<p style="text-align:center;"><em>A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara</em></p>
The weather was horrible here on Miller Farm last week. It was cold and rainy from Saturday until Friday.

For those of you dealing with snow and ice, I expect no sympathy. However, as I was standing in the cold rain, feeding chickens, I had lots of sympathy for myself.

The chicken yard was a complete disaster. I had to really concentrate to keep from slipping and falling in the mud.  And the chickens weren’t laying many eggs.

Then the sun came out.  It was a glorious sight.

As the ground was drying, I realized how bare it was. We had put seven bags of leaves out before the holidays, and they had all disintegrated. On Sunday as I walked the dogs, I saw several bags of leaves by the curb in front of various houses. I made a mental note to go back with the truck and pick them up to put out in the chicken yard.

Picking up things on the curb is a family pastime although usually it involves furniture left when people move out. Leaves are not particularly interesting unless you have chickens.

Last time Rachel and I picked up leaves we filled the truck and planned to return for the rest. The owner of the house had moved the bags away from the curb when we returned.  Perhaps he changed his mind about getting rid of them.

Anyway, on my way home from swimming Monday morning I noticed bags of leaves in front of a friend’s house.  I figured it was safe to pick these up – she wouldn’t likely change her mind.  So I loaded them up and took them home.

After breakfast, I spread them out in the chicken yard. The birds were so excited.<a href="https://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/chicken-leaves.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-5478" src="https://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/chicken-leaves.jpg?w=300" alt="chicken leaves" width="300" height="169" /></a>As I walked back up to the house, I heard the sound of leaves crunching as the chickens scratched through them. It was the sound of happy chickens.

Now maybe they will resume laying eggs.