Miller Farm Friday Archives - Page 25 of 48

22 06, 2018

Interruption on Miller Farm

By judythemorgan|2018-06-21T14:30:01-05:00June 22nd, 2018|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|3 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

A finger injury recently interrupted Life on Miller Farm and it was my finger.

The accident happened at the beginning of June but it has taken me a while to process the mishap. This is what happened:

I was slicing a red bell pepper with a mandolin slicer. I did not use the holder and sliced the tip of my right index finger – off. I screamed and Beekeeper Brian came into the kitchen immediately.

To be honest, it is not unusual for me to cut myself. In fact, there is a tube of super glue with my name on it near the kitchen counter. However, Beekeeper Brian took one look at my finger and said, “Let me get some shoes on.”

We went to the closest urgent care clinic where the FNP called in the MD to confirm her diagnosis. She called it an “avulsion” which is a tearing away of the skin. She used silver nitrate to stop the bleeding and the nurse wrapped it in a pretty purple bandage.

The doctor wrote a prescription for an antibiotic and pain medicine which I took as often as I could for the first two days.

I practiced playing the piano with my other nine fingers and told the worship leader at our church that I would be at 90% for a while. I have now realized how much of my piano playing is muscle memory. It takes a lot of brain power to remember not to use finger 2 on my right hand.

After a trip to my regular doctor I was able to switch to a fingertip bandage. It reminds me of a finger puppet so Brian drew a face on it.

It has been nearly three weeks and the finger is slowly healing. Another week or so and I should be able to get back to swimming.

The doctor said I could get in the pool if I kept my finger out of the water. I’m not sure my brain can figure out how to swim without my right hand getting wet. I could just walk back and forth across the pool with my finger up in the air.

Or I can just wait a little longer.

In the meantime, my mom gave me a mesh glove to wear when I use a knife in the kitchen.

I’d like to keep the rest of my fingers intact.

15 06, 2018

Weed Control

By judythemorgan|2018-06-14T09:10:47-05:00June 15th, 2018|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

A friend in my Bible Study Fellowship class is a gardener. She was talking about weeding one day and I mentioned that I always feed the weeds to my chickens. They love scratching through and finding bugs.

Vicky started bringing her weeds to me. She would put them in a mulch bag and I would carry them home in the back of my car. The chickens are thrilled.

I made a video of the chickens eating to send to Vicky. In it you can see them scratching and hear them clucking with contentment. You can also hear the dogs barking in the background.

At one point, Custard comes running by but he’s too scared to stop and scratch with them. He prefers to jump up and get the leaves off the tree behind the pile of weeds.

Why spend money watching movies when the chickens provide such great entertainment for free?

8 06, 2018

More Duck Tales

By judythemorgan|2018-06-06T13:11:04-05:00June 8th, 2018|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|2 Comments

A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

The ducks must have read last week’s blog (http://judythewriter.com/ducks-to-water) and decided to cooperate with me. Topsy stayed in the pool long enough for me to get a picture.

The recent rains have filled the pool and with the temperature heating up, the pool is very inviting.

I’m curious to see if the chickens jump in also.

I was also able to get another picture of all the ducks:Someone must have told them about another popular saying. I can now say my ducks are in a row. :)

1 06, 2018

Ducks to Water???

By judythemorgan|2018-06-01T13:43:38-05:00June 1st, 2018|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|3 Comments

A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

I’m not sure where the phrase “like a duck to water” comes from, but I do know that our ducks have never heard it.

They outgrew the pan of water that we put in their pen so Rachel and I bought a small wading pool. Negotiating around the garden center with a pool in the buggy was quite a challenge.

We got it home and discovered there were directions for assembling the wading pool.It has been a long time since I bought a wading pool but I’m pretty sure they are not hard to set up. The instructions included a lanyard to be worn by the adult responsible for watching the children in the pool.

Since ducks are naturally good swimmers, we threw the lanyard away.

At the suggestion of the person who gave us the ducks, we put down a layer of mulch under the pool to keep down the mud. The chickens thought this was for their entertainment and promptly begin scratching all the mulch out from under the pool.

The ducks were less impressed with their new “pond.” Rachel threw them in and they immediately climbed out as though it were boiling water.

We moved to plan B. Put the pool on more level ground. Surely the ducks would like it then. Wrong.

Rachel suggested digging an indentation to make the pool more level with the ground. Sounded like a good idea to me.

So on to plan C. After wearing a blister on my hand, I had a shallow hole in which to set the pool. I filled it with water and went inside to bandage my wound.

While enjoying some nice cold water, I glanced out the window to see the ducks in the pool!!!! I was so thrilled I jumped up to get a picture. They immediately jumped out.

Since then they have been in the water many times and I have tried to photograph them. This is the best I could do.

Any time I get closer, they exit the pool. I’ve considered installing a camera in one of the trees.

I guess they finally heard the phrase “Like a duck to water.”

