Are you ready for Spring? I am.

So ready.

After taking some time off from HHR, I am back. And I am ready to share the excitement I have in my new home, with my new yard, and a rediscovered connectedness with my consciousness and surroundings.

This is my first full-length spring at 2115. I have the seedlings started and the garden plotted out. And can you guess what more of Hen House Reveries will bring to you this year?

Gardening.

Farming.

Meditation.

All of the above.

All with splashes of color and fun!

So happy to be here. And happy to share my adventures in life.

Livin' in Michigan

Our hens are all pastured. So, on beautiful, sunny days (especially during this mild winter), our ladies like to venture out of their "pen" and visit us. You know, to catch up on all the good farm gossip. There's lots to talk about on the farm these days - all our new projects, the new members of the family (besides Ellyaire Sue - Blake and Jenny's daughter - allaboutellyc.blogspot.com), and of course, what would "farm talk" be if you didn't chat about the weather.

We have certainly had some lovely lake-effect snow. The powdery, soft-lookin' kind. But after only a few of these snows, we started to feel some of what this spring may have to offer. Now, I suggest you 'knock on wood' if you are thinking about how nice it would be for no more bitter cold nights, because although I would like to be sippin' on tropical drinks and enjoying warmer days too, let's be realistic:

We. Live. In. Michigan.

(or at least some of us...)



Something else you could gossip with our ladies about is an exciting opportunity I have in North Carolina. I'll have another blog post coming soon, but by then, I will already be in Greensboro and will know what this next chapter in my life is going to tell. Adventure? Happiness? Sorrow? Defeat?

I'm hoping for 'adventure' and 'happiness.'

Finding The Perfect Snowflake

It's been pretty 'crashbangboom' lately. 2011 was really not my year. And that's why I have 2012 to look forward to. The snowflakes of 2011 were muddied and disfigured, but I'm hopeful that 2012 will have a perfect season of snowflakes. Pure and perfectly imperfect.

I think that a part of finding something so pure and perfect is changing your mindset a bit. Not lowering your standards by any means, but simply understanding that transitioning from disfigured to perfect requires change. And while change is scary, it's necessary. Necessary and...well...change happens sometimes whether we like it or not, so accept it and roll with it, or try to fight it and become familiar with the feeling of defeat.



Ruthie waiting for her ball to be thrown and lost in the snow. She always finds it though!

Now. Let's just hope that 2012 doesn't turn out like that silly Cusak apocalyptic film. Or worse yet, having to say President Santorum.

Holidays Are Here

It's always amazing how the holidays take control of us. Our wants. Our "needs". This irresponsible picture of what this season is all about.

But I'm not talking about that tonight. Tonight, I have some holiday pictures to share, along with a few thoughts from my recent roadtrip to North Carolina.

Before we get into any of that, I would love LOVE love to share this with you. It's an amazing montage of scare clips from the Ellen Show.

And now that you have piddled in your panties...

I recently took a few days to travel to North Carolina. It was about an 11 hour drive, so I had plenty of time to listen to Britney, Buble, and the Beatles. But I also had lots of time to think. Working on the farm, I sometimes fall into a simple repetition - chores, care for the animals, errands, chores, bed - so having the time to drive through the Appalachians with my thoughts was quite therapeutic. 

I was able to listen to a few podcats as well. Dan Savage and the Savage Lovecast is one of my favorites. But on my way home, I was captured by a podcast called Soul Connexions by the famous life intuitive, Robert Ohotto. At first, I was a bit skeptical (and to be honest, I am not sure I am able to wrap my mind around most of his comments and thoughts at this time), but after listening, I started to find some real connections with my life and what he was saying. I thought it was a coincidence and that most of this self-help bullshit was bologna. But, alas, after fighting the connections, I finally agreed with some of the points and just went with the flow. 

After listening for a few hours, I found some key points that I would like to share. I really would encourage you to download Soul Connexions from iTunes - just check it out and see if what I have to share resonates with you. Here they are:

• Destiny is not about fame, it's about service. 
• In regards to my relationships and co-dependency:
• I can make myself feel safe. I do not need others to feel secure.
• I am lovable.
• I do not need to track or control others. Instead, I should own my space and peace. I shouldn't misplace my power and energy into trying to control others, because, ultimately, I have no power in their choices or their destiny. I only have power in how I respond to the choices and actions of others. 

