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23 08, 2019

New Shoes

By |2019-08-10T10:14:41-05:00August 23rd, 2019|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|2 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

I started teaching at a new school last year. It was quite an adjustment.  The classes were larger and longer.  I did not know what the students had already learned so I spent most of the year floundering.

About December, I decided that this job would require good shoes. I had enough challenges without suffering from aching feet.

I mentioned this to Beekeeper Brian who immediately took me to what I like to call the “old lady” shoe store.  Actually they carry men’s and children’s shoes but they specialize in comfort.  We bought a pair of sturdy black shoes and I wore them every day.  My feet never hurt even after doing Animal Boogie and playing the turkey game repeatedly.

In the spring I decided to get a pair of sandals.  While I am not a fashionista by any means, wearing my black shoes with my light color clothing just didn’t seem right.  I found a pair of tan sandals of the same brand.  I was a little leery – after all how could sandals be as comfortable as my black “old lady” shoes.

Well one morning a chicken got on the wrong side of the fence and I found myself engaged in a rousing game of “catch the chicken before the dachshund does.”  Of course I was wearing my new sandals and they did great.  If I could chase a chicken certainly I could chase my preschoolers.

This summer the store had a “tent sale.”  I figured I could use a pair of black sandals so off I went.

Alas, there were no black sandals with a back that were in my size and price range.  They did, however, have a pair of slip on sandals with the same sole as my brown ones.

I talked to the salesman at length about the possibility of them flying off as I chased children.  He could not say from personal experience but he had never had any returned for that reason.

So I bought them and brought them home.

I wore them to teach preschool this week.  It was my last week for the summer so I chose to do some of their favorite things – including Ruckus on the Ranch.  This meant galloping around like Wyatt and Ruby in each of three classes.  Not once did my sandals fly off!  They passed the Wyatt and Ruby test.

Now all I need is a pair of brown close toed shoes and my collection will be complete!

21 08, 2019

Quote on Change

By |2019-08-19T10:03:55-05:00August 21st, 2019|Wednesday Quote, Wednesday Words, Wednesday Words of Wisdom|0 Comments

About the graphic

I took this photo in 2015 of one of the many church yards we saw on our trip to Ireland. Unfortunately, I was too busy enjoying myself and didn’t make good notes on specific locations so I don’t know exactly where it is.

About the quote

The end of August brings changes. Changes in the weather are anxiously awaited. Other changes not so much. I prefer status quo. This quote makes change, which is actually inevitable anyway, more palatable to me.

19 08, 2019

Taco Tuesday and Menu Planning

By |2019-08-13T13:17:58-05:00August 19th, 2019|A Writer's Life|0 Comments

Back in the good old days when funds were limited and payday came once a month, I did meal planning. It was the best way to be sure our little family of five would have good meals for the month.

Eating out, even fast food, was not an option. Not enough money and who in their right mind takes three children under five out to eat? Not this momma. At least not until the two youngest could feed themselves.

I started meal planning again when we lived in the remote area of the Rio Grande National Forest. The nearest chain market was an hour away. The local tourist market was way too limited in what was available and far too expensive, in most cases, for what I needed.

Back in Texas, availability is not a problem. We do live five miles from the nearest grocery store, but that’s a piece of cake after living in the Colorado forest. If I venture out during the going-home hour, there’s a ton of traffic and a mob scene at the market – a big hassle, so I avoid that time frame whenever  possible.

I try to make sure I plan our meals for leftovers to freeze. Easy enough to do when, with just the two of us, I can cook big once and guarantee leftovers for future quick meals another day.

Tuesday Taco is one of our favorite menu days.

Recently, I took leftover chalupa from the freezer to serve in our taco shells. Turned out what I thought was chalupa was chili.

The menu plan went quickly from Tuesday tacos to Frito pie!

Doesn’t rhyme as well, but it was just as tasty.

Flexibility, it’s the key to happy meal planning.

16 08, 2019

Welcome Ducklings

By |2019-08-07T17:11:43-05:00August 16th, 2019|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

We moved the ducklings outside this week. They are in the pen where the white chicks had been.  They seem to have adjusted very well.  I close them in the coop at night and they come out during the day.

Lucy and Ricky noticed them pretty quickly and seemed very curious.  I may never get the big ducks back into their pen.

 

We are keeping Elvis, my friend’s dachshund, while she and her husband are in Alaska.

He seemed curious as well.

I’m not sure the ducklings realize what a novelty they are.  It is nice to see the rest of Miller Farm welcome the new ducklings!

14 08, 2019

Today – Elisabeth Elliot

By |2019-08-06T16:34:14-05:00August 14th, 2019|Wednesday Quote, Wednesday Words of Wisdom, Weekly Quote|1 Comment

About the graphic

Background from Pexels free stock images. Image created by  Martin Péchy

About the quote

Elisabeth Elliot went home to glory in 2015. You can read about her amazing life here

She left behind a wealth of devotional material where she shared her godly wisdom and insight. One of her publications was a daily flip calendar titled Keep a Quiet Heart. I believe the flip calendar is out of publication now.I bought mine in 1997. My cherished copy sits on my kitchen window sill where I can read her thought for each day.

