Visiting the Dungeness Valley Creamery

While I was in Washington State, I got to visit the Dungeness Valley Creamery. This is the farm on the Olympic Peninsula that produces the raw milk I drink when I’m out there. I’ve always enjoyed its richness and flavor, and I was itching to visit the farm – last time I tried to do that it was this past Thanksgiving and we were totally snowed in. Freak snowstorm – there was no way we would be venturing out to Sequim at that point.

Thankfully, this time we had good weather – it was much cooler than I was used to (and I was glad it was cooler) – so we made our way to Sequim.

We were greeted by a bunch of calves hanging out in little one room hotel pens.

They were all in good spirits and were happy to nuzzle and lick our hands or whatever was in their way. Really sweet and friendly little (that’s relative) creatures. It was fun to interact with them.

There were some adult cows nearby, too.

They were a bit more nonchalant and content to hang out and observe us. But then at one point, they really wanted to lick my hand while I was petting them, and it was then and there that I realized just how huge cow tongues are.

I was also interested to see where the cows are pastured, and we found the pasture out on the other side of the entrance.

The cows were just hanging out there, relaxing. It was nice to see them out in the fresh air and not confined. The grass is really green and grows in thick rounds – I’m sure it looks delicious to the cows.

In the wintertime they eat hay from the Leitz family Hay Company in Sequim, who gets their hay from eastern Washington. They also feed their cows a little bit of grain, but no soy or corn, only a mixture of wheat, barley, oats, molasses, and minerals. They do not give their cows antibiotics, hormones, cottonseed – not even corn or canola oil! Thank goodness. Their website FAQ explains a bit more as to why they include grains in the cow’s diet. I’ve personally never had a negative reaction to their milk.

I stopped at the little farm store and bought some raw cheddar (“Jewel”) and a bar of goat milk soap, which smells like roses. So pretty – I do love the way goat milk soap feels on my skin, and this stuff smells amazing, too.

I’m really glad I was able to check out the Dungeness Valley Creamery. It’s so awesome to see where our food comes from – I hope to do more of this here in NY, too.

This post is participating in Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop, and Simple Lives Thursday, hosted by GNOWFGLINS.