Home - Page 138 of 172 - View from the Front Porch

17 10, 2014

Too Many Chickens Underfoot – Miller Farm Friday

By judythemorgan|2014-10-17T06:00:11-05:00October 17th, 2014|Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

By Guest Blogger Chicken Wrangler Sara

The chickens that hatched at the end of July are doing fantastic.

In fact, we have sold seven of them including Leo, the late bloomer. They were not too excited about the move, but I trust they have made the adjustment nicely.

Even with seven less chickens, it is still crowded in the coop.They seem to multiply at feeding time.

Rachel switched the birds to fermented feed this summer. Basically you mix chicken feed and water and let it sit until it smells like vinegar. I suppose it functions like yogurt with good bacteria to help the digestive system of the chickens. Anyway, the birds love it, and we have had no illness since switching.

The only issue is that I must put out fresh food every morning.

Sometimes I think the chickens run around the coop burning calories all night because they seem to be starving in the mornings. I put one scoop in a feed bowl and carry a scoop to put into a second bowl.

One morning a little chick jumped right up onto the scoop before I could put it in the bowl.

They have learned to associate my presence with being fed. It is kind of like my children. Even now when they come home from college, they are eager to know what I am fixing for them to eat. The chickens unlike my children run up to me and get right under my feet.

I find myself doing a new kind of “chicken dance” to avoid falling down. I imagine it like an elegant tango but it is more like a rodeo clown.

So far, I have managed to remain upright as I feed the chickens. Another accomplishment to put on my resume.

15 10, 2014

PINK – One Word Wednesday

By judythemorgan|2014-10-15T06:00:37-05:00October 15th, 2014|one word Wednesday|0 Comments

October is pink month. You see pink everywhere.

The designation of October as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) began in 1985 as a partnership between the American Cancer Society and the pharmaceutical division of Imperial Chemical Industries, maker of several anti-breast cancer drugs.

The pink ribbon has been the international symbol of breast cancer awareness since 1992.

Due in large part to NBCAM and the pink ribbon campaign, two things have happened in recent years:

~a gradual reduction in female breast cancer among women aged 50 and older has been recorded.

~a decline in death rates from breast cancer

Still there are myths about breast cancer that persist. Below are seven such myths and facts to debunk those myths

MYTH: Finding a lump in your breast = breast cancer.

FACT: Only a small percentage of breast lumps turn out to be cancer.

MYTH: Men cannot get breast cancer.

FACT: Each year approximately 2,190 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 410 will die.

MYTH: A mammogram can cause breast cancer to spread.

FACT: A mammogram is the current gold standard for the early detection of breast cancer.

MYTH: A family history of breast cancer means you are likely to develop breast cancer.

FACT: A family history of breast cancer places you in a higher risk group, but ten percent of individuals diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history.

MYTH: Breast cancer is contagious.

FACT: Breast cancer is the result of uncontrolled cell growth of mutated cells that begin to spread into other tissues within the breast.

MYTH: The gene mutation BRCA1 or BRCA2 detected in your DNA means you will definitely develop breast cancer.

FACT: According to the National Cancer Institute, “not every woman who has a harmful BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation will develop breast and/or ovarian cancer. But, a woman who has inherited a harmful mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 is about five times more likely to develop breast cancer than a woman who does not have such a mutation.”

MYTH: Antiperspirants and deodorants cause breast cancer.

FACT: Researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) are not aware of any conclusive evidence linking the use of underarm antiperspirants or deodorants and breast cancer.

Material in this blog from the National Cancer Institute and the National Breast Cancer Organization.

Wearing pink or the pink ribbon identifies the wearer with breast cancer awareness and shows moral support for those with breast cancer. I’ll be wearing pink and debunking myths this month.

Will you?

13 10, 2014

It’s finally here – Claiming Annie’s Heart

By judythemorgan|2014-10-13T06:00:08-05:00October 13th, 2014|Make Me Think Monday|0 Comments

I’m interrupting my regular Make Me Think Monday blog for an announcement of my latest book release – CLAIMING ANNIE’S HEART.

No, I’m not turning View from the Front Porch into a promo blog for my books–it’s just this Irish love story is special to me.

Why? Because Annie’s story is set in Ireland.

