Miller Farm Friday Archives - Page 47 of 48

28 12, 2012

Ever had one of THESE days? Miller Farm Friday

By judythemorgan|2012-12-28T08:29:16-06:00December 28th, 2012|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|4 Comments

Chicken Wrangler Sara’s day:

This morning I got up at 5:15, made coffee, fixed breakfast and made sandwiches even though it is Saturday. The kids have All-Region Band auditions and I wanted to make sure they didn’t starve.

After they left, I went back to bed. It was glorious. I didn’t open my eyes again until 7:45. I should have kept them closed, but chicken wrangler duties called.

I got up and let the chickens out. That was ok.

I also let the quail out. That was not ok.

Lately, I have had difficulty closing the long quail cage securely, and we have had to retrieve quail on several occasions. Rachel even made me a sign that says, “Close the door.” Today, I closed the door on the long cage. However, I accidentally left the hutch cage open.

Strike one.

I knew something was amiss as I heard Bella barking frantically. She really wanted the quail to come over and play. I ran back outside and closed the hutch door on the two remaining quail. I decided to finish filling water jugs and deal with the loose quail later.

I washed the very dirty waterer from the quail cage in the coop, refilled the waterer, and reached to put it back. (In case you don’t remember, this cage is high up in the coop and somewhat difficult to reach.) The waterer slipped and the lid came open, spilling water all over me.

I was not happy. This was strike two.

On the bright side, even though it is December, this is Texas so it is 80 degrees outside. There was no danger of the water making me cold.

After refilling the waterer, I headed back to the house, silently praying that fixing coffee and breakfast for Beekeeper Brian and I would be easier.

One more strike and I’m out.

About the same time Chicken Wrangler Sara’s email arrived, I received an email from daughter #2 in Colorado. Her day started with a challenge too.

Woke up to about ten wild turkeys out in the front yard and street. I went out to talk to them and saw a deer.

SF turkeys

single deer

He had short antlers. I turned my back on him to take a picture of the front of the house and then turned back around he was coming after me!

I walked, rather briskly, back to the driveway and out of the corner of my eye, I see more deer staring at me.

deer next door for 12-28 blog

I was triangulated by turkey and deer!!

I started walking more briskly to the safety of the fenced front yard. Whereupon I saw deer tracks inside the fence, which led me to believe that the only truly safe place was inside the house until Patrick woke up to protect me!!

Nature. It’s not for sissies.

YOUR TURN: Wanta share how your day’s going?

22 12, 2012

Chicken chest bump challenges – Miller Farm Friday

By judythemorgan|2012-12-22T06:50:29-06:00December 22nd, 2012|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|2 Comments

Okay, I know today is Saturday, but I didn’t remember yesterday was Friday! I know CW Sara has loyal Miller Farm Friday readers and that’s why I’m posting her email blog. I do apologize and promise to pay more attention to the calendar and not just the clock in the future.

Back in the Blog

The chickens must have heard the rumors that they were being replaced in the blog by clothing/craft stories so they provided the following material this morning:

I noticed while observing our young roosters that male and female of every species share characteristics.

Our roosters have reached what I guess is the equivalent of adolescence and have started fighting. I used to believe that people trained roosters for cockfights, but I promise ours fight on their own. YesterdayI was convinced that two were fighting to the death.

Even Whitey – one of the hens – tried to break it up (just like a momma).

Finally, Samson, the chief rooster, based on seniority not on size as he is a bantam, “explained” to them how things were going to be. They stopped fighting.

Well this morning, I let the chickens out and, as usual, the roosters started their morning boxing bouts. They puff their chests out and bump up against each other kind of like men do at sporting events. Other times they fly towards each other and bump chests as well.

Photo Credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images

As I was feeding and watering the birds, I discovered one young rooster was on the wrong side of the fence. I guess he had been “bumped” over.

Fortunately, the only dog outside at the time was Marv, our old mixed breed, and he was more interested in the stale hamburger buns in the shed than in the rooster in the yard.

