Black Mesa Ranch
Snowflake, Arizona, USA
Artisan Cheese
Nubian Goats
Cheese and Candy Information and Online Ordering Page
Featured pages on this site
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Alternative Energy (updated 10/11)
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David's Culinary Blog
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New!
Take a 4 minute "tour of the ranch" on YouTube .
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Award Winning Artisan Goat Cheeses
4 Awards 2010 ADGA National Competition
2 Awards 2008 ADGA National Competition
4 Awards 2005 ADGA National Competition
3 Awards 2004 ADGA National Competition
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(available seasonally)
1 Award 2010 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:
April 15, 2012
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Endorsed by more than 36 humane organizations, the Certified Humane Raised and Handled® program is nationally recognized as the Gold Standard for certifying animal welfare.
Arizona Grown!
Caption
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Found and ordered a replacement motor for the cement mixer ($120).
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Coriander, a first freshener, really never looked pregnant at all. However once, a couple weeks before she kidded, she walked by Kathryn and two little hooves actually kicked her - so we knew she had at least one kid working in there! Following Stella’s lead, Cory kidded 3 days late but gave us a beautiful, incredibly active doeling, “Annie”! This doeling was up running around and practicing her jumping at just an hour old. She is sturdy on her feet and seems determined to make up for the extra 3 days she had been held captive in the womb. This girl definitely hit the ground running! She is a very long, level girl and our friend Amanda was thrilled to bring this wonderful little girl home with her. Cory is doing great and glad to be back at work in the milking parlor.
3 bucklings from Stella. Stella was 3 days overdue to kid and so big that she seriously waddled when she walked. For several nights we had been putting her in the birthing pen to keep an eye on her. Amanda, a friend from New River, AZ, was here to help for the week and she was planning on taking home a beautiful daughter from Stella. At 1 AM Stella finally decided to lose her load. Well, it wasn’t much of a surprise that Stella had triplets. However, we were stunned when they ALL turned out to be BUCKS! Three wonderfully healthy, robust boys (Padlock, Blackie, and Tiny Tim) – 7.7 #, 8.2 #, and 6.2# respectively. We have a little birthing/pregnancy mantra here at Black Mesa Ranch that we often recite to our girls in-kid. It starts out with, Healthy Mommas, Healthy Babies, etc… Stella did just great following these directives. Next year, maybe she can figure out the birthing schedule and be on time – and maybe even with a couple of girls!
The guys from White Mountain Fuels delivered the 500 gallon dyed diesel tank today. We set it up on the South side of the powerhouse. It’s on a tall stand and was supplied with 24’ of 1” hose so we should have plenty of length to get into the generator and fuel the tractor conveniently. The fuel is running about $2/gal (ouch) and they thought they could be out the beginning of next week to fill us up. They have decided to wave the tank rental fee as long as part of their “platinum club” (or something) and we pay COD/stay current with them in billing which won’t be a problem.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
Edie presents a beautiful set of twins. First freshener Edie has been working on making her udder and getting wider, and wider for months now. She seemed to be taking this whole kidding job quite seriously! Despite all her work we still need to work with her on punctuality and timing. Not only was she 3 days late, but she decided that 2 in the morning was as good a time as any to deliver. We figure that there must be a contest going on among the does in the goat barn as to who can deliver the BIGGEST buck. Edie is now the leader (We WON’T say winner!) with a huge 9.7 # fella “Sir Galantine” - OUCH!. Even the second born, the doeling “Cinnamon” (above left), weighed in at 8.2#.Both kids are wonderful, healthy, and beautiful. Edie is milking like a pro already and really enjoys the special treatment in the milking parlor.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Lea (Earth Momma) has triplets. Lea also decided to kid late. With the large kids that we’ve had born lately, we worried that she would produce a couple of full grown goats once she finally let them out. Luckily, she had reasonably sized triplets instead. At around 1 PM, as she lay quietly in the birthing pen, a bubble emerged. On further examination Kathryn found it to be two bubbles and so she broke them and felt inside Lea to see if there was a problem. She felt a tail (a very poor presentation) and worse... it was upside down! With some manipulation that actually proved to be easier done than expected, the kid was repositioned and pulled out. A beautiful little 7.1 # doeling “Lilly” (above left)! A few minutes later another doeling (7.9 #) “Lavender” (above right) joined the first. Kathryn “bounced” Lea’s belly to feel for more kids and felt another one. Once the girls were licked clean to her satisfaction, Lea produced the third kid – a 7.1 # buckling “Licorice” this time. All three kids are doing great.
