Black Mesa Ranch
Snowflake, Arizona, USA
Artisan Cheese
Nubian Goats
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Candy Information and Online Ordering Page
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Updated!
6/07: We have revamped our Ranch Workshop Packages!
In addition to our one and three-day cheese making and goat management workshops learn about our free open- house days and lodging accommodations.
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Award Winning Artisan Goat Cheeses
4 Awards 2005 ADGA National Competition
3 Awards 2004 ADGA National Competition
2 Awards 2005 ADGA National Competition
2 Awards 2004 ADGA National Competition
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Click here to read the online version of Kathryn's booklet
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This site last updated:
March 29, 2008
Š 2000-2008 Black Mesa Ranch Inc. All Rights Reserved
Arizona Grown!
Saturday, February 01, 2003
Moved one of "the bombs" (old propane tanks) from "Trailer Park" over to (hopefully) be able to use for the dairy. Out to dinner at Phineas T’s in Pinetop.
Sunday, February 02, 2003
"Winded-in" day – NASTY out! Batteries were full before sun was up!
Monday, February 03, 2003
Rough framing at dairy - support beams, stair walls, and closets on the lower level.
Framing work at Dairy
Tuesday, February 04, 2003
Rough framing at dairy - storeroom wall, upper level stair hall (vestibule) framed
Wednesday, February 05, 2003
Prepped trailer for trip to Phoenix. To town: PO, McD for lunch, feed store, bank, grocery. Installed 6 troffer lights at dairy
K works on installing troffer light in Dairy
Thursday, February 06, 2003
D to Phoenix – Restaurant supply places, Sam’s Club, HD (pick up 2nd half of big deck lumber order). Left at 5 AM, back by 6PM, good trip. K cleaned out goat house and chicken/rabbit coop, reorganized everything for birthing. Buck rabbit to general population for breeding. K replaced glass in buck barn door with plexiglass.
Friday, February 07, 2003
Cold. High at 35 degrees and some wind. Cooked off 4 ducks made wild rice. Hung new light in goat house.
Saturday, February 08, 2003
D’s birthday! Played, read, drew. Angel doing great, but getting close to kidding. K checked a couple times at night. Got one inch of snow. Ran generator for 3 hours – had to jump start it (again).
Sunday, February 09, 2003
Goof off day, drawing. Set up heater in birthing stall. Angel dropping and bagging up. Baby watch every few hours through the night.
Monday, February 10, 2003
Angel started gentle labor at 9 AM and began kidding at 5 PM. Triplets: one male 8#, female 5.5#, and female 6.25#. Everybody doing exceptionally well. Kids amazingly alert and interactive.
Angel and kids
Tuesday, February 11, 2003
Cleaned kidding stall. Trimmed Angel’s hooves. 3 kids great. Male: Bailey, 1st girl: Coriander (Cory), 2nd girl: Clove. Made bread and animal biscuits. Propane delivery, some at house plus filled “new” tank at dairy. Guy is supposed to come on Friday to hook it up.
Wednesday, February 12, 2003
Unloaded lumber from trailer and doors, etc. from truck. Load of rocks to rabbit yard. Electric work. Dairy: Lower level box set and some wire stringing. Triplets doing great. Spoke with a guy about the Colman Vertex generator: leave it @ A-Z tanks for him.
Thursday, February 13, 2003
Baby watch: Anise. She began light labor between 4 and 6 AM so @ 6 we headed out and set up the birthing stall and waited…and waited. Several sessions of light contractions through the day but little else. We had a late lunch out there, missed dinner and decided to spend that night in the birthing stall with blankets. Triplets doing great even without our constant presence @7 oz 4 X daily of milk. Angel producing milk well.
Friday, February 14, 2003
Still no Anise babies. A few more contraction sessions but she also went out twice browsing with the gang. Gas Guy came to hook up LP tank to dairy - $85 including regulator.
Saturday, February 15, 2003
Anise finally kidded at 5 PM after K went in for exploratory: 2 healthy does! “Mace”: black, brown trim and “Marjoram” brown with white poll. Anise OK, a little torn up.
