Miller Farm Friday Archives - Page 2 of 47

15 12, 2023

Ugly Christmas Sweater

By judythemorgan|2023-12-13T14:55:54-06:00December 15th, 2023|Friday on the Miller Farm, Holidays, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Our school is doing a dress-up theme every day this week. Thursday is ugly sweater day.

I have the perfect sweater. And it has a story. The story first appeared in my December 2014 blog.

Twenty-one (now thirty) years ago, my parents gave me a Christmas sweater. It was something they knew I would never buy for myself but would love.

They were right. I wore that sweater for many years starting with our daughter’s first Christmas. This very same daughter has borrowed the sweater not once but twice to enter her “tacky Christmas sweater” contests. This year she’s loaning it out.

I would be offended except for two years running, my sweater has won.

I think I deserve at least some kind of prize for having held on to that sweater long enough for college kids to think it is tacky.

I can’t wait to wear it on Thursday. I hope people are ready to hear the story. It is what makes the sweater the most interesting ugly sweater on earth!

~Read the original blog here: https://judythewriter.com/don-we-now-our-ugly-holiday-sweaters/

8 12, 2023

Old Dog New Tricks

By judythemorgan|2023-12-07T20:34:21-06:00December 8th, 2023|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

We got our first dog, Marv, from the vet school in town. He was a lab mix and lived in our backyard. We got him a food bowl but the first thing he did when we put food in it was to sling it all over the ground.

We decided to save him from that step and just dumped his food on the ground instead of using the bowl. He was happy.

Now we have smaller dogs that live inside. They each have their own bowl and their own spot in the kitchen.

None of them can pick up their bowls and dump them out but Max has learned a new trick. He flicks the pieces of food out of the bowl with his tongue.

They end up all over the floor. It is impressive. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks!

10 11, 2023

Flexibility

By judythemorgan|2023-11-09T08:56:06-06:00November 10th, 2023|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Honor likes to sleep on my lap when I am sitting at my desk. At first, she could curl up and fit easily. As she has grown, it has become more of a challenge.

Last week, I looked down and she had put her back leg over her nose to make herself into a smaller ball. I was impressed with her flexibility.

We have a Veterans Day program at school this week and then we start work on Christmas music. Between now and the end of the semester, things are pretty chaotic.

I think I need to print out this picture of honor and post it in my room to remind me to be flexible.

20 10, 2023

New Puzzle Challenge

By judythemorgan|2023-10-19T09:26:16-05:00October 20th, 2023|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

I have always enjoyed jigsaw puzzles. I cannot set one up during the school year because I will work on it to the exclusion of everything else.

I am actually pretty good at them, and I enjoy puzzles of all kinds. When I was visiting our grandsons this weekend, I encountered a new type of puzzle that was most challenging.

Alex loves trains. He has a set of tracks which he loves to put together. These tracks came in a box with a picture. While I was there, Alex decided he wanted the train tracks put together like the picture.

No problem, I thought as I got down on the floor and began to work.

I’m not sure whether it was my old eyes or my lack of spatial awareness but I could not make the train tracks look like the picture on the box.

The curves were going the wrong way and there were gaps in the track that did not match any available pieces. My daughter came to the rescue. She had watched her husband put the track together for Alex recently so she had an advantage. We finally got it all together and Alex enjoyed running the trains around the tracks.

When Alex tired of playing trains, Theo took over.

It was worth the team effort to make the track look like the picture.

13 10, 2023

Peace

By judythemorgan|2023-10-12T14:44:33-05:00October 13th, 2023|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

As I met with friends on Zoom to pray this morning, Honor curled up on my lap asleep,

She is blissfully unaware of all that is going on in the world.

Furthermore, she trusts that I will take care of her regardless.

I want to be more like Honor.

I want to rest completely in God who cares for me and has the world in His control.

6 10, 2023

Really Good Day

By judythemorgan|2023-10-05T20:22:40-05:00October 6th, 2023|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Because I teach many different grade levels, I have several different systems of positive reinforcement for student behavior. For the youngest students, ages 3-4, I have found stamping their hands to be most effective. I have a paw print stamp which works perfectly since we are the Panthers. It becomes part of their lining up routine. They put their hand on their head and if they have done a good job in music, they get a stamp.

