tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298879782011-09-27T13:51:28.692-07:00Ardi Gasna is the Basque phrase for sheep cheese. This blog is the culmination of my vacation/adventure/fact-finding misssion in the Basque country of France and Spain with my friend Yvonne, and a chronicle of my journey in starting a sheep dairy farm on the Central Coast of Califronia.RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.comBlogger681100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-78151057099721816922011-06-17T12:56:00.000-07:002011-06-17T13:34:41.124-07:00

Do you enjoy local, organic food that’s been lovingly produced by hand?Do you wish you were more connected to where your food came from?Ever thought about quitting your job, cashing in your savings and following your dream of starting a sheep cheese dairy? Want to live vicariously through someone who has?If yes, Garden Variety Cheese would like you to:ADOPT A EWEFor $250 you can cover the costs

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-47108932610412674382011-02-15T10:30:00.000-08:002011-02-15T11:02:25.688-08:00

Enhancing Dairy Profitability with Cheeseby Peter DixonApril 8, 9 & 10, 20119am to 5pmlocation: Monkeyflower Ranch1481 San Miguel Canyon Rd.Royal Oaks, CA 95076info@gardenvarietycheese.com831-761-3630SPACE IS LIMITED--REGISTER NOW!This three-day class is designed for people who have necver made cheese before and those who want to improve their skills in order to enter the cheese business. Peter

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-35169866162662199882011-01-21T12:26:00.000-08:002011-01-21T14:18:21.250-08:00

In the weeds. Anyone who has ever worked in a restaurant should be familiar with this term. This is the phrase used to describe that time of the night when you are working as fast as you can trying to put out plates of food and no matter how hard you work, those order tickets keep cranking out of the machine faster than you can deal with them. You are down on your hands and knees slogging through

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-7216411107948158472010-11-16T13:31:00.000-08:002010-11-16T14:41:04.782-08:00

Holiday Gift Ideas from Monkeyflower Ranch All Natural Wool Comforter$300The comforter is made with 3 lbs of natural wool batting from our flock with an organic cotton cover and hand-tied with organic wool yarn to prevent bunching. This is a "light" weight for mild winter climates like ours. The comforter is full/queen-sized and measures 86" x 86". Wool bedding is dust-mite resistant, good for

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-54453208939498406822010-09-14T14:45:00.000-07:002010-11-06T15:10:53.950-07:00

Diary Entries from the week I spent at the American Cheese Society Conference in Seattle, WA(Thanks to ACS for the full-scholarship to attend!)Friday August 20th: Got to drop off the new kittens at the vet to be fixed. Hope the cats will have an effect on the ground squirrel overpopulation in the pasture. Definitely will keep mice and rats away from the dairy. I can take them in on my way to the

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-62271073204868022052010-08-11T09:30:00.000-07:002010-08-11T09:41:31.974-07:00

Monkeyflower Ranch Natural LambLamb from Monkeyflower Ranch is naturally raised. No antibiotics, hormones or chemical wormers are used; garlic juice and rotational grazing are utilized for parasite control. The lambs are fed on fresh pasture, alfalfa hay and spent organic grain from Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing. At slaughter time they are an average of 6-8 months old. Our lamb is incredibly mild

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-44934596874906272372010-06-17T10:00:00.000-07:002010-11-06T15:12:56.745-07:00

Do you enjoy local, organic food that’s been lovingly produced by hand?Do you wish you were more connected to where your food came from?Ever thought about quitting your job, cashing in your savings and following your dream of starting a sheep cheese dairy? Want to live vicariously through someone who has?If yes, Garden Variety Cheese would like you to:ADOPT A EWEFor $500 you can cover the costs

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-33569348276042917172010-05-26T13:57:00.001-07:002010-05-26T14:39:30.033-07:00

And May showers keep the pasture going! We did begin irrigating this month, but I am very grateful for the late spring showers we are continuing to receive. Every drop of water from the sky saves me a little bit on the labor, electricity and water fees used to keep the grass and clovers green and the ewes eating well. So, time flies when you're working constantly! The last I posted was

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-85370619645143874682010-02-05T14:44:00.000-08:002010-02-05T14:53:46.482-08:00

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-51090566869406818732010-01-25T20:36:00.000-08:002010-01-25T21:12:18.051-08:00

In a one month period 135 lambs have been born on the farm, and we are bottle feeding 120 of them. As of today we are now milking 60 ewes, and I've made six batches of cheese so far. Only 23 more pregnant sheep to go. Phew! here's some cute pics.

