POSTED: Tuesday, Sep. 23, 2008
Squalicum Lake couple goes green on their farm
E-Mail
Print
tool name
closeJim and Gale Frederick don't back down in the face of a challenge.
When they bought their Squalicum Lake-area home 25 years ago, the house was new but it was surrounded by five acres of weeds.
"There wasn't a blade of grass or a shrub around," says Jim, 64. "There were 6-foot-tall weeds everywhere."
The couple didn't bow down to the weeds though, even if their mower did. While trying to cut down the weeds to see just what was under there, Jim broke two mower belts.
"That just made us more determined," Gale, 65, says of the unruly yard.
Twenty-five years later, Gale runs the National Chincoteague Pony Association, raising and breeding the storied ponies on their land. Their place is a haven for bunnies, chickens, fish and all kinds of birds and wildlife within a natural landscape.
"They're my pets and they grace the place," she says of her many animals. "When I come out to feed them in the morning they greet me. They're so cute."
The couple shares their abundant wildlife and their love of nature with family. They gave their grandson slimy bullfrog eggs to bring to class and watch grow, and next time they'll give him and the class chicken eggs and an incubator.
"It's a teaching experience," Gale says of her interaction with nature. "It's in me, and I want to carry it down further and further. It's a way of life and a wonderful way of life."
Though they still battle a few nettles here and there, it's nothing a little vinegar won't tamp down. Pesticide isn't part of the plan on the Fredericks' farm, and with the ponies doing what they do best, neither is fertilizer.
"We're green," Gale says. "We were green before green was green. I grew up on a farm in Custer and my mom was an organic farmer. It was just a natural thing."
Between the pastures and barns, the couple has added patches of flowers, vegetables and fruit trees, all of which benefit from the ponies' byproducts.
"We're sneaky gardeners," Gale says.
She uses heritage plants such as the money tree and the poor man's orchid, which have been passed down from generation to generation in her family. Overall, her philosophy about gardening is casual, rather than meticulous. She doesn't believe anything should be forced.
"If something goes well, I go with it," she says. "Why fight it?"
-
Open Positions
SKAGIT VALLEY HOSPITAL -
Metal Tooling Project Manager
Janicki Industries -
Open Positions
The Markets, LLC -
Finance Director
WTA -
Caregivers
The Courtyard
@Nyx.CommentBody@