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22 09, 2023

Puppy Love

By |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!

18 09, 2023

Hummingbird Watch

By |2023-09-17T16:48:39-05:00September 18th, 2023|A Writer's Life, Make Me Think Monday, Writer's Life|1 Comment

SOURCE: David Dilbert @Pexels.com

Hummingbirds – those tiny, colorful, thin-beaked birds, called hummers from the noise that occurs when they flap their wings – are back at our feeders.

Fall migration is from mid-July through August or early September, so they’re migrating. That usually means we fill our feeders every day instead of once a week like we do for the little flock that winters over with us.

There are lots more hummingbirds than usual this year and we’re filling the feeders twice a day!

We watch their shenanigans at the feeders and have learned a lot about the fascinating tiny birds . . .

  • They cannot walk or hop on their tiny feet. They can scoot sideways while perched at feeders. Their small feet have evolved for more efficient flying.
  • Their long beak does not work like a straw but they have a fringed, forked tongue to lick nectar up into their throat.
  • A hummingbird egg is smaller than a jellybean.
  • The average lifespan is three to five years.
  • They have no sense of smell but very keen eyesight.

About their migration . . .

  1. The ruby-throated hummingbird flies five hundred miles nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico during migrations. They do not hitch rides on other birds.
  2. Their maximum forward flight speed is thirty miles per hour but can reach up to sixty miles per hour in a dive.
  3. Their wings beat between 50 and 200 flaps per second depending on the direction of flight, the purpose of their flight, and the surrounding air conditions.
  4. Their wings rotate 180 degrees, enabling backward flight and stationary hovering.

About their behavior . . .

  • They have superior memories and will return to the same feeders and gardens every year.
  • They’re not always docile creatures and will regularly attack jays, crows, and hawks that infringe on their territory.
  • They consume one-half of their weight in sugar daily and feed on average five to eight times per hour, which explains why we have to fill the feeders so often.
  • One hummingbird will guard all the feeders, chasing intruders away. Here’s our little guard hummer protecting one feeder.

The most important thing we’ve learned is hummingbirds prefer plain, clear homemade nectar to red dye which may be dangerous.  When we tested the claim, our hummers refused to drink the red stuff and disappeared until clear nectar reappeared.

 

My homemade nectar recipe: One cup of sugar dissolved in four cups of boiling water and then cooled before filling feeders. I store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Your hummers will love it too and you can enjoy a hummingbird show like we do.

15 09, 2023

Unwelcome Visitor

By |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.

11 09, 2023

9-11 and Memory Triggers

By |2023-09-07T10:22:35-05:00September 11th, 2023|Holidays, Writer's Life|0 Comments

Triggers are sensory reminders that can cause memories –painful or happy – to resurface. Triggers can be anything from a holiday to a perfume scent to a loud voice.

Years after certain events, whether we were part of an event or not, anniversaries of events can trigger feelings.

Dates like these:

December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor
November 25, 1963 John F. Kennedy Assassination
August 22, 1966 The University of Texas Tower Shootings
April 04, 1968 MLK Assassination
January 28, 1986 Challenger Explosion
November 9, 1989 Fall of Berlin Wall
August 31, 1997 Princess Di dies in a car accident
April 20, 1999 Columbine High School CO shootings

And, of course, September 11, 2001

Today is the twenty-second anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania. Today we remember and honor those who died on that day and during the aftermath.

Memories may trigger for you as this day does for me. My husband worked in New York City for many years. Our photo albums are filled with pictures of the Twin Towers from our many trips to the city.

None of our before pictures can erase the scenes from what happened on September 11, 2001, or my fears that day. I couldn’t turn off the TV as the horrors unfolded.

If today triggers memories for you, too. Let’s remember this quote:

 

8 09, 2023

Silly Turkey

By |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.

4 09, 2023

Celebrating Labor Day

By |2023-09-02T09:48:26-05:00September 4th, 2023|Holidays, Make Me Think Monday|0 Comments

Happy Labor Day!

Unlike most U.S. holidays, Labor Day is a strange celebration without rituals, well, except for shopping and barbecuing.

Peter J. McGuire, United Brotherhood of Carpenters founder, and Matthew Maguire, secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York, are considered founders of the U.S. Labor Day.

Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal in 1882 and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic. Workers agreed and staged a strike to get a day off work on the first Monday in September.

Twelve years later, in 1894, Labor Day became an official federal holiday though the bill did not give everyone a holiday. Only federal employees were authorized the day off by the law.

Over the years, emphasis changed from protests and demands and Labor Day shifted to honoring the labor movement and the social and economic achievements of all American workers.

Though the holiday has no rituals, addresses by union officials, industrialists, government officials, and others do receive coverage in social media, newspapers, and television.

Labor Day mostly signifies a three-day weekend filled with retail sales, an extra day away from work, and the unofficial end of summer.

Unless you work in retail then you’ll have some long working hours. Police, firefighters, nurses, and doctors will also experience heavy workloads because Labor Day is the second most dangerous holiday to drive on U.S. highways.

I’ll not be driving. I’ll be following Douglas Pagels’ advice.

“Sometimes it’s important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it’s essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow.”

Why not join me? Relax, grab one last hot dog, and slide down your rainbow beam.

1 09, 2023

My New Title

By |2023-08-29T08:40:39-05:00September 1st, 2023|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara


Last Friday I looked out the kitchen window to find that Mr. Grumpy Turkey was on the wrong side of the fence.

My first thought was “Who can I call to help me?”  Beekeeper Brian was at work as were both children who live in town.

My next thought was “Who is available to take me to the hospital?”  Mr. Turkey is not fond of me and the feeling is mutual. I was imagining a fierce battle.

I came to the conclusion that I would have to wrangle this turkey on my own. I started the coffee brewing, grabbed the rake, and prepared to face my nemesis.

He was much less brave when he was on my side of the fence. I was able to guide him back into the chicken yard through the gate. It was almost anticlimactic.

Feeling triumphant, I returned to the kitchen to enjoy my coffee and new title as Turkey Wrangler.

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