Winter Creek Farm is located in the shadow of Washington State’s storied Olympic mountains. We purchased the farm — mostly commercial forest — so we could grow some of our own food and experiment with sustainable living.

The farm has 62 acres of commercial forest: Douglas Firs, alders, cedars, cottonwoods, and a few spruce. We also have five acres of pasture land, currently grazed be a few cattle.

Purchasing the farm was not an easy decision. The place had been severely neglected; overgrown with blackberries and other invasive plants, lots of trash, and a 1950s house that was deeply in need of repair. It was also covered in asbestos shingles, which we’d have to pay to have removed and hauled off.

But houses can be repaired or replaced, and we were charmed by the groves of mature alders, small stands of cedars, and 25-year-old Douglas firs. To the south of the property is a major stream with salmon runs, and to the west, tracts of forest run all the way up to the Olympic peaks.

The name “Winter Creek” arose from our first winter on the farm. With the rains, numerous small creeks appear and the sound of running water pervades the forest. With spring, the forest floor fills with bright-green ferns, and the songs of birds mixes with the babble of the still-active streams.

Tracey Capen and Katharine Lee — owners