Greetings From Central VT!

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  • February 1, 2013 at 1:44 pm #44474
    Taylor Margison
    Participant

    Hey all,
    I’ve been on here for a few weeks, and just now found a moment to introduce myself!

    My family and I live in central VT, not far from Mr. Carl Russell. 🙂 We are just starting out on our farm journey, in the “Planning and Development” stage, so to speak, and we are very excited to see where we can go with it. We have a deep love and commitment to our land and our animals and we’re working towards something we hope will be completely sustainable.

    So far we have 20 chickens, 8 ducks, and 2 geese. This year’s plan includes a massive raised bed garden, meat birds, a couple dairy goats, bees, and angora bunnies for fiber. With three young kids it’s hard to have livestock that don’t also double as pets. 🙂

    I have quite a few years under my belt training riding horses, which often included some driving work, and I can’t wait to have a nice big draft horse to help me out around here. That’s when I’ll know I’m doing ok!

    I’ll be headed to NH for the Game of Logging classes in a few weeks and I am so so nervous! I’ve never even started a chainsaw before, this is whole new territory! I imagine it’ll be worth it when I can head into the woods with confidence and do what needs to get done.

    I look forward to seeing what y’all have going on in your neck of the woods, learning a lot and being able to contribute where I can.
    Brightest blessings and have an awesome day!
    – Tay

    February 1, 2013 at 6:21 pm #77223
    Carl Russell
    Moderator

    @Taylor Margison 39616 wrote:

    …… I have quite a few years under my belt training riding horses, …….

    I have a standard practice when buying horses….. you know, a quick way to see what I’m dealing with. Folks will tell you all kinds of things about what a horse has done, or can do, or whatever, and they’ll say “throw a harness on’em and you’ll see”.

    Well, I decided years ago that I’d cut through all that crap, and tell the seller I’d like to see what they can do with the horse (that is supposedly so good), because I have no question I can get what I want from the animal, I just want to see what they’ve been through.

    Most times, especially with the bluff and bluster ones, they decline…..

    I bought a horse from a 14 year old girl once, and when I asked, “Can you show me what you can do with her?”, she said “SURE”!! and show me she did….. and that horse is still one of the best horses I’ve ever had….. although she don’t look so good now…… because she’s blind :p.

    Welcome Tay, Carl

    February 1, 2013 at 9:30 pm #77229
    Taylor Margison
    Participant

    🙂 Thanks Carl! You are a huge inspiration to me, and one of the few people I can really “talk horse” with. I truly cherish our time together and all the wisdom you have shared with me. You took that gangly, goofy 4 year old filly and turned her into a true work horse, blind or not 😛

    Get ready for more visits from me once we get some better weather, I’m coming to pick your brain!

    -Tay

    February 2, 2013 at 12:41 am #77226
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Welcome aboard Taylor, glad to have you registered for the GOL classes in February. Looking forward to meeting you then.

    John

    February 4, 2013 at 2:24 am #77230
    Taylor Margison
    Participant

    Thanks John! I can’t wait!
    – Taylor

    February 4, 2013 at 3:15 pm #77224
    dominiquer60
    Moderator

    Welcome Taylor,

    “I’ll be headed to NH for the Game of Logging classes in a few weeks and I am so so nervous! I’ve never even started a chainsaw before, this is whole new territory! I imagine it’ll be worth it when I can head into the woods with confidence and do what needs to get done.”

    You will love the GOL course, I was in the same boat a few years ago. Just this fall I finally got to the point where I can go down to the limb pile with my pair of steers and cut up a couple loads of firewood on my own. You won’t regret it, just always respect the saw!

    When you find that good work horse, don’t worry about it “not looking to good” down the road, because as long as it works good for you, it can work well and not look good. If you watch Carl’s mare work you can hardly tell she can’t see squat, a true testament to a teamster being a good leader.

    Best of luck with your new farm, don’t be afraid to use the search option above, bring up and old thread, or start a new one.

    Erika

    February 4, 2013 at 4:53 pm #77231
    Taylor Margison
    Participant

    Thanks for the welcome, Erika!

    “When you find that good work horse, don’t worry about it “not looking to good” down the road, because as long as it works good for you, it can work well and not look good. If you watch Carl’s mare work you can hardly tell she can’t see squat, a true testament to a teamster being a good leader.”

