Ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcanic eruption appears to be making farmers’ corn and grass grow better than usual. One farming couple, Kristin Magnusdottir and her husband, Sigurjon Eyjolfsson, were recently making hay and cutting grass in Petursey, among the areas affected worst by ash fall from the recent south Iceland volcano.
Eyjolfsson said that they had been afraid of the possible pollution in their hay, but they are now feeling positive as the summer is going better than they could possibly have imagined when the ash started raining down. There is a 1-1/4-in. thick ash layer at the roots of the grass, but by rinsing it they hope to remove it. The flip side is that the dark color of the ash seems to be heating the soil more, speeding up growth and causing the cornfields to be extremely productive.
Tourists have been known to collect ash in baggies for display back at home, to which we say, knock yourself out. Take all you want. We’ll make more.
(For the latest news about volcanic activity, visit www.pressan.is. Click the Union Jack in the upper right hand corner for English).
USA Today calls it “volcano tourism.” No matter what you call it, visiting a world-famous volcano will surely be the highlight of your Iceland vacation. Here is a sample of tour operators ready to show you the sights:
For a while there, you couldn’t turn on the news or watch a comedy show without seeing a reference to Iceland’s virtually unpronounceable volcano and its once-in-a-lifetime eruption. On one day alone, there were over 16,000 news stories about the eruption, according to a Google search. Today sent Al Roker over to cover it; a Saturday Night Live skit imagined Bjork singing to Eyjafjallajökull; and David Letterman quipped, “The big volcanic cloud from Iceland is making its way over to New York City. They say that the city’s air quality is actually improving.”