Friday on Miller Farm Archives - View from the Front Porch

19 01, 2024

Baking with Bill

By judythemorgan|2023-12-31T09:07:48-06:00January 19th, 2024|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Bill, the Chinese student who lived with us through high school has now graduated from college. I drove up to his school to bring him back to Miller Farm for Christmas.

On my way, I stopped at a bakery and picked up some of our favorite cookies. I had asked the bakery for the recipe but they said no. I tried to duplicate it on my own but did not have the results I wanted so I resigned myself to buying them.

Bill was able to find a recipe online very quickly. He was shocked that I had not searched for it online. We went to the store to get the ingredients and soon had a pretty close replica of the cookies.

Bill was so excited that he decided we should try more recipes.

So, we made Key Lime cookies.

Next, he wanted to make Snowball cookies to complete the Christmas color scheme.

I thought we were finished. After all, we had three different cookies.

But then we bought coconut macaroons at a local farmers market and Bill wanted to try to make those.

I made the mistake of mentioning that Black and White cookies were part of our Christmas tradition so…There was one more recipe Bill wanted to try – Thumbprint cookies.

What started as a quest for the perfect Cherry Icebox cookie ended with six different cookies to share with many happy family members.

27 10, 2023

Trash or Treasure

By judythemorgan|2023-10-25T16:58:23-05:00October 27th, 2023|Uncategorized|2 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

I have a friend who is an art teacher. We worked together at a small private school for many years. When the school closed abruptly, we started to meet with other teachers every week at the local Dairy Queen to grieve together. Over time, we each moved on but we continued to meet and talk about life.

I’ve learned much from my friend. She has a unique way of looking at things and I find myself seeing the things around me with new eyes. She sees potential in many things, students included which is what makes her a great teacher. It also makes her a great friend.

An ordinary leaf becomes a dancer or a bottle cap becomes an earring. I started taking her things to use in her creations. Most recently, I took a piece of cardboard that had been part of the packaging for something.

It was too interesting to simply recycle. I thought it looked like a spine – perhaps because we have been learning the rhythms of the poem Skeleton Parade by Jack Prelutsky.

I took it to our Dairy Queen meeting and we set it on the table. We sat and discussed the cardboard, turning it in all directions, for 15 minutes or more.

My friend saw a building and the other friend saw a set of jaws.

At one point, the manager, who we know from our regular visits, came out to see what we were looking at.

He thought we were playing a game like Jenga.

This is what I love about my friend. She has taught me to be inspired by a piece of cardboard.

My friend and her husband recently bought a house in a nearby town. It turns out to be the house she grew up in. But that’s another story for another time.

Eventually, they will move. I will miss our weekly meetings. I may have to take road trips periodically to see her.

And, of course, take her interesting treasures to sit and discuss.

25 08, 2023

Extracting Honey

By judythemorgan|2023-08-24T08:19:19-05:00August 25th, 2023|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Beekeeper Brian’s bees have been pretty productive this year so we were able to get honey for the first time in several years. I had forgotten what an interesting process it is.

We decided to move the extractor into the kitchen instead of using it out on the driveway. The Texas heat has been oppressive.

First Brian removed the frames of honey and comb from the hive. He used a special spray designed to drive the bees away. This was especially important since we were bringing them into the kitchen.

Then the very edge of the comb is cut to remove the wax caps.

The frames are then placed into the extractor.

Then it is a matter of physics – specifically centrifugal force.

The metal tub containing the frames is spun forcing the honey to vacate the comb.

The liquid gold is then put through a sieve to remove large pieces of comb and collected into a five-gallon bucket.

The last step is to put it in bottles to be used in tea, on yogurt, or just licked off a spoon. At the end of the process, there was sticky honey everywhere in the kitchen including on the heads of two dogs.

But having honey from our own front yard makes it all worth the effort.

16 06, 2023

Rebuilding

By judythemorgan|2023-06-13T15:50:43-05:00June 16th, 2023|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Over the last 18 months, the number of dogs on Miller Farm has dwindled to two. Bella, Tucker, and Sadie passed away after leading long, happy lives. Cooper and Penelope moved out with Rachel. That left only Max and Coco who is of the same era as Tucker, Bella, and Sadie so we are watching her carefully.

This has been difficult for all – humans and dogs.

Max has been exceptionally stressed whenever we leave. Beekeeper Brian decided it was time for action. He began searching Dachshund Rescue sites and we began the process of adopting a rescue dachshund.