And, as most of you know (if you’ve read my ABOUT ME page, that is), Ireland is my most favorite place on earth, and I’m crazy about all things Irish.

The idea for Claiming Annie’s Heart began on one of the many, many trips business trips to the Emerald Isle with my husband.

We toured an Abbey on the rugged west coast. An English doctor built the lovely place as a home for his wife and child. When they died, the doctor left and sold the home. The castle became an Abbey and girls’ boarding school. That’s the place pictured on the book cover.

As we walked the castle and fabulous gardens, I talked with the schoolgirls. My writer’s imagination kicked into overdrive with story possibilities.

On a different trip, we spent time in Belfast during the Twelfth of July Orange Order marches. If you’re not familiar with the marches, read here. To learn more of the history of The Troubles in Northern Ireland read here.

Each trip provided a very different experience, which I combined into Annie and Chad’s love story. Here’s the plot blurb:

Annie Foster remains in Ireland after boarding school to nanny a widower’s infant daughter. Five years later, she accepts the widower’s proposal.

Her first love Chad Jones, whom she believed deserted her, arrives on an undercover assignment weeks before the wedding investigating her fiancé’s connection with terrorists. He’s determined to change her mind and her heart her because he’s never stopped loving her.

Annie’s heart is torn between the man she’ll always love and the young daughter of her fiancé whom she’s promised never to abandon.

Which man will win?

To find the answer, get your copy of Claiming Annie’s Heart from one of these bookstores:

AMAZON US

10 10, 2014

Chicken Wrangler aka Goose Handler – Miller Farm Friday

By judythemorgan|2014-10-10T06:00:44-05:00October 10th, 2014|Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

The private school where I teach celebrates Michaelmas with a pageant each year.

There are plays tracing the history of Saint Michael from 400 A.D .through medieval times. The students dress in wonderful costumes and perform these plays in Latin, French, and Spanish.

The pageant ends with the children in grades one and two presenting their rent to the English Landlord played by a high school student.The final payment is made in the form of a live goose.

Another teacher at Saint Michael’s has supplied the goose for as long as I have taught there. This year, however, she was unable to stay for the grand finale due to teaching responsibilities at a near-by junior college. The school headmaster put out a plea for someone to act as “goose handler.”

Enter Chicken Wrangler Sara. I figured a goose isn’t much different from a chicken, right?

On the day of the pageant, I introduced myself to the goose, that we named Artimus, and received instruction as to how to wrap the goose in a towel before handing it to the second grader who would carry it down the aisle and present it to the landlord.

Artimus is a young goose and quite handsome. We got along very well.

At the end of the pageant, the audience sang a final hymn, which I accompanied on piano.

When we finished singing, I rushed to the foyer to retrieve the goose and put him back in his crate. I was worried that the student holding him would be uncomfortable.

It was a needless worry. As the picture published in the local paper the next day shows, the high school student and the goose were doing fine.

Since the owner of Artimus had class until late that evening, I agreed to take him to my house where he could be picked up later. Not being sure how he would get along with the chickens, I kept him in his crate in the front yard where he patiently waited for his owner.

I can now add “goose handler” to my resume. I’m not sure if many jobs require such skill, but I’m ready.

8 10, 2014

What is COURAGE? – One Word Wednesday

By judythemorgan|2014-10-08T06:00:16-05:00October 8th, 2014|one word Wednesday|0 Comments

Courage — confronting a difficult, frightening, painful, or disturbing situation when our first instinctive reaction is to flee.

The word courage comes from root cour or coeur, which is French for heart. The essence of courage lies in our heart.

We find courage portrayed everywhere – in the Bible, in fairy tales, in books, in movies, in the news.

Courage is depicted as physical bravery, but being courageous also encompasses much more than physical strength and endurance. Courage involves mental stamina and innovation too.

Melanie Greenberg, Ph.D., identifies six different ways we are courageous.

Feeling Fear Yet Choosing to Act
Following Your Heart
Persevering in the Face of Adversity
Standing Up For What Is Right
Expanding Your Horizons; Letting Go of the Familiar
Facing Suffering With Dignity or Faith

The Cowardly Lion in the classic film The Wizard of Oz learned courage must ultimately come from within.