Poor rooster was very confused so I was able to grab him easily.

He did protest as I tossed him back into the chicken yard. I have the scratch on my arm and the mud on my shirt to show for it.

I asked my son Matthew if I needed to change shirts before I took him to school. (Remember he warned me to stay in the car when I was wearing my special sweatshirt.) He decided that rooster footprints were not as tacky as a sweatshirt with handprints.

However, since I was taking breakfast to Beekeeper Brian at his school, I decided to put on a clean shirt. Embarrassing kids is one thing but husbands are off limits.

YOUR TURN: What do you think are sports bumps and cockfights alike?

14 12, 2012

Chickens and Holiday sweaters: Miller Farm Blog

By judythemorgan|2012-12-14T07:41:50-06:00December 14th, 2012|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|2 Comments

We interrupt our regularly scheduled Chicken Wrangler emails for today’s seasonal email titled

Don We Now our Gay Apparel

Exactly nineteen years ago, my parents gave me a Christmas sweater. It was something they knew I would never buy for myself but would love. They were absolutely right. I wore that sweater for many years. In fact, I wore it in our Christmas picture for our daughters first Christmas.

Christmas 1993

This very same daughter, nineteen years later, has borrowed this sweater not once but twice to enter in “tacky Christmas sweater” contests.

I would be offended except for two years running, it has won.This year, she wasn’t even the one wearing it.

I think I deserve at least some kind of prize for having held on to that sweater long enough for college kids to think it is tacky.

Today was the first really cold day of the season so I pulled out my Christmas sweatshirt. It is even older than my tacky sweater.

I got it from my music class after my first Christmas program (which was several years before our first daughter was born). It has the name of the Christmas musical – “The Town Hall Christmas Tree” – on the front and all the kids’ handprints in red and green on the back and down the arms.

front of sweatshit

Sara's sweatshirt

This morning my son looked at me as I was putting on my shoes over my Christmas socks so I could take him to school and said, “I’m glad you are not getting out of the car.”

I almost got out and gave him a big hug just for spite.

Later I was at the doctor for my annual check -up and as I stepped on the scale (a frightful thing in and of itself) the nurse said, “What a cute sweatshirt. Are those the handprints of your grandkids.”

I texted my son later and said “Maybe I should have stayed in the car.”

I laughed and laughed when I received this email from Chicken Wrangler Sara. What fun to remember all the times like she described when she or her teenaged siblings asked me to wait in the car or wouldn’t let me out of the house because what I had on didn’t suit them. We call her sister Stef the fashion police even today!

I love Christmas and have multiple Christmas sweaters. Depending on the occasion, I select which one to wear. And, like an actress take on different persona depending on which I’m wearing.

For fun, casual parties and gatherings, especially those with sweater contests I wear this one. btw, it was purchased at the same time we bought CW Sara’s in 1993.

For more glitzy affairs when I need bling and swing, I choose this one:

And for conservative affairs, my Ralph Lauren angora. With a long skirt or jeans with high boots, I’m styling.

But the most fun comes from wearing the homemade variety. My girls will probably kill me for this one, but I loved the year I made us all red sweatsuits with appliqued Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. The suits are long gone, but oh what fun Christmas memories!

christmassweatshirts

CW Sara has carried on the tradition of creating crafty Christmas garments.

We have wreaths with children’s finger and handprints, wall hangings of hand prints/foot prints, and one years she managed to collect ALL eleven grandkids for a handprint Christmas table cloth. Unfortunately, due to the tipping point decision, that tablecloth is packed in storage awaiting our move to Colorado so I can’t show a picture.

YOUR TURN: Do you have any special handcrafted Christmas items?

7 12, 2012

Does quail chasing=chicken wrangling? – Miller Farm Friday

By judythemorgan|2012-12-07T07:26:06-06:00December 7th, 2012|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

Bella was staring intently into the small chicken yard this afternoon. I figured she was just willing one of the smaller chickens to come out and “play.”

