Random tidbits of the day

 Just a few thoughts tonight. I'm not adjusting to the time change. It's so difficult for me. I'm wide awake right now. But I have to be up in a few short hours so I should probably go to bed. 

I got the silkie babies moved to their brooder pen and out of the incubator. It wasn't a great hatch. I think we are going to have 3. Its a little early to say. I had two hatch and then the very first one to pip (and then zip) never progressed. I could see him still breathing in there, so I opened up the shell. At first he was so bent up that I thought maybe it was too late, that he'd been bent over like that for too long. But an hour later, he was holding his head up. Another hour, he was upright or at least upright-ish. He seems to be making good progress. But the truth is, the prognosis is not good for chicks that cannot get out of the egg on their own. Time will tell. 

The baby kitties are getting cuter and sweeter every day. There is one that purrs every time I hold him. a little while ago I went out and was holding him and he was purring and sucking on his tongue. It was really cute and sweet. And he was smiling. No wonder I love kittens. 

Yesterday my daughter and I moved some birds around. Well we brought some birds back inside. Yes, we are one of those weird house holds that has a backroom full of animals. Baby chicks. Almost grown chicks. And Pumpkin, our pergatory cat. Pumpkin was an outdoor kitty. Then he decided he liked it best at the neighbors house. Then one day the neighbor knocks on my door with Pumpkin in hand. She said he was beating up on her cats and she doesn't want him over there. So that is a little bit of dilemma because if he's allowed to roam outside, he'll head right back over there. Also, he decided not to get along with our other outdoor cats, including Sapphire, our momma cat that was his main squeeze for a long time. We have too many indoor cats, but to beat the band, Pumpkin doesn't get along with the indoor cats either. So he can't live indoors, and he can't live outdoors. He's stuck in pergatory, otherwise known as "the back room."

We were in an egg desert for awhile this winter. But now everyone is loving the longer hours of daylight. And they have all come through molt. And we're finally getting eggs. Currently we have 6 dozen eggs that need a new countertop to hang out on. 

Today was supposed to be the day. The day the veggies got planted. But the day is over. The seeds are still in the packets, the potatoes are still in the sacks they came home in. 

I'm tired. And there's more to do tomorrow than time in the day. But I get to teach Kinder tomorrow. My favorite grade. At my favorite school to work at, with kids I have a relationship with. And I'm pretty sure the weather is supposed to be Spring-like as well. 

Sleep well tonight world. Trust the process. There is a process. I am trying to trust it. I wish the same for you.

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Just another day in paradise

 Today was just another day in the life of a hobby farmer. I guess we have a hobby farm. Maybe it's less than that even. But we are sure it is a farm. The birds and goats and cats and dogs. All the critters. Not actually. Not yet. But girls can dream.

Today we had some mundane "work" to do. Moving birds around according to keepers or goners. And our silkie flock is getting smaller and the grow out pen is getting to be quite a flock. So we had to flip the space. 

A friend messaged me about hens. Well, I have some in my grow out pen. So we also spent time looking over our birds that weren't really chicks anymore but they weren't full grown either. They haven't told us yet if they're hens or roos. But the other day I noticed that they are getting close to telling us. The roos are starting to get a comb, but the hens not-so-much yet. So that's a clue. And then the neck feathers are showing up male or female. Roos have more pointy neck feathers and the hens are more rounded. So there's clue number two. And so far we didn't see saddle feathers on our roos. But that will be the next clue. I'm pretty confident that we've found hens for my neighbor. If not, they are just a mile up the road, so we'll get it fixed. 

