02/22/08 - Shore Road Nursery Has Closed

The good news is that Dave Allen is now working for Olympic National Park, specializing in badly needed restoration work. Our local national park is a treasure. We're glad that its future is in such good hands.

01/16/08 - Signs Of The Season

There was a river otter on one of the rocks. This isn't a very good photo. We are still learning what we can and can't do with our new camera. Our picture of a great blue heron came out better. We don't see as many of them as we used to back in the Boston area, but they like the mouth of the Lee's Creek, maybe because of the fresh water.

12/11/07 - The Annual Christmas Firetruck

12/10/07 - Welcome To Seattle

12/04/07 - The Little Oven

Our friend said they were pretty good, but since they only have a little oven, they only bake bread for their own sandwiches. They smelled right when we dropped by, but we haven't tried them yet. Still, their menu includes croissants, sandwiches and cinnamon rolls, so we expect to review them soon enough.

12/04/07 - High Water

We aren't big eco-disaster tourists, but we couldn't help noticing that Morse Creek was high and muddy. There was a lot of water under the reconstructed rail bridge. With the warm weather, that's probably both rain and snow melt. The Hurricane Ridge weather station was reporting weather in the upper 30s, even late at night.

08/17/07 - Great Sunrise

08/10/07 - The Port Angeles Fine Arts Center: A True Northwestern Rain Forest Gallery

07/26/07 - Driving Time and Distance Map of the North Olympic Peninsula

To help the many visitors to the park and surrounding areas, we offer this Kaleberg Driving Time and Distance Map of the North Olympic Peninsula. It is based on the distances as computed by Google Maps, but we have used our own estimated driving times rather than the Google estimates. Google has some peculiar ideas on how fast one can drive on various park roads, and they still have the Hurricane Hill Trail from Whiskey Bend to Hurricane Hill as an automobile road! We're sure that was a trail, even before Google was founded. We've also taken some liberties in defining certain intermediate locations which do not appear on any map. In general, things like Elwha Turnoff and Hoh River Crossing are not marked as such on any other map you might find, but are useful junction points linking roads and turnoffs, just what you want for planning your drive.

12/02/06 - Dry Creek Farm Updated

We hadn't heard from Harley or seen any of his eggs at his stand or in the markets, so we were wondering. Luckily, Port Angeles is a small town, so we just ran into Harley at the local supermarket and got the story. Basically, it's the season. Less light and an aging flock mean fewer eggs. The big snow last Sunday was a big problem as well. Chickens are tropical jungle fowl, so they tend to stay in the coop when there is a foot of snow on the field. He hopes to have his new hens settled in and laying this January, so we have something to look forward to in the new year.

11/16/06 - A Few Words From Dungeness Valley Creamery

We've just gotten word from Sarah Brown on what's happening at Dungeness Valley Creamery:

Hello to all,

Things are going well on the farm and in the creamery and we thank everyone for their support!

Fall is in full swing and that means two things for us. One, the fields are muddy and cows must come in...and two, the Holidays will be here before we know it. Thanksgiving is next week! Can you believe it? Although we will be closed Thanksgiving Day, we hope that you bring your family and friends out to the farm and visit our creamery beforehand (or after). Come pet the new babies and visit the mamas who provide you with the freshest and creamiest raw milk. Along with the whole raw milk you'll find nummy cheeses made by Mount Townsend Creamery from our "girls'" milk. These cheeses are sure to delight the palette of your Thanksgiving meal guests. Special ingredients make the feast special. Be sure to pick up local foods including the raw milk (with cream on the top), eggs, and freshly baked breads and dinner rolls. Remember, Nash's organic produce store is just down the road from us for your Holiday veggie needs.

Our Creamery store also offers other locally made gift items. You'll find cards, scarves, lavender products, herbal salves, photographs, artwork(BarnArt) and more. For our first Christmas, we will be featuring handmade "KeyAngel" ornaments made by my sister, Kim Bergstrom! All proceeds from the "Key Angels" will go to benefit Children's Hospital. At birth, the Children's Hospital performed emergency surgury and saved her life! She was a patient at Children's for the first six months of her life and wants to support a cause that means so much to her!

Next Holiday season we would love to offer fresh raw jersey cream and that is one of our goals. Another goal is to start making an aged cheese. For this to be possible we must have more help! We need four night milkings covered and one or more morning milkings. Calf feeders are needed as well. We just cannot add on any more projects until this happens. If you or anyone you know is interested please contact us.

One addition to our farm that has helped a lot is our new manure separator! This may sound strange to most of you but this is a huge relief to us as my dad usually spends most of the winter making the separator work. Well, our new one actually works...by itself! That means more time for our new creamery and also more manure solids for your gardens.