When I went out to check eggs, I saw what had her mesmerized.

A quail was eating from the chicken feeder. I thought to myself “That looks like one of our quail. What’s he doing in the chickenyard?”

So I turned to look at the long quail cage and discovered I had left the door open when I fed the quail earlier.

Now if I were in charge, I would fire me. Unfortunately, I’m not sure I could find a replacement.

After a quick inventory of the quail still in the cage, I realized the one eating from the feeder was not the only escapee. There were five or six others missing.

I debated briefly about simply closing the cage and letting those outside retain their freedom.

Then I recalled we’d paid money for these quail so I probably should attempt to recapture our investment.

I set the egg basket down and began creeping up on the quail roaming the chickenyard. They weren’t that hard to catch as they did not have much flying experience.

I did learn that I can only hold one at a time as they are wriggly little critters.

I managed to catch all I could find on our side of the fence. One had escaped into the neighbor’s yard, but I chose not to go retrieve it.

Remember, the neighbors already think we are strange after seeing me in my bee bonnet. In their backyard, in my bee bonnet, rounding up quail might prove grounds for a call for the patty wagon!

I suppose “quail wrangler” can now be added to my “chicken wrangler” title making me Sara Chicken/Quail Wrangler Extraordinaire.

I wonder. CW Sara may have chased down some quail, but is that the same as daily wrangling chickens? Enough to earn her a new title?

What do you think?

30 11, 2012

Missing Books and Memories: Miller Farm Friday

By judythemorgan|2012-11-30T07:55:19-06:00November 30th, 2012|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|4 Comments

Before the school year started, I alphabetized my books in my classroom to make it easier to find what I wanted for each class.

Imagine my consternation when I went to pull “Six Little Ducks” and it was not nestled right next to “Silent Night” in the “s” section. I thought perhaps I had loaned it out and would need to track it down.

I chose another duck book, “Little White Duck,” and went on with my teaching.

Well yesterday, I wanted to read “Ten Little Indians.” It was time to start my Thanksgiving songs. It was also missing!

My first thought was “Now I’ve lost six little ducks and ten little Indians and the craziness of the holiday season has not even began. Not a good sign!”

I had to walk away from the bookshelf to collect myself.

Upon returning and carefully searching through the entire alphabet of books, I discovered that “Ten Little Indians” was actually titled “One Little Indian.”

Silly me.

Very relieved, I looked once again for “Six Little Ducks.”

I discovered the title of that book is actually “Five Little Ducks,” and it was right shelved right where it was supposed to be – after “Fire Truck.”

I slept much better last night knowing that every book and everything was in their proper spot.

Including the black hen in the chicken yard who apparently still has flashbacks to the possum episode and tries to sleep on top of the quail cage.

Have a great weekend.

Before anyone gets excited over CW (Chicken Wrangler) Sara using Ten Little Indians to kickstart Thanksgiving, I have to tell you that she grew up where Mama (me) made sure the “real” Thanksgiving celebration wasn’t forgotten.

(Image from: www.azgop.org)

The first Thanksgiving feast was to thank the Indians for their contribution to the Pilgrims’ survival.

To reinforce the concept, I wore an Indian squaw dress custom-made for me by an Apache seamstress on the White River Arizona Reservation.

I’m sure CW Sara told her young students all about a Mama’s custom.

I do wonder if she tells her classes about how I embellished the Five Little Duck story by having the Mama Duck (NOT the Daddy Duck) call the duckies back in the song’s punch line.

I’d tell her and her siblings that disobedience to Mama Duck meant the five little duckies might not have a happy ending.

On second thought, CW Sara probably doesn’t tell that story. That would be like the black hen’s flashbacks of the possum episode—recalling unpleasant memories.

YOUR TURN TO SHARE:

Any Thanksgiving traditions?

Or unpleasant possum memories?

23 11, 2012

Raiding Possums, Scary Times at the Miller Farm

By judythemorgan|2012-11-23T08:26:47-06:00November 23rd, 2012|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

I have a confession to make.

