Klamath Falls, Oregon Invaded By City Slickers

We have spent the last six days visiting Sheri, a dear friend of ours. We always socialized with her and her late husband Pat.  She now lives on several acres in Klamath Falls with her two brothers.  Her mother and sister live nearby, also in Klamath Falls.  They raise chickens and are planning for steers and hogs.  One of her brothers has a green thumb and grows most of the produce they consume. Both brothers are very handy and can build anything.

Knowing both of us are fron the Concrete Canyons of Chicago and New York, Sheri planned things to do that City Slickers aren't usually exposed to.  We got a tour of the home, grounds and then took off to meet Jolene, her sister at the Weekly Livestock Feeder Sale.  That was a first for us!  They auctioned off goats, cattle and a few horses; sometimes one at a time and sometimes a group of 20-30 at a time.  The auctioneer was difficult for us to understand since he spoke so fast, but everyone else there didn’t have a problem. 

Lunchtime  for Thai Country Food

We spent the rest of the afternoon/evening checking out the rest of their property and just visiting with each other.

Five Pound Egg

 The next day we went to Karen and Don Holmstrom’s ostrich ranch named Oregon Ostrich, where we learned a lot about ostriches.  They have about 60 chicks and 8 adults.  We got a wonderful tour from Karen. The couple’s unique bird-breeding venture offers an exotic food source and an educational opportunity.

They began farming ostrich in 1993 when they lived in Arizona.  In 2006 they landed in Klamath Falls.  They hope that one day the operation might be an agri-tourist destination for families and investors who want to learn about birds or farming in the area.

In a warming case next to the incubator, a 5# egg awaited its turn to be placed with the others.  We could hold the egg is we desired, which most of us did.  Before hatching their eggs spend about 42 days in the incubator being warmed consistently and turned at regular intervals.

Its hard work getting out of this egg

We spent a lot of time watching them in their pens, from the smallest to the largest.  The birds are separated by size and housed in pens spanning about an acre. 

Someday I'll be big and strong if I eat my spinach

Only a few adults are kept onsite for breeding.  They are too aggressive to be sold as pets, especially the males.  They have the potential to kill someone.  Nearly all the farm’s ostrich are sold for food.  Ostrich is often promoted as a beef alternative, and is very lean.  The eggs are edible and similar to chicken eggs, but it would be a challenge for one person to eat an entire egg.  

After dinner one evening we all went to a nearby town to attend a performance by the Oregon Old Time Fiddlers Association.

A lot of time was spent yakking and yakking till bedtime, catching up on the latest dirt.  What a fantastic time we had renewing an old friendship.