Judythe Morgan

2 10, 2017

Living in a Certified Wildlife Habitat

By |2018-05-01T15:46:18-05:00October 2nd, 2017|Writer's Life|3 Comments

We tell people we bought the massive hundreds-of-years-old live oak tree in our front yard and the house came with it.

So far, all who see the tree agree we made a wise decision.

But the wonderful tree is not the only thing that attracted us to our lovely little cabin house in a wooded development.

There was this sign.

The real estate agent explained the owners had landscaped the yard to provide a sustainable habitat for wildlife then submitted their yard design elements to the National Wildlife Federation and received the certification.

I loved that!

Coming from the Rio Grande National Forest in Colorado, I didn’t expect to see bears, moose, or fox like we had there, but a mama whitetail deer and her twin fawns can be seen in our backyard. Several other does, their fawns, and a couple of bucks are usually around on our early morning walks.Sitting on our back porch glider, songbirds serenade us, toads croak, colorful butterflies dart among the flowers while squirrels scamper in the grass. We constantly dodge hummingbirds zooming to feeders.

We recently spotted a blue jay in the front birdbath with a chickadee patiently waiting his turn on the ground below and a cardinal at the bird feeder hanging nearby—all at the same time.

And there are always birds and butterflies in the waterfall the previous owners created as a water feature for wildlife.

It’s so relaxing. It almost makes the heat and humidity of the Texas Gulf Coast bearable. Almost. I’m a native Texan, but I don’t think I’ll ever fully adjust to Texas weather.

Curious about how to invite wildlife back to your own yard and neighborhood? It’s not as hard as you might think. Your landscape must include:

Food: Native plants to provide nectar, seeds, nuts, fruits, berries, foliage, pollen and insects for wildlife. Feeders can supplement natural food sources.

Water: All animals need water to survive and some need it for bathing or breeding as well.

Cover: Wildlife needs places to find shelter from bad weather and places to hide from predators or stalk prey.

Places to Raise Young: Wildlife needs resources to reproduce and keep their species going. Some species have totally different habitat needs in their juvenile phase than they do as adults.

Sustainable Practices: How you manage your garden can have an effect on the health of the soil, air, water and habitat for native wildlife as well as the human community.

Already have those things? You might be eligible to have certified wildlife habitat status too. Check out the National Wildlife Foundation website for all the details.

29 09, 2017

More Lace and Shimmer

By |2017-09-28T07:26:11-05:00September 29th, 2017|Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

I recently posted pictures of the silver and gold laced Wyandottes.  They are quite lovely. There are also other laced chickens.

This is a blue laced red Wyandotte..This is a splash laced red Wyandotte.Not to be outdone by the lacey chickens, here is a Welsummer rooster.  His feathers almost shimmer.  As with most species, he is more beautiful than the female Welsummer.

We hatched these birds from eggs we bought from a hatchery in a nearby town.  I think it was worth the drive and the money to add them to our flock.

25 09, 2017

How Many Tote Bags is Too Many?

By |2017-09-13T15:35:54-05:00September 25th, 2017|Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

Totes are usually free. I guess that’s why we accumulate them. I must have fifty or more.

I love winning loaded totes at silent auctions. I’m thrilled to attend a conference or fair and receive a tote  with goodies. Then I get home and have to wonder what do I do with them?

There are the shopping totes.

These are useful. I refuse to feel guilty about the dozens that live in both cars.

Living in Colorado, where we had to travel over an hour to do grocery shopping, I needed the insulated ones. Here in Texas, living with heat and high temperatures, I still use them.

The recycle tote I use to collect items to carry to the bin. It’s necessary and functional too.

Definitely a keeper.

The totes I wonder about are all the rest. The ones that sit in a large canvas bag at the back of the pantry.

There were two large canvas bags full. We gave away totes with purchases at our moving garage sale. People were thrilled to get them. I was more thrilled to see the stash of totes diminish.

I keep (and use) favorites like ones from writer conferences I’ve attended. I do admit I carry those to writing meetings with pride.

One tote keeps all my needlework work projects and makes it easy to find when I’m in the mood to do embroidery. Another tote carries my iPad to doctor or dentist appointments.

The bag with grandkids handprints and the one Chicken Wrangler Sara made from a chicken feed bag – those I could never get rid of it.

But the rest, well, I’m not so sure. Do I really need them?

There’s another issue too. As totes are known to do, they’ve starting to multiply again. So how many totes is enough?

YOUR TURN: What do you do with all your totes?

22 09, 2017

Good Night Mum

By |2017-09-18T19:58:56-05:00September 22nd, 2017|Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

I love mums. So do snails. Every fall I get a mum. Every fall the snails eat my mum. This year I planted marigolds. The snails ate them also. I really don’t like snails.

I won a door prize at a ladies event Saturday evening – a mum. I was very excited. It is even purple – my favorite color.

I decided this time I am not going to feed my mum to the snails. I checked with Bill – our resident expert on all things slithery. He told me that snails are most active at night and suggested I bring my mum inside after dark.

So now every night I put the chickens up. I put the dogs up. And I bring my mum inside.

So far this addition to my routine has been successful. It is Monday and my mum is still alive.