When I say process, I do mean PROCESS. We filled out an application including references. One friend told us he had never been called for a dog adoption reference.

Then there was the “home visit” where we had a video phone call that allowed us to show the house including the perimeter of the backyard. Even though we had successfully owned up to 8 dachshunds at one time the process was just as extensive as for a new dog owner.

We considered several dogs but were not matched to any of them. Finally, Brian saw a 4-year-old female named “Fire.” We set up a meeting and it was a perfect match! She went right to Brian and never looked back.

She fits in great with Max and Coco.

We renamed her “Mini” short for Miniums Dachsamus. She is a perfect match for Maximus Dachsamus!

The best news for me is that she fusses at the turkey.

This distraction allows me to take care of the ducks and chickens without being stalked. Overall we are thrilled to have added to our pack.

We are on the list for a puppy which will be ready in July. We are trying to avoid having dogs who are all the same age. We can’t face losing them so close together. This way there will be a dachshund on Miller Farm for many years to come.

8 04, 2022

Ruckus on the Ranch Version 2.0

By judythemorgan|2022-04-08T08:29:01-05:00April 8th, 2022|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A Blog By Chicken Wrangler Sara

This book is still one of my favorites and a favorite of all my classes. They regularly ask for the “Whoa Ruby, Whoa Wyatt” song. They really enjoy galloping around the room.

This year, I have a new angle.

I ask myself the question “How many times can I gallop around the room without being in pain for the rest of the day?”

The answer is usually “one less than I galloped.” Getting older is hard on the body but I’m not quite ready to give up playing with the kids.

Ruckus on the Ranch – the original from Jun 7, 2019

Rachel has worked as a personal assistant for a woman named Jane who is visually impaired and has somewhat limited mobility. Rachel takes her to the places she needs to go and helps her around the house. Last April Rachel and I took her to see the Texas Tenors for her birthday. Jane enjoys music very much and in fact, we sit together at Bible Study so I can sing alto to her soprano when we sing the hymns.

Before we even went to our seats, I stopped at the merchandise table. This is usually a bad idea but in this case, there was a newly published children’s book entitled Ruckus on the Ranch. It was a gift we could all enjoy. It tells the story of two horses, Wyatt and Ruby, running amuck on a ranch and being chased by all the farm animals as well as the cowboy and cowgirl. They eventually get tired and lay down to rest. All is quiet until… Wyatt gets stung by a bumblebee.

Of course, there is a song sung by the Texas Tenors that goes with the book. At the part where all is quiet, the three men sing “Oh what a peaceful ranch” in beautiful harmony. It is my favorite part not only for the music but also because when I play it in my music class, all the kids lay quietly.

Then when Wyatt gets stung, they all jump up and start galloping around again. It is the perfect song for when the classes need to get some energy out – like the month of May. It also gives me a workout as I gallop around with them.

Sometimes on Miller Farm, the chickens run amuck. Then I put food out and they all get quiet. At that moment I hear in my head “Oh what a peaceful ranch” and hope no one gets stung by a bee.

14 05, 2021

Thanksgiving in May

By judythemorgan|2021-05-13T19:23:21-05:00May 14th, 2021|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

My mother recently gave us a turkey she had in her freezer. They had gotten it for free at Thanksgiving last year and thought we would be more likely to be feeding a crowd sooner than they would.

I cooked it yesterday and we took it to our Community Group for dinner last night. Other people brought sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, dressing, rolls, cranberry sauce, and we had Thanksgiving in May. It was a huge success! The weather was even unseasonably cool.

We all decided we should have Thanksgiving dinner more frequently. As a teacher, I am even more thankful in May at the close of the year.

29 05, 2020

Cuddle Ducks

By judythemorgan|2020-05-28T09:18:01-05:00May 29th, 2020|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

This transition from house ducks to outside ducks has been the smoothest ever. I was concerned, as always, that the smaller ducks would have to go through an initiation before they were accepted into the flock.

This did not happen.

I started by putting the ducks in the wire cage in the pen with their new friends.Usually it takes a fair amount of time for the littles to venture out. These ducks are particularly attached to each other so they went out together.They spent a few minutes cuddling and surveying their surroundings.

It reminded me how important it is to have a friend when facing a scary situation.

Before long they were eating and drinking. I could rest easy for the rest of the day.

I went to check on them before I went to bed. I was going to put them in the coop but I found them cuddling in the middle of all the big ducks.

They were safe at home.