Black Mesa Ranch
Snowflake, Arizona, USA
Artisan Cheese
Nubian Goats
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Cheese and Candy Information and Online Ordering Page
Featured pages on this site
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
(available seasonally)
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:
October 11, 2008
© 2000-2008 Black Mesa Ranch Inc. All Rights Reserved
Arizona Grown!
Tuesday, April 01, 2003
D to Phoenix: Home Depot, Sam’s Club, bank, Burger King lunch, Accomazo Hay (44 bales of #1 alfalfa, 11 bales of straw). Good trip, no problems, Gas @ $2.02 in valley vs. $1.92 here.
K downloaded some new herd management software for trial. Cut-in painting at the lower dairy level. Prepped closet floor for painting. Removed birds nest materials from towels! K registered us with the county extension office to be included in their 4-H brochure that is going out soon.
Windy.
Wednesday, April 02, 2003
Unloaded hay and straw at barn. Brought old wheat to chickens. Unloaded shelf units and tables at dairy. Assembled shelf units and 4 stainless steel tables - SWEET! Painted closet floor and stair stringers. Organized and setup the storeroom.
Ordered new Front Page software from Sam’s online.
WIND!
Thursday, April 03, 2003
First 6 kids to 5# of milk twice a day. Disbudded and tattooed Cassia and Mole'.
Cassia and Mole'
Windy - Winded in day.
K cleared out goat barn and prepped birthing stall for Nutmeg.
Made 2 gallon mozz, bread, carnitas, and green chile pork. Opened a 7/1/02
blue cheese: excellent!! (but room for improvement).
First of all peppers and chiles are up except: Valencia, Cal Wonders, Purple Beauty, and North Star. Not great germination on some: 50%.
Some seed starts
Nutmeg kidded (a girl then a boy) beginning at 6 PM. 1st at 8 PM, and second at 10 PM. Done by midnight. Healthy mama and healthy babies.
Friday, April 04, 2003
Web page work.
Delivery of sinks and mixer for dairy. Mixer is great! (made a 4X batch of bread).
New 20-qt mixer and first bath of bread
Got in a little gardening work before it got too windy.
Burned major trash pile early. Wind late.
Saturday, April 05, 2003
Web page work.
Trimmed goat hooves, wormed and castrated Bailey. New kids to kid bar.
Made 2 gallon Chevre.
Wind!
Sunday, April 06, 2003
Garden plan and layout new drip irrigation, make parts list.
D to town: PO, gas and pick up 5X300 foot rolls of drip line. Drip line is from the Euro Fresh tomato plant – they are changing to a different system and are giving away the old lines.
Monday, April 07, 2003
D to Showlow: LPGas (contract), Coke, Pepsi, Hughes, Presco, PO, Subway lunch, feed store.
Worked on veggie garden irrigation with new drip lines: didn’t go so well. Many problems with connection design. The diameter of the new lines is not a standard US one and nothing fits together right. It will work eventually, but more work/parts needed. Planted first onions and some spinach outside.
Goat house feed room door latch broken: put temporary hasp on, will try to find a replacement or repair it.
Web page work. Breezy.
Tuesday, April 08, 2003
Made 4 gallon Blue cheese and animal biscuits.
Dairy work: Bolted up all posts, attached ledger boards, and got about half of the main joists in on the SE deck.
New Front Page program arrived UPS.
Gorgeous day!
Wednesday, April 09, 2003
Dairy work: erected remaining joists and started a few courses of 2 X 6 redwood decking.
Rough framing work for SE Dairy deck
Thursday, April 10, 2003
Dairy work: Finished all the decking on SE deck.
Some redwood decking on the SE Dairy deck
Processed 4 gallons milk, separated cream(2 quarts) and made rigoata for biscuits (about 4 pounds)
Friday, April 11, 2003
Dairy work: spent most of the day on the south stairs – fussy, tough work but it will come out nice eventually.
