Fair Isle: A Way of Life - The Sheep Farming Tradition
🐑 Fair Isle: A Way of Life
The ancient tradition of sheep farming
🌅 The eternal rhythm of sheep farming on Fair Isle
Tradition
⚓ The Second Oldest Profession
Sheep farming is the second oldest profession on Fair Isle... haha... Fishing is the first! These two ancient ways of life have sustained this remote island community for generations, creating a rhythm of existence that flows with the tides and seasons.
🏝️ Fair Isle's Twin Pillars
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1st: Fishing From the sea
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2nd: Sheep Farming From the land
🐑 The brainiacs of the barnyard
Intelligence
🧠 The Secret Life of Sheep
The secret life of sheep — and how these supposedly dim animals show guile, fear, and an ability to pick me out of a line up of crofters. They're condemned as dimwits, but sheep are actually the brainiacs of the barnyard, capable of fear, boredom and happiness.
🎭 Complex Emotions
😨Fear
😐Boredom
😊Happiness
🤔Guile
They can even pick you out of a lineup of crofters!
These Shetland breed spend up to 12 hours a day grazing. So Sheep, try everything for the blades of grass, and Lambs try everything to die... is the expression.
🎬 The intelligent world of Fair Isle sheep
Separation
💔 The Emotional Reality
Tomorrow, we ship out the lambs. Separating them from their mothers will mean a lot of crying by both of them. Wow. This is the hardest part of sheep farming - the emotional bond between mothers and lambs is profound and heartbreaking to witness.
😢 The Hardest Day
When lambs are separated from their mothers, both cry. The maternal bond in sheep is incredibly strong, and this moment reveals the deep emotional complexity of these animals.
🐑 💔 🐑
A reminder that farming involves both joy and sorrow.
🧬 Ancient Wisdom
"The rule of thumb is that the more primitive the sheep, the cleverer it is and the more complex its emotions. Super-bred industrial farm sheep have brains 20% proportionately smaller than their wild mouflon ancestors on Shetland."
"If there are stupid sheep, it is only because we humans have spent 11,000 years making them so."
Daily Life
🚶♂️ Island Rhythms
Life on Fair Isle follows its own pace. While sheep spend 12 hours a day grazing, humans find their own rhythms. And in other news: Skyelark's Daily Walks are Superb! Roll Video:
🌱12 Hours Daily Grazing
🌅Dawn Morning Rounds
🌤️All Day Weather Watching
🌅Dusk Evening Check
🐕 Skyelark's daily walks - another island rhythm
🏝️ A Way of Life
For thousands of years, sheep farming has been woven into the fabric of Fair Isle life. It's more than just agriculture - it's a relationship with the land, the animals, and the ancient rhythms that connect us to our ancestors.
🐑 ➡️ 🌱 ➡️ 🧶 ➡️ 🏠 ➡️ ❤️
From grazing to wool to warmth to home to heart - the eternal cycle continues.