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-49381529287761028132009-11-16T06:26:00.000-08:002009-11-16T06:38:03.244-08:00

Greetings from New England! I've been out on the East Coast for the past few days at the Dairy Sheep Association of North America's annual symposium. This is the third time I've attended this event, which was held in Albany, New York this year. It has been a great opportunity to meet and talk with other sheep dairy producers and share information and experiences. I have learned quite a few new

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-58348623417402021862009-09-08T20:06:00.000-07:002009-09-08T20:15:05.959-07:00

Garden Variety Cheese can now be found at the following farmers markets:Downtown Santa Cruz, Wednesday 2:30-6:30Westside Santa Cruz, Saturday 9:00-1:00Cabrillo/Aptos, Saturday 8:00-12:00Selected varieties of Garden Variety Cheese are also available through:River Cafe and Cheese Shop, Santa Cruz, CASanta Cruz Mountain Brewing, Santa Cruz, CA [check out the beer & cheese tasting flight]Cafe Sparrow

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-59788768206739379182009-09-08T20:00:00.000-07:002009-09-08T20:06:25.222-07:00

Farm to Table Dinner at Chaminade ResortFriday, September 18th 2009Reception at 6pm ‐ Dinner at 6:30pmPlease call 1.800.283.6569Featured Winery – Talbott VineyardsFeatured Farmers ‐ Old Creek Ranch, Garden Variety Cheese, Tomatero FarmsLinwood’s Bar & Grill at Chaminade is pleased to introduce the launch of their very own “Farm to Table” dinners featuring fresh local ingredients straight from the

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-793337020209948172009-07-29T12:21:00.000-07:002009-08-02T15:52:39.189-07:00

A fourth pick-up site for the Adopt A Ewe has been added in San Jose/Willow Glen.In response to a number of inquiries about the Adopt A Ewe plan, I want to provide a little more information about the wool comforter and whole lamb options:Handmade Natural Wool ComforterThe comforter is made with 3 lbs of natural wool batting with an organic cotton cover and hand-tied with organic wool yarn to

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-36822101244449573602009-07-24T13:25:00.000-07:002010-01-28T14:03:34.621-08:00

Do you enjoy local, organic food that’s been lovingly produced by hand? Do you wish you were more connected to where your food came from? Ever thought about quitting your job, cashing in your savings and following your dream of starting a sheep cheese dairy? Want to live vicariously through someone who has? If yes, Garden Variety Cheese would like you to:ADOPT A EWEFor $500 you can cover the

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-19239627217992118792009-06-04T11:34:00.000-07:002009-06-04T13:30:59.543-07:00

Wow, so it's already been three months since we began the first milking season (and since I posted last). Twice a day, every day of that three months the sheep have been lined up in the alleyway and run through the milking parlor to extract their precious milk. Each time it got a little easier--now they actually fight each other to get up the ramp to the stanchions where their grain awaits. Every

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-9020477940376891042009-03-04T16:12:00.000-08:002009-03-04T17:06:13.145-08:00

For months now I've been working on the final pieces of this jigsaw puzzle that is putting a working dairy farm and cheese plant together. The building was pretty much ready to go by winter, but the concrete floor needed to be fixed because it was finished wrong. I had to wait for my loan money to order all of the equipment. I waited for the equipment to arrive (some delayed by months) and then

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-44323862709648470502009-02-22T13:01:00.000-08:002009-02-23T15:46:13.081-08:00

I am definitely not a religious person or even all that spiritual, but I do believe there is a basic drive in the universe for balance. It's the fundamentals of statistics, gambling and dharma--sure there will be peaks and valleys but things always kind of even out in the long run. Lately, I've been pretty stressed out and more than a bit beat down about the dificulty in getting the dairy

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-5076260794069016702009-01-20T16:55:00.000-08:002009-01-20T17:36:23.935-08:00

