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4 02, 2022

Hard Goodbye

By |2022-02-03T14:01:12-06:00February 4th, 2022|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|2 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Monday was rough on Miller Farm.  Rachel summed it up best on a Facebook post:

“We said goodbye to Tucker today. The toy hoarding, fetch-loving, snuggly dachshund who started an entire chapter in our lives. He was the first inside dog, the first dachshund, and the first dog to sleep in my parents’ bed. Who knew 16.5 years ago when I asked for a puppy that we would end up with 6 dachshunds!”

It was quite sad.  Even the sky was crying raindrops.

There is some comfort in thinking he will rejoin Bella, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge recently.

Rachel told us yesterday at breakfast she saw a cardinal on the back fence on Tuesday.  It was the first one to appear in our backyard this year.

She reminded us of the tradition that says cardinals represent the soul of a departed loved one.  Whether or not that is true, God used that cardinal to bring comfort to her and thereby to us.

Farewell, Tucker Pup.

Your legacy lives on in your son Max and daughter Penelope.

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28 01, 2022

Playing Chicken

By |2022-01-28T11:54:16-06:00January 28th, 2022|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Things have settled into a new routine here on Miller Farm since Rachel moved home with her two dogs.  One of the dogs is Penelope, Max’s sister, who has lived on Miller Farm in the past.  Cooper, however, is the newcomer.  He is an Australian Shepherd puppy and is much larger and busier than the dachshunds.

Cooper gets along with everyone – even the chickens and ducks.  In fact, he enjoys “helping” me refill the duck pond.  By “helping”, I mean he plays in the water coming from the hose as I drag it to the duck pond.

He has even gotten into the chicken yard a couple of times.  After realizing the chickens do not respond well to “herding”, he has given up.

He has been introduced to the chicken on a fencepost game.  He was very curious.  Penelope explained to him that the game involves waiting and watching while the chicken walks along the top of the fence.

Everyone, including humans, waits to see which side of the fence the chicken will choose.

Fortunately, most of the chickens have learned to return to their side.  They don’t yet realize that Cooper would just attempt to herd them back there anyway.

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21 01, 2022

New Chicks

By |2022-01-17T17:18:57-06:00January 21st, 2022|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

The preschool class at my school hatched chicks before Christmas. Usually, they do this in the Spring, but I no longer question anything. The classroom teacher took them home the first weekend, but her dogs were much too interested in them for her comfort.

So, the next weekend I volunteered to take them home. After all, there are only six dogs in our house and our grandson was coming to visit. We could use some excitement on Miller Farm.

I wore my Chicken Whisperer shirt the day I picked them up. The students were most concerned as I gathered them up. I explained I had many other chickens at my house and could take good care of them.

I promised to bring pictures as they grew. I also said I would bring eggs when they started to lay.

The following Monday, when I saw the preschool class, one of them asked if I had brought eggs. Preschoolers have no concept of time.

After the past two years, I’m not sure I do either.

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19 11, 2021

Beekeeper Rachel

By |2021-11-18T17:30:20-06:00November 19th, 2021|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Our neighbor called a couple of weeks ago to tell me there were bees in their driveway and wondered if they could be ours.

I’m not quite sure how we could identify them, but we certainly would encourage them to come to our house.

Beekeeper Brian was out of town, so he started explaining to me what to do. He sent me the following picture with the message – “there is the queen.”

 

I had no idea what he meant so Rachel stepped in.

She knew exactly what to look for. Brian gave her directions and she put on a hat and gloves and “swept up the bees hoping to get the queen.”

I just stayed out of the way and took pictures.

Eventually we – that is Rachel – got the bees into a nuc (nucleus hive) and let them settle in.

I am very glad our neighbors do not mind having such interesting people living next door.

In fact, they were fascinated by the whole process and even covered the hive that night to keep the bees warm.

Rachel has earned her Beekeeper title. I’ll stick to documenting the excitement.

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12 11, 2021

Aha Moment

By |2021-11-11T06:04:09-06:00November 12th, 2021|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

I grew up memorizing large numbers of Bible verses. This serves me well in troubled times.

