“I just don’t want to screw this up.” We were walking a dirt road on the outskirts of the property, slowly making our way to Tom’s favorite apple tree when he said this. I recognize that moment as the point in my visit where my perception was reset. This man wasn’t just a simple farmer, this was someone acting on a desire to make things right-to be the change we all want to see more of. Instead of making excuses and talking the talk, here was Tom indeed living the dream. Taking in the astounding beauty that is (and surrounds) Woolley Farms I understand his desire to protect it and how waking up to this view everyday is motivation enough to do so. These 53 acres are home to 17 Romanoff sheep, 10 Jacobs ewes and 2 Jacobs rams, 40 chickens, 15 ducks, 6 pigs, 5 goats, 1 miniature donkey, and Stella Luna the livestock guardian dog. Of course there are the human inhabitants as well, though they are far outnumbered by their animal companions- Tom, his wife and a part time worker by the name of Rich that helps tend to the menagerie. Their neighbor is another well known and loved farm- Skagit River Ranch, of which Tom raves about and credits the owner, George, as his mentor.

Woolley Farms come to find out, was made possible by Toms daughter, Sarah Moore. It all began with Sarah’s wish for unfettered access to raw milk which then led to the family as a whole voicing their desires. Toms wife, Elaine, wanted sheep and Tom wanted a space where he could spend more time doing his woodwork and maybe trying his hand at cheese making. Soon enough, these yearnings blossomed into a plan eventually giving birth to Woolley Farms. Remarkable isn’t it? We all speak in terms of “wouldn’t it be great if…” or “one of these days..” but rarely, if ever, does one meet folks that see these pipe dreams to fruition. This place, these people are pretty extraordinary…they reminded me of the power of family, of community. They also made me wish my own family was less on the dysfunctional end and more on the pro-active, loving, supportive part of the stick- speaking of pipe dreams right? That morning, I pulled up in good time- Tom had just come in from a 5 mile run and was preparing to sit down for a bite to eat. He made me a mug of ginger yerba mate tea before allowing me to interrupt his breakfast with a round of questions. We talked about cooking and books, running and his struggle with weight loss. He showed me pictures of a man whom I thought to be twice his age and indeed double his weight- turns out they were old photographs of him. The transformation was shocking and I felt flattered to be privy to such a personal struggle and the success story that followed. Happier and healthier, Toms new habits of running each morning and signing up for local races (he just completed a 5k) made me feel a wee bit on the lazy side…Ive been skipping my morning runs pretty regularly as of late. With Tom, there’s an intensity there, a passion…hes spirited and energetic without being overbearing.

Heading outside, I met the animals and toured the grounds. The pigs were huge- bigger than I had expected. In my last post I spoke about the rare Tamworth breed. They are good lookin’- their color is somewhere between the copper of a penny and the hue of a natural redhead. We scratched at them and watched them nuzzle around in the grasses. Continuing along..in and out of barns, through pastures, an interesting meet and greet of Woolley Farms inhabitants. A miniature donkey in particular captured my interest. I honestly didn’t even know there was such a thing…a miniature donkey?! That donkey has officially been added to the list of animals I should own. Time flew by as we ambled along…”You cant buy this life you know…you have to work for it.” Truer words have not been spoken.”I have about 35 different things I should and need to be doing and Ill probably have more by the end of the day” Tom says this with a mellow air that is foreign to me- checklists of errands are unnerving and stress me out to no end. 35 things?! JesusGod…no way, the mere thought of it makes my stomach squirrelly. But its apparently different here, for him-and for all of us really (we are all in this together)…this is important work. Its not a matter of just getting it done and moving on to the next. The care that goes into each individual project is the daily hum of life- a hum that takes the form of an enjoyable rhythm as opposed to an annoying buzz. The crisp silence breached only by the soft noises of the valley, of the farm….the sounds melodic in comparison to the cacophony of the big city. A girl can get used to this kind of quiet.

Interview with Tom Gibson.

What do you find are the biggest challenges you face owning a farm?
There’s just an endless list of things to do…and it takes so long to do anything. Any single item on my list of errands swallows up 3 hours it seems. Fixing fences and just regular old maintenance, trips to town to run errands- it all takes so much time. There’s just not enough hours in the day.

Whats for sale? crops?
We sell pork, lamb, organic seed and I’m trying my best with vegetables. I had a bit of a kale catastrophe last year- I grew too much. We also want to do more with our fruit trees..maybe have a “U-Pick” available for folks who want to come out and get their own.

What is of the utmost importance to you?
The welfare of the animals. I want to focus on heritage breeds and its important for me to be raising these animals right. I shop at the co op and they give me all their vegetable scraps so my pigs get a good variety of foods. Its all in the details to make sure its good all around.

What would you like to see change in people in relation to food?
My message would be- eat grass fed! Whats the point of feeding grain to animals that don’t eat grain? It doesn’t make sense and it causes so many problems..with the environment, with the animals, with the food itself- how it tastes, the quality etc. Also, if you’re going to eat animals seek out animals that are raised well. The only way this can be done is small scale and locally.

Whats your favorite thing to eat that you raise or produce?
Without a doubt- bacon and duck eggs.

Your proudest achievement here?
I haven’t given up! There have been times when Ive wanted to sell the farm but we managed to hold on. Im proud that our family is able to do things that most folks cant or are afraid to do. We did it- we have ourselves a farm. And with our farm we are able to help others…which I like…we donate to food banks…we take care of this land and provide good lives to our animals which in turn provide good food for our community.

When are you busiest out here?
Winter is slow…spring is hard. We deal with flooding in the Skagit Valley which is difficult. Its hard to deal with and the clean up isn’t so pretty either.

Share any good books? Cookbooks?
“The Grassfed Gourmet” is a good one. Also, “The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook”…its so detailed, step by step with pictures! Anyone and everyone can learn to cook out of that book. I bought a copy for each one of my kids.