Maybe this is all a bunch of rubbish to you. I know that I am not doing the lessons justice, so, again, I would encourage you to check out Robert Ohotto on iTunes!

And if my thoughts from my trip are shit, at least you can enjoy some of my pictures from Greensboro. Happy Holidays. Peace to you.

Something Borrowed

I have a very difficult time accepting happiness. I don't want to sound pretentious or self-righteous. So let me make my case.

Happiness is just being able to "be." (Isn't it?)

And if one was to be so consumed with what others expect them to be, then they aren't really being, are they?

It's not that I am rejecting the life I want to live, the life that will make me happy. It's that, all around me, there are people who have expected "different" things from me; different paths than the paths I have taken in recent years and other "things" along those lines. And maybe it's because I am a people-pleaser that this bothers me; that I am not living up to people's expectations. But then again, maybe it's because the "failure to meet expectations" standardized by others just plain hurts.

This state of anxiety that I am living in is driving me nuts. Constantly feeling like there is something bigger out there for me. Always feeling the need to win the affirmation of others.

These might be two different things, but as of now, they are two in the same.

When you were a little kid, what is it that you wanted to be? A firefighter? An astronaut? I wanted to be the President. (Now I don't know if you could give me the Presidency.)

Isn't it strange though, that we wanted to be all these things, these positions, objects, all these different titles?

And not once did we say as little boys and girls, "When I grow up, I want to be happy."

I want to be happy.

I want to feel safe.

I want to love and be loved.

While I would like to argue the point of whether I am "grown up" or not, these are all things that I want. And if I like to think that I am, in fact, not "grown up," then how much longer do I have? Is there an expiration date? A redemption date?

While I know the answer to this, I have a hard time understanding it and comprehending it fully.

Why is it so damn hard to get? Why can I not accept it and cash in on my rain check that I've been holding onto for so many years?

Do I blame it on the media - for portraying the desireable life, the correct timeline, and how everything should turn out, according to normal-ville?

Do I blame those who have had expectations of me?

Or do I blame myself.

For being too much of a control freak to just let go and live. For being too afraid of what could happen. For risking losing out on taking risks; risks that may or may not pay off. I guess that's why they are called risks.

Regardless of whomever I blame, the clock keeps ticking. Because, after all, this life is just something borrowed, right?

Clucking July 19th - The Conception and Hatching of HHR

I find it hard to gather inspiration in all this heat. Another scorcher out there. And by "out there," I mean on the farm. And by "on the farm," I mean where all the work is mercilessly endless. And by "mercilessly endless," I mean the work that I have to do. And by "have to do," I mean I must do, because there are other beings that rely on me. That is what a farm is. Interdependency.

And that is where I gather my inspiration.

It is a tiresome process. But a process that I go through most every morning, nonetheless.

It is amazing how the world works. How even in self-sufficiency, there is a need, a reliance, on other "things." Think about it. Sure, you can cut out the "human" element, leaving only "you" in the equation. But then there is the reliability of the weather, the growth of crops, the health of your pasture, and in turn, the health of your farm and all of its inhabitants that completely negate the self-righteous phrase, "self-sufficient."

This morning, I woke up and knew that I needed to find something to grasp ahold of in these dismal, dreary times. My aspiration in life is to turn the dismal into delight. But constantly focusing all my energy on the difficult and confusing mishaps in my world, in our world, can be draining and just plain exhausting, like this heat.

So I decided I needed to find my smile. I needed to find a muse.

That is when 'Hen House Reveries' was hatched.

Gossipy ol' hens, all cooped up. But one clucking a cluck different from the rest. Clucking in reverie.

 Look it up! "Reverie"

Do I daydream? Yes. Do I meditate? Yuppers. Do I perhaps have some impractical ideas; ideas that are idealistic and naive? Ok, I give, I give. 

But if you can't daydream or believe in "what could be," how will you move forward in life? Anything else seems a bit like a stalemate, does it not? Anything else seems a bit dreary and dreadful, pessimistic and pointless, doesn't it?

If you can't believe in "what could be" by looking around and finding yourself lost in reverie, aren't you simply saying that you're "self-sufficient" and independent, above all else?

And didn't we just have a chat about that? I thought so.

Some of my day's Hen House Reveries:

There's a stranger in the forest.

This morning's fog.

Sleepy sheep coming to be watered.

Baling more and more every day. Preparing for the winter already.