In this strange place the baby lambs always seem to come in pairs. Even more surprisingly some of them are piebald, like tiny furry cows. It was lambing season when we visited, so the roadside was dotted with hundreds of these adorable creatures. Some of them were just so cute that Adrian would suddenly veer off the road so that we could stop and admire the way their little tails flew back and forth as they fed.

John pretended not to think the sheep were very cute, and made mock grumbling sounds when ever we stopped to take a closer look. However, Jay, Adrian, and I all voted that they were completely charming. These regions of Iceland were reminiscent of Tolkien’s Bag End, and I expected to see hobbits emerging from their holes. The turf keeps the houses snug under the snow during winter, and during summer they sprout a vibrant green top.

We have been so lucky with the weather since we have moved to Belgium. Many days present us with bright blue skies, and the ground is bursting with life. We celebrated the weather by taking an eight-year-old friend of ours to the Kasteel van Groot-Bijgaarden tulip festival. She saw her first moat and drawbridge, and spent most of the time running around and attempting cartwheels on the grass. She was so disturbed by the dying flowers bent over with age, attempting to lift them back up again, and sighing when they limply hung down in surrender. We also took her to Atomium and Mini Europe. She was even able to press a button to demolish the Berlin wall, but didn’t seem particularly awed by this event. She was much more impressed with the echo chamber in Bruxelles-Central than by the Grand Place. On the train home, we entertained her by seeing how long she could hold her arms vertically upright. It was at least 15 minutes. Strangely, she thought this was a Very Fun Game.