Dog-Sitting-Days

2020-08-06Us Standard

[Photos taken 06 – 14 August 2020, posted online 06 February 2021. Still no snow in the capital area, the weather has been weirdly calm all 2021, and very few covid cases detected.]

My mother had some health issues which did not mesh well with a super-hyper-excited-sometimes-biting puppy so we agreed to host said puppy for 10 or so days while she recovered.

It coincided with the start of Covid-19 wave #2 in Iceland, so any plans to visit touristy sites during our vacation went out the window anyway, and our lives shrunk back to home-base. (50-ish images total)

Thursday 06 August 2020

Emma with Spori on one of our many walks. He was still young enough to frantically go after random mushrooms, and even poops left by other doggies.
He also got easily tired and scared so he would just stop, and take a lot of convincing to keep going.
Exhausted. Our first walks were probably on the long side for him.
I escaped to a cafe for a bit, there was nobody there.
I also went shopping for some fencing material to close off the backyard.
Finnur figured out a way to make the gate openable.
The big rock got closed off, which had the happy result of stopping kids from using that area to walk in and out of the backyard.
Last little closure. We decided to let the shrubbery do for the rest of the backyard, as fencing the whole thing would have been a lot of work.
Emma had a surprising amount of play patience with Spori. We only discovered a few days later that you really shouldn’t play constantly with puppies though. 😉

Friday 07 August 2020

Anna saying hi. During the first night we had him sleep in her room, but after trying it for one night we re-shuffled and Finnur slept with him in Anna’s room, while Anna camped out with me on the big bed.
Chill time, and Finnur’s face is all “Don’t wake him!”. It would transpire that Finnur’s a dog person after all!
Emma agreed to come and walk with us. Here we are by her school, where a basketball-field was under construction. It was a small step towards bringing the school grounds up to speed with the other schools in the area.
Nervous pit-stop.
Alive still. And still a cat person.

Saturday 08 August 2020

I made it to the gym, which stayed open into October.
Spori guarding two of his favorite outside toys. That black plastic plate and its twin bookended the fencing material.
My toy. Miiiine.
Happy flowers.
Happy kale.
This time Bjarki agreed to come out for a walk, but had second thoughts when we passed the football area where some friends were playing.
By the school again. There are plots there for summer veggie gardens.

Sunday 09 August 2020

I hung out at a cafe in Hafnarfjörður that later in the fall exiled people working on laptops as restrictions grew more stringent. I wondered if those boats were carrying people sailing the world to avoid covid.
I agreed to go swimming with Emma, as the weather was perfect.
Photographic proof for Finnur’s family’s summer swimming competition.
At home, Spori tried his new toy, that would become a great favorite.
I’m very happy to live so close to a green area. I think much of that is/was designated as “elf-land, do not build.”
Checking out the Bhudda stupa.

Monday 10 August 2020

On yet another doggy walk.
Smelling the world.

Tuesday 11 August 2020

Emma went to a football practice, reminding us that school was about to restart.
Icelandic “haggis” and milk. Finnur and Anna would be taking the puppy to the first doggy school lesson, and we were instructed to bring cut-up haggis as reward.
On a walk to the lookout point. I’ll be sad when this spot disappears under houses, which is planned to happen in the next few years.

Thursday 13 August 2020

At his spot by the rose. He hadn’t quite figured out the “return-it” part of “fetch”.
It was a wet day!

Friday 14 August 2020

On Spori’s last day with us, the weather absolutely gorgeous. I brought out the big camera, and took a bunch of photos.
Anna in the yard.
I totally didn’t bite the yellow hose and puncture it.
Practicing a summoning sign from doggy school.
Smelling the flowers.
Later in the day, my brother Bjarni came to pick Spori up.
Last minute play-time.
I can smell the haggis in your hand!
Score!
Paying attention as we figured out how to load his crate into the car.
Such a beauty!
The plastic plate was looking worse for wear.
What’s going on?!
Wait? What? Which? How?
What’s taking them so long?
Throw it… throw it…
Finally, everything was packed into the car, and Bjarni whisked Spori away for a stay in the country-side.