We have teased Lea during the last month that she didn’t even know that she was pregnant since she has been so stoic about lugging all that extra weight around. We teased her that she was going to sneeze, or cough and the kids would come flying out without her even noticing them. Well, we were almost right. Lea never went into a hard labor, never complained once, and came through the whole birthing experience in incredibly great shape. This girl definitely earns the coveted title of BMR Earth Momma!
Monday, March 07, 2005
replacement mixer motor arrived via UPS
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Got the new cement mixer motor installed and tested - works great.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Got a dyed diesel delivery today from White Mountain Fuels - about 540 gallons at $2/ gal. The new set-up is a dream to use and beat having to pump from 55-gallon barrels by a long shot (not to mention the extra work of having to go get a barrel filled every couple of weeks). This is going to be a very good thing for me, indeed.
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Greenhouse: got some more adobe grout fill done and more blocks stacked. New mixer motor worked well after adjusting the alignment a couple of times.
Sunday, March 13, 2005
Tessa gives us 2 more bucklings, Tessa must have missed the inter-barn secret memo directing does to kid late. She actually kidded on her due date, a rare occurrence this year! With no fanfare, she simply came into the birthing pen, laid down, presented us with two bucklings, and gave us half a gallon of the thickest, yellowish colostrum we’ve ever seen. Way to go, Tessa! First born was “Boots” (left) at 7.3# quickly followed by “Big Bob” at 9.3#. Both the boys and Tessa are doing great.
Monday, March 14, 2005
cold, snow and wind
Alisha’s 2 bucklings. Alisha is a puzzling goat. We’ve had vets out to see her, run tests, consulted with breeders and vets, but no one can figure out what is wrong with her. She has trouble keeping her balance, and then three months ago she started having seizures, but we’ve been able to treat her to prevent them. Brain tumor is what most people guess. No one seemed to think that with her severe neurological problems that she would survive until kidding.
Alisha is a tenacious girl and has certainly been trying her hardest but after a long struggle she finally seems to be worn out. She quit eating and now can’t even stand up. We’ve been treating her for ketosis. Today we had to pull her kids (she’s 4 days overdue) and Alisha had no energy or inclination to do it herself. It was a very hard time for everyone.
The two bucks: first born “Alexander the Great” (8.2#, above right) and third born “Prince Albert” (8.8#, above left) are healthy and vigorous, unfortunately the little doeling pulled out second was stillborn.
Alisha is now in very poor shape. We’ve given her painkillers and put her on antibiotics, but it will take a miracle for her to survive.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Artemisia presents: “The Girl in the Bubble”. Artie finally looked ready to kid today (4 days late), but instead of having normal clear or opaque mucus, Artie was showing some blood. Fresh, bright red blood – not much, but enough to make us worry. This has been an unbelievably hard kidding season at the Ranch: many late births with big kids, lots of incorrect kid presentations, a couple of sick does - we even lost a doe right after kidding. Frankly, we were a little scared seeing Artie bleed.
We put Artie in the kidding pen and David stayed with her while Kathryn did the morning chores and milking. When Kathryn finally, nervously, arrived back at the barn around 9 AM, there was David helping Artie dry off her first born kid an 8.2 pound buckling “Dutch Boy” (above right photo).
Almost right away Artie started to push again. As we watched, a large, intact bubble emerged, so crystal clear we could see right through it! Inside the bubble was the easy-to-see head of a kid with a poll spot so big that it merged into the frosted muzzle. We could see the ears moving around in the birthing fluid. Time seemed to stop. We gazed at this little package, and she seemed to gaze right back at us. It was marvelous. Then this yet-to-be-born kid flicked her tongue, blinked, and time resumed as she proceeded to be born. “Thyme” (above left) is an adorable, 6.8 pound girl. Artie and her twins are doing great!