That’s where I found this quote. It’s just a true today as when she wrote it.

12 08, 2019

Summer Dog Days and Back-to-school Time

By |2020-07-06T09:12:39-05:00August 12th, 2019|Make Me Think Monday|0 Comments

It’s August. It’s hot, it’s humid in Texas. There doesn’t seem to be any relief from this year’s record setting summer heat. We’re having realio, trulio dog days of summer.

Photo by Lisa Fotios from Pexels

The term comes from the Egyptians who believed the Dog Star Sirius added heat to the sun and produced a long stretch of sultry weather during the forty days beginning July 3 and ending August 11.

Those of us who live in Texas know that dog days can (and do) begin well before July 3 and extend long after August 11 no matter how bright Dog Star Sirius shines. And, like our dogs, in this extreme heat, all we want to do is nothing but lounge around.

This year triple digit heat warnings of dog days are competing with all the excitement of back-to-school preparations.

Tax-free shopping days add to the frenzy for school clothing and supplies. Even though it’s been years since I’ve taught, I find myself caught in the eagerness and stocking up on pens and pads and folders.

Teachers are braving the temperatures and getting ready for the new school year. Not just public schoolteachers but also all those moms and dads who undertake to homeschool. To all of you, thank you.

Soon, let us hope, these dog days will be a memory. Fall will bring cooler weather and colorful leaves, pumpkins, and holiday bazaars.

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready!

9 08, 2019

Space

By |2019-08-03T15:19:16-05:00August 9th, 2019|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

After the recent hatching was complete, we have 6 chicks and 2 ducks. We have kept them all in a tub in what was Rachel’s room and is now Brian’s project room.  They seem quite content most of the time.

The ducklings are really messy and like to play in the water. Based on the actions of our grown ducks out back I can safely assume they will not outgrow this trait.  I recently put them in a wire cage outside in the shade while I cleaned their tub.  They seemed to enjoy the grass.  We hope to move them outside to a small pen in the chicken yard this weekend.I was thinking about all this morning. They started out in an incubator and then moved into a slightly larger brooder tub. As they grow, the tub becomes crowded. Then it will be time for them to go into a small pen and finally be incorporated into the big chicken yard.  I was pondering whether or not the little chicks are ready to be in such a big chicken yard.

I was reminded of our children. They started in the house and as they grew it became crowded.  Then they moved on to various locations.  One is still in town but in a different house, one is in a town about an hour away, and the oldest is married, in a town 3 hours away and traveling all over the country.

I sometimes ponder whether or not they are ready to be out in the big world.  I do enjoy the added space in the house.

5 08, 2019

THE Chair

By |2019-08-04T14:15:16-05:00August 5th, 2019|A Writer's Life, Writer's Life|2 Comments

This little chair came to live with us in May 1990 after my mother-in-law passed away. We’d given it to her when she started having trouble sleeping in a bed.

She loved the small size because it fit her small sized body and shape. And, the lever made it easy to recline.

We enjoy it for all the same reasons.

After my husband retired, the chair became his chair. He’s not tall, 5’ 9” so the size worked perfect.

We’ve now had the chair nearly thirty years. With each relocation, the chief determinant for a new home was “where will THE chair fit?”

The main living area had to be sized so that the chair aligned with the television for all baseball and football game viewing. Usually placement was easy.

With our move from Texas to Colorado, the house had only one location for the television and the chair. It came off the truck, the movers set it in place, and there it stayed until we returned to Texas.

Our new Texas house was a different story. The new living room had four windows, a fireplace banked by built-in bookcases, and our piano that needed an inside wall. Positioning THE chair across from the television meant blocking the opening into the dining room.

Not a serious problem, but I felt sure there was another solution.

That’s when my interior designer cousin came to help.

Studying the unique room, she nodded her head toward THE chair and innocently asked, “Can we move that?”

The answer, of course, as long as the tv sits across from it.

She laughed. “I see.”

It took a bit, but together we finally figured out another arrangement for the remaining furniture, so the room didn’t look like an overcrowded showroom.

And, I’m sure you’ve guessed, THE chair remained exactly where it was.

2 08, 2019

Time on Her Own

By |2019-08-01T10:27:25-05:00August 2nd, 2019|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

One of the Buff Orpington hens started losing feathers on her back thanks to an overzealous rooster. One morning I discovered her in a nest box with a gash on her back.

Having watched Rachel many times, I donned gloves and treated the hen with Blu-Kote – a germ-killing fungicidal wound dressing. True to its name, it is a dark blue liquid that stains whatever it touches, hence the gloves.  I thought I was being smart.  The hen, however, shook her head in disagreement and flung blue everywhere.

At least the wound was covered.

A few days later, she wandered into an empty run, and I closed the gate and got her food and water.  The isolation did wonders for her and before long her feathers all grew back.  She even started laying eggs again!She got out of her pen and I figured she was ready to be with the others.  However, a few days later I found her back in the nest box with missing feathers.  I returned her to the isolation pen.  She was not quite ready to join society.

As summer comes to an end and the start of school/work looms ever near, I can say I may have to agree with her.  I’m not quite ready…

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