Sometimes, especially if it is raining, we do not close the door to the chicken coop at night. The chickens don’t know the difference and some nights we are just too tired to walk out there.

This has all changed after last weekend.

I was getting ready to get into the shower on Sunday morning when I heard a lot of racket coming from the chicken yard. I’m accustomed to hearing the roosters and can, in fact, distinguish which rooster makes each “cock a doodle doo.”

This was, however, a hen making the racket. She sounded very distressed so I knew something was amiss. I grabbed a flashlight, put on my muck shoes and headed out to the chicken yard.

As soon as I left the garage, I knew there was trouble.

A large number of the birds lined the fence looking very scared (at least I’m guessing it was a scared look on their faces.)

Something had gotten into their coop and they were trying to get away.

Had it not been 5:45 a.m. and my brain still foggy, I might have thought more about rushing into an unknown situation. All I could think about, though, was my poor chickens and how I had left them vulnerable by not closing the coop.

As I approached, I could see the announcer hen still squawking at something in the corner.

A possum and it was eating a chicken!

Not wishing to add “possum wrangler” to my titles or face-off with a possum and his breakfast, I headed back to the house for my husband. He reached for a hand gun, but I reminded him it would be illegal to fire in the city limits. He grabbed a BB gun instead, and we went back outside.

Fortunately, possums do not have a “flight” instinct and in fact will freeze when they are frightened (think deer in the headlight look). So when we got to the coop, Raider Possum was still there.

Beekeeper Brian was able to put enough BBs into him that he will not be eating any more of our chickens nor will he be able to tell his friends where to get a free meal.

As we retold our morning adventure, we did get asked several times if we were making a meal out of the possum. (The answer is a resounding “no.”)

With the danger eliminated, we coaxed the chickens back into the coop. They may have bird brains but they remembered there was something scary in that coop and balked when we tried to herd them back inside the chicken yard.

We picked each one up and placed it gently into the coop. As we lifted them, they cried out what sounded like “Ouch, Ouch.” We got as many as we could back into the coop and shut the door until the sun came up.

The chickens seem to have no recollection of the events and have gone back into the coop every night since. All except for one black hen who slept on top of the quail cage for several nights.

Now, every night, we shut the door to the coop and tell the chickens:

“Good night, sleep tight and don’t let the possums bite.”

I had to laugh over her caution to the chickens. You see, when she was little we often sent her off to bed with “Sleep tight and don’t let the bed-bugs bite.”

Strange saying, but evidently founded in the fact that bedbugs were once real threat and have recently made a comeback.

All I meant was for her to have a good night’s sleep, which worked for Chicken Wrangler Sara and her siblings. I hope it works for the Miller farm fowl.

It has been a rough week at the Miller Farm. Chickens facing raider possums. Thanksgiving Turkey’s roasting. The fowl must have felt like they were watching a horror movie.

YOUR TURN: How do you pick yourself up after a horror movie week or day?

16 11, 2012

Bedlam in the Chicken Yard-Miller Farm Friday

By judythemorgan|2012-11-16T08:22:36-06:00November 16th, 2012|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday, Uncategorized|1 Comment

I looked out the kitchen window last evening and saw a rooster about 5 feet off the ground on top of the quail cage in the middle of the chicken yard.

This would not be a problem if he could get back down to the ground on the right side of the fence (the one with the chickens, not the dogs). However, we have learned that chickens (and roosters) are not particularly coordinated.

I headed out to the chicken yard to make sure he was safe.

Later, we decided if the rooster could make it to the top of the quail cage must be time to clip wings. While this sounds horribly painful for the birds, it is actually more like clipping fingernails.

The hardest part is catching the birds.

Since the sun was setting, the chickens headed for the coop. They are creatures of habit and every evening they go to bed in the coop, and every night I shut the door to keep non-chickens out.

Since the birds were contained, Beekeeper Brian decided to go into the coop and clip wings. He started with the smaller game birds which made the most racket I ever heard.