20 09, 2017

Advice: To give or not to give

By |2017-09-12T13:02:05-05:00September 20th, 2017|Wednesday Words of Wisdom|1 Comment

I read this poem by Phyllis McGinley in the comments section of a blog. I found it whimsical and sobering and created this graphic, which you are free to share. McGinley  ends her poem: “But do not give advice at all.” The premise of columnist Parker J. Palmer’s blog titled The Gift of Presence, The Perils of Advice was “Don’t give advice, … Instead, be fully present, listen deeply …”

Giving advice can be a sticky wicket. Which route would you take?

18 09, 2017

Suicide, Stigma, and Statics

By |2017-09-13T15:52:23-05:00September 18th, 2017|Make Me Think Monday|2 Comments

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. It doesn’t really get a lot of press. That’s why I wanted to share this blog.

Suicide has been a problem throughout human history. In the recent years, it has started to become something of an epidemic. Suicide rates are increasing.

Statistics tell the story:

  • More than 44,000 individuals die by suicide each year
  • Roughly 20 veterans a day commit suicide nationwide
  • Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death among adults in the U.S.
  • Suicide currently ranks as the 2nd leading cause of death for ages 10 – 24

It’s particularly problematic because people with suicidal thoughts feel as though they are not able to speak to others due to the stigmas surrounding suicide. Too often feelings of shame also prevent “suicide loss survivors,” friends and families affected by a suicide, from talking openly.

Though this month’s emphasis is suicide, it’s worth noting that those stigma feelings are not unique to suicide but encompass all forms of mental illness.National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization, works to eliminate the stigma issue and build better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness year round.

On the NAMI website, you’ll find

Informational Resources

Crisis Resources

  • If you or someone you know is in an emergency, call 911 immediately.
  • If you are in crisis or are experiencing difficult or suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273 TALK (8255)
  • If you’re uncomfortable talking on the phone, you can also text NAMI to 741-741 to be connected to a free, trained crisis counselor on the Crisis Text Line.

Educating ourselves about mental illness and suicide, in particular, can be the first step toward reducing the stigma and the statistics.

15 09, 2017

Silver and Gold

By |2017-09-14T09:58:50-05:00September 15th, 2017|Miller Farm Friday|2 Comments

A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

I have discovered that there are many, many breeds of chickens.  I have also come to believe Rachel’s goal is to own one of each breed.

I must admit some are quite pretty.  For example the Silver Laced and Golden Laced Wyandotte chickens are beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

The outlining of their feathers is called “laced.” I think it is wonderful.

I can honestly say I have silver and gold in my back yard.

The  calming, therapeutic value of the chickens is sometimes worth more than the precious metals.

13 09, 2017

Change and Toads and Caterpillars

By |2017-09-08T16:19:35-05:00September 13th, 2017|Wednesday Words of Wisdom|0 Comments

I ran across this quote from James A. Pike doing research for my current WIP (that’s work in progress for non-writer types). Naturally, I did a little rabbit chasing because I was unfamiliar with his name.

Turns out James Albert Pike (1913 – 1969) was an American Episcopal bishop, who died while exploring the Wilderness of the Temptation.

His outspoken, and sometimes, heretical views on theological and social issues made him one of the most controversial public figures of his time. Heresy procedures were started several times, but in the end, the Church decided it was not in the denomination’s best interest to pursue an actual heresy trial.

I don’t like to be controversial so I won’t go into Pike’s views. You can do your own research. All I will say is, he was a fascinating man with some very questionable theological views.

But, I think the advice in this meme is good. He aimed to ease anxiety. I think we’d all agree reducing anxiety is a very good thing.

Slow change can be less jarring. Unfortunately, enacting change like a caterpillar moves – slowly, methodically – is not always possible. Events like Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, earthquakes, and/or wildfires thrust change upon us very fast. We must move and move quickly. The opportunity to be like the caterpillar isn’t there. We have to move like a toad.

The way I see it – take Pike’s advice when you can otherwise hop like a toad to get out of harm’s way.

11 09, 2017

What We Did Before the Internet

By |2021-09-01T14:06:56-05:00September 11th, 2017|Make Me Think Monday|2 Comments

I received the loveliest letter from a friend I hadn’t seen in years the other day.

Yes, you read that correctly, a LETTER.

She’s didn’t FB. She didn’t message or text or email. She did what we did before the internet. She took out stationery and wrote me a letter.

We’d met on a tour of Ireland four years ago. She’d come from Texas, and I’d come from Colorado. We laughed a lot, enjoyed great food, and saw wonderful sites. When the tour ended we promised to keep in touch, which we did for the first year.

Then, as so often happens, lives got busy, and we lost touch.

She called our old phone number first, but got a recorded voice saying, “The number you dialed is no longer in service.”

Determined to find me, she decided to take a chance and write a letter. She addressed the envelope to my old address, and the Post Office forwarded her note to our new address. It was such a lovely surprise to hear from her and catch up with what’s happening in her world. I answered her letter immediately. Now I’m watching the mail for her reply.

It was such a lovely surprise to hear from her and catch up with what’s happening in her world. I answered her letter immediately. Now I’m watching the mail for her reply.

That’s what we did before the internet. We wrote letters.

You’ll probably think I’m crazy, but the whole episode has made me realize how much I miss good old-fashion letter writing.

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