broken spirit

Winter's gloomy spirit seems to be gone already. Since I got back, it's been four straight days of the most glorious, yet eyeball piercing sun. That hour of light added while I was gone has made a tremendous difference in the way the country feels. It's a noisier, showier place already, and the tourists are coming back.

Still, I can't be too sad when at almost 8pm the sky is still orange over Seltjarnarnes. The color extends to behind Snæfellsjökull now, the classic snipped volcano-top highlighted against the purple dusk. I'd almost forgotten why J and I chose to live here, so little we've seen the view, but now there's plenty of light to eat dinner in the daylight after a post-work swim.

In the Vesturbær yards, snowdrops are blooming already, bulbs are sending up shoots, and hedges are fat with tightly folded leaf-buds. It's not been above freezing much at all this week, but I guess if you're a plant in Iceland, that can't stop you. I hope they make it through spring.

At work the low-angled sun shines straight in during the afternoon, creating the warm drowsy feeling of being beachside. It's a nice vacation in the beginning of March but not conducive to productivity!

Ship sighting: Engey RE1 is back in the harbor in its usual spot, and I'm watching the progress of BBC Japan across my view right now. It's headed for the docks at Korngarður, so it's probably full of some kind of grain, bound for processing at the adjacent Kornax flour mill that I wrote about last month