    I think that mare of Carl’s is just as good lookin’ now as she was the day I walked her the 7 miles home as a 3 year old. 🙂 If my truck is any example, looks don’t count as much with me as reliability and work ethic do. I’ve been cruising the classifieds for a while now, just getting a feel of what’s out there. I want a horse who has the power to work efficiently as a single hitch, with some spirit and good brains. Looks and training are the two qualities at the bottom of the list.

    “You will love the GOL course, I was in the same boat a few years ago. Just this fall I finally got to the point where I can go down to the limb pile with my pair of steers and cut up a couple loads of firewood on my own. You won’t regret it, just always respect the saw!”

    That’s good to hear! Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one who doesn’t know how to run a saw! We’ve been blessed with kind, “city folk” neighbors who are willing to let us use their 180 acres of pasture and woodland for our little farm. The pastures need to be reclaimed, and there’s a lot of down trees in the woods, so I think those will be our first two major projects to tackle. I’m definitely going to start searching around here and gleaning all the info I can on reclaiming pasture. We’re getting a few goats this spring (for dairy) that will hopefully be the beginning of our managed grazing program.

    Thanks again for your support!
    -Taylor

    February 4, 2013 at 5:03 pm #77227
    sean518
    Participant

    Thanks for joining us, Tay!

    We just had our first litter of French Angoras here after getting two does and a buck about a month ago. They’re interesting rabbits, nothing like what I was used to from the rabbits I had when I was a kid. Good luck with everything!

    – Sean

    February 4, 2013 at 5:49 pm #77225
    LongViewFarm
    Participant

    Greetings Taylor,
    Congrats on setting out on the never-ending journey. I’m right there with you on the reclaiming pastures and managing woodlots.
    I’m looking forward to meeting you when you come down for Game of Logging. I’m certain you’ll love it, and will take a lot out of it.
    Enjoy the day.

    February 5, 2013 at 2:13 pm #77232
    Taylor Margison
    Participant

    @sean518 39693 wrote:

    Thanks for joining us, Tay!

    We just had our first litter of French Angoras here after getting two does and a buck about a month ago. They’re interesting rabbits, nothing like what I was used to from the rabbits I had when I was a kid. Good luck with everything!

    – Sean

    Thanks for the welcome Sean!
    I’m really excited about the rabbits! We’re waiting on a litter from a breeder of english angoras in upstate New York. There is literally no one who sells them any closer so I think we’ll have a good market for our litters. We’re connected with a local spinner who has a couple french angoras and will be a good outlet for our fiber. We went with the english because of their excellent temperments, which will hopefully make them a little more tolerant of our kids. I think we’re going to to go with 3 does and a buck. Building cages has become my winter project! I would love to hear more about your bunny journey, and see pictures too! Do you have a thread going?

    Congrats on setting out on the never-ending journey. I’m right there with you on the reclaiming pastures and managing woodlots.
    I’m looking forward to meeting you when you come down for Game of Logging. I’m certain you’ll love it, and will take a lot out of it.

    Thanks Jay, I look forward to meeting you as well! Carl told me you guys were just getting into draft work. I would love to see what you have going on!

    -Tay

    February 5, 2013 at 4:24 pm #77228
    sean518
    Participant

    Where in NY did you get the English Angoras? The French Angoras seem to have very calm temperments to me, are they not supposed to?

    I started an Angora thread here:

    http://www.draftanimalpower.com/showthread.php?6174-Angora-Rabbits

    February 5, 2013 at 6:36 pm #77233
    Taylor Margison
    Participant

    @sean518 39704 wrote:

    Where in NY did you get the English Angoras? The French Angoras seem to have very calm temperments to me, are they not supposed to?

    I started an Angora thread here:

    http://www.draftanimalpower.com/showthread.php?6174-Angora-Rabbits

    Awesome! I’ll go check out the thread!
    From all the research I’ve done, it seems that the english angoras consistently have the sweetest personalities. The french angoras our friend has tend to be nippy with our kids, and another they are related to is really mean (his name is Diablo, lol). But I think that there is certainly a range of personalities within the breed. A lot of people have the french because they have short fur on their faces, ears, and feet, which means they are less likely to develop “wool block”. It also means less routine maintenance brushing.
    The breeder is in Hudson Falls, near lake George. I almost got a deal on several older does but they went too quickly. Her breeding does are on break for a couple months, so we’re on the list for the next couple litters. I can’t wait!

    – Tay

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