In Search of Greener Pastures

One of our reasons for the big trip is searching for the next "Willows Edge Farm" location. We've grown so much and done a lot and so well where we are here in Bothell and yet we have a strong desire to grow and add more in the food department. Particularly grass fed beef that actually tastes good.

me at my home in Seattle with the folks

We, well actually, I, would really like a little more warmth and a little less rain. I am a Seattle girl from the beginning. I was born at the little Group Health hospital and taken home at 10 days old (in a cardboard box, might I add) to our home in north Seattle. I truly am a Seattle native. And yet part of me has always loved the sun and despised the rain.
Yes, I know the rain is what gives the great Pacific Northwest such lush beauty and green pastures. I really do understand that in my head.

My heart (and my arthritic back) though, longs for a warmer locale. A place with big oak trees to sit under and sip some lemonade. A place that has rolling, dry pastures that go on and on. A place for the horses to run with big, long strides. A place to watch our children grow, play and learn. A big red barn. I love those old, big, red barns.

Don't know where it is yet. Thought we had found it a couple times, but it has been elusive so far. This time though, we feel the urge to press on and truly move forward, and take that leap of faith. Spend some real, dedicated, quality time searching for the greener pastures.

Not Fantasy Football. Fantasy Farming. Resolution 3.

Resolution 3 - keep dreaming. 

They guys have their fantasy football teams and I have my fantasy farm. No I don’t play the online game, trade my “animals” or even play with my toys, but I do have them. They sit on my one of my kitchen window sills looking at me every time I walk into the kitchen. Or look out at the real chickens in their pasture.

There are the Fjord horses of course, but you can see there are a few more critters. Chickens, pigs, cows, rabbits, ducks, goats, sheep and yes, there are a couple of those true “fantasy” animals: the elephant and the zebra. No, I don’t really want to raise those, but they are cool animals. The rest – you bet! Earlier this year, those cute little piggies sitting on my window sill were the only ones we had on the farm. You see, I think of my funny little window sill as a visual reminder of my goals. Yes, they are written down and yes, I go back and look them over, but the figurines give life to my vision. Funny as it sounds, it was all a dream.

As I was in the process of selling my prior business, people asked what I was going to do next. I was too young to retire. The dream I had was of a large farm where we would have a variety of livestock animals and groups of people would come out to learn about them. To get up close and personal with the animals, not looking from behind a big glass window. And unique breeds, heritage breeds. Not the genetically modified breeds of today, but true hearty breeds that can have babies on their own, withstand temperature changes and lack of shelter (if need be) as well as be thrifty. Ones our grandparents and great grandparents raised. For good reasons.

For now, until we have our larger farm, I have my fantasy farm...in my mind, on paper as well as my window sill.

Do you like to share your hobby with others? Or is it something just for you?

The Blog is Getting BUSY and Resolution No. 2

2011

Happy New Year! You've probably noticed the blog has had a lot more activity lately. For those of you who are new, I used to be lucky to get a couple posts a month in. Seriously. I like to play outside. When it's warm. So this really is the best time of year for me to get better at blogging.

Spending time with my ponies

One of my gal pals though suggested I add more to the blog. About farm living. Recipes from the kitchen. Activities we do. I always thought of it as more of a way to let people know what kind of events we had coming up or things we are looking to sell. No one wants to know about our "farm living". But, I thought, sure, this is a good time of year to give it a try.

spending time with my students

Wow! You have impressed and encouraged me. I've gotten notes from more people than I ever would have expected. And from all across the country, not just here in my "backyard".

spending time watching  my kids grow

So I have. And it's been fun sharing. It has forced me to write down some of my recipes, instead of just a little of this and a little of that. Which is normally how I cook. By the way, if something needs to be tweeked, I do that on the recipe before you get it.  It also gives ME a place to go back to and find a recipe (yes, I've already done that!) instead of asking myself, "What did I put in there last time?" Yes, I do talk to myself.

spending time with family

This blog is as much for you as it is for me. What do you think? Too much? What do you want to know about life on the farm? More recipes and meal ideas? Using your garden - or how to start one? Farm animals? Farm children (kind of in the same group as the animals some days :-) )? Let me know.

The Future of Willows Edge Farm

We have spent a lot of time in the last few months discussing the farm's future. In the last weeks, we have spent some time putting it all down ... writing out what it is exactly that we are wanting to accomplish with the farm, where we want to go and how we'll get there.

From 2007-08 we saw our little farm grow by leaps and bounds - 1211% to be exact. 2008-09 saw triple digit growth of 266%. 2010 will be another growth year and we are expecting our numbers to hopefully double again. While the growth is good, we will be bursting at the seams come fall.  In this exciting year, we will be adding farm direct sales of pastured poultry as well as more fresh herbs. The first set of broilers have been ordered and will be ready for pick up in late April with the second set ready mid June.

Our parties and tours are already booking for spring and we are looking forward to large growth from these areas of our farm. Finding something new and different is always a great find for parents and we apparently have something they are looking for. It also falls in line with what we love to do: teach about the farm, animals and work with children.

We're also looking at adding one other of our dream livestock animals ... pigs. Don't laugh, they are gentle, kind and highly intelligent animals. They are also easier to raise on a small farm (easier than Corinne's other dream livestock: The Irish Dexter Cattle) and are good breeders. Pork is gaining popularity as a healthy meat protein; recent studies - in comparison to the "old" studies of the 1950's showing pork as highly fatty - show the new breeds as lean, mean working machines. Many studies compare them as BETTER than chicken in terms of fat AND protein! I will guess that they weren't comparing bacon to chicken breast though ;-)

Further into the future, Willows Edge Farm hopes to grow into a larger facility. We are actively searching for that perfect piece of property along with a few sponsors who want to see farming activities, like we offer, be expanded and grow in Western WA. Small family farms are rapidly disappearing - did you know there are more people in prison than farming in this country? We want to be one of those farms that is around for the long haul and continue on for generations to come!