25 05, 2018

Where’s Waldo – Duck Version

By judythemorgan|2018-05-23T21:03:18-05:00May 25th, 2018|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

The ducks are finally big enough to run with the chickens. They eat the same things as chickens so keeping their food separate is not necessary. The arrangement seems to be working out pretty well.

In fact, I’ve decided to make a children’s book.

I’ll title it Where Are Tipsy, Topsy and Turvy? or Find the Ducks.

What do you think?

18 05, 2018

Changing Colors?

By judythemorgan|2018-05-02T21:54:29-05:00May 18th, 2018|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

I came home one day to find a lizard on the fence post. It caught my eye because it was bright green. A week later I saw a brown lizard on the bench.

I wondered if perhaps it was the same lizard. I know anoles change colors.

If so, why did it choose to stand out on the fence post and blend in on the bench?

Then I thought about human behavior. Why do we sometimes choose to stand out and be different and other times we want to blend in?

I haven’t come up with an answer. Any suggestions?

11 05, 2018

Finishing Strong

By judythemorgan|2018-05-02T15:39:21-05:00May 11th, 2018|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

The school where I teach has a long tradition of celebrating May Day including a May Pole. The kids learn to skip around the pole holding streamers as music plays. At the end, there is a pattern of colored streamers on the pole.

If done properly, it looks very neat. This year was a little rough. Practices were held as often as possible but some of the students still struggled.

After the festivities were over, one of the students asked the teacher in charge, “So how did we do?”

The teacher looked at the pole and said “The last 18 inches look great. Let’s just leave it at that.”I think I will adopt that philosophy about the school year. It was a rough start but I plan to make the last “eighteen inches” look pretty good.

So to all my fellow teachers and students out there – here’s to a strong finish.

27 04, 2018

Make Way for Ducklings

By judythemorgan|2018-04-26T11:13:13-05:00April 27th, 2018|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

I arrived home from Bible Study last Monday and Rachel told me, “The ducklings are in the furthest Bantam run.” To be fair, she had asked about getting ducks. I had just absentmindedly said “sure.”

This is how Tipsy, Topsy, and Turvey came to live on Miller Farm.

Tuesday morning I went out to check on the various fowl in the back yard. The ducklings had managed to escape their run and were visiting the chickens.

I hope this is not an omen of things to come.

They are really quite cute and very different from chickens. They have rounded beaks and walk with their necks stretched out. It makes me think of an elegant swan rather than a goofy chicken.

Ducks also have webbed feet. Of course I knew this but now I’ve seen it up close and personal. They use these to get around in water – like a pond – which is not found on Miller Farm.

We have a small tub for them to use for now. Eventually we will get a child’s swimming pool.

I can’t help but think of Robert McCloskey’s children’s book, Make Way for Ducklings, the Caldecott Award winner in 1941.

Perhaps I can write another one titled The Ducks of Miller Farm.

20 04, 2018

But Not Mosquitoes

By judythemorgan|2018-04-18T11:10:55-05:00April 20th, 2018|Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

The text message conversation on the left is between our daughter and me.

It is taking place during preparation for the annual Gilbert and Sullivan performance at my school.

At this time of year my “part time” job becomes “full time/over time.” This is why I responded as I did.

That being said, Rachel brought home a fish.

His name is Jeffrey. He is a beta fish and he is most likely a she. Because one is a lonely number, Rachel bought another fish.

This is Xibalba. Being another beta fish, he lives in a separate tank.

Rachel is an animal science major and cares deeply for all things breathing. Still concerned that her fish would be lonely, she also bought them each their own water snail.

Jeffrey and Anteous the snail get along great.

Xibalba and Sombra, the other snail, do not. In fact, Xibalba kept attacking Sombra and making him fall from the top of the tank. To protect Sombra, Rachel separated the two.

Bill is also an animal lover and Rachel offered to give Sombra to Bill as his pet snail. Bill was thrilled and Sombra is much happier being with Bill.

On the way to school this week I noticed mosquito bites on Bill’s arm. When I asked him about them he said there is a mosquito in his room. He called it his pet mosquito.

I will accept the addition of fish and snails to Miller Farm but not mosquitoes!

6 04, 2018

Presents from the Dachshunds

By judythemorgan|2018-04-05T09:23:46-05:00April 6th, 2018|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

I have had to accept the fact that part of living on a farm is living with rodents. The rat population varies from season to season. We do what we can to keep it under control. We’ve put traps in the garage and poison in the shed.

The rats like to share the chicken feed and the hens and roosters tend to be pretty selfish. We also don’t need to feed any free loading animals.

I have also had to accept the fact that dachshunds catch and kill small animals. They are not particular as to which small animals making the chickens on the wrong side of the fence fair game. This is unfortunate.

In the “fortunate” column is the tendency the dachshunds have to hunt and kill rats. Penelope and Bella are particularly good at this endeavor. Yesterday I let the dogs out while I checked eggs and fed the chickens. When I was ready to get the dogs back in the house I discovered a present.I’m not sure who brought it to me but I am always grateful for the help with rodent control.