Sunday, February 16, 2003
Got horse trailer ready to travel. Needs new tries. Loaded JD Blade into truck. Cleaned out kid and doe stalls. Angel’s babies out to stall. Wormed all goats except Trudy and Nutmeg.
The kids in the doe barn
Monday, February 17, 2003
D to Show Low with horse trailer to replace 3 tires, then with K to Flagstaff for goats. Stop at Wal-Mart in Winslow for dog house and baby bottles, KFC for to-go lunch. Got to Flagstaff at 1 PM. Picked up “Artemisia” – a 4 day old doeling, and “Aragon” a one year old buck, in trade for the JD tractor blade.
Ordoño lost one horn to banding (and Guajillo) tonight. Kind of bloody but clean break. Major treatment of Aragon: CD/T, BoSe, Fortified Vitamin B, Wormed with ivermectin, Probios, copper bolus, trimmed hooves (phew!).
Ordoņo loses one horn - OUCH!
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
1:30 AM K did check of goats. Artie was fine, cuddled with everybody. Surprise: Some how Aragon had gotten into buck pen with “jillo (who was very amorous). Door to Kid area was still closed and fence up. Doņo was OK (with newly lost horn) Albon to kids.
Meet Aragon
To Showlow: Pepsi, Wal-Mart, PO, Precision (still no floor drain =2 months), feed store, Basha's for pizza, Solar exchange with a question about a 48 V or 120 V jump starter. Moved Doņo to doe pen. After awhile he lost his second horn getting it caught in a bucket. He bled some, we put blood stop powder on it and gave him some Banamine for pain.
Wednesday, February 19, 2003
Electric work at Dairy. Babies out in pen socializing after each (4 per day) meal – what fun!
Thursday, February 20, 2003
Babies out of big pen for the first time. Tried to go on a walk but didn’t get very far.
The Girls out for a browse
Cayenne has bad diarrhea with some blood. Treated for cocci (Albon 13cc/100# first day, half that dose for days 2-5). Ordoño still “off” but eating well, wound looks good. PM: Cayenne is making pellets!! More electric work at dairy. K took big load to dump.
Friday, February 21, 2003
K to town: Sheetrock and pizza for lunch. Started sheetrocking the dairy, lower level ceiling.
Saturday, February 22, 2003
More sheetrocking lower level at dairy.
Sheet Rock work at Dairy
Sunday, February 23, 2003
Day off. Made rabbit gumbo, bread, animal biscuits. K made final DCH b’day cake of the season and some Juniper-Sage Lotion.
Monday, February 24, 2003
Sheet rock work at dairy in the AM. Disbudded and tattooed 6 kids. (need an “H” for Artie's herd tat). Coriander had a hard time, but K gave aspirin, sat with her most of the day and she seems OK. D to town: PO, Precision hardware for sheetrock, corner bead, and floor drain. Installed new MS FrontPage software for web design.
Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Sheetrock work lower level dairy. Installed last floor drain, started install of tub diverter unit: weird. Afternoon rain turned to thick heavy snow by the 10 PM kid feeding. About 1 – 2 inches of accumulation.
Wednesday, February 26, 2003
Sheetrock dairy, install tub diverter, installed 2 X 2 window. Saw Ordoño sleeping in dog house.
Thursday, February 27, 2003
John called about adopting Jake. Will come by ( from Ash Fork) early next week.
Finished sheetrock and patching lower level dairy. K taped and Durabonded. Tripped inverter a couple of times with an electrical short and found a section of old romex in wall completely chewed free of all insulation by pack rats. Will repair tomorrow. Snow on and off all day. No accumulation, windy.
bare stripped wires in Dairy walld
Friday, February 28, 2003
Mudding and taping dry wall lower level @ the Dairy. Periodic snow, sometimes very heavy all day. No wind, little accumulation. New records all around for milk production, AM/PM/Daily for both Anise and Angel - good work girls!