Stock Show

Jon and I both think we are living in the middle of nowhere. Oh, not really, but just enough to be annoying. We are not within walking distance of anything except a strip mall with a car parts store, a Jo-Ann fabric and a few smattering quilting, bicycle and framing stores. Oh, there’s also the weird Mexican steakhouse we have never wanted to try and a gas station. That is it. We are biking distance from some other desirable places (hello, yarn store!), but that requires a lot more planning and effort when there is a toddler in tow.

We feel that we are just a little too removed from the places we want to go. The good Japanese restaurants, the fun shops, the hip areas. And so it is completely illogical that when we talk about our dream home, we talk about a little llama and alpaca hobby farm somewhere outside the city. Yes, a hobby farm. Jon and I. I’ll let you digest that.

We both really want a goat, some chickens, maybe a llama or a couple alpaca. We want the quiet of the country, some land to grow vegetables, and general awayness. There is no way this would ever become reality. I mean, we want an alpaca, sure, but what the heck do you do with an alpaca?! Chickens we could handle (fresh eggs!) but that is about it. We couldn’t even grow squash last summer! Squash, people. The easiest, stupidest vegetable ever. Sigh. Our dreams are a bit silly sometimes, but maybe that is why it is a dream.

(Another dream is to move to Japan. That seems equally unlikely.)

Our dream of a hobby farm was only emboldened this weekend when we went to the National Western Stock Show with Evelyn. She LOVED it. Love. We watched some sort of super boring horse competition-- where a rider trots around the ring, walking over a pipe, and then gets the horse to go backward for 10 feet--for about 45 minutes. Evelyn was enthralled. Anything that keeps a one-year old entertained for that long is impressive. After the horse thing we went to the stock yard and saw rows and rows of the biggest, cleanest, best-looking cows I have ever seen. The next area was full of llamas and alpacas (and yarn sellers!). Evelyn was in toddler heaven. She thought the llamas were sheep and the alpacas were dogs (judging by her animal sounds, at least), but she loved it. Loved loved loved it! We even went to a petting zoo where she shyly pet a pig, a donkey, and some goats in a pen. Every time we saw a horse walking around, which was often, she would point and say “Neigh! Neigh!” We were at the stock show, just walking around and seeing stuff, for nearly three hours. That is probably a record for Evelyn.

It was so fun to see Evelyn having so much fun. She just LOOOOOVED the animals. She was thrilled by every single horse sighting or cow moo. I would love to go during one of the rodeo events, maybe some mutton bustin’ or a dog agility competition, but we didn’t plan for that this weekend. Maybe next weekend, when my step-mom and sister Olivia come to town. I’m sure Evelyn would love a second round at the Stock Show.

(Jon took some pictures but they are, of course, on film, so we won't see them for a week or so. If any turned out, I'll post then.)