But then a little bit of excitement happened. I saw our cat was messing around in the grass, maybe a hole in the ground? Then Jadyn calls out to me... "Domino caught a mouse! Or is it a rabbit? What sound do bunnies make?" I said, "they scream." "Maybe its a bunny then." I am trying to figure it out. I'm inside the goat pen, and Domino is not. But it kind of looks like his captive has four legs. And although mice have four legs, you can't usually see them from any kind of distance. Just then, the tom who has adopted us (and apparently us him as well since my daughter named him), James, comes after Domino. Domino is a fixed, small cat; James is neither of those things. Domino panics and drops his prey. So I scramble out of the goat pen to try to find this little critter. Me and a whole bunch of other farm cats. I found him because a crowd had started to gather of at least three cats, not yet pouncing or playing, just gathering with an abundance of curiosity. I snatched up that baby bunny. He was so tiny. So atleast for tonight we are bunny rescuers. I will call the zoo in the morning and see if they can rehab him. I've done a little bit of reading tonight. He had some goat milk and by some articles it was adequate, and some articles say it is not enough. But rabbits are not like cats. They don't need to eat every couple hours. Thank God. Wild rabbit babies only eat once or twice a day. That's it. Goat's milk is hella versatile. We were so grateful last summer when we had kittens and we got the dairy goat. Becasue KMR is expensive! Ironically enough, that's what is recommended for the bunny too. Kitten Replacement Milk or goat milk. So I thawed some goat milk out and coaxed the baby to drink. There was one moment when my hand slipped an squeezed a little more than I meant to and there's always a chance I got that baby too much liquid and he aspirated. But I'm praying not. We worried about him being warm enough. But from what I read, it's more worrisome to get them overheated. So while it's cooler in the backroom, I don't want him to overheat. What I fixed up for him is one of our brooder cages for chicks with the not-as-hot bulb in the heat lamp. And it said to put them somewhere dark. With the heat lamp plugged in, there's an abundance of light and my makeshift burrow (a small trashcan) still was pretty lit. So I also covered that with cardboard to make the inside more night-like. I'll have to check it in a minute to make sure that bulb is far enough away from the cardboard. Anyway.... that was exciting, exhilirating, exhausting. That was my day. 

    

Bunny's current habitat

 

Brain Mush...

What slice of my life do I want to share with you all tonight? There's a thunderstorm in my brain tonight. A lot of the time when my brain gets cloudy and foggy, I blame the menopause. But tonight is more. The pause of Meno might play a part, but those clouds don't usually throw lightning and rattle off thunder. My mind and heart are connected. My thoughts are muddled in the middle of my heart. If that makes sense. And honestly tonight, if it doesn't make sense, that might be perfect.

I didn't want to write about this. Emotion and feelings. But they have flared up, like the flare of a disorder or disease. And are affecting my ability to think clearly. I'm determined to post something tonight. I missed the first two days of the month. I don't want to miss any more. 

It started in the car. My kiddo and I were talking and then the feelings start getting hurt and words get said. And then I get up in my head. Next I have to overthink for awhile. Then comes the beating up of self. And sadness. In roll the clouds. Fog. Thick and dense and damp. And my thoughts are mush. I'm in the kitchen crying I can't remember why I'm crying. I remember the feeling I was experiencing, but not the thoughts. No clear, concise description of events is lying around. 

So here I sit, determined to write, pound the keys, and to post. But the clarity. it's lacking. So today is drawing to a close. It's midnight here. I guess I should sleep. In spite of my disappointing blog post.  

What I’m Loving Right Now

 I forgot about this format until I saw someone use it the other night. I’m substitute teaching today. Right now actually. Kind of weird. Today I am a building float for intervention meetings for teachers. Right now I am in 6th grade. There are two paras in here helping me run this class. It’s getting loud. The natives are getting restless. Can you blame them? It’s early afternoon on a Friday and their job right now is to finish up any unfinished work. Spring break is still a week away. Today is the first day this week that the weather has been Spring-like. Tonight should be a classic spring night in Kansas, it’s humid and warm and storms are on the agenda. But what I’m loving right now…. 

• New sneakers. I’ve been subbing for about 15 months and I have been promising myself decent shoes for the job since day one. Heaven only knows why I ordered cream colored tennies but I think they look amazing right now. Fingers crossed I can remember not wear them at home. Or at work? Most of our school playgrounds are covered in "mulch" made of tires. Those pretty almost white shoes will get black all over them. *big sigh* But I do think they are pretty.

• My headlamp for evening chore time. I received this as a Christmas gift this last year. I promptly failed to read all the directions before using it and after one use it stopped working. Now I finally have that one replaced and let me tell you, having the use of both hands and not worrying about dropping phone or flashlight is an amazing freedom at chore time.  

Never mind how goofy I look! 

