horse back to the stable as a cloud of black ash looms overhead in Drangshlid at Eyjafjoll on April 17, 2010. (REUTERS/Ingolfur Juliusson) #

Farmers team up to rescue cattle from exposure to the toxic volcanic ash at a farm in Nupur, Iceland, as the volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier sends ash into the air Saturday, April 17, 2010. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gauti) #

This aerial image shows the crater spewing ash and plumes of grit at the summit of the volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier Saturday April 17, 2010. (AP Photo/Arnar Thorisson/Helicopter.is) #

The first of 3 photos by Olivier Vandeginste, taken 10 km east of Hvolsvollur at a distance 25 km from the Eyjafjallajokull craters on April 18th, 2010. Lightning and motion-blurred ash appear in this 15-second exposure. (© Olivier Vandeginste) #

More of these spectacular images can be found at Boston.com

And if you want to know more about volcanoes and their eruptions listen to David Attenborough in Iceland talking about this very subject...some amazing footage on lava flow, Basaltic rock formations and underwater eruptions.

Mother Nature Fights Back!

Iceland is in the news again... as most of you will know there has been another volcanic eruption at Eyjafjallajökull in the south of Iceland...this one is causing more havoc than the others have in the last few weeks.  Mother nature is letting us all know it doesn't matter how advanced we think we are she is still the boss and can stop nations in their tracks if she wants to. The volcanic ash and billowing smoke has caused havoc with air traffic, disrupting flights across Europe.

 There are many amazing images around at the moment, this one is a radar picture of the craters as seen by the coast guard plane on April 15 Image from Iceland Review

 Another remarkable image found at The Iceland Weather Report taken by Ólafur Eggertsson from the farm Þorvaldseyri 

  

 This one is Ash cloud at Grafarkirkja í skaftártungu from Iceland's Facebook page which was added by Ísak Davíð 

Photo by Steini3 and added to Facebook group Volcano Iceland by Carlo Ævi Del Sal

Photo by Kjartan Þorbjörnsson and added to the Facebook group Volcano Iceland by Carlo Ævi Del Sal

 Photo by Fredrik Holm and added to the Facebook group Volcano Iceland by Carlo Ævi Del Sal

Photo by Belga and added to the Facebook group Volcano Iceland by Carlo Ævi Del Sal

This is footage from 1973 and of an eruption in Heimaey, a small fishing village in Iceland. Hopefully no Icelanders or their furry friends in 2010 will have to deal with this type of destruction.

The eruption has temporarily overshadowed the political fallout that is also current in Iceland.  The Black Report was released last Saturday which is an investigation into the financial collapse of Iceland at the end of 2008.  Many bankers and politicians who were less than ethical to downright dishonest in their dealings, actions and decisions were named in the report.  Whilst this investigative team are not about pressing criminal charges they have laid down the framework for it to happen...hopefully justice will be served and those that should pay for their actions do.  However few are coming forward to take responsibility for their role in this financial disaster that is crippling the country...the list of those who have can be found on the Economic Disaster Area website.  

I have found another amazing project to back on the Kickstarter website and in light of everything happening to our planet I think this project highlights the wondrous and majestic nature of the world we live in.  

brain coral #0210-4501 (2,000 years old; speyside, tobago)

image via Rachel Sussman

la llareta #0308-23b26 (up to 3,000 years old, atacama desert, chile)

image via Rachel Sussman

Please take a moment to look at Rachel Sussman's project the Oldest Living Things In The World. Rachel is working with scientists and biologists, traveling the world to find, document and photograph living organisms that are 2,000 or more years old. More info on Rachel Sussman can be found at her website and blog.

 

Truly a Land of Fire and Ice!

For those of you who are interested here is fabulous footage of the volcano erupting in Iceland at Fimmbörðuháls, between Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull glaciers, courtesy of RÚV the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service.
Blogger is having trouble with videos playing correctly at the moment (they are working on a fix for the problem) so if for some reason this does not play go to RÚV.

P.S.
Don't forget it is Earth Day tomorrow!!!