Feathered Friend Friday: Playing In The Leaves

Welcome to our "Feathered Friend Friday" series. Each Friday I write a post with interesting facts, photos, or funny stories about our chickens and guineas. If you need to catch up, you'll find all the Feathered Friend Friday posts here.     

This is what it looks like in our neck of the woods right now.

Leaves everywhere! Which means it is a chicken playground. They absolutely love playing in the leaves and scratching away at holes to try to find hidden bugs and other delectable treats. With the decreasing daylight, it's hard for me to find time to let them out for supervised free ranging, but I do try to oblige whenever I can. It's so fun to sit and watch as everyone comes out to play.

Of course Duchess stands out amongst the leaves, but Emma kitty is pretty well camouflaged along with some of the chickens, like Red. I can't believe how well they blend in!

Once the daylight starts to fade, the chickens begin to make their way back to the safety of the coop to settle in for the night. Most of them head back before it gets too dark, but some of the younger girls like to stay out as late as they possibly can.

After the chickens have made their way to the coop, the guineas gather around for one last feather preening session as the sun sets, just before flying up into the trees to roost for the night.

Such a peaceful, calm way to end the day. I know the chickens enjoy their supervised free ranging time, but I think I may actually enjoy it even more.

~Tammy

Homemade Living: Best Ever Pumpkin Bread

With fall in full swing, I have been craving everything pumpkin lately. I know a lot of people don't wait until fall to get their pumpkin on, but I like to wait until the season has a good head start. While waiting in line at Starbucks recently, I spotted some pumpkin bread and decided it was time to embrace everything pumpkin. I was inspired to make my own pumpkin bread at home, and let me tell you - it was one of my favorite things I've ever made.

Best Ever Pumpkin Bread
adapted from King Arthur Flour
Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:
1 cup vegetable oil
2 2/3 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups (or one 15-ounce can) pumpkin puree
2/3 cup water
3 1/3 cups flour
1/2 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t salt
1 t vanilla extract
2 T pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease two loaf pans.
2) In a large bowl, beat together the oil, sugar, eggs, pumpkin, and water.
3) Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice, stirring to combine.
4) Divide batter evenly between loaf pans and bake 60-70 minutes or until cake tester inserted into the middle of the loaves comes out clean.
5) Cool bread completely on a wire rack, then wrap well in plastic wrap.

This bread totally surpassed my expectations. I honestly couldn't believe how good it was! Maybe after my last baking session resulted in an epic fail I was just thrilled that something turned out right, but really this bread is so delicious. The recipe recommends you wait overnight to eat the bread because when it rests for a while in the plastic wrap, it gets so moist and flavorful.

Since the recipe bakes up two loaves, I sliced one and put it in the freezer for longer storage (I made sure to wrap it tightly in plastic wrap covered in aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn). This morning I took one slice out and brought it to work with me for a mid-morning snack, and it tasted just as good as when it was freshly baked. I love that the bread isn't too sweet, but just sweet enough and the spicy pumpkin flavor really shines through. I think baking this bread will become a fall tradition for me!

~Tammy

This week in the Homemade Living series, I am joined by Mary and Jackie in posting about how we incorporate homemade items into our lives. Next week Daisy, Staci, and Sue will be up. If you have some free time, please check out the other posts in this weekly series!

Shared with From the Farm Blog Hop, Down Home Blog Hop, Thankful Hop   

Yellow Leaves

On my walk with the roosters last week, I observed all the leaves changing color. We have so many trees out here, but it seems like the majority of them turn yellow in the fall. There is some brilliant red here and there, but what stands out the most to me is the bright golden color so prevalent in the woods.

I just love how the yellow pops behind the red rooster coop and think the colors look so beautiful together (Duchess likes to sneak into the little run when she sees me).

The color reached its peak out here about a week ago, then we had a storm that blew a bunch of the leaves off the trees so we didn't get to enjoy the color for too long. But I'm always grateful for the moments of beauty that I am able to witness in the woods. I just love seeing the transformation each year and know I will never tire of it!

~Tammy

Shared with Maple Hill Hop 

Feathered Friend Friday: Rooster Parade

Welcome to our "Feathered Friend Friday" series. Each Friday I write a post with interesting facts, photos, or funny stories about our chickens and guineas. If you need to catch up, you'll find all the Feathered Friend Friday posts here.   

I wrote about our young roosters' antics a couple weeks ago, but I have to dedicate another FFF to them today because they continue to amuse me and I can't stop snapping photos of them!

As soon as they hear me come out the back door, they run to meet me as fast as their legs will carry them. They hope I'll have a treat for them (which I usually do), but if I don't have any treats they will just follow me around for a while, stopping every five seconds to belt out a nice loud crow.

As I walked around our property yesterday evening with my camera to see all the leaves that were turning, they joined me on my trek. It was like my own rooster parade and I was the grand marshal. Everywhere I went, they trotted along behind and kept me company. I can't imagine a better end to my day.

Wait for meeee!