Alisha worked hard to get better, but her seizures became constant and were getting more severe. We had to end her suffering, and we will miss her greatly. Her two orphaned boys are doing fine.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Very frustrating day today. Trucker Stewart was scheduled to pick up 3 tons of custom mixed grain from one place in Phoenix and 20 tons of Dynafoal form another and deliver them here tomorrow. I caught a call from Judy at Lakin (Dynafoal) that there had been some kind of problem and Stewart had refused to take the 20 tons. There was also a message to the same effect from him. It turned out that he didn’t like the pallets the feed was stacked on - they were stacked 3x9+1 and were “too tall”. I called Lakin back and made arrangements to have the whole load re-stacked 5x5 onto alternate pallets at an additional $20 per pallet to us. They promised to have it done by 3:30pm. Stewart said that was fine with him and he would go get the other feed loaded, have some lunch and then go back. I went to finish getting the roads ready and organizing the barn to make room for the feed but K found me and said that Lakin had called again and that Stewart had looked at the load, refused to take it again and had left. Their manager Bob said they “had done everthing for the driver but put whipped cream and a cherry on it for him”. And he was quite steamed. So were we.
K got a hold of another trucking company and made arrangements for them to pick up the load tomorrow, (at a significant premium), and deliver it here on Saturday. Later Stewart called and said he had the 3 tons of grain but that the mill had refused to wrap the pallets in a legal manner and he wouldn’t take the load, risking a big fine from the law.
Friday, March 18, 2005
drizzle and wind
Truck driver Stewart called early saying he was bringing the 3 tons of feed from Westside Milling that he had managed to bring back form Phoenix. As arranged, he pulled off the road outside our gates where I off-loaded the three pallets just onto the property. I was prepared for a big fight about the delivery but when I asked him how much he expected he said “Nothing. I didn’t get the job done.” He was right, of course, but I was still surprised at his honesty. We spoke at length about his experience with Lakin Mill and it sounded like everybody involved got their feathers ruffled and lost all perspective. The outcome was it certainly cost both Stewart and us a good deal of money but at least we did end up with our custom grain mix. Now if we can get the 20 tons of Dynafoal delivered we’ll be doing alright.
Did some more work on the roads in hopes that the trucker who is supposed to be bringing it tomorrow will actually drive in. Toting 20, 1-ton pallets the ˝ mile in from the road to the barn would be a major headache, especially as we are supposed to get precipitation most of tomorrow.
Saturday, March 19, 2005
cold, windy, drizzles of rain/snow
The trucker from Holbrook Feed and Seed with the 20 tons of DynaFoal from Lakin called just as we started morning milking. He was about to leave Holbrook. He arrived a little later with a big, 48’ box semi with sleeper cab and while he commented “Your roads aren’t really set up for big trucks” he had no problem negotiating them and getting over to the east side of the metal barn for unloading. The truck had a cool sliding floor that moved the pallets to the back as I offloaded them. K assisted in helping get them positioned properly in the barn. Some were stacked 3x8(+1), some 5x5. We double stacked the 5x5 which took up a lot less room in the barn. The delivery was $640.
Monday, March 21, 2005
mostly sunny, mid 50’s and windy
Amanda came up to get her two newest kids disbudded, tattooed, banded (for castration) etc. She brought up a couple and a friend of theirs who are interested in maybe getting some goats for pets. The were here the whole day, took a couple of walks with us and the goats, had lunch, helped disbud (gave the kids their bottles afterward) etc.
Another local woman who K sells goats to also came to see the disbudding procedure first hand (we did 5 of our kids too) so it was quite a full house (dairy) for the day.
Moved 1 ton of Dynafoal to goat barn.
Started doing some uploads of our weather station data to an internet site: http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KAZSNOWF3
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
mostly sunny, breezy, 50’s
D to Flagstaff for Sam’s shopping. Left around 8:30, back by 3 PM. Spent lots of money, of course. Mediocre lunch buffet at Golden Dragon Bowl and a to-go order that was missing ˝ of the stuff (didn’t notice until home, naturally)
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
mostly sunny, windy, 50’s
1st 2005 cheese! Kitchen day. Made 1st official cheese (12 gallon fresh cheese) of the year. Also did up 24 lbs of sweet spiced pecans - about 2/3 total - for Alison’s wedding.