One passage I still remember is out of the book of Ephesians chapter 6. There, Paul describes spiritual armor including an instruction to gird your loins with the belt of truth. I memorized most scripture in the King James translation and didn’t really understand what it meant to “gird your loins” until recently.

I like to wear long, full skirts. They are especially useful in teaching as they allow me to move around and sit on the floor without revealing any body parts best left covered.

This poses a problem in the chicken yard. The skirts drag on the dirt and gets caught in the chicken wire.

I started tucking the hem into my waistband.

Then I discovered how to “gird my loins.”

I take the back of my skirt and bring it through my legs and tuck it into my waistband.

It may look silly, but it keeps my skirts clean!

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5 11, 2021

Odd Egg

By |2021-11-02T19:49:51-05:00November 5th, 2021|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

One thing I enjoy about our eggs is the variety. Store-bought eggs seem to be uniform – all brown or all white and all the same size. Our eggs are all different colors and sizes.

Recently someone has been laying particularly interesting eggs.

At first, I thought it was an anomaly but there was another just like it a few days later.

I wish I knew which chicken was laying these odd-shaped eggs. It is most likely a white hen from the school. The brown hens usually lay brown eggs.

I was explaining this to some children once and someone asked, “do the green eggs come from green chickens.” Makes sense but that’s not the way it works.

Seeing all the different eggs in our cartons makes me happy. It is kind of like looking out at my classroom and seeing the wide variety of students. They keep life interesting.

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22 10, 2021

Next Generation

By |2021-10-19T21:19:05-05:00October 22nd, 2021|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

During a recent visit from our daughter and son-in-law, I had the opportunity to introduce Alex, our grandson, to the chickens.

He is still toddling and so I did not let him down to walk among the chickens (and chicken poop).

He was very excited!

I am thrilled to be training up the next generation of Chicken Wranglers!

 

 

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15 10, 2021

Return to Miller Farm

By |2021-10-13T06:00:54-05:00October 15th, 2021|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Our daughter Rachel, the animal specialist, recently earned her Master’s Degree in Animal Science. We are very proud of her!

Now she just needs a job. This has been much more difficult than any one of us imagined and Rachel moved back to Miller Farm to continue her search.

Since moving out Rachel has acquired another dog – and it is not a dachshund. Meet Cooper, the Australian Shepherd.

He is used to living in a house with several other Aussies and Penelope – Rachel’s dachshund. Now dachshunds outnumber him. He tries to fit in, but it doesn’t always work.

He has finally gotten over his fear of the scary dog that lives in our oven (otherwise known as his reflection).

But he is still not sure about the chickens.

It is a little chaotic at Miller Farm right now.

It is a good distraction, though, as we had to say goodbye to Bella last week. She had kidney disease and after giving all our kids the chance to say goodbye, it was time for her to go.

Having Cooper here helps keep us from missing Bella – usually.

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1 10, 2021

Lizard’s Song

By |2021-09-27T09:14:26-05:00October 1st, 2021|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

When I went to unroll the hose to refill the duck pond this morning, I encountered a lizard. It was an anole to be exact.

I explained to him that I needed the hose and perhaps he should move. He was not convinced. I moved the hose and he jumped onto my foot.

As I began to walk, he moved to the ground. When I returned, he was waiting by the spigot. He seemed very happy when the hose was returned.

It reminded me of a children’s book – Lizard’s Song.

Lizard is quite happy living on a rock and spends his day singing “Zoli, zoli, zoli, zoli, zoli, zoli rock is my home, rock is my home!”

His friend Bear loves this song and begs Lizard to teach it to him.

After many tries, the Bear is still unable to remember the song. Lizard suggests that perhaps Bear change the words to “cave is my home, cave is my home.”

This works and Bear goes on his way singing “Zoli, zoli, zoli, zoli, zoli, zoli cave is my home.”

It is a sweet reminder to be happy with what we have. It also got a song stuck in my head this morning – Zoli, zoli, zoli, zoli, zoli, zoli hose is my home, hose is my home.”

It is fun to think of our three children singing this song as they read this. You’re welcome!

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