terrapin gardens

welcome …

Terrapin Gardens is the online home of Rick and Sarah Scully and our two crazy Boston terriers, Haley and Mickey. Terrapin Gardens is also the name of our farm where we raise Navajo-Churro sheep and llamas for their fiber. Soon we will add chickens and a large vegetable garden. You can watch our efforts on our outdoor webcam.

This website is a place were we share a little bit of ourselves and our lives with friends, family, and strangers. The site is made of up a variety of pages that hold our writings, our photographs, and other projects.

The journal is mostly made up of our observations as a married couple, and our 2005 move to Vermont to try a new life on for size. The current journal starts with the first entry Rick wrote in 2002 after meeting Sarah at Atomic Billiards in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of Washington, DC. From there it catalogs the romance, engagement, first house, death of family members, weddings of friends, big moves, and big plans.

Questions? Drop us an email or send us a postcard.

your hosts

Rick Scully was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but was raised in the suburbs of Washington, DC. After graduating from the University of Maryland in 1990 he spent some time in Los Angeles, California where he worked for various environmental public relations firms and advocacy groups.

Shortly after the Northridge earthquake of 1994, Rick returned to the Washington area where he worked for nearly a decade the the prestigious Urban Institute. In 2002, Rick met and married Sarah Tischer and they bought a home in Silver Spring, MD where they lived until picking up and moving to Vermont. After a few months in Montpelier, Vermont, Rick and Sarah settled in the beautiful town of Tunbridge, Vermont.

When Rick isn’t building websites for the clients of Red Clover Design, he helps maintain the website for the town of Tunbridge, Vermont and is a member of the board for Tunbridge Neighbors Helping Neighbors. Otherwise he can be found listening to music, reading books, taking photographs, puttering in the kitchen or garden, or working around the farm. When time permits, Rick and Sarah try to explore their beautiful adopted home of Vermont.

Sarah Scully was born in Littleton, New Hampshire and was raised in Columbia, South Carolina. She spent her summers at Shambhala Mountain Center in Colorado. Sarah graduated from The American University with a B.S. in Audio Technology and now has her own small live recording business.

the dogs

Haley (Hale Bop’s Little Comic) is a Boston Terrier born in Maryland in 2003. She is one of four dogs that were in her litter. When we first contacted the breeder we requested first choice of puppies, and specified we were looking for a female. When we received polaroids of the four dogs, we liked one that had traditional Boston Terrier markings, and expressed our interest to the breeder. Then we learned there was an accident with a vaccine that was administered. All four puppies got sick, and two—one male and one female—had died. Haley was the other female (without the traditional markings) in the litter, and apparently the strongest. She recovered the quickest and we decided to bring her home with us. We named her Haley due to her strength. Now we can’t imagine not having her in our lives. We are still saddened when we think of the puppies who didn’t survive.

Haley is an inquisitive little thing who loves attention and play — especially fetch. She is energetic and willful. She is smart and loves to learn new things. She knows how to sit, roll over, lie down, speak, and a few other “tricks.” She is fearless considering her size, and she loves to give wet, sloppy kisses. Her second favorite activity is licking the floor.

• Photos of Haley
• Haley’s Dogster profile

Mickey came to live with our pack in May 2005 after bouncing between homes. His original owner needed to move to an elder-care facility and so Mickey went to live with one of the the woman’s adult children. The first son’s dog didn’t get along with Mickey so Mick was sent to the other adult child’s house. The other son didn’t have any time for Mickey and so decided to seek help from the Boston Terrier Club of Maryland to help find Mickey a foster home. The BTCM knew we were looking for another Boston Terrier and so we agreed to foster with the option to adopt. Like everyone who meets Mickey, we fell in love with him immediately. While Haley is willful and dominating, Mickey is a cuddler who wants nothing more than to be near us.

• Photos of Mickey
• Mickey’s Dogster profile

the llamas

Kuzco and Guinness are our wonderful guard llamas, who also happen to donate their fiber to the farm. They were born at Autumn Mountain Farm in Danby, Vermont and raised by Don and Sue Mellen—whom we can’t thank enough for all they have done to prepare us (and the llamas) for our adventure. Kuzco was named for the title character in The Emperor’s New Groove, a story of an arrogant emperor who learns humility after he is transformed into a llama. Guinness was given his name because he resembles the colours of one of our favourite beverages. Kuzco is the more dominate male and already shown signs of herding in addition to his guard duties. Guinness has a much more laid back approach to his work, preferring to be quiet and observant to his surroundings. They are both great animals with beautiful fiber.

the sheep

The sheep are named: Aretha, Anisette, Zinnia, Caramel, Nina, and Manta. The first four came with their names, and the remaining animals were named by us. They all have beautiful wool and are hard workers when it comes to keeping our pasture managed. They have unique personalities and they make us laugh.

The sheep live at our farm thanks to the generosity of Marian White of Land & Lamb as well as Tunbridge Woolworks. Marian knows the Navajo-Churro breed extremely well, and has been a valuable mentor. We are glad to call her our neighbour and friend.

Sarah's Photos

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