It's amazing how time flies while simultaneously seeming to drag on day-to-day. I had set the goal of late November for having the dairy completed and up and running, with cheese to sell some time in February. However, equipment deliveries got postponed and delayed, the concrete floor got poured incorrectly and needed to be patched and repaired, and the set-up of the equipment became increasingly

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-30694621939864199872008-11-26T11:57:00.000-08:002008-12-02T20:10:02.965-08:00

My life for the last couple of months has revolved closely around an ever changing series of lists. At some particularly hectic points in time, it has actually been a list of lists, subcategorized into project areas such as dairy barn, house, tractor, sheep, lamb sales, administrative.... While there is nothing more satisfying than crossing completed items off a list (I've been known to add an

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-2810968038276264922008-10-20T23:07:00.000-07:002008-10-21T11:27:00.541-07:00

I was featured in a segment on the Iowa Public Television farm program Market to Market. The segment was about California Farm Link and the work they do to aid beginning farmers like me. You can see the full segment at this link.

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-9964060369911438362008-08-25T21:10:00.000-07:002008-11-12T21:22:09.025-08:00

I am now taking orders for whole and half lambs. I've listed an approximate breakdown of what cuts you'd receive, but if you have specific requests (bone-in legs, shoulder chops, etc.) that can be arranged.Whole Lamb $9/lb30-35 lbs of meathere is the approximate breakdown:4 shanks16 rib chops (or racks)4# loin chops10-12# boneless leg2-3# stew meat8# ground meatHalf Lamb $10/lb14-17 lbs of meat(

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-65701922581438815002008-07-27T09:47:00.000-07:002008-07-27T10:43:11.554-07:00

Back again from a long blogging hiatus. It seems like when there is the most interesting stuff going on that I want to share about is also when I lack the time and energy to actually write anything. The big news: We bought a 40 acre ranch in Royal Oaks, CA (Northern Monterey county, about 15 minutes from Deep Roots Ranch where I've been farming.) Well, I should rephrase that--my parents bought a

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-72794559540121576722008-04-07T20:43:00.000-07:002008-04-10T10:21:24.496-07:00

Wow, didn't realize that it's been since January since I posted anything. Yikes. What have I been up to that I haven't had the time (or energy) to write? Let's see: My ewes have almost all had their lambies--just waiting on five more late bloomers. So far there's been three sets of triplets! Jasmine wins the all-star award for having three nice big ewe lambs, and Tina gets the prize for heaviest

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-52112780045049794202008-01-31T22:33:00.000-08:002008-01-31T22:34:37.047-08:00

SHEPHERD/MILKERThis will be a full-time position. Responsibilities will include helping with facility construction, daily sheep milking, pasture rotation, animal husbandry, and irrigation of pastures. Farming experience is required—with dairy, livestock and/or tractor experience a plus. A good work ethic, dedication to organic farming and a love for animals are also all necessary qualities.

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-77155162763636978062008-01-31T20:45:00.000-08:002008-02-17T16:55:28.494-08:00

I'm in love! (Hey, and just in time for Valentine's Day)Her name is Sedona and she is a 2 year old red and white border collie. The first couple of times when her owner, Mark from the local feed store, brought her and her other family members by the farm to herd sheep she barely showed any interest in me. But the third time, when he brought her to me for keeps, she seemed to know that I was to be

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-6116690887704146812008-01-29T16:01:00.000-08:002008-01-31T20:36:25.682-08:00

There's been so much happening in the past month or so I don't really know where to start, so here's some raw data:Lambs born in the three weeks between Dec. 25 and Jan. 16: 50Lamb population to date: 64 # of ewes that have lambed: 36# of ewes yet to lamb: 17# of lambs with long curly hair/fur (not wool): 2# of lambs that look like hairless cats: 1inches of rain since Jan. 1 (according to the

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-9030248720230347202008-01-08T19:59:00.000-08:002008-01-08T20:22:04.865-08:00

Check this out: My dad recently had our old home movies transferred to digital format and when we were watching them at Christmas we came across footage from Halloween 1981, the year I went as Little Bo Peep. How's that for precognition.Yes, I was pretty darn cute when I was five. And, yes, I am a bit gentler when handling my lambs these days.

