Rosalie and her passion for angoras
It all started in 1989 when I was still in college at U.C. Davis. I needed a break from my pre-med classes and took a night course on handspinning. This course took me a lot further than my other night class: belly dancing... The teacher raised Angora rabbits and I became fascinated with these lovely creatures. I purchased one English angora rabbit and was easily seduced. I started showing them for conformation and brought some rabbits to Grand Champion status.
In 1991, I moved my herd of 12 rabbits ( + 2 dogs and 2 cats) to St. Louis, Missouri to attend Washington University Medical School. I continued to show for just one more year and found out that I actually really loved dyeing and handspinning yarn and garments. By 1994, I had become “the rabbit lady” in St. Louis and was featured in the St. Louis Post Dispatch as a vendor in the Best of Missouri Market at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. I was honored that Peter Raven, the head of the institution bought a pair of bunny slippers from me.
I got married in 1996 to James McCarter and moved into a historical neighborhood called Lafayette Square. My herd was drastically reduced to 1/10 of its size to accommodate for city dwelling and medical school and residency. I kept the fiber business going during these tough years. By 1998, I was recognized nationally and published in “Handpaint Country” by Cheryl Potter.
2001 and 2006 brought the birth of my 2 sons Ernie and Alex who have since kept me busier than the large herd of rabbits I previously owned, medical, and residency combined...
In 2008, I achieved my American dream of owning my very own farm. I was able to move my rabbits to the country and breed them again. My goal is to obtain a registration worthy red colored German angora rabbit in the next 10 years.
In 2012, I achieved another goal of owning angora goats. I have dreamed of raising them for the past 20 yrs and I could not pass the opportunity when the McCauls of famous Indian Springs Farms retired and sold their herd.
By 2018, my herd of German angora rabbits number about 80 animals and my goat herd blossomed to 50 opinionated goats, including a few boer/kiko goats and one loud mouth Nubian named Molly.
To contact me via email : truongr@me.com
Goat shearing
Rosalie takes price in shearing her goats herself. In 1990, she took a sheep shearing course by a visiting New Zealand instructor who came to UC Davis to teach his shearing skills. She practiced on a commercial herd of Columbia sheep. Did you know that a Columbia ewe weighs about 150-200 lbs? Barely tipping the scale at 100 lbs, Rosalie learned how to handle and shear an animal twice her size. It took her 6 hours to shear her first but by the end of the one week intense course, she could shear two sheep. And of boy did she become strong! A 70 lb bale of hay was just a feather compared to the 200 lb ewe with flailing hooves.
