I believe in a world where humans live in harmony with the wild things of the Earth and with each other, where we take care of our neighbors and don’t waste the resources that the Earth gives us. I believe that if we take something from the Earth, we should give something back. The Earth can give us indescribable joy and we should accept it and nurture it.

I was thinking about the Earth one day, many moons ago, when I ended up riding the Sammamish River Trail with a friend and saw a beautiful row of trees with farm land beyond. I remember thinking it looked like a paradise. It is.

Winking Cat Acres is a tiny farm in Woodinville, WA. It is on the beautiful piece of land I saw from my bike. It’s filled with all kinds of wildlife. There are deer, coyotes, salamanders, frogs, and bats, as well as many, many kinds of birds. Winking Cat Acres was created out of a desire to protect the beauty around us by cutting down on agricultural plastic, giving back to the land, and spreading the gospel of sustainable farming.

I am Rachel Troutman. I worked on a farm last year and went through the Viva Farms practicum to have a chance at fulfilling my dream of having my own farm: to work on the same piece of land that feeds my soul. Now the dream has come true!