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-86331186451733780442008-01-04T22:04:00.000-08:002008-01-04T22:09:13.754-08:00

Here's a link to an article about me by Christina Waters that appeared in the local free weekly Metro Santa Cruz a couple of weeks ago. CLICK HERE

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-90685162018070368502008-01-04T14:13:00.000-08:002008-02-17T17:02:27.445-08:00

So my efforts to get lambs out-of-season have proved fruitful, so far. Since December 21st fourteen lambs have been born, 8 ewe-lambs and 6 ram-lambs, to 8 ewes. There are another 20+ ewes in the "maternity ward" shed that should be due anytime in the next month. The remaining ewes out on pasture will be lambing in early spring, although I was surprised to look out in the field yesterday and see

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-38556756892829041802007-12-10T08:37:00.000-08:002007-12-10T08:59:03.349-08:00

The recent flooding in the Pacific Northwest took a horrific toll on Black Sheep Creamery, a commercial sheep dairy outside of Chehalis, WA, run by the Gregory family. Their historic barn, house, and cheesemaking facilities were all under water and they lost all but 23 out of about 80 sheep. I've never met the Gregorys, just exchanged a few emails, but they are a young family making a living

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-79808967785432134742007-12-02T11:39:00.000-08:002007-12-02T12:28:16.014-08:00

I had my first official cheesetasting party last weekend to try out my prototype cheeses that I made this summer. It was a bit nerve-wracking having my friends and family come to taste the products of my labor thus far, without knowing ahead of time how the cheese had come out. Before cutting open the dozen wheels that had been aging for the past three months I did have a slight fear that none of

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-10752727156832004142007-11-29T17:45:00.000-08:002008-01-04T22:02:51.188-08:00

It's official. I now have a logo and business name, so this is really real now! Check out the awesome graphic design work by my friend Matt Farrar :

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-14011362930369827382007-11-15T15:48:00.000-08:002007-11-15T21:19:55.849-08:00

I've found my people. I had to go all the way to Guelph, Ontario, Canada to do it but it was worth the trip. I found myself in a room full of a hundred or so people and not an eyelid batted when I told people I raised dairy sheep to milk and make cheese. There was no confusion of "cheap" cheese for "sheep" cheese. None of my new acquaintances asked me about my goats. While everyone I met was

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-23528428886237857042007-09-21T10:26:00.000-07:002007-09-21T11:38:30.459-07:00

Alright, so I am not exactly your most dedicated blogger. There's definitely lots going on around here that I've been remiss about posting. Largely, I've been occupied with handmilking and cheesemaking for the past couple of months. At one point I was milking five sheep, twice a day: Hibiscus, Tina, Foxglove, Zinnia, and Lilac, and getting a little over a gallon of milk a day. After a few weeks

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-50876531455786038892007-09-21T10:20:00.000-07:002007-10-01T18:44:23.618-07:00

Check it out--I made the local newspaper, the Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. Most of the agriculture around here is large conventional berries, lettuce and cut flowers so the reporter seemed pretty excited to write about something a bit different. Who knows, maybe a little press might help make for easier interactions with the planning department. I hope!

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-47297709162348598642007-08-14T19:17:00.001-07:002007-08-22T13:16:32.162-07:00

So if you are thinking to yourself how you would really like to get about 60 dairy sheep, a couple of big guardian dogs and live on a farm these are the items that I recommend you purchase:Premier fencing--the electronet for sheep is extremely useful, makes a good dog pen, too.Ben Davis coveralls--the blue mechanic type that you can buy at the hardware store. Perfect for milking and chores, I get

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-73121523600998286672007-08-14T17:54:00.000-07:002007-08-14T19:16:08.620-07:00

I think I mentioned before my delight at sourcing a local, FREE, organic source of grain for my sheep at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery. Not only are they a lovely group of folks, their new tap room has become the hotspot for the crunchy, hipster, organic beer-drinking crowd for Friday night happy hours. This is a welcome develop for me because it means that when I make my trip to pick up fresh

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-54027317877943552192007-07-16T21:31:00.000-07:002007-07-16T22:37:04.191-07:00

[Okay, so now I am kind of trying to use annoying cliches for titles] Here is a picture of my dad put the finishing touches on the portable shed for my sheep that he and Bob constructed a VERY sturdy and rather complicated base for, and then Dad assembled. I don't think he really knew what he was signing up for when he agreed to help but he was determined to see the project through and finished

