Chicken Wrangler Sara

7 06, 2019

Another Children’s Book

By |2019-06-06T09:17:28-05:00June 7th, 2019|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A Blog By Chicken Wrangler Sara

Rachel has worked as a personal assistant for a woman named Jane who is visually impaired and has somewhat limited mobility.  Rachel takes her the places she needs to go and helps her around the house.  Last April Rachel and I took her to see the Texas Tenors for her birthday.  Jane enjoys music very much and in fact we sit together at Bible Study so I can sing alto to her soprano when we sing the hymns.

Before we even went to our seats, I stopped at the merchandise table.  This is usually a bad idea but in this case there was a newly published children’s book entitled Ruckus on the Ranch.  It was a gift we could all enjoy.It tells the story of two horses, Wyatt and Ruby, running amuck on a ranch being chased by all the farm animals as well as the cowboy and cowgirl.  They eventually get tired and lay down to rest.  All is quiet until… Wyatt gets stung by a bumble bee.

Of course, there is a song sung by the Texas Tenors that goes with the book.  At the part where all is quiet, the three men sing “Oh what a peaceful ranch” in beautiful harmony. It is my favorite part not only for the music but also because when I play it in my music class, all the kids lay quietly.

Then when Wyatt gets stung, they all jump up and start galloping around again.  It is the perfect song for when the classes need to get some energy out – like the month of May.  It also gives me a workout as I gallop around with them.

Sometimes on Miller Farm the chickens run amuck.  Then I put food out and they all get quiet. In that moment I hear in my head “Oh what a peaceful ranch” and hope no one gets stung by a bee.

31 05, 2019

Circle Dogs

By |2019-05-29T21:00:32-05:00May 31st, 2019|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

My collection of children’s books includes one with the title “Circle Dogs.”It begins “In the big, square house live the two circle dogs” then goes on to trace a day in the life of two dachshunds repeating this line at the end.

I could write a similar book.I would have to change the first line to “In the not-so-big square house live the six circle dogs.”

17 05, 2019

Smart Chicks

By |2019-05-16T20:40:22-05:00May 17th, 2019|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Several classes at my new school hatched chicks recently. It has been fun to check on them especially during the stress of the last weeks of school.  I think “chick therapy” is a great thing.

This morning the 2nd grade teacher told me she had found homes for all but three of the chicks.  Being a Chicken Wrangler, I felt compelled to wrangle them to our house. When I went to pick them up, there were actually four that needed a home.I figure since these chicks were hatched at a school, they should be smarter than the average chicks.  My only question is will the ones hatched in the 6th grade class be smarter?

10 05, 2019

Disappearing Flowers

By |2019-05-09T16:07:15-05:00May 10th, 2019|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

We have had the prettiest yellow flowers in our yard this Spring. I am sure they are in the dandelion family and so should be considered weeds however, they are cheerful each morning and they make me smile.

Therefore I will leave them alone.

The bees really like them.  Therefore Beekeeper Brian will leave them alone.There is an interesting phenomenon, though.  When I come home each afternoon, they are gone.  I thought at first they had all died but the next morning they were back.  They remind me of morning glories only they are yellow. Between the storms that have come through our area each week, Beekeeper Brian mowed the yard.  Now the flowers are not even there in the morning.

I’m hoping they will return as the grass grows.  Everyone around here needs a cheerful greeting in the morning.

3 05, 2019

The Early Duck…

By |2019-05-02T21:37:09-05:00May 3rd, 2019|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Now that the ducks are in their new space, we have settled into a new routine on Miller Farm.

Each morning I feed the chickens their fermented chicken feed and give the ducks cat food.  I haven’t found a specific duck feed and the cat food has the calcium they need so it is all good.

I also retrieve the egg that Lucy lays.  In the afternoon I throw some feed to the chickens and ducks and gather chicken eggs.

On Fridays I empty the “duck pond” i.e. wading pool, and refill it with clean water.  Last week when I turned it over to empty it, there were many worms underneath.

Lucy thought it was a feast.

Ricky was a little slow so he missed out.

I guess it is true – the early bird gets the worm – even if the bird is a duck.

26 04, 2019

Perseverance

By |2019-04-25T15:03:37-05:00April 26th, 2019|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

The orchid I was given as a secret pal gift at the beginning of the year got knocked off the counter and the stalk broke. I was more upset than I should have been and had to remind myself that it is just a plant – a plant that makes me smile.