• My rainbow flock is also something I love. We have decided to call them our rainbow flock because we’re always on the quest for more rainbow colors to add to our egg colors. Currently we have 3 colors of brown eggs… a very light brown, almost a peachy/pink color; a medium brown (some of them with speckles, so does that mean there’s actually 4 brown colors?); and the dark brown eggs of the copper marans. We don’t have any true blues right now. But we have an aqua greenish bluefish color that I obviously don't really know how to describe. Greens, we have a definitive two different shades of green, but there are the "sometimes" colors too.... we certainly have a rich olive green, not super dark, I think "rich" is the best descriptor; and a pale, pastel green. The sometimes are.... sometimes we have an inbetween green and sometimes we have speckles on the medium/in-between green color as well as on the pale/pastel green color. I'm on a quest for a darker brown, that black copper maran color that is almost red, a white egg, and a richer blue. These colors for sure. But the eggs below are a really great start and I think we have gorgeous rainbow spectrum eggs. 

Notice the dark browns, they have speckles today, and the pinkish color? and there are a couple that look blue-ish. 

This is the same carton. The lighting is a little different. I just wanted to show the different coloring better. or differently at least.  

• hatching chicks. I love when it's hatch day or nearly hatch day. Silkies usually hatch a couple days early. But my last hatch was late. And this one looks to be as well. Tonight marks 0 more days until hatch. And I have one egg hatching. It is a thrill. On lockdown day I candled them and there were a lot that were full. Last night I had one egg pipped. Tonight it is zipped. Idk if that is a technical term or a Carrie Horn specialty, but that's what I called them when theres a line that looks like the shell is being unzipped to let the chick out. 

See how the egg in the upper left is "zipped" or has a line cracked open? That little guy is trying to break free from the confines that imprison him!

• are these kittens! They have my heart! They are sweet and spunky and cuddly and getting more and more playful. And who doesn't love a kitten?!

This is the little babe that was out in the rain last night! 

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A tiny blessing in a torrential rain storm

 Tonight at chore time, the sky was clouded over and shrouded in fog. It started closing in. Then the thunder started and kept getting closer, and louder... and the sky closed in on me and it was eerie and ominous. The lightning getting ever closer. And I have to tell you a little truth here. I'm afraid of lightning. So the closer it got, the louder the thunder, the more I was shaking in my boots. One of the goats, Marlie, decided tonight would be a good night not to cooperate. As she is rebelliously determined not to be kept in the gate, she pushes past me, and determinedly escaped to do as she pleased outside the gate. And the anxiety is welling up inside me as the thunder rolls in closer and the lightning strikes brighter, closer.... I determine not to panic. Sometimes determination isn't enough. But tonight I was able to choke it down. and smooth it out and not yell at animals. I knew if I did lose it, the animals would feel my fear and my chances to beat the rain would dwindle down to nothing. Everyone got fed, everyone got water. Eggs... collected. Hay... pitched. Dog.... put up. As I pull the wagon back to the house, grateful as ever for my headlamp, I am caught up by the glowing eyes in the weeds and all around me giving away the locations of my cats. Almost there. But I have to put away the feed buckets, the water bottles (we're hauling water because my dog thinks he's still a puppy, and he ate the hoses... oh boy), and grab the cat food and change the cats' water. The ducks love the cat water bowl and every night its full of mud because of the dirty ducks. But ducks are up for night, chicken are up, dog and goats are put away... even Marlie is back in the pen. Hurry, hurry Carrie. Get it done!

I rush in as the rain start to pound and pour. Just before heading to grab cat food, I open the door to the kitten crate. I rush in to hurry and grab the last of what I need. I go in the house, I hear loud pounding. Is it hail? I fill the scoop for the outdoor cats' food. I open the door to head back out, and there's a curtain raining down, rolling off the roof, in a sheet in front of me. The pounding was just rain, no hail. It was literally raining that hard. I feed momma cat and kittens in the crate, and the door is still open. I go in search of a cardboard box or some sort of shelter to keep the cats food in a dry space for them. They have scattered in the midst of torrential rain. I grab a cardboard box and fashion a shelter to the sound of a kitten crying desperately. I don't see any kittens, I keep saying "its okay baby, you're gonna be okay." And I turn to head inside and the baby is still just crying! I look down and there is a baby, not in the safety of the crate, but in the rain. The rain is coming down so fast that it's rising like flood water. And this bitty baby is here in the thick of it all. Water coming up around her body, drenched and scared. I scoop her up and bring her in with me. She's cold and wet. She's scared. and shaking. I found a towel to wrap her up, and soon she's tucked in and we're passing her around, taking turns holding her. I heated up my rice warmer and put it underneath her on my lap. She falls into an exhausted sleep. Being cold, wet, and scared is exhausting such a little peanut. I adore watching her, knowing she's safe and warm now, and loving to dote on a kitten. Kittens just bring a little peace to my soul. And it is so fulfilling when a little bitty kitty purrs at your touch. 