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-2436397873602138042007-06-22T11:58:00.000-07:002007-06-22T12:31:21.384-07:00

Okay, so I don't know why the post titles have to be so cheesy, it's just unavoidable!I got ducks yesterday! 12 Muscovy ducks mailed through the post office from Minnesota. The hope is that they will grow up to roam the farmyard and eat all of the flies and worms and other pests. They are also very prolific and tasty so I will be eating duck soon as well. I got a mixed group of different

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-35109182753242075382007-06-22T10:59:00.000-07:002007-06-22T11:04:40.039-07:00

I haven't yet figured out how to put U-tube videos into my blog, but my brother is well-versed at it so here is a link to his site: blogadillaThis is what shepherd's nightmares are made of!

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-7450670858370092532007-06-04T21:29:00.001-07:002007-06-04T21:37:21.404-07:00

Just a quick note: another ewe lamb was born on the farm yesterday to Zinnia. She is good sized and beautiful with a perfectly round brown spot on her back. Got to think of a flower name with spot or dot in it! That brings the total to five new lambs born to my flock, and at least two more due in the near future. (I guess it was a long cold winter in Wisconsin.)

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-21814106124832384482007-06-04T20:24:00.000-07:002007-06-04T21:28:38.512-07:00

So the time came this week to move my flock of ewes to the other side of the farm where there's still some edible pasture, as they had pretty much cleaned out the section where they've been grazing. I've been rotationally grazing them, which means every few days I move the electric fencing and posts to a new section and leave the older section to rest. This has been working quite nicely. (Other

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-83027805968109109832007-05-24T22:49:00.000-07:002007-05-24T23:56:07.875-07:00

The past couple of weeks have again been busy ones. The main sheep flock got moved over to the new shed that my carpenter friend Joe Gibeault built. I found a new free organic feed source--spent brewer's grains from Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing--which I started offering to my lactating ewes. My long lost friend Michelle came to visit from NYC. We reminisced over our summer together working on a

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-17056245233241063532007-05-14T20:50:00.000-07:002007-05-14T21:36:17.454-07:00

So I haven't posted anything to my blog in a while and it is not because there hasn't been anything to write about. In fact, it is the opposite. There have been so many things going on around here everyday that i haven't had time or energy (mostly the energy) to sit down and tell y'all about it. I think I am getting some insight into what it must be to be a single parent of small children. Having

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-85137996163675994712007-04-22T13:08:00.000-07:002007-04-22T13:58:21.697-07:00

The sheep have settled in, and gotten used to eating pasture and staying within the electric fence. So, to keep myself pushed just a bit beyond my bounds I bought a pair of six month old Anatolian Shepherd puppies on Monday. My mom accompanied me on the four hour drive to the Sierra foothills to the breeder's--a very talkative, slighlty quirky woman who raises horses, goats, and dogs. It may be

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-26849571925278293082007-04-15T07:32:00.000-07:002007-04-20T14:38:47.714-07:00

My sheep are here!! They actually arrived at the crack of dawn on the morning of Friday the 6th. I was up until about 11:30 the night before, walking down our road to the main road with a flashlight to make sure Ron wouldn't miss the turn. His communication system is a little crude (to say the least) so all I knew was that he had crossed into California at 5pm Thursday night and was headed toward

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-64544570564111677172007-04-02T19:20:00.000-07:002007-04-04T10:01:36.383-07:00

My sheep are on the way! I've purchased 50 Lacunne-cross ewes and 1 ram lamb (with an extra ewe and ram lamb thrown in for free!) from a farm in Wisconsin, Promise Land Farm, and this afternoon they were loaded on the truck for the ride out here to sunny California. The transporter, Ron Keener, has a website and yahoo newsgroup for clients, and the curious, to track his cross-country travels as

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-5616218233721312652007-03-23T22:07:00.000-07:002007-03-23T22:57:07.447-07:00

I celebrated my 31st birthday this week by building a compost bin to deal with my personal waste on-farm. Not particularly glamorous but it felt really good to be working on something for myself and to get one of the many items crossed off of my to-do list. The first couple of weeks this month I was pretty high with thoughts of actually realizing some of the things that I've been thinking about