The Kindergarten through sixth grade classes each have a sticker chart. When the class is doing well, I put up a sticker. When the chart is full (35 stickers) the class gets a free day. They choose what they want to do. Usually, they go outside. This process usually takes about 6 weeks and they really enjoy it.

I also have individual rewards – happy notes – that I give to students who are especially cooperative and helpful. I am surprised at how much these happy notes mean to them.

One day I looked down and noticed I had inadvertently stamped my pants.

Then I realized I had a sticker on my palm.

I must have been behaving very well so I wrote myself a happy note. It was a really good day!

29 09, 2023

When the Teacher is Wrong

By judythemorgan|2023-09-28T06:55:17-05:00September 29th, 2023|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Although the majority of music class is making or listening to music, we do write music as well. I have a can of random pencils available along with various kinds of paper, i.e. notebook, blank, staff.

Most of my pencils are well-used so have no erasers. They still sharpen fine so I hate to throw them away. I just keep separate erasers for students who need them.

This is very disconcerting to the students and the first thing they say when I give them a pencil is “My pencil doesn’t have an eraser.”

I tell them they don’t need an eraser until they have actually written something and when they have something to erase, I will give them an eraser. They are still not happy but they use the pencils anyway.

Last week I decided to buy new pencils. I got a box of sharpened pencils with nice erasers. As I passed them out, I explained how they were brand new pencils so every one of them had a point and an eraser.

One student told me that his pencil didn’t have a point. I confess I was frustrated as I said, “Yes it does. They are new pencils and you are the first people to use them.”

Then he brought me his pencil.

Sure enough, the lead was put in the pencil off-center so it was not sharpened. I tried several times to sharpen it to no avail.

It is the first time I have ever seen a pencil like this.

I wish I could say it was the first time I was proven wrong. Or that it would be the last.

22 09, 2023

Puppy Love

By judythemorgan|2023-09-20T16:14:47-05:00September 22nd, 2023|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

It has been 8 years since we had a puppy in the house and at that time, we had both Max and Penelope who would entertain each other.

Honor has no siblings in the house so when I get up with her in the morning, I become one big chew toy.

I have been trying to start my day with some stretching exercises and am usually successful until I get down on the floor on my mat. The extra weight on my back as I do planks is fine. But the mess she makes of my hair – not so fine.

I’ve thought about introducing a new hairstyle “Teased by Honor” but I’m not sure anyone else would like it. There is also the fact that she gets stuck in my hair and is no fun to extract.

This week her antics inspired a poem:

Honor’s Toys

My hand’s not a chew toy

Nor is the chair.

Don’t chew on the rug

Or play in my hair.

So many things

Are not to be chewed.

Only your toys

And always your food.

Your bone, not the cords

Not the box but your keys

You have lots of options

Choose one of them, please!

Thank you!

Because she is so cute, I don’t stay frustrated for long!

15 09, 2023

Unwelcome Visitor

By judythemorgan|2023-09-14T20:43:23-05:00September 15th, 2023|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|2 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Our neighbors recently told us that something had gotten into their chickens and killed three of them and a rooster. Based on the damage (headless chickens) they believe it was a raccoon.

I have heard tales of raccoons and their persistence and tendency to destruction. I was not happy.

We discovered one of our chickens had been a victim and had not survived. A rooster escaped to a neighbor’s yard, and there were a few more ducks in our yard that I imagine fled the attack. One of them has an injured leg,

We have set live traps and so have our neighbors to try to catch and relocate the villain.

So far, we have had no success.

My neighbor sent me a picture the other morning. Their oldest daughter is home from college for a visit and fearlessly chased off the raccoon one night. It hasn’t been seen since.

I’ll crown her Raccoon Wrangler. I’m not interested in that title.

8 09, 2023

Silly Turkey

By judythemorgan|2023-09-07T08:17:36-05:00September 8th, 2023|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

The grumpy turkey continues to provide entertainment on Miller Farm.

Friday morning when I went out to check on everyone, I found him roosting in the chicken coop.

He stayed there all day leading me to believe he was unsure how to get down.

I must confess, it was much less stressful to be in the chicken yard when the turkey was in the coop. But I was a little concerned he would starve to death so Beekeeper Brian tapped him and he jumped down.

A few days later he was back up on the roost. This time he figured out how to get down on his own, Silly Turkey!

He must think he is a chicken.