The Return of Black Sheep Creamery
In 2007 a 500-year flood struck the community I was raised in. It was like the Ninth Ward after Katrina. At its highest point, the river had risen more than 75 feet.
Flood waters filled houses four feet deep in muddy river water. The interstate was closed for over a week and families moved from house to house in motor boats collecting friends and neighbors.
Saying you should plan for a 500-year flood is like saying you should plan for an earthquake at every fault line or that you should expect the mountain 100 miles away to erupt. You know it could happen, but no one could expect it.
In truth this flood had nothing to do with Mother Nature but everything to do with the over forestation that lead mudslides and abandoned logs to strike the neighboring dam so hard it destroyed it. It wasn’t a gentle river rise that destroyed the Chehalis valley. It was a five-foot wall of water that swept through like a sea-side wave.
At the time the Black Sheep Creamery had a 100 ewe. By nightfall of December 4 they had less than 25. Most farmers lost everything.
On Monday I took a tour of the creamery where the owners shared their experiences of rebuilding their farm and business.
We started our tour in the barn, built just after the turn of the last century. It had served as the safe-haven for the few sheep that survived the flood by climbing to the small upper loft. Today it is the sleeping quarters for the farm’s 80-plus sheep and two Australian Shepard dogs that guard the flock like mother hens from the area coyotes.
Out back we watched as the adult sheep marched off for their afternoon milking and the newborn lambs took cover from the rain – except for one, who had broken his leg and had to be carried from pen to pen.
As our last stop we crowded into the “cave” - a refrigerated building where the creamery’s hard cheese waits its turn to be cut and sold at the local farmers market.
In 2009 Black Sheep won third place at the American Cheese Society annual competition for their feta – and sadly, it’s resulting popularity meant none was left by the time we arrived.
As a fallback we filled our arms to the brim with fresh, soft cheeses of every flavor – from dried tomato basil to garlic rosemary. Back in the car, I succumb to temptation and scooped a fingerful of the dried tomato basil variety directly into our mouths. Next time I’ll know to come with crackers at the ready. Absolutely delicious.
