About
Circle M Farm
Located on Bitter Creek, Washington State, USA
We moved to Washington in 1994 and proceeded to create a self sufficient small acreage farm where we could live
a simple and happy life. Awwwwwww.......
We purchased 2.5 acres with a year round creek and turned it into an efficient little farmette. It's been a learn-as-you-go process. We've made our share of mistakes but honestly I've done a lot of things I never thought I'd have the guts to do. Like firing a rifle at a predator....and then skinning & tanning the hide myself. We've gone without bare necessities many times. The power goes out in wind storms. The well goes dry in the summer or the pipes freeze in the winter. Four feet of snow and you're schlepping water buckets to thirsty animals.........ALL DAY! Or the vet can't come out and instead talks you through some really nasty procedure with a ewe. EWWWW! Here's a good one, raising your own meat for the first time in your life. There's more but I think you get the picture.
We've accomplished a lot and have a lot to be proud of. Initially there was nothing on the property but a little house and a one car garage, BOTH of which were surrounded by tall grass and clumps of 5 foot tall berry bushes. No barn, kennel, sheds, fencing, landscaping.......nothin'. So we've done a LOT of work to get where we are today but as Marcel will tell you the work never ends.
HORSES
We had horses even when we lived in the suburbs of California but we always dreamed of having them in our own backyard. Now we finally had a nice tidy home facility for them. After we lost Big AL our cherished Skipper W Quarter Horse we kissed several frogs before settling on the horses we have now. We had AL 23 years and he was simply THE BEST. Nothing had the mind or structure and none could touch AL in the personality department. Then we found Stetson (left) who's an all business cow pony & Sterling (right) who's an Aztec (Andalusian x QH) with a calm and gentle nature. We should have fun with these guys for the next 25 years or so.
LIVESTOCK & POULTRY
Poultry are some of my favorite animals to raise. I especially like chicken and geese. All our breeding birds became my pets, my "girls" and each bird had a very interesting personality. Some of my best memories are of my chickens. We had always kept a large poultry yard which provided the majority of our meat as well as being the core of our dogs raw diet. Free range poultry is also a valuable barter item. It's a fact that the only way to know the meat you eat has been treated humanely while raised and then processed without stress is to do the work yourself. We have housed pigs, various poultry, rabbits, goats and sheep until the passing of our Rottweiler Oso. His strong presence had always kept the barnyard and surrounding pastures safe. My health and the ensuing predator problem forced me to give up breeding and raising poultry and stop breeding sheep as I was unable to butcher & process them. Hopefully one day soon we will have poultry & rabbits again. 2012 will see our first lambs in 3 years.
BARTERING, RECYCLING & KEEPING IT GREEN
Our country is the most wasteful on the planet. Why any human or animal goes hungry in the US is beyond my comprehension and is downright criminal. Simplifying and producing less waste is a major goal for us. It saves money, fuel and keeps things out of landfills. We recycle everything we can. Not much goes to waste from the kitchen when you have a variety of animals to feed. Animal waste is mulched and eventually used in landscaping. We don't raise our own produce at this time but raised beds and a green house are definitely in our future. Whenever possible we use the barter system to trade high value lamb or poultry for organic seasonal produce. We have found that bartering is a wonderful way to meet like minded people in your community. Please visit www.PortlandFoodExchange.com. While we can't be considered an organic farm our animals are pastured and we don't use chemicals if at all possible. Instead we utilize natural products like diatomaceous earth, fly predators and nemadotes to resolve any issues that we may encountered in the home, barnyard or kennel.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The farm is a peaceful place most of the time. Other times,
when there are puppies for example, the silence is pierced by the sound of playful Shiba squeals. We have embraced the slower country
pace and continue to work toward our goal of living on a self sufficiant farm. More than anything our farm produces wonderful memories
of personal growth and accomplishment that we can never replace.
Please call 360.247.6452 or E-mail
cefmm@aol.com for information.
QUALITY SOAY SHEEP & POULTRY for sale OCCASIONALLY
This page was last updated: 11/13/2011
Big AL
1984 - 2007
RIP
"Mr. Toes"
7.15.96 - 1.13.11
Pictured sitting on his stool and waving for a treat. Toes knew more behaviors & tricks then most dogs. He was quite a special kitty, loved by all that met him. Note the back half of a lamb in diapers passing behind him.
PLEASE
MAKE AN EFFORT TO CREATE LESS WASTE,
RECYCLE
&
SHARE
it's good for the planet
check out this site
STETSON