If you find yourself confronted with a difficult, frightening, painful, or disturbing situation or you feel threatened, weak, vulnerable, intimidated, or terrified, call forth your inner COURAGE.

And remember what Mark Twain says:

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight; it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”

6 10, 2014

Social Media Etiquette and Guide

By judythemorgan|2014-10-06T06:00:42-05:00October 6th, 2014|Make Me Think Monday|0 Comments

Social media has become a popular tool for presenting your agenda or product thanks to the trend set by Barrack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 political campaigns where he employed the use of sites like FB and Twitter.

Social media sites provide “A seamless communications network that has the power to cross cultural barriers and capture the attention … more effectively than ever before.”

Entrepreneurs frequently use SM as an incredible FREE marketing tool. Personally, I use most of the SM platforms to entice readers to buy my books. It’s a fantastic means for promotion of products.

As a means for getting your message or product out there, social media is priceless.

HOWEVER, social media also comes with red flags.

Stories about stories about social media gaffes by people and businesses are commonplace. The way you and/or your public relations team conducts itself on social media can have a lasting effect.

If we use SM, we must guard our reputation as this Lakota American Indian proverb reminds us.

Our tracks on social media sites are embedded forever. No ocean waves can ever erase their presence.

So how do we do we guard our reputations when we don’t have an Emily Post etiquette book to guide us?

You can find 10 very specific tips to protect your web presence here

You also have to remember that management of your presence varies based on which social media sites you’re using — Youtube, Google Plus, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or Facebook.

Don’t mistake the different social medias platforms as being the same. Each site has its own personality and its own unique platform for various audiences. It’s important to learn the right etiquette for each individual site whether you’re posting for pleasure or business.

Ivan Serrano, a business journalist and infographic specialist, has created this incredible pictorial guide to the most popular social media sites.

CJ Lyons shared Serrano’s infographic on her site along with suggestions for guarding your reputation here

Vocus.com blog also posted an in depth guide to social media etiquette along with Serrano’s infographic here.

Click on the graphic to view a full-sized version of Serrano’s infographic. You may have to click twice to get the enlarged version.

3 10, 2014

All in a Day’s Work – Miller Farm Friday

By judythemorgan|2014-10-03T06:00:52-05:00October 3rd, 2014|Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

By Guest Blogger Chicken Wrangler Sara

Our son Matt has a project car. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t exactly what he wanted when he bought it, but he has learned a lot.

The latest lesson involved the slave cylinder. I don’t know much about this part except that it is necessary to drive the car. Matt bought a new one and put it on the car. Shortly thereafter, there were pieces of slave cylinder and brake fluid all over the driveway. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but Matt was frustrated enough that I didn’t ask and let Matt drive my truck to work.

When Beekeeper Brian got home, he was equally frustrated with the situation and when I left for Bible Study driving his car, he was sitting in the driveway looking at the collection of slave cylinder parts.

After Bible Study ended, a classmate told me she had seen Brian and he told her to let me know he had switched cars but had parked in the same spot.

Part of my brain wanted to ask questions about how he’d come to have my truck. I just ignore them, as I usually do. Sometimes you just don’t want to know the answers.

When I got home, I noticed a lack of car parts in the driveway. Matt explained that Dad had used a magnet and copper wire to retrieve parts from where they were not supposed to be and put them in the correct spot. Then he had driven Matt’s car to the pool where Matt was working, picked up my truck, brought it to the church, and took his car to get gas.

Once again, Beekeeper Brian’s ability to fix things amazed me and thrilled Matt. Brian had already put in a full day’s work at the school district and overtime as a mechanic. Exhausted, he headed for bed, but the day was not over yet.

As I was checking my e-mail, I heard a scratching sound coming from behind the wardrobe in the living room. A quick look around confirmed that all dogs were put up for the night so I went over to the wardrobe for a closer listen.

When we remodeled our bathroom in Canton years ago, there was a similar scratching coming from under the floor. It gave me nightmares. Twenty years later, I simply walked into the bedroom and told Beekeeper Brian that something was scratching the wall behind the wardrobe.

After a brief examination, he said, “Go get my pellet rifle.”

The questioning part of my brain went into overdrive, but the rational part didn’t really want to know answers just yet.

