Kindurnar okkar fara til fjalla í júlí og eru þar á 2.280 ferkílómetra svæði yfir sumarið. Við förum með þær á traktorum og vögnum í byrjun júlí og sækjum þær svo í september.

Margir hafa spurt mig hvernig við náum þeim öllum heim, svo mér datt í hug að lýsa eins og einni fjallferð fyrir ykkur. 
The area in the mountains is huge and it is far away also. There are two cottages, located on each end of the area, that we call AFRÉTTUR in Icelandic. It is almost three hour drive to the one that is farthest away, so we drive few horses up there, and atv’s and carriages. And then we start to look for the sheep. In that area (furthest North) are not so many of them to be found and if they do, they are caught and put on the carriages and driven to the stable by the cottage. This is done for three days, looking everywhere that a sheep can be found, focusing on finding each and everyone of them.

Það er nánast ómögulegt fyrir kind að lifa veturinn af þarna og því verðum við að finna þær allar.

Fjórða og síðasta daginn fjölgar smölunum um helming. Lína er mynduð frá austasta parti afréttarins til þess vestasta og menn á hestum, hjólum og gangandi fylgjast að með sýnilegri fjarlægð sín á milli. Þannig þokast þeir fram afréttinn og hóa öllu fé sem finnst á undan sér til réttar. Safnið stækkar og stækkar og allar sækja þær í áttina heim, fylgt eftir af smölunum sem hafa það eina markmið að KOMA ÖLLUM KINDUM TIL BYGGÐA.

We start early each morning using the daylight that is now starting to get shorter since the autumn is falling in. At 7 o’clock we are off and at 9 we have started to herd.
 The last day, which is the Saturday, we are usually at the paddock around 5 or 6 in the evening. Sheep, people and horses a bit tired, but happy after a good day’s work. Everyone gets to relax and have something to eat. The sheep go into the “nights-pasture” which has good grass and running water, the people get a good meal, now in the other cottage at the mountains (closest to home) and the horses get some hay or grass and after few hours of relax, they are driven home, since their job is now done.

Sunnudagurinn hefst með staðgóðum morgunmat. Síðan er athugað hvort réttin sé í lagi og tilbúin fyrir réttardaginn. Klukkan 9 byrja réttirnar.
A group of sheep is herded in the paddock and then each farmer goes around with his helpers and gets the sheep in a smaller pen belonging to different farmers. Each sheep has an ear-tag with a number of the farm. Our farm’s number is 45R1 and all the sheep with that number get pulled into our pen. When it is full, we load a wagon of sheep and drive it home with a tractor, releasing the sheep into a grassy field to graze when home. And then we do it over and over until all the sheep have been taken from the nights-pasture and are safely home. 

Þetta er menningararfur okkar Íslendinga og tími gleði, uppskeru og endurfunda. Fjölskyldumeðlimir koma saman og gleðjast saman við vinnu í kringum kindur og lömb.

I get to meet my sheep again and see how they have been doing during the summer. A reward for the work we have put on by raising, feeding and breeding good animals, providing the best of life for them, trying to fullfill all their needs. – AND… I will get fresh new wool to work with.