Laurel and Barker (Nutmeg’s kids) out with the rest of the herd all night for the first time.
Blue and "his" kids
Saturday, April 12, 2003
K found another rabbit nest with 11 or more new bunnies!
Work on web page most of the day.
Sunday, April 13, 2003
Made biscuits for beasts. Lists for shopping.
Monday, April 14, 2003
D to Showlow: Glasses, PO (to mail taxes), Hughes, Presco, Foxworth.G hardware store, Wal-Mart, feed store.
Garden afternoon: irrigation system work.
Moved 3 bales of hay to girls' barn.
K made liquid soap and foot cream.
Started data entry 2003 finances.
Tuesday, April 15, 2003
Snow in the morning.
Made a 4 gallon chevre, used some for Feta. Also made Buttermilk Fudge, spaghetti meat sauce.
Did more web page work.
K finished the liquid soap and finished 2003 financing up to date.
Wednesday, April 16, 2003
Disbudded and tattooed Barker and Laurel.
Worked on dairy deck finishing the south stairs and got most of the railing up.
Filled the water tank at the well.
Thursday, April 17, 2003
Web site work.
Started an unrenneted soft chevre.
D to town: PO (comfrey from TX arrived) picked up a pizza for lunch, filled 2 small propane tanks.
Investigated a new ISP/Web host for web site: no decision.
Friday, April 18, 2003
Erected new chicken wire cage around small buck yard for meat chickens and future ducks. K cleaned the goat trailer and rearranged furniture. Barker and Laurel’s first day on 3 meals. Cory on Pepto Bismol 3X for scours. Put up goat scratching brushes.
Kids being goofy
Replanted 3 mild Habanaro cells with last 3 seeds.
Threw out unrennted chevre experiment: never set, got bubbly.
Saturday, April 19, 2003
Snow Sprinkles AM. Big walk with goats.
April snow flurries at the Ranch
Web page work.
Put vent turbine on diary building to vent attic heat.
Irrigation work in garden.
Sunday, April 20, 2003
Garden irrigation work.
Dairy: finished deck except for north stairs. Made Chevre/Feta.
Monday, April 21, 2003
Milk machine arrived!! Wrong pulsator?
Kathryn works to assemble the new milking machine
Tuesday, April 22, 2003
Dairy: began water heater installation.
Worked on misc little projects: brooder room ready for chicks, built small manger for bucks.
Wind!
Wednesday, April 23, 2003
To Showlow: Wal-Mart, Pepsi, Presco, Hughes, Chinese lunch, met new veterinarian in Snowflake. Saw that a Home Depot is being built in Showlow!
Separated cream, made skim ricotta.
Thursday, April 24, 2003
Chicks arrive! Not in good shape at all. Only 8 of the 27 are alive! One died later. Set them up in upstairs bathroom.
Worked on dairy water heater again today.
Friday, April 25, 2003
New Vet, Dr DeSpain, came out to the ranch for general tour and herd evaluation.
Separated cream, made skim ricotta. Baked bread.
Finished dairy water heater installation.
Saturday, April 26, 2003
Worked in Garden: building beds.
Sunday, April 27, 2003
Big house cleaning for guests.
Made a 4 gallon mozz.
Monday, April 28, 2003
Finished house cleaning.
Picked up bees at the PO.
Cynthia and Jim arrive late afternoon.
Hived bees: went pretty well. Cynthia got stung on hand, D on face, but no real problems.
Kathryn introduces our mail order bees to their new homes
Tuesday, April 29, 2003
Bee Robbing? Closed down entrances and refilled feeders.
Made ice cream, rabbit gumbo, Danish dough, and butter cream fudge.
Wednesday, April 30, 2003
Cheese Danish for breakfast.
To Holbrook with Cynthia and Jim: Watched trains, to Geronimo’s, lunch at Joe and Aggies.
Big day in Holbrook with Cynthia and Jim
Walked around Snowflake a bit.