“Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain,
And the wavin’ wheat can sure smell sweet
When the wind comes right behind the rain.”

Oklahoma is predictable.  I can look over the tall grass and still count on it being there 5 miles from now.  Look down the road, no traffic today.  Oh hey, there’s a rain cloud over yonder 3 miles west southwest!  And while I’m at it, I’ll stare at that prairie dog’s cute fluffy little butt.  It definitely takes a certain kind of person to love the open plains, someone with a whole heck of imagination and heart.

Christy Straw, her son R.J., and her husband (who we didn’t get to meet unfortunately) welcomed us in to meet all the darling members of their fiber farm: alpaca, sheep, goat, dogs, cats!  There was Gracie, Willy, Jethro, King Panda, Holly, Mama, and…oh I forget the names, I’m sorry but I don’t even remember human names most of the time.  They gave us a tour that they usually do for the educational programs (I now know what good hay looks like!), hooked us up with yummy milk from Holly the goat, tomatoes, eggs from their chicks, and the softest fiber.  I got to rub Willy’s belly until my hands were super soft from the lanolin, pull my shirt out of Mama’s mouth a few times, boss King Panda by the horn, and listen to Gracie and her mom chat it up.  Imagine Animal Farm crossed with the Brady Bunch.

Christy is a mom, if that can be a noun, adjective, and verb all at once.  She use to work in a shelter and applies that mentality to the farm by keeping her older animals in peace and bringing in rescue ones.  R.J., in his 16 years of life, was a competitive ice skater in CO, ropes competitively now, is a respectable young shepard, and wakes up at 5am every day.  For all those 16 yr old girls who have crush on cowboys……..

Here is a link to their blog: http://www.farmontheprairie.com/blog 

The post they did on us: http://barnontheweb.wordpress.com/2014/08/29/awesome-tat-day/

And the Etsy where you can buy fiber!: https://www.etsy.com/shop/QTFarmshop

P.S. If you’re reading this Christy, you did so much for us so please don’t fret!  But, I might take you up on learning how to milk.