Printed up lots of candy and cheese brochures.
Two replacement green house poly carbonate panels arrived today.
Moved spare milking machine to feed room where we’ll get it set up and running in anticipation of some potential buyers coming by to see it in a few weeks.
Scheduled a couple of visits to the Ranch by customers etc.
Had a call from Denise in Flagstaff about coming to a wine and cheese tasting for Slow Foods 4/24.
Thursday, March 24, 2005
mostly sunny, windy, 50’s
Finished toasting the spiced nuts for the Jacobs wedding and K spend much of the day packaging up the 135+ little bags.
Worked on K’s updated “Getting Started with Goats” brochure and got a good rough draft printed. Will make more revisions tonight and over the next few days get it finalized for this edition.
Friday, March 25, 2005
mostly cloudy, rain and snow with 1” accumulation
Worked more on goat booklet
D to Show Low: Shipping for Jacobs wedding via UPS, Walmart, PO, feed store( chick grower & straw), bank, Mcd’s for lunch to go.
Saturday, March 26, 2005
partly cloudy, high 40’s
Baked bread, made a corned beef.
Worked a bunch more on the goat booklet.
Got the milking machine from WA up and running. K may have sold it but we have not yet found the bucket lid.
First night in AGES without a midnight feeding for babies. Next ones due in a week (maybe longer).
Sunday, March 27, 2005
sunny, 60’s
Worked on mudding-in the cells of the greenhouse walls. Got the south and west sides finished with anchor bolts installed for plates and got east side done as far as the block was laid - about 3’ above grade.
Angel came up with a weird edema thing on her jaw/face today. K thought it might be from the drench gun (administered magic this AM) but she could have gotten wacked or something else. She, at least, was eating well on our walks.
K ordered a new propane smoker from Wally Mart. Anniversary present?? I’ve got 3 slabs of ribs marinating in the fridge already for it (probably have to freeze them for a little while before it arrives).
Monday, March 28, 2005
partly sunny, very windy, 50’s
Got rest of block for greenhouse stacked and rebar put in, ready for one more session of mudding in cells before carpentry work can start.
K got all set up to start DHIR testing. First tests will be this Friday.
Worked more on goat booklet. Almost done!
D & K to town: Vet’s office, K for dental exam/D to hardware store, PO, lunch @ Eva’s.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
mostly sunny, very windy, near 60
Made a small fresh cheese batch (12 gal). Look like it’s coming out well.
Worked on Goat Basics booklet and finalized it. K began printing a few copies for distribution.
Disbudded 3 kids today, only little Thyme is left to do so far. K say she was actually ready today and I was just being over-protective of her.
Got the 2005 garden plan roughed out.
UPS brought some deliveries from Organic Growers Supply and FarmTech
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
wind, 50’s, mostly sunny
Unbagged yesterday’s fresh cheese. It was OK but not as sweet and creamy as it should be. Also unbagged a bit early and it was a tad too moist to be perfect.
Tried to print some more goat booklets on copier but the last color cartridge had dried out. Ordered a new one.
UPS delivered 3 packagesers today: 2 w/ goat supplies and one printer toner.
Thursday, March 31, 2005
mostly sunny, 50’s and windy
K came up with the idea to re-order the pages in the Goat Booklet so I could print them on the color laser printer. In an hour or so it was done and the print quality and speed of printing were both improved greatly. We ran off and assembled about 13 copies today.
Put in an auto waterer font in the buck pen this afternoon.
UPS delivered a case of brochure paper.
Spiced Pecans for Alison’s wedding still hadn’t been delivered. UPS tracking said they were due to be delivered tomorrow. Tomorrow IS the wedding so I’m agitated about their arrival in time.
K gave D a haircut/beard trim - MUCH better now!
D to town: bank (temp deposit of a $100k CD check, etc), PO (Fedco seed order arrived), Hardware store, p/up lunch (roti chix from Basha’s)