It all started in 2017 with a dog.
In 2016, Dan and Liliana Rudder moved from Texas to their new home, situated on 20 acres of land near Poteau. The following year, they decided it was time to add to their small family, so they purchased a puppy as a surprise for their daughter, Alyna, while she was at camp.
When Dan went to pick little Ruby up, he noticed a beautiful horse on the property. The woman selling the puppy later called Dan and asked if they would also like to adopt Lucy. As yet, the property was unfenced so, sadly, the horse was shortly later rehomed to another family.
After adding fencing, Dan purchased a Guernsey calf named Emily, followed by three goats—Pepper, Salt and Mama—originally purchased to provide companionship for Emily.
Time came when Dan decided a guard dog was needed for protection. Leia was introduced to the farm while still a puppy and Emily was only about 6 months old. Daunted by her new surroundings, little Leia quickly latched on to the largest animal on the farm for protection: Emily.
It was a match made in heaven, and they quickly became inseparable. Years later, Leia’s offspring also became fast friends with Emily. And of course, the goats also formed strong attachments with both Emily and the dogs.
When Mama died (from a snake bite, they think) and Dan went to carry her body away, “Emily ran alongside, mooing; she’d lost her best buddy,” he recalled.
“These animals form an amazing relationship with each other, no matter the species,” Dan added. “Humans could learn a lot from ‘dumb’ beasts. If we were more like them, this world would be a better place.”
Fortunately, Emily wasn’t doomed to loneliness. She had Mama’s offspring—Coffee, Honey, Latte and Mocha—and later their offspring, as well as the dogs and other human and nonhuman farm dwellers, for companionship.
Raising these animals, Dan said, was a joyous and eye-opening experience for he and his family.
There were also material benefits.
For example, after breeding Emily, she provided 4 gallons of milk a day, some of which he delivered to local residents.
“Little kids called me the milk man,” he recalled with a smile.
Because Dan bred Emily and the other cows and goats their numbers grew over time, and before all was said and done, the Rudder’s farm had grown large enough to fill a medium-sized ark.
In 2019, Dan received a life-changing health diagnosis, and was forced soon after to downsize; regretfully, he sold their herd of Guernsey cows, all Emily’s offspring.
There’s still plenty of action going on at the Rudder farm (which they officially named Buttercup Valley Farm in 2019); however; it remains home to some 12 goats, a cow named Basil, nine chickens, three dogs (Leia, her daughter Roxie and Ruby) and three indoor cats—plus a few barn cats.
“Emily and all the rest have brought us so much joy, health wise and spiritually,” Dan said. “It’s been a blessing.”
A man of many interests, Dan—who has worked for over 12 years in a multitude of capacities, including webmaster and marketer, at Renaissance Cast Stone (RenaissanceCastStone.com) also runs two businesses, Web Print Solution and Cross Crafter.
The latter business interest can actually be traced back to when Dan was 14, when he began carving wood, “doing little plaques of ‘Home is where the heart is’ and such,’” he recalled. That interest expanded into word-burning art.
“Years later,” he recalled, “my wife wanted me to make her a wall cross, so in 2005 I started carving again.”
One cross turned into dozens, then dozens more, until an entire wall of their home was covered in them. Along the way, the couple gave away many of the crosses to admirers and others experiencing hardship.
Ultimately, they formed their own business (crosscrafter.com), shipping the crosses to people in nearly every country worldwide.
The crosses, as well as plaques and outdoor signs (and later, custom caskets), reflect Dan’s Orthodox Christian faith—a journey worthy of its own story.
“My mother was not a church goer; I am the only one out of five sons to ever go to church,” Dan explained. “As a child, I attended a Methodist church a town over, in Farmer’s Branch, Texas,” he recalled.
“I didn't know anyone there, but somehow it found me.”
A real life-changer for Dan came in 2000 during a visit to his wife’s native country.
“Oh, the joy I felt when I found the Orthodox Church while visiting Romania!” Dan exclaimed. “I didn't understand a word they said, but I knew in my soul [that] I had found the true church after looking so many years.”
In 2008, he, his wife and their daughter planned a trip to St. Herman's Seminary in Kodiak, Alaska, where he planned to pursue studies to become a priest.
And then his mother received a cancer diagnosis, and he changed course to care for her, an opportunity that allowed mother and son to discuss scripture and other religious topics over coffee every weekday morning. Before her death in 2014 (not from cancer), she was baptized and became Dan’s goddaughter. (He currently has 12 godchildren "between here and Dallas," he notes.)
Dan says that by producing the popular crosses and selling them worldwide, “I’ve been able to spread the word of God without saying a word.
“It’s been a real blessing.”