Friday on the Miller Farm Archives - Page 28 of 35

16 05, 2014

Barking Bella – Miller Farm Friday

By judythemorgan|2014-05-16T06:00:35-05:00May 16th, 2014|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

By Guest Blogger Chicken Wrangler Sara

Bella’s barking can be quite annoying. I have taken to ignoring her for as long as possible, especially if I am at home during the day and the neighbors are not. This morning, however, I tolerated it for as long as I could stand and then headed out to get her.

What I found was very scary.

The pile of wood on the neighbor’s back porch was on fire. Flames were probably 5 feet tall.

Bella was quite disturbed.

I noticed a car in the driveway and ran around to tell them what was happening. I met our neighbor in the side yard. We rounded her house together and discovered the flame was rapidly moving up the house wall.

I ran for fire extinguishers. My neighbor ran for the hose. She had the fire out by the time I got back out.

No one has been able to figure out how the fire started. But, for once, I was glad that Bella barks. She’s earned a new title – Bella the Fire dog.

The damage wasn’t too bad, but very scary. We are all grateful it was so minor.

From now on, I will always check on Bella when she is barking. She is sometimes smarter than we think.

9 05, 2014

Miller Farm Landscape – Miller Farm Friday

By judythemorgan|2014-05-09T06:00:17-05:00May 9th, 2014|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

by Guest Blogger Chicken Wrangler Sara

Our son usually mows the lawn but he has suffered a shoulder injury requiring surgery. Now Beekeeper Brian mows the lawn.

The back yard had become quite a jungle so I know mowing was difficult. It would not have been surprising if Beekeeper Brian missed a spot. However, when I looked out the window, this is what I saw:

A giant weed, obviously left intentionally, which caused me to wonder two things:

What was the plant?

And why was it left?

When Beekeeper Brian told me it was thistle, I immediately thought of Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. He ate thistles. My first thought was Oh no we’re getting a donkey!

Beekeeper Brian quickly explained that bees also like thistle, and he wants to keep the bees happy.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I did not want another animal to have to feed. Chickens, quail, and dogs are enough and the bees take care of themselves.

2 05, 2014

Springtime on Miller Farm

By judythemorgan|2014-05-02T06:00:52-05:00May 2nd, 2014|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A guest blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Springtime in Texas is usually marked by fields of bluebonnets with small children having their picture taken. On Miller Farm, springtime is marked by the return of the lizards. They live all around our house and provide hours of entertainment for Sadie. She spends her days looking for lizards.

In fact this is so much a part of her routine that when she lost interest in lizards last fall, we took her to the vet. When he asked about her symptoms, we told him she wasn’t looking for lizards.

This was not at all alarming to the vet. He didn’t understand just how unlike her this was.

Sadie does, however, have a history of back problems so he thought she might be suffering some pain. He put her on steroids for a few days and she was back on lizard duty.

Bella, on the other hand, does not even notice the lizards. She spends her time checking on chickens.

There are some nights I have to walk all the way back to the chicken yard and pick her up. Because of her history as a chicken killer, I worry that she is plotting against them.

Then I remember this is Bella, who has memory issues and so probably is just trying to figure out what they are and from whence they came.

Spring means many different things to many different people. Here on Miller Farm it means looking for lizards and checking on chickens.

25 04, 2014

Easter Duds – Miller Farm Friday

By judythemorgan|2014-04-25T06:00:32-05:00April 25th, 2014|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

Guest Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Our younger daughter came home for Easter. While she was here we went dress shopping – that seems to be the norm for home visits. We were looking for a blue dress for a concert at her school. After much looking and trying on we were successful.

But more exciting was the shirt I found for me:

For those who don’t know or remember, we are the proud owners of 4 long haired dachshunds (Bella, Sadie, Tucker and Coco) who have been the subject of this blog on several occasions.

Fortunately the shirt was on sale and I had a coupon because I was ready to pay full price.

I wore it to church on Easter Sunday. It may not have been a traditional, normal Easter outfit but then no one expects Chicken Wrangler Sara or anyone from Miller Farm to be traditional or normal.

18 04, 2014

Breakfast in Bed – Miller Farm Friday

By judythemorgan|2014-04-18T06:00:16-05:00April 18th, 2014|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

We have regular routines on Miller Farm.

I get up, swim, let the dogs out, and let the chickens out. Then I feed the dogs and the humans. In the afternoon, I repeat that last part – feed the dogs and feed the humans.