I was afraid the neighbors would think we were killing them. Eventually all the wings were clipped and no chicken died, though from all the noise I’m sure the neighbors did wonder.

Wing clipping prevents the birds from flying over the fence where Bella (the dachshund) could “play” with them. At the same time, wing clipping also makes it very difficult for them to fly up to their roosts in the coop.

I believe at least one of the birds held a grudge against us.

When I went to collect eggs the next morning, she pecked at my hand. I’ve gotten used to that and it doesn’t really hurt – especially when compared with bee stings.

So I got the eggs and the chicken immediately went to the roost in front of the nest box and started squawking very loudly. I swear she was saying “Thief, Thief!!!!.”

If you spend enough time around chickens, you learn to speak their language.

That evening when I went to close up the coop, one of the birds sounded very raspy. I told Beekeeper Brian it was probably the one who had fussed at me. She’d squawked so loud she made herself hoarse.

Without missing a beat, Brian replied, “Well how is she supposed to lay eggs if she is a horse?”

9 11, 2012

Miller Farm Friday: Bees in the Bonnet

By judythemorgan|2012-11-09T07:36:11-06:00November 9th, 2012|Miller Farm Friday, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Well the inevitable finally happened – I got stung by a bee.

I really can’t blame the bee. It flew into my hair while I was filling the chicken waterer and it got lost. The bee panicked and burrowed into my scalp and stung me.

I understand. I panic when I get lost too so I can feel its pain – literally.

I managed to avoid doing the frantic bee dance and walked quickly to the water hose where I “washed that bee right out of my hair.”

As I continued my morning chicken chores, I had two thoughts:
1. Where are the epipens?
2. How long would it be before someone found me if I passed out in the yard?

Fortunately, I did not have the same reaction to the bee sting as Beekeeper Brian so I didn’t need an answer to either question.

Later as Beekeeper Brian was checking my head for stingers, he suggested that I wear a hat or bandana to prevent a repeat of the incident. This was a great idea.

I remembered the bonnets you made for us to wear at Sturbridge Village on the 4th of July a million years ago? I still have one, or at least one just like it and it works perfectly for keeping bees out of my hair.

So now, if the neighbors did not have enough entertainment before today, they now can watch me doing my morning chicken chores wearing a blue gingham bonnet.

Ah – what a life.

Our other daughter immediately responded:

I am not sure, the bonnet might make things worse. For, as the song goes, don’t women frequently get a bee in their bonnet? Or is that just me to whom that happens?

Either way, I am quite impressed that you still had your Sturbridge Village ephemera. All I have left is fond memories of a picture taken on a canon, with either Sandra Kay or some other random individual.

With our family, you just never know who it might be… friend, foe, fowl, feline or canine.
Cheers, Steph

Interesting to me that both girls remembered the bonnets and not the reading of the Constitution or the fireworks. Which were the reason we originally made the trip!

Steph is correct we did always have a house full. Someone who needed a place to stay or escape or an animal or bird that needed rescued.

That’s why there are so many characters in my stories. Every visitor came with his own backstory which spawned a new story idea for me.

I’d recommend a trip to Sturbridge Village if not on the 4th of July then one of the other seasonal events. It made quite an impression on our children as you can tell.

And, for those of you who might want your own bonnet. Prairiebonnets.com has some excellent choices including flannel-lined for winter.

YOUR TURN TO SHARE:

Ever been stung by a bee?

Been to Sturbridge Village? Did you have as much fun as we did/do?

2 11, 2012

Whirlwind trips, Quail escape artists and bathroom remodels

By judythemorgan|2012-11-02T09:24:55-05:00November 2nd, 2012|Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

I missed posting an email from the Miller Farm last Friday. My week was crazy with a whirlwind trip from the gulf coast of Texas to central Illinois. Left on Thursday back home on Monday. Two thousand miles in five days!

We made the trip to take most of our antique furniture to our son. Chicken wrangler Sara and her sister helped us out by taking some furniture, too. In the grand scheme of things we have more than our fair share of stuff. Watch for coming blogs about how we’re simplifying our lives by downsizing.

