Moving to New Hampshire

Hello everyone, depending on how you get to know me my name is either Freddie or it is Tarzan.

I am half way through the process of buying a home just outside of the white mountains that I have loved for so long! I will be about 35 minutes south of Conway.
I have lived in Mass my whole life and have spent approximately 4 years in NH when the time is all added up! There are many reasons for the move and I am sure anyone from New England knows most of them without explanation.
Here in Mass I have had moderate success vegetable gardening. I have collected upwards of 2000 eggs from my flock of mixed breed chickens and have harvested half a dozen chickens. I love having different looking chickens and I have found that for me no matter the breed their personalities are all pleasant, even the occasional aggressive bird is still fun to be around.
I have raised rabbits and harvested two dozen but decided last year I won't raise rabbits for meat any longer. I am not a good butcher due to my attachment to my animals. I have gotten through the chicken harvesting much easier than the rabbits but would love to find a local butcher to do the dirty work and take my emotional connection out of the mix.

My grand plan- To get into local farmers markets. I wish to sell veggies, misc art, and possibly products made from alpaca fiber!
My current objectives- Earn a profit of 150 dollars per month starting in the 2018 season at the farmers market. Make great friends and community contacts before during and after I get into the markets. If successful in the short term, I want to obtain new land and create a small CSA style group to help me provide great products to the local community including educational opportunity!

I could probably write 5 pages of ideas and plans; However, I have suffered from taking on too many things and have failed to complete various projects by losing focus. So I will only go into detail about my 12 month goals.

My 5 steps for 2017 in NH will be clearing some of the land since it is almost entirely wooded. I will for sure save any Maple's for the syrup and do what I can to work around them.
Setting up a small barn for the animals I wish to have will be a big priority. For 2017 I will only have 2 rabbits and 15 chicken but plan to build a barn this year big enough for my expansion to 2 alpaca and 2 goats in 2018.
I will plant a small raised bed garden along with row covers and a few cold frames to see how long I can extend the growing season.
I will start making contacts with local farmers, permaculturists and those in animal husbandry.
Lastly, I will never allow myself to get so caught up that I can't enjoy the beauty of NH!

I am incredibly excited to become a student of my new land. To learn her good and her bad and to help her help me achieve my goals!

I hope everyone that has read this has a great day and has a big bright smile on! They are contagious, pass them along every chance you get!

I live in Maine as my primary residence and have a commercial sheep farm here, but we have a house on the other side of the state and just north of you, just west of Littleton. Its a nice place, it is just we do not get to spend much time there as we are pretty well locked down here with our sheep for most of the year.

Best wishes on your endeavors. I even did some logging a few years back just about where you live. Nice area but very rugged, at least where I was logging.

Howdy Fred , Welcome to permies! Looking forward to watching and reading about your new place!

Travis, Thank you for the well wishes. It is definitely a rugged area. One portion of the property is on the north side of the house and down hill so that won't be any use for gardening unfortunately. There is a home in that direction so leaving the tree's will probably be a positive thing for the rural feel. Good luck with the sheep farm! I can imagine there isn't much opportunity to escape unless you had a decent size staff you could trust to run the operation.
How many sheep do you have at the farm?

Miles, Thank you for the welcome!

A new, New Hampshirite! Happy to have you, Freddie.

My wife and I are located in the southeastern portion of the state. About an hour and a half from Conway. We'll be setting our homesteading roots central/west; but still close to the indescribably wonderful White Mountains. I've been in NH for just under 30 years, born in MA but we came up when I was 4. With our impending relocation north, around spring 2018, we're always on the lookout for agriculturally-based connections. Sounds like you have a lot going on, have much to give, and are excited to learn.

One thing in particular stuck out; you're in search of a butcher. Well, you found one. I'm a meat cutter full time, with aspirations of beginning a mobile butchery service in the near future. Specifically for home consumption. The retail meat business is so overly-regulated it's insane. But I can cut whatever a farmer needs for their own table. Chickens are very comfortable at this point. I've done a pig, with more planned this fall. Plenty of deer. Always looking for an opportunity to help someone with a cow. Although I'm currently employed with a grocery store, I have aspirations of working at a very small, very well-run slaughterhouse in the area within a couple years. It's just too far of a commute where we're currently located. I plan to become a shepherd of change for local meat/butchery. I could go on, and on, and on, and on...

PLEASE keep in touch. We're up in Conway often. I think a relationship could become quite beneficial. Perhaps a pint at Moat Mountain Smokehouse sometime this spring?...

Be well & God Bless!

Congratulations on escaping Mass.     I am in the Merrimack Valley closer to Mass. than North Conway.  I am looking forward to seeing your progress.

Hey gang!
Congrats Fred! Hope the first month has treated you well..my uncle used to live in Madison, not too far from where you are I believe.
Sounds like you've got a bit on your plate - glad to hear you've got a solid vision, so all the best on your ventures!

Just wanted to drop in and introduce myself...I'm in the process of moving in with my brother and his family in henniker. 30 acres to play with as long as I play uncle from time to time - works for me!!
A bit overwhelmed at the moment with the opportunity but excited to get cracking

May start a thread myself about the property to float some ideas etc but wanted to at least say hello
Cheers all!
Brendan