Recently, Bella started barking about 5:30 p.m. and continued until I feed her supper. This was not a welcome addition to my routine so I began to pay close attention to see if I could figure out why she had started this.

I discovered that some mornings, Bella goes directly to the couch without eating her breakfast.

This was hard to discover as Bella usually takes bites of her food on the couch to eat. I had to watch carefully to see that she was simply lying on the couch and not eating.

Since her bowl was still full when the other dogs finished their portions, they ate her food also. This meant Bella was missing breakfast – the most important meal of the day.

This would explain why she was hungry and insistent on eating every afternoon.

The solution:

Bella now gets breakfast in “bed.”

I’m willing to spoil her a little if it keeps her quiet in the afternoon.

The whole scenario reminded me of when the kids were little. They always seemed to be underfoot while I was fixing dinner. I tried to have some activity ready for this strategic moment as feeding them breakfast in bed did not solve the problem with them like it did with Bella.

11 04, 2014

Whew! Weekend Chaos on Miller Farm is OVER

By judythemorgan|2014-04-11T06:00:25-05:00April 11th, 2014|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Guest Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

As expected, keeping up with six dogs, two cats and many chickens for the weekend was chaotic. I survived, but I’m so ready to return to plain old “Chicken Wrangler Sara.”

It was quite a weekend filled with adventures and misadventures!

I thought feeding the cats would be the easiest chore. The food had been left at our house and the bowls were left by the neighbor’s truck. Only problem was when I went to feed the neighbor’s cats, I couldn’t find the bowls so I used some of ours and put them by the truck in the neighbor’s driveway.

Upon reviewing the text message, I realized that the bowls were supposed to be at the back door. Not sure how I mixed that up.

By this time, it was dark outside so I couldn’t find the bowls by the door either. I moved our bowls by the truck to the back yard. Both cats seemed excited to have the food.

When I checked on them Thursday, however, only one cat was around. Now it’s been a while since I had cats, but I remember them being pretty independent so I didn’t worry too much. Today I confirmed both cats are still at the house or nearby.

Whew – I didn’t lose a cat.

Jengo offered more of a challenge. He is still a puppy who likes to chew. I came home Friday after chapel to discover white feathers all over the kitchen. My first thought was “Oh no, he got a chicken!” Then I remembered the chickens are outside. The feathers were part of Brian’s fly-tying materials.

Whew – I didn’t lose a chicken.

On Thursday, while I was teaching piano, I heard noise coming from the kitchen. I assumed it was Brian and so didn’t think much about it. When I finished teaching, however, I discovered a bag of potatoes strewn all over the kitchen. Jengo must have been hungry. It only took him three potatoes to realize he didn’t like them.

I moved the unsampled potatoes out of reach.

Jengo is also unstoppable. The gate at the kitchen door was not a deterrent. At all. Too many times over the weekend I turned around to find him right behind me. It was like having a toddler again. I only wished he went down for a nap.

The chicken wire over the gate to the chicken yard was also ineffective at stopping Jengo. He regularly followed me as I checked on the chickens. Fortunately, Jengo lacks Bella’s killer instinct and simply sniffed the chickens.

He wasn’t too sure about the chicken feeder especially when it started swinging.

He was also very curious about the bees. Since he is a puppy, I was able to distract him before the bees got too irritated.

Whew – I avoided treating a bee sting on a dog.

The cats are now back in the care of their owners and Miller and Jengo are once again in their own homes.

Whew it’s quiet around here. Well, as quiet as the Miller Farm ever gets.

I met in the 99 cent store today who said she needed to get rid of a miniature long-haired dachshund……… I didn’t even hesitate to say NO.

I’ll stick with four daschunds and thirty-something chickens. Thank you very much.

4 04, 2014

Expecting Weekend Chaos on Miller Farm

By judythemorgan|2014-04-04T06:00:57-05:00April 4th, 2014|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Jengo and Miller are staying with us through the weekend. Remember, they are our friend’s two daschunds and visit often. Jengo’s the puppy. We shared lots of fun times the last time he visited.

It’s always a fun time when dogs outnumber humans 6-4.

Then the neighbor texted last night asking if we could feed their two cats while they were gone for a couple of days. Okay, that’s doable. Mixing the cats and dogs under the same roof, not so much.

Since Beekeeper Brian and I were in Abilene at the time, the neighbors just left the cat food on the front porch. When our son Matt got home before we did, he simply moved the bag inside. He’s learned it is better sometimes not to even ask.

