Fair Isle Shetland

 Found the natural  rock pool with Sarah and Skyelark today. It was cold but not as cold as the Arctic North Atlantic waters.  Caaíng:   We have to move some sheep. Should be simple enough!'

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After a walk down by the South Lighthouse, Skye, Sarah and me went to the dock to see the Good Shepherd unload and load up.. I joined in and gave a hand with the fleece-it's going to market.   View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ed Reif (@edreif)

    The Good Sheperd Loaded For Delivery  There's no place like work when you are home on the range.  I was not volunTOLD, but volunteered to help with the round jup and loading. A pleasure to assist with the precios cargo. now ready for market and sale. Then the regular day begins:

 Skyelark Counts Sheep On Fair Isle Glen, Skyelark's Boyfriend looks after the herd Purpose driven Dogs- Mush! While many dogs are simply  man's best friend, other dogs have additional serious jobs. Working dogs generally have natural instincts that are carefully honed with intensive training to perform a specific task. AKC  and dog breed organizations categorize certain breeds into a "working group." of herding, tracking and guarding That includes our lovely Scottish Terreier, a farm dog, who can herd cattle and here on Fair Isle is having   her internship in tracking Sheep.  Call it OJT On The Job Training! Many canine jobs besides those born for herding include, Service Dogs, Police Dogs, Military  Dogs--- See my story on War Paws) War Paws Detenction Dogs, Search and Rescue Dogs. Bird Dogs, Tracking Dogs, Sight Dogs, Herd Dogs. We love our dogs!  I trained Skyelark based on this course I created, compiled fromt he wisdom of professionala and a...

 Rounding Up The Sheep For Market and loading them on The Good Shepherd We are talking about a relatively small number of lambs – under 1000 – so its all about finding a niche market and selling the lamb. It is an amazing product to eat and because it is so scarce and produced in such an environmental way, it is a specialty product. Bye Bye Black Sheep. You have had a great life on Fair Isle.

What’s my best experience of seeing Orcas, Hawaii? Alaska, SeaWorld?  I’d always say that the best experience I have had of an orca sighting is the one I last had, which is today. Thanks Dan for the Orca alert, and, taking these super-closeup photos with your camera. There’s a direct correlation between orca being seen when the sea is calm., and also we being more aware of wildlife now on the island.

  Small is beautiful Sarah is joined by Skyelark

What to Expect on Your First Island Hop Flight from Tingwall to Fair Isle Shetland island hop flights are also known as ‘puddle jumpers.’ Planes tend to be small and service airports that consist of one tiny landing strip. They’re also notorious reputations for running off schedule due to the vicissitudes of fickle  weather. Think old Cessna planes built sometime between 1927 and 1997. There is no cockpit door separating passengers from the pilot.  These island hop flights are  safe, scenic, and an economical way to get around. The  30-minute flight can save you over 2.5  hours spent on a the Good Shepherd ferry to make the same 23 mile transit. FYI: THERE IS NOT A REAL  A BARRIER BETWEEN YOU AND THE PILOT YOU MIGHT BE WEIGHED ALONG WITH YOUR LUGGAGE. IT WILL BE NOISY IT MAY NOT BE AS SMOOTHA S YOU THINK READY TO FLY? With these expectations in mind, your first island hop flight might be a fun adventure rather than an anxiety-i...

  Sarah waits for The Good Shepherd to pick up provisions. This converted SUV Hybrid  serves as an ambulance for the island too   To not have entirely wasted one's life seems to be a worthy accomplishment, if only for myself.. Enjoying the island, with it's own pace and rhythm, dependent on weather, and the arrivals and departures of The Good Shepherd Ferry and the Airplane service.

  Our Croft With The Kirk and Wind turbines in the background Edgy Another glorious day on Fair Isle. Where? Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland. It  is a subarctic archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated in the Northern Atlantic, between Great Britain, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost part of Scotland and of the wider United Kingdom. And 24 miles from Shetland  MKainland, is Britian's most remote inhabited island Fair Isle,

  Skyelark's off to the races, herding her friends, the Sheeple of Fair Isle

  Here on Britain's most remote island- Fair Isle. A Given Day-Sunshine, no wind, no rain, just wide open spaces

 Swimming in the sub Arctic waters in Shetland, Fair Isle today

Skyelark has a Vet appointment today. Luckily it is a "given day" with good weather forecasted. So the flight to Tingwall Airport should be a burn amd turn...and well be back on the (croft)farm by 430PM... But I packed an overnight bag for the two of us just in case( Sarah's recommendation) .  The opportunity to leave the island and fly into town to buy stuff at the supermarket is the epitome of living on this outpost called Fair Isle... You cant get there from here. 'Only by Ferry 2 times a week in Summer and, weather permitting, by 7 seater plane. I ordered provisions online from Tesco, so they will be ready for pick up at noon. Have this Outpost feeling, Fair Isle and all that isolation.   No man is an island byt in Scotland,  they have hundreds of them, and you can live on them...but its not for the faint hearted. I call a day here strenuous idleness. You gotta fight for things like warmth and food stiffs. We freeze our bread and milk ...so the opportunity to buy...

  Travelling is like flirting with life. It's like saying, I wanna  love you, but I have to go; this is just the way it is. This island is about arrivals and departures. The curious come and go, and the resilient stay. Our extended stay continues and it remains a remarkable one- counting sheep, counting on friends and family and counting on God to see us through the weather, the winds and the day-to-day remains remains of the Summer.. As we advance confidently in the direction of our dreams, we meet with a success unknown in common hours. Fair Isle remains to us other-worldly. With all of our travels sailing around the world----I don't know why they call it planet Earth, because it is made up of lots more ocean.  The geography reminds me of Alaska, Hawaii, The Arctic Circle(Nord Kap), Norway, Scotland and ...who knows what's next, as we live the ecstatic life---. The definition of ecstasy is that you are not doing your ordinary everyday routine....essentially stepping int...

 It took Sarah and me more than two decades, but we eventually made our  first time-million. Since that landmark moment, We've kept a future goal in mind- to be time-billionaires, where our net worth  is measured by control over the hours and days and in the amount of learning and pleasure we get from each week. There are two questions a man must ask himself: The first is 'Where am I going?' and the second is 'Who will go with me?' If you ever get these questions in the wrong order you are in trouble So glad I am with Sarah, my true North always pointing me in the right direction.

Check out our blog: SHARE FAIR ISLE for our day to day happenings- from discovering puffins to eating some of the freshest catches of the day--- lobster and mackerel. In December 2020 Sarah and I spent three weeks on Fair Isle-. After celebrating Christmas and New Year in West Sussex, we were off to America: Sarah on Castaway Cay, Disney's remote private island to keep the attraction Show Ready , and staff happy and healthy with her skilled nursing. I stayed on in South Florida, to continue my Instructional Design project with the US Navy, and was also working remotely (From home in Port Saint Lucie! however) Nowdays, we are back here on glorious Fair Isle, Where Scotland meets Scandinavia and the North Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean...Collected these memories in our trip reports on youtube. Here is the playlist to date: CLICK HERE From A to Z- During the Pandemic you can't just have a Plan B. how about the rest of the alphabet- We took Plan S  Shetlands, and Britain...