I calmly handed him the rifle and returned to my computer.

His next question: “Do we still have those mouse traps?”

After some searching, I located one trap. He set it and said, “At least it is just a mouse.”

“As opposed to what?” I asked hesitantly.

“A squirrel or a rat” was his answer.

I was suddenly glad that our reptile days were long gone until I remembered snakes don’t have fingernails. It couldn’t have been a snake.

This morning Beekeeper Brian checked the mousetrap. Success!

Now he wants to repeat the process to see if the mouse had any friends. Next, he’ll fix the hole the mouse chewed in the wall. A renaissance man/beekeeper’s work is never done.

1 10, 2014

The Hills are Alive with COLOR

By judythemorgan|2014-10-01T06:00:22-05:00October 1st, 2014|one word Wednesday|0 Comments

Today’s One Word Wednesday is COLOR.

Julie Andrews sang about the hills of Austria being alive with the Sound of Music.

This fall the hills and mountains of Western Colorado are alive with color. Streams of yellow flow down the mountain sides like veins of gold.

My husband and I loaded up a picnic lunch and our two four-legged boys and headed out for a day trip of leaf viewing.

We always did the same day trips every fall when we lived in Connecticut to see the canvas of color on those hills.

On this trip, the rich yellows and reds and oranges and all shades in between were so vibrant that it almost hurt our eyes to look.

After our little excursion, I have to agree with Poet Leigh Hunt.

29 09, 2014

Harvest Time Bounty

By judythemorgan|2014-09-29T06:00:36-05:00September 29th, 2014|Make Me Think Monday|0 Comments

As fall magnifies its presence in our little neck of the mountains, my husband and I have been exploring the beauty and bounty of the season.

We recently visited an organic farm apple orchard to pick apples for applesauce and spiced apples.

Of course, we could have simply harvested from the crab apple tree in our front yard, which is loaded with tiny crab apples.

We didn’t for lots of reasons.

The fruit is quite tart.
Coring the tiny apples would have been nearly impossible.
The mule deer love to eat the tiny apples.

And, besides, plucking the apples from the plentiful harvest at the organic farm was a great adventure.

I came away with a bag full of juicy Honey Crisp apples.

When we weighed-in to pay, we had half a bushel.

Confident we had enough for applesauce and spiced apples, we headed home to make our applesauce.

I have to tell you resisting the luscious apples was hard. So hard in fact that when we finally began to peel and prepare fruit for applesauce. The pot was hardly full.

We ended up with only four pints.

You won’t hear me complaining because the stewed apples I made for breakfast and the apple and peanut butter we enjoyed for lunches were soooo good.

And, I’m not discouraged about so few jars of applesauce, but I am rationing.

How about you? Are you enjoying fall’s harvest?

26 09, 2014

Exploring Their New Home – Miller Farm Friday

By judythemorgan|2014-09-26T06:00:50-05:00September 26th, 2014|Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

By Guest Blogger Chicken Wrangler Sara

We moved the chicks out into the chicken yard several weeks ago. We’ve gotten past the “gathering chicks” stage where they must be retrieved from under the coop each night and put into the coop. Now they are beginning to explore their new world.

One day I looked out and saw them sitting on the fence between the big and little chicken yards.

They were eating the leaves off the tree. The problem was that they are slightly uncoordinated and would fall onto the wrong side of the fence – in with the big chickens. This was very distressing and I have spent an inordinate amount of time returning chickens to the right side of the fence.

Today when I was unloading chicken feed I saw them using a piece of bamboo as a ramp.

I’m not exactly sure from whence the bamboo came. I suspect it came over the fence from the neighbor’s yard. In any case, the chickens were climbing up it to get to the top of that fence.

Much to my relief, the chick arrived safely back in the chicken yard. We have had to retrieve chickens from between the chain link and wood fence and it is no easy task.

Then there was the chicken in the tree:

It reminded me of taking my children to the park when they were young. Matt climbed on everything he could find especially if it was taller than him.

Alas, the mother in me came out and just as I had removed Matt from high places before he could jump, I moved the bamboo so the chickens could no longer climb on it.

A little bit of danger is fine, but so far I have managed to keep all 22 chicks alive and I don’t want to ruin my record.