I gently reattached the broken stalk and hoped for the best. Months later it is blooming again.

I think it needs a bigger pot but I have been told to leave it alone while it is blooming.  Apparently orchids are very delicate.  That makes the fact that mine has persevered through the broken stalk even more amazing.

Perhaps I can learn from my orchid and persevere through the end of the school year.  And as long as my orchid is blooming, I can do it with a smile.

19 04, 2019

Bees and Bluebonnets

By |2019-04-18T07:15:51-05:00April 19th, 2019|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|2 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Being true Texans, Beekeeper Brian and I have bluebonnets in our yard.  These came from seeds handed out at the funeral of Brian’s step mother.  Each year the patch gets larger.  It makes me smile.

This year Brian noticed the bees on the bluebonnets.  He watched as the flowers opened what seemed like a doorway to allow the bee to collect pollen.  It was fascinating.

He was able to get some great pictures. (Did I mention Brian has a degree in photography from the Art Institute of Houston?)  He is a man of many talents!   The only thing better than bluebonnets in our yard is our own bees on the bluebonnets.

5 04, 2019

Duck Containment

By |2019-04-04T18:28:52-05:00April 5th, 2019|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

In our quest to reduce the number of chickens we have, we sold the Welsummer flock (one rooster and four hens) to some friends who are starting over with chickens after building a more secure coop.

That left an empty space which I decided was perfect for the ducks. I moved the “pond” into the new locations and Rachel helped me corral the ducks.

Before I could even close the gate, they had escaped through a loose spot in the fence. They were getting along fine with the chickens so it was not a big problem.  I simply wanted to separate them so they would only make a mess of their own waterer.

I secured the fence and decided to wait until dark to capture the ducks and put them in their new home.  I learned that ducks do not roost at night like chickens do.  I ran around in the dark chasing ducks until I remembered the turkey incident — I fractured my ankle when I stepped into a hole in the chicken yard while chasing a turkey.

I gave up and decided to try in the daylight.

After about a week, I was able to coax Lucy and Ricky into their new home.  I filled the “pond” with fresh water and they immediately splashed in.Everybody is happy – especially me.  I like everything to have its own home – including the animals.

23 03, 2019

Travel Buddies

By |2019-03-16T16:57:10-05:00March 23rd, 2019|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|2 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

My husband and I both drive Honda Fits. Mine is white, his is yellow.  It was not an intentional thing.  We just like Honda Fits.

Rachel and Brian both commute an hour each way to a nearby town for school and work.  For a short time their schedules worked out so they could ride together.

The next semester, when Rachel had to drive herself, she found a stuffed bee to be a travel buddy for her dad.  It fit perfectly in the side front window.

Then she found a stuffed dachshund that she couldn’t resist. So now Brian has two buddies to keep him company:

I travel several blocks to work each day.  In fact, I could probably walk if I didn’t have to drop Bill off at school.

Even though I spend much less time in my car, I still felt lonely without a travel buddy. My front window was very empty.

Recently I found a stuffed eggplant in the back of Rachel’s car. I loved it but, alas, it was a dog toy belonging to Rachel’s boss’s dog.

When she told her boss how much I liked the eggplant, her boss bought one for me.  So now I have a happy eggplant travel buddy!

It makes me smile.

15 03, 2019

Farewell Kaboodle and Custard

By |2019-03-14T19:24:28-05:00March 15th, 2019|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|2 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Although we call it Miller Farm, we actually live in the middle of town on 1/3 acre lot one block off a major street.  The pie shape of our backyard has allowed us to keep the various birds and stay within city ordinances – until now.

Apparently some city dwellers are not happy with crowing roosters.  The latest ordinance that has passed the first reading bans all roosters in the city limits. This is sad for us.

Most of our roosters are nameless and so I’m not attached.  Kaboodle and Custard, however, are in another category.  Not only do they have names, but each one has his own blog post.

 

Read Custard’s blog here.

 

 

 

 

 

Read Kaboddle’s blog here.

A piano student’s mom posted about Kaboddle and Custard   somewhere and we got a message from some friends of ours who were looking to replace their rooster.  They live outside city limits and have 4 children living at home.I explained to the boys that they would be moving to a new home with lots of room and no crowing restrictions.  They were not impressed but hopefully they will settle in.  I’ll check on them later.

Farewell Custard and Kaboodle!

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