~Tammy

Shared with From the Farm Blog Hop 

Pumpkin Carving

We've been harvesting pumpkins around here since August, so we have racked up quite the count. I think in all, we were able to grow over 20 pumpkins this year! I kind of lost count a while back after we shared some with friends and family. Our pumpkin luck afforded us the luxury to simply grab a couple pumpkins off our front porch to carve earlier this week.

David chose one of the warty ones, and I chose one that looked easy to carve because my skills are lacking somewhat. I began carving out my classic design on my pumpkin when I noticed David was taking a much different direction with his.

A little crazy, right? He used one of our smaller butternut squash with the stem pointed out to act as the nose for the poor little guy in the big pumpkin's mouth. Then he had the idea to add some screws to the final product to complete the look.

Mine is very tame in comparison! Here they are side by side.

Did you carve pumpkins this year? I'd love to hear how yours turned out.

Happy Halloween!

~Tammy

PS - Don't forget to visit Daisy, Staci and Sue today for their posts in the Homemade Living series. Next week I will share my post along with Mary and Jackie. 

Plant Garlic In 5 Easy Steps

I have been wanting to plant garlic for several years now, especially after seeing all the delicious uses for garlic scapes. I use garlic quite a bit in my cooking, and have recently learned about its antibiotic, antiviral, and antibacterial qualities, so that made me want to plant garlic that much more. Here's how we did it, and how you can plant garlic in five easy steps.

Step 1 - Buy your garlic.
We bought our garlic online here. We researched to see which variety was best for our area and went with a hardneck called German Extra Hardy. It can withstand very cold winters (we can dip down into the single digits here in Missouri) and also is great for long term storage. 

Step 2 - Prepare for planting.
Garlic needs plenty of sun to grow (at least six hours per day). We decided to plant ours in two smaller beds in the garden that get a good amount of sunlight. We cleared the weeds and worked the soil well until it was nice and loose while Sylvester supervised the operation.

Step 3 - Break apart the cloves.
The bulbs need to be broken up into individual cloves for planting, so we carefully separated each clove. I've read that it is best to leave the papery skin on the cloves to help prevent against rotting and disease, so we tried to keep the skin on when possible. 

Step 4 - Plant cloves in rows root end down.
We dug a furrow about three inches deep, and planted each clove several inches apart. Each row was at least six inches apart, and we were able to get three rows in each of our two garden beds. We made sure there was at least two inches of soil covering each row of cloves.

Step 5 - Cover with mulch.
I cleaned out the coop over the weekend, so we used the pine shavings with composted chicken manure on top of the garden beds. This will protect the garlic from the winter cold and also prevent weeds from growing up (a necessity since garlic doesn't compete well with weeds).

I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the process was, since for some reason I had it in my head that garlic was difficult to plant and grow. I've read that garlic actually doesn't require much maintenance, so I'm hoping for a good harvest next year. We'll definitely keep you updated on the progress!

Do you grow garlic in your garden?

~Tammy

Shared with From the Farm Blog Hop, Backyard Farming Connection Hop 

Clearing The Camera: Early Fall Edition

It's looking more and more like fall around here! I find myself constantly reaching for my camera, so I thought I'd share a few of my current shots. (PS - click here if you'd like to see more photo posts.)

Newly fallen leaves create a vivid blanket of color on the ground.

Early morning dew hangs like pearls on the strands of a spider web.

Emma kitty's eyes pop against the still green grass.

A slowly ripening pumpkin looks beautiful with the fallen leaves.

What signs of fall are you seeing out your back door?

~Tammy

Shared with Tuesday Muse 

PS - Don't forget to visit Daisy, Staci and and our new blogger, Sue, today for their posts in the Homemade Living series. Next week I will share my post along with Mary and Jackie.

Mum's The Word

One of my favorite things about fall is seeing my mums begin to bloom again. To me, the season hasn't truly started until these lovely, bright flowers burst open with their vivid hues.

I have never had much luck with growing mums in containers (I think I water them too much) but I have found that they flourish in the ground. I love that after they are established, they are very low maintenance and don't require regular watering or attention. I do pick back any buds that appear before mid-July to encourage bushier growth and cut the plants way back in the early spring, but really that's about it.

Right now we only have a couple of mum plants, but hopefully we can add some more soon. They are one of my favorite flowers!

Do you grow mums in your garden?

~Tammy

Shared with Maple Hill Hop 

Celebrating Fall

It seems like everyone is celebrating fall earlier and earlier each year, but I just have to wait until the official start to begin my celebrations. I don't know why, because fall is my absolute favorite season, but I feel like I need to wait until summer is officially over before indulging in everything pumpkin. Since Sunday was the first day of fall, I decided to get it started off right and embrace everything the season has to offer.

I harvested some more pumpkins on Sunday, so now our front porch is looking like a respectable pumpkin patch! Sylvester decided to make an appearance in the photo as well :)

The weather was incredibly nice over the weekend, so I spent time outside with the boys while they free ranged amongst some newly fallen leaves.

We've been harvesting lots of butternut squash lately (head's up - great recipe to come on Wednesday) and the squash looks so festive displayed in an old wooden soda crate.