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-82773111612175865192007-03-03T12:46:00.000-08:002007-03-23T22:07:55.147-07:00

I've finally run out of excuses (such as needing to go to France to visit cheesemakers) for delaying my cheesemaking plans any longer. My New Year's Resolution was to get in gear and actually make my vision of a sheep cheese dairy happen. So, suprisingly quickly and easily (so far...) things have begun to take shape. I found a farm to lease! Well, actually it is a little more complicated than

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-1160076667970956972006-10-05T12:21:00.000-07:002006-10-05T12:31:08.000-07:00

So I just finished reading a mystery novel in which the main character sleuths were a flock of sheep. The book was Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann. It arrived in the mail from some book company in London with an invoice addressed to Becky King (a name I only use with family and friends and never when ordering anything through the mail) and a zero balance. There was no information about who had

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-1150742354687207852006-07-19T11:14:00.000-07:002006-07-26T22:45:06.286-07:00

May 1st I arrived in Grenoble, France to meet up with my friend Yvonne who has a large extended family there. She had been cooking in Italy for the past six months and I had come to Europe six weeks early for my brother's wedding in Estonia (that's another story--see his blog Letters from Estonia). Our roughly sketched plan was to rent a car for a month; drive to Spain and hang out in Barcelona,

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-1153283482673446342006-07-18T21:06:00.000-07:002006-07-18T21:36:24.540-07:00

So walking through some of the Basque towns such as Bilbao and San Sebastian I was interested to see all of the Euskadi Herrira grafitti, posters and paraphernalia. There were actually more than a few shops where you could purchase t-shirts and posters promoting Basque Unity. This was not surprising considering the centuries of struggle the Basque people have endured to retain their cultural

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-1153281743634621472006-07-18T20:17:00.000-07:002006-07-18T21:02:23.646-07:00

French men have a certain style and class when it comes to hitting on women. A je ne sais quoi if you like. On two occasions when walking alone down a city street in France I have been startled to have an attractive young Frenchman say to me something that sounded like "...tres visant, madame." I know that that's not exactly what they said because I looked it up and that doesn't mean anything,

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-1153256347171244392006-07-18T13:41:00.000-07:002006-07-26T22:42:32.613-07:00

I had about ten days of traveling solo between Yvonne's departure for Hong Kong and my flight to Estonia for my brother's wedding. I spent a few days on the Cote D'Azur, thinking I would relax in class like a movie star. Suprised to discover that the beaches suck (think driveway gravel) and classy meant that the Che Guevara t-shirts for sale at the beachfront stores were decorated with

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-1153255122272117102006-07-18T13:13:00.000-07:002006-07-26T22:34:04.436-07:00

La Rioja is the best known wine region in Spain, located in the north of the country between Basque country and Catalonia. La Rioja is a very charming region to explore and I believe in ten years time it will be very heavily touristed and well-known. Right now it is still pretty quiet and you really need a basic understanding of Spanish to get around. There are a number wineries, or bodegas as

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-1153168886691030982006-07-17T12:59:00.000-07:002006-07-17T13:41:26.706-07:00

Yvonne and I met at the California Culinary Academy about four years ago. I recognized immediately that she was someone I wanted to get to know and actually had an appreciation and knowledge of good food and culture. (Suprisingly, that it is actually rare at CCA--they advertise on daytime television and I think a lot of applicants just flip a coin to decide between cooking school and learning to

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-1152391263296750092006-07-08T13:12:00.000-07:002006-07-26T22:50:12.996-07:00

La Boqueria is the large permanent farmer's market in Barcelona, Spain. You can find dozens of produce vendors, butchers, and seafood stalls, plus various other specialty food booths. Yvonne and I had managed to rent for the week a small apartment with a kitchen in the Barceloneta neighborhood and were determined to cook some of our meals to offset the expense of our rent. We found an amazing

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-1152048951660679412006-07-05T14:14:00.000-07:002006-07-10T17:58:02.963-07:00

So, I had this great plan to keep a journal during this trip and write down everything I ate and what the names were for things and other meticulous details. I would also take fabulous photos, and who knows, maybe publish this all in Gourmet. Okay, so at some level I knew it wasn't going to happen. My short-term memory seems to disappearing as I age (I'm only 30--I know--what'll I be like at 60?)