On a side note, a few new stores are carrying our raw jersey milk! They are The Olympia Food Co-ops east and west, Nash's (Sequim/Dungeness) and The Gifting Place (Port Angeles). We also have new drop points in Bremerton (Evergreen Market in Bremerton went out of business), Mercer Island, Poulsbo, and Quilcene. Please feel free to contact us with questions about any of these locations or possible new drop points!

Thanks again for supporting local farms and farmers! A community that depends on and supports one another is a healthy community!

Sarah Brown

Dungeness Valley Creamery
1915 Towne Rd.
Sequim, WA 98382
360/683-0716

10/01/06 - Goodbye To All That

We were so busy eating tomatoes, we haven't been updating our website. This picture is of some prize winners at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market. Needless to say, we went crazy.

07/23/06 - River Otters Off Morse Creek Trail

We often see river otters on the rocks or swimming around off the Olympic Discovery Trail that runs from downtown Port Angeles to Morse Creek. There's a little creek that runs down from the top of the bluff a bit west of the storm bypass, and we've seen the otters crossing the trail from that area down to the water. This time we had our camera with us, so we have proof.

07/06/06 - Amazing Yukon Salmon at Bella Italia

We just had dinner at Bella Italia, and we had some of the best salmon we've ever had, and living out here in Port Angeles, that's saying a lot. According to our usually reliable source, this was salmon from up in the Yukon, a bit expensive, but worth it every bite. It was rich and fatty, and cooked very simply. There were no left overs. According to another of our other usually reliable sources, what made this salmon so special was that it was summer salmon, all fattened up, but not very far up stream yet. That's the kind you almost never get in restaurants, let alone at the supermarket. But, we do get it out here in Port Angeles. The word is that this salmon will be on the menu for the next few weeks. If you are in town for the Lavender Festival, this is your big chance to see what salmon can be.

06/17/06 - Dry Creek Farm Stewing Hens

While we were buying eggs at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market, Harley informed us that Dry Creek Farm will be selling stewing hens this coming Friday, June 23rd Monday, June 26th, after 3PM at the farm on Rife Road. These are tough old birds, literally, but properly braised they are amazingly flavorful. They also make wonderful chicken stock, so get one while you can.

04/28/06 - Harbinger Winery Is Open for Business

This is actually a busy week out in Clallam County. First, we learn that Dungeness Valley Creamery is selling raw milk in the Dungeness Valley, and now we find that Harbinger Winery is selling their own wines in Port Angeles. We've been following this for a while, since Sara Gagnon had been making wine for Olympic Cellars for some time, and rumor had it she was striking out on her own. Well, we dropped by her winery, and the wines, all reds, are quite good, and we are looking forward to some good drinking. The winery itself might be in an industrial area, but it is warm, cozy and charming inside. We wanted to settle down on the couch, sip some wine and pass the time o day. You'll get the feeling too. Drop by 2358 Highway 101, Wednesday to Saturday 11AM-5:30PM, or call (360) 452 4262.

P.S. The official Harbinger Winery Opening Bash will be on Saturday, June 17th, running from 7PM-10PM.

04/01/06 - Farmers' Market Nettle Soup

We were pleased to see more farmers and more spring vegetables at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market. As one might expect, things were slow this winter, especially with the market moving from downtown back to the Clallam County Courthouse parking lot. As usual, we went to town, buying carrots, salad greens, flowering arugula, blue hubbard squash and farm fresh eggs. As we always say, "Round up the usual vegetables". (You can tell we are big Casablanca fans).

One big surprise was a bunch of plastic bags marked with a big sign saying DO NOT TOUCH. Needless to say, we did not touch. What was in the bags? Nettles!

One of the local farmers has been gathering the nettles that bloom in the spring and are the despair of all too many gardeners. It is a very good idea not to touch nettles, at least not without a pair of good gloves. Of course, cooked nettles are another matter entirely.

We bought a bag and boiled up some heritage breed turkey stock. Using a pair of ultra sturdy, bright blue silicone rubber gloves, we washed the nettles and popped them into the boiling broth. We also cut up and added some potatoes, and some salt and cracked pepper. A half an hour later, we were in heaven.

Nettles taste somewhere between artichokes and snails. They taste little like kale or collards. Their flavor is much deeper and darker, with a little musty, minty twang. Needless to say, we won't get to have a soup like this very often, but it was rich and hearty, and a definite harbinger of spring.

03/22/06 - Blue Flame Is Coming Back

Blue Flame Barbeque is not closed as we had feared. They are moving to a real, indoors location right across the street on Route 101, just east of Port Angeles. We loved them at their old location with its outdoor smokers, and we are looking forward to trying them out when they reopen as a real restaurant.