I haven't posted a photo of Duchie here in a while, so thought I'd show you how she's gearing up for fall. Since her big summer shave, her coat has been growing back in thick to prepare for the colder weather. (She was tired of my snapping photos by this point!)

I caught a shot of the guineas doing some morning preening. The one on the far right had just been screaming up a storm and it was a chilly morning, so you can see a little wispy cloud of her breath.

Some of the leaves are beginning to change color already, and there are feathers scattered everywhere on the ground from molting chickens and guineas. I love seeing the bright pops of color here and there.

How did you usher in the first day of fall?

~Tammy

Shared with Tuesday Muse 

Early Pumpkin Harvest

It seems that fall has decided to make an appearance a little early here on our homestead because we are already harvesting pumpkins!

We've never grown pumpkins before so we were really excited to have a little pumpkin patch this year. And it was totally free! Last fall, one of David's students gave him a pumpkin and we saved the seeds and planted them in our garden this spring. The vines have been spreading like crazy over the past couple months and it has been so much fun to watch the pumpkins grow.

I really couldn't believe how the pumpkins were growing so rapidly. In just a few short weeks they reached full size and the color began to morph from green to orange. It was so amazing to watch the tiny specks of orange grow day by day until the pumpkins were ripe. And I'm not sure how the one got all the warts, but I think it is so cool! We have some more pumpkins ripening on the vine at the moment, so I can't wait to see what they look like when they're ready to pick.

Have you ever grown pumpkins?

~Tammy

PS - Don't forget to visit Meg and Staci today for their posts in the Homemade Living series. Next week I will share my post along with Daisy and Mary.

Shared with From the Farm Blog Hop 

Potato & Leek Soup - Just Add Water

I recently found this recipe for potato and leek soup on Pinterest and was so excited to give it a try. Up until I made this soup, I had never cooked with (or tried) leeks before and I was eager to see what all the fuss was about.

Leeks kind of look like giant scallions and have a much milder taste than regular onions. There is often dirt trapped inside the layers, so you need to make sure to clean them well before using. The easiest way to do this is to cut the leeks in half lengthwise, then slice into 1/4" half moons (only use the white and light green part - the dark green part is very tough and dry). Put the sliced leeks into a big bowl of cold water and shake around a bit. The leeks will stay at the top while all the dirt and sediment sinks to the bottom of the bowl. After a few minutes you are left with clean leeks ready to go.

Potato & Leek Soup
via Kitchen Riffs
Serves 4

Ingredients:
3 cups cleaned and sliced leeks
3 cups scrubbed and diced yellow or yukon gold potatoes with skins left on
4-5 cups water
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Add leeks and potatoes to a large soup pot and add just enough water to cover. Add several pinches of salt & pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. 

At this point, I like to use my immersion blender to blend the soup slightly. It breaks up some of the potatoes and gives the soup a really great creamy texture.

Honestly, it is hard to believe how good the soup tastes. I was very skeptical because I thought with only adding water, the soup wouldn't be very flavorful.

Boy, was I wrong! I think it was even better reheated the next day. If you've never tried leeks before, I would highly recommend this recipe as an introduction to the wonderful world of leeks. I predict many more bowls of this soup in my future!

~Tammy

Shared with Mix It Up Monday, Meatless Monday, Show Me What You Got, Backyard Farming Connection, Tiny Tip Tuesday, Hearth & Soul, Tasty Tuesdays, Share It, Worthy Wednesday, Down Home Blog Hop, Eat Make Grow, Country Homemaker Hop, Rural Thursday, Healthy Vegan Friday, Sunny Simple Sunday, Thursday Favorite Things, Food On Friday

Feathered Friend Friday

Welcome to our series "Feathered Friend Friday." Every Friday I write a post with interesting facts, photos, or funny stories about our chickens and guineas. If you need to catch up, you'll find all the Feathered Friend Friday posts here.    

In our neck of the woods, most of the trees have succumbed to fall and dropped their leaves. Each morning I wade through a deep blanket of crunchy brown leaves as I head to the chicken coop to let everyone out to start their day. Our chicken run is not covered, so leaves fill up the fenced in area. A few years ago I discovered a fun activity for the chickens once lots of leaves have fallen and dried in their run.

Of course Duchess had to get in on the fun as well :)

Wearing my boots, I just kick a big pile of leaves together (of course you could use a rake, but I'm usually too lazy to pull it out, plus this gives my legs a work out!). I fill an old plastic cup with scratch, black oil sunflower seeds, and layer crumbles then sprinkle the mixture on top of a pile of leaves. I sit back and watch while the chickens go at it!

They love to jump on top of the pile and kick through the leaves to get to the yummy treats. I usually make 3-4 piles so everyone can get in on the fun, otherwise the older girls push the young ones out of the way. They had pretty much flattened the pile by the time I got a video, but I thought this was cute and wanted to share it anyway. Isis and Jobin seem to love the spotlight!

I usually save a little of the treat mixture so I can feed the chickens out of my hand. I love how they all crowd around and gently peck for the treats.

I also learned that playing in the leaves isn't just for the chickens (and Duchess). Sylvester also likes to roll around in the leaves. Silly boy!

~Tammy

Shared with Weekly Top Shot