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Showing posts from August, 2021

C-17 's

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Ed Reif: Afghanistan Chronicles Ed Reif Afghanistan Chronicles "Fighter jets have the sizzle. Bombers bring the steak. But cargo aircraft like the C-17 Globemaster can always take pride in doing a good day's work." Survival by the Prime Directive At war since 430 BC, Afghanistan tested every principle. Survival came through following an unexpected guide... Star Trek's Prime Directive "In the fictional universe of Star Trek, the Prime Directive (also known as 'Starfleet General Order 1', 'General Order 1', and the 'non-interference directive') is a guiding principle of Starfleet, prohibiting its members from interfering with the internal and natural development of a...

Rock Pool Located

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Your browser does not support embedded video. See Video Fair Isle / Water / Wool / Weather Rock Pools & Roundups One day the island asks you to enter cold water. The next it asks you to move sheep. Fair Isle turns observation into participation. Two Lessons, One Island The Island Does Not Let You Remain a Spectator The source begins with a natural rock pool found with Sarah and Skyelark: cold water carved into the coastline, close enough to invite entry and wild enough to make that choice meaningful. Then the subject shifts abruptly to sheep. “We have to move some sheep. Should be simple enough.” The joke works because Fair Isle repeatedly turns apparently simple activities into lessons in conditions, attention, timing, and participation. The rock pool asks the body to adapt. Caaing asks the person to join the working life of the island. Both experiences reduce distance between observer and environment. ...

Doglets Wanna Have Fun

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See Image Show Text Fair Isle / Skyelark / A Dog's Geography Skyelark's Morning Fair Isle looks different when the world is read through scent, sheep, weather, stone, and the next thing worth investigating. The Island at Dog Height She Did Not See the Edge of the World. She Saw Territory. Human beings arrive on Fair Isle with maps, ferry times, flight limits, weather forecasts, cameras, and stories about remoteness. Skyelark arrives with a different instrument panel. Scent. Sheep. Wind. Tracks. Stone. Grass. Movement. Familiar people. The next turn in the path. That difference matters because Skyelark gives the Fair Isle story another scale. The island is not only something to contemplate. It is something to inhabit completely. Fair Isle did not teach Skyelark how to be present. It revealed what complete presence looks like. Or...

Loading Wool For Market

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See Video Share Fair Isle · The Working Island South Light to the Dock The Good Shepherd Fleece to Market A walk past the South Lighthouse ends at the dock, where Fair Isle’s beauty gives way to its machinery: the Good Shepherd alongside, fleece moving to market, and another chance to stop watching and lend a hand. South Lighthouse Good Shepherd Fleece Working Island Ordinary World The Call Answer the Call Foreign Land Trials The Elixir 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. That small shift, from looking to lif...

Puffin Patrols and Sheep Wardenship: The Rules of Remoteness

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See Video Share Fair Isle · The Geography of Bliss The Working Island The Good Shepherd Loaded for Delivery On Fair Isle, rural tradition is not scenery. It is working infrastructure: sheep, weather, local knowledge, willing hands, and the moment a visitor stops watching island life and begins carrying part of the load. Working Island Sheep Roundup Skyelark Ordinary World The Call Answer the Call Foreign Land Trials The Elixir There’s no place like work when you are home on the range. I was not volunTOLD . I volunteered to help with the roundup and loading — a pleasure to assist with the precious cargo, now ready for market and sale. ...