This brings the total number of four-legged animals under my care to eight — not counting chickens. We know from previous posts that we have more than 30 chickens including quail.

So this weekend, I’ll be keeping up with thirty-four or more animals if you count all the fowl. Let the fun begin!

I’m sure there will be some interesting stories for next week’s Miller Farm blog.

28 03, 2014

Little House by Miller Farm

By judythemorgan|2014-03-28T06:00:03-05:00March 28th, 2014|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday, Uncategorized|2 Comments

by Guest Blogger Chicken Wrangler Sara

Several weeks ago our new neighbors moved a playhouse into the space between our houses. They intend to move it into the backyard but need to remove the fence and rent a forklift. It’s an adorable little house.

One morning as I was loading my things into the car to go to work, an older couple was standing in the neighbor’s yard admiring the house. They asked me if the neighbors were selling it.

Now there is a real estate agent in town who shares my name and I have actually taken her phone calls in the past. I, however, am not interested in taking her job.

I explained that the neighbors had recently moved in, have five children and were probably still asleep, but I would check with them later. The couple had retired and wanted a play house for their grandchildren. I wished them luck and went on to my real job – teaching music.

The house has been there for about three weeks now. It isn’t bothering me and there have been no more sales offers.

Bella, our dachshund with short-term memory issues, continues to bark at it every time she goes outside. And every time I explain to her that it is the same house that has been there and barking will not make it go away.

I used to think it took a lot of patience to deal with children. Now I realize that dogs are much more challenging.

21 03, 2014

Broody Hens – Miller Farm Friday

By judythemorgan|2014-03-21T06:00:41-05:00March 21st, 2014|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|2 Comments

by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Periodically one or more of our hens goes broody. This means she sits on her eggs with the intent of hatching them.

Usually I just reach under her and grab the eggs, explaining that I feed them, they feed me. Their response is then to peck at my hand.

Rachel is a little harsher. She will pick the hens up and toss them out of the nest box then collects the eggs.

Currently, Rachel and Beekeeper Brian have decided we should let the hens sit on the eggs until they hatch. This is fine with me – less pecking on my hands.

Apparently this particular clutch of eggs requires more than one hen. Today there were three sitting on the eggs making it a group effort.

One of our bantam hens is sitting on eggs also.

Sometimes I find an egg that has been pushed out from under the hens. I’ve learned that frequently this is a bad egg Having cracked one open in the house, I discovered the unpleasant and lingering smell of rotten egg.

Now I crack the outcast eggs outside to see if it is a good or bad egg.

In other news, we are hoping to get a replacement rooster for Elliot. I’ll keep you posted.

14 03, 2014

Rough Week on Miller Farm

By judythemorgan|2014-03-14T06:00:29-05:00March 14th, 2014|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Last Thursday in the middle of the day I made a grisly discovery—a half-eaten chicken in the chicken yard.

I quickly scanned the flock to see who was missing. All the named chickens were accounted for so I breathed a sigh of relief. It was sad nonetheless and a mystery.

What was bold enough to attack in broad day light? And would it return?????

I left town Friday morning for a weekend retreat and Rachel came home Friday afternoon for Spring Break. I talked to her Saturday and she told me that Crooked Neck had died. This was sad news indeed.

Crooked Neck was from one of the first set of eggs we hatched. We didn’t expect her to live very long since her neck was so misshapen but she survived several years.

Monday morning when I went to let the chickens out, I discovered that Elliot had died during the night. There was no evidence of foul play so I’m not sure what happened. It was almost more than I could bear.

Beekeeper Brian and Matt are in Colorado and when I told Brian about Elliot, he said “Well don’t throw him away. I want to use his feathers for tying flies.”

I must admit, Elliot did have wonderful feathers.

I took Catherine (our eldest) shopping while she was home to get a dress for her Junior Recital. She is an oboe performance major at Hardin Simmons University. At one store, they frequently feature books and accompanying stuffed animals. The proceeds from their sale go to support kids’ health and education initiatives.

This time the books were Dr. Seuss books including one of my favorites Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb — a very repetitive, rhythmic book that I use in my music class. It came with a stuffed monkey so, of course, I had to buy both.

I read the book to Catherine which she found extremely silly. Then I decided to name the monkey Elliot – in memory of our dear departed rooster. It has made our loss much more bearable.

This morning, all the chickens were alive and pecking. Maybe the roughness has ended.