While we were traveling, life on the Miller Farm had its drama too.

We are remodeling our bathroom so right now things are really a mess, and we have no shower.

Talavera sink we bought during our days as missionaries in Mexico City and granite top are set. Wall texture and painting yet to come.

We remodeled a bathroom in a different house 16 years ago and so we knew what we were in for…we thought.

We’ve discovered, with two teenagers, things work a little different. But no matter what’s going on inside the house, the chickens outside must still be let out, watered, and fed every day.

So this morning, after I swam and showered at the pool, I went to let the chickens out and discovered not one, but two quail stuck where they didn’t belong.

One was in the space where the eggs roll out of the cage in the coop. This has happened before so I was not too surprised.

Another quail was stuck in the feeder in the long cage. I have no idea how that happened.

I was able to free both quail without major trauma to them or me.

Then as I was filling the water for the cage in the coop, one of the quail got out. He was on top of the cage, which is hard to reach.

Next, the escape artist quail jumped to the ground. I shut the door to the coop (checking to make sure the string was on the inside so I could get back out) and trapped him.

Unfortunately when trying to put him back in the quail cage, he escaped again. At last sighting, he was hanging out on top of the cage. He must think he is a chicken, which is fine with me.

I figure the worst case scenario is he joins the other quail, who thinks he’s a chicken, that hangs out in the chicken yard all the time.

Score one for Chicken Wrangler Sara.

YOUR TURN: Made any whirlwind trips or chased down escape artists this week?

19 10, 2012

Miller Farm Friday – Barnyard Bullies

By judythemorgan|2012-10-19T08:21:26-05:00October 19th, 2012|Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

I think I figured out why the new little chicks are not going into the coop at night.

I went out before the sun was completely gone last night and watched one of the Bantam hens stand at the door of the coop, refusing to let the little chicks in. When one slipped inside, she chased it back out.

I explained to her that she was behaving like a bully and it had to stop. She didn’t listen very well and continued to chase the little chicks away.

Bully Bantam

Thinking a distraction might discourage her bullying. We decided to let three quail out of their cage so we could use the cage to transport other quail (another moving day – this one less traumatic).

Watching freed quail is quite fascinating.

They are not interested in leaving the chicken yard. In fact, I’m not sure they know how to fly very far. They can get away from the dogs if necessary, but prefer to walk around with the chickens.

Perhaps, living with chickens, they don’t know they are quail.

Anyway, one of the newly freed quail began chasing the chickens around. Why the chickens run from something a fraction of their size is beyond me. I think it is the bird brain phenomenon.

Chicken Chasing Quail

I must confess when I saw it chasing Bully Bantam, I felt a certain sense of justice.

Apparently, Bully Bantam learned her lesson. All six little chicks were safely in the coop tonight.

However, I did notice a frog in the chicken waterer. I was afraid he was planning to move in and worried about how he would be received by the Chasing Quail and Bully Bantam.

This morning Mr. Frog was gone so maybe he just came to get a drink at night when all the bullies were sleeping.

By definition bullying is aggressive behavior that is intentional, hurtful, (physical and psychological), and/or threatening and persistent (repeated). There is an imbalance of strength (power and dominance).

In the Miller Farm Barnyard, the imbalance corrected itself when the small quail took on the Bantam hen.

In real life, if we see someone being bullied, we have the power to step up and be a bully chaser like that quail in Chicken Wrangler Sara’s email today.

I love this quote by Taylor Swift “If you’re horrible to me, I’m going to write a song about it, and you won’t like it. That’s how I operate.”

That’s being a bully chasing quail!

For another example of how an overweight television newscaster handled being bullied, check out fellow WANA tribe member Ginger Calem’s blog about the much publicized bullying episode.

YOUR TURN: Have you had any experience with a bully? Did a quail come to your rescue? Or have you ever stepped up to be a bully chasing quail?