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-1152039440565212752006-07-04T23:00:00.000-07:002006-07-04T13:07:01.196-07:00

This section represents the details I gathered on each of the individual farms we visited and their cheese and cheesemaking process. Other than me, there are probably few people who are actually interested in what temperature the cheese curd was cooked to or for how long the wheels were pressed, but this section is for them (and me). I'll try to include lots of photos and amusing anecdotes to

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-1152045822334075762006-07-04T13:15:00.000-07:002006-07-04T13:43:42.346-07:00

QUESERIAS ARAIAJesus Manuel Moreno Araia, EspanaThis was the only cheese factory we visited in Spain. They primarily make Idiazabal cheese, smoked and plain. This factory was in the Northwest of Spain about an hour from San Sebastian, and I was introduced to them through a friend of a friend who works in cheese in Spain. Jesus and an assistant gave us a very thorough tour of their facility in a

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FERME ELIZAREAAlain & Andre EtchepareSt. Etienne de Baigorri05 59 37 44 55 As described previously, our host at this farm was a young bachelor who ran the farm with his brother and he was quite pleased to have two young women to talk to. This was about the sixth farm we saw that day, and I think we had also visited a winery, so we were a bit punchy at this point. Their cheesemaking process seemed

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-1152040965834615822006-07-04T12:21:00.000-07:002006-07-06T14:04:08.116-07:00

FERME LUISENIAJeanine & Daniel MochoSt. Etienne de Baigorri05 59 37 44 46This was another farm where we were not able to view the facilities. We bought a whole wheel of cheese and some black cherry jam from an older women at the farmhouse. Besides the yard of chickens which were all missing the feathers from their neck (a bare-necked breed? I don't know) the other notable aspect of our visit was

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-1152040633804343082006-07-04T11:58:00.000-07:002006-07-04T13:14:19.236-07:00

FERME GAZTENANIAOsses05 59 37 78 21I think the nickname kind of speaks for itself, but yes, the cheesemaker was a Basque guy with a pretty dry sense of humor. We got the impression that he thought we were kind of goofy and was chuckling to himself about us. At one point he looks at me and then says to Yvonne, in French, something to the effect of, "She doesn't speak French does she? I can see it

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-1152039330880930212006-07-04T11:54:00.000-07:002006-07-04T11:55:30.883-07:00

LARRONDOAArhansus05 59 37 83 81This was one of the farms we visited where the cheesemaker was not around and we were greeted by a little old Basque man in a beret. As you might guess there were a lot of flies around, which didn't seem to bother the old man (even when they landed on his face). He said he worked for the cheesemaker and sold us a wedge of their cheese, which I believe was not AOC

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-1152039230757559062006-07-04T11:48:00.000-07:002006-07-08T13:46:17.493-07:00

FERME CAZAUXArrens-Marsous05 62 97 41 99This was the only farm we visited that was in the Bearn region. She made cheeses with both cow's milk (vache), sheep's milk (brebis) and a combination of the two (melange). While similar in style to the other Basque cheeses we sampled, her sheep milk cheese was not an AOC Ossau-Iraty. The cheesemaker was in the middle of making a batch of brebis cheese when

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-1152041098262613892006-07-04T00:24:00.000-07:002006-07-04T13:07:33.933-07:00

BERGERIE DE LA MOLENoaillan05 56 25 84 20This farm was the furthest north in our tour, quite near Bordeaux. I don't believe they could actually call their cheese Ossau-Iraty, but they made it in that fashion. They had about 5 or 6 gorgeous border collies who greeted us on our arrival. The wife was busy making the cheese and the husband gave of tastes and answered our questions as best as he

RJ Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13244745807706055657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29887978.post-1152047540348892262006-07-03T13:44:00.000-07:002006-07-04T14:14:11.200-07:00

Jean D'Alos is the Bordeaux affineur from whom Cowgirl Creamery sources all of its French cheeses. Working in the Cowgirl shops in San Francisco there was always a hint of awed reverence for Jean D'Alos and his cheeses, not without warrant. Jean D'Alos is of the respected profession of affineur, visiting cheesemakers around the countryside, hand-selecting cheeses to take back to his caves in

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