Skagit River Ranch

One of my plans for the summer was to go out and visit as many local farms as I could. Unfortunately, my car's breaks went on the fritz while I was waiting on my financial aid check, so I decided that driving out to the country was a bad idea. Fortunately, my breaks are now fixed, and I was able to go out to Skagit River Ranch this afternoon. Skagit River Ranch is just outside of Sedro-Woolley, WA - about 80 miles north of Seattle. I have only ever heard good things about the farm, and they have a store that's open on Saturdays where you can buy their products - they have chicken, lamb, pork, and beef (and probably the occasional goat), eggs, and honey.

It was quite a pleasure to arrive on the farm and to find chickens everywhere. They were truly free range and went all over the place - including the parking lot. The sweet lady at the store told me that last winter, it snowed, and there were chickens jumping from car to car in order to avoid touching the freshly fallen snow (but don't worry, they could have gone to their warm chicken coop if they had so desired). I took pictures of the happy chickens, but they didn't turn out so well (my iPhone just doesn't take good photos), so instead, you get to see pictures of the chicks, and let's face it, chicks are way cuter than chickens.

I asked the lady if we could take a look around the farm, and she answered with an enthusiastic yes and suggested that we take a 1/2 mile walk to the river, which took us through parts of the farm, including the sheep and goat pens. There were lots of kids (baby goats - not human children), which were small enough to climb under the fence, and happily played all over the place.

We also got to see several horses, all of which were friendly and wanted either attention or treats. Since we didn't have treats, we petted their faces, and they followed us to the edge of their enclosure.

We didn't get a chance to check out the entire farm, but it was clear that it would have been fine for us to go anywhere. We saw some farmers who were very friendly, though hot (it was 90 degrees). It was lovely to see that the animals were living in really good conditions and looked pretty happy. I'm really looking forward to eating the eggs and ground beef I bought. Fortunately, they have stands at the University, Ballard, and West Seattle farmers' markets, so I don't have to take the 2 hour drive up to the farm to get their food, which I just know is going to be delicious.