A cold wet kitten

We're both pretty cold and wet here

It's exhausting to be so cold and wet and scared

After a little nap, it's playtime!

March... in she marches with her gloom and doom.

 I really wanted to write a poem, but the words are not flowing the way they used to. It's a dreary March day. I think today sums up my thoughts about March nicely.... cold (for Spring, not winter-cold), dreary, and wet. Depressing. Come on April, are you here yet? Just kidding. I am old enough now that I have decided not to wish my life away. I'm not so old as my Mom's generation, having their friends and neighbors pass away and attending funerals every week or so. So there is that to be grateful for. 

Spring is Beginning

This March morning is wet and rainy

a damp fills the air 

and cold clings to the dampness.

March days like these

feel like grief...

depressing, overwhelming and sad.

Days like these

avoidance is my friend.

I just want to sip my coffee

surrounded by my furry little loves

and not face the realities of farm life. 

But alas,

the goats and chickens and ducks

did not feed themselves

this cold, wet, dreary day.

The big dog needs attention

and there's dishes to do

and chicks to prepare for.

Laundry to fold

and meals to make.

Dreams of escape

to a place of luxury and leisure

are just that...

dreams.

So I'll steal a moment,

an hour,

a moment in time.

I'll dig deep and find some gratitude

for the life I live

and the indulgences I have.

I'll face this cold, dank day

fueled by coffee and courage;

I'll beat back the demons

that this weather summons.

Blessed are the women

who brave the ugliness of Spring

before the rewards...

the flowers, sunshine and bees.

-Carrie Horn

March 2026

Slice of Life Challenge....

 Whelp! Here I am, late to the party. Already. I have been looking forward to the SOL challenge and couldn't wait for March to finally get here. Now I've completely missed two days and if I don't get it in gear, I'm going to miss the 3rd day. 

So many thoughts swirling through my head. I think about how quickly life passes. How much I want to achieve. What I did accomplish today. What I didn't. 

Here are a few moments in today's slice of life.... 

• Today I substitute taught in Kinder. I subbed 1/2 the day in one K class, and the rest of the day in the other K class. In the first class, we talked a lot about how when you're a student and there's a sub, you have to learn to go with the flow. During tiered learning time, one little girl started to interrupt me to tell me I was doing something wrong. But then she stopped and said, "that's one of those 'go with the flow' things. Isnt it?" My heart was happy.
• We have baby silkies set to hatch in a few days. This will be fun. I love baby chicks of all kinds. Big birds, little bitty bantam birds, and everything in between. Tonight was a final candling. I saw a lot of dark mass and blood vessels. Yay. I am getting antsy. From now until I am over the wait for chicks, I will be making chirpy noises every time I go into the kitchen. Yes, I have an incubator in the kitchen. Two if we are telling the truth.
• Baby kitties. My daughter acknowledged today that some of them really are getting cute. I knew that! We have a lot of cats currently. I am still trying to recover finances from the January spaying of four of my favorite cats. Here's the dilemma. Even if I could spay the rest of the females (3), should I? Last year, at final count, we had lost 8 cats to the harsh realities of life as a farm cat. Currently we have 10 (11 if you count the tomcat) outdoor cats. If we count the latest set of 5 adorable babies, then we have 15 (16) outdoor cats. The four I had spayed or my favorites. I know, I know.... you're not supposed to have favorites. But two of them were bottle babies. Their mom was apparently one of the casualties of farm life. They love me like I'm their mom. I love them like I'm their mom. The other two faves, they were 6 weeks and weaned or at least in the process of weaning when their mom didn't come home one morning. They are sweet and loving as the bottle babies. 

As I sit here trying to pound this out of my head and onto the paper, I keep drifting off. dozing. And the more I doze and the longer it takes to type, the more likely I am not to post this in time. Ugh, I hope I don't miss out. 

A recent sub day when I was a librarian. Today I was in Kindergarten, which is my favorite grade to teach.

These are the youngest chicks we have currently. 

My daughter, Jadyn, holding her two favorite kittens. 

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