Feathered Friend Friday: Coop Kitty

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 often refer to our outdoor cat, Emma, as the coop kitty, but I didn't realize how true that was until last weekend when I found her in a most unusual place.

I headed to the coop to check for eggs and discovered her in the nesting box right beside Feather Legs! It totally cracked me up, but Emma just sat there looking at me like it was the most natural thing in the world for a cat to hang out in nesting boxes with a chicken.

Feather Legs didn't seem to mind her presence, except for when Emma thought she'd stick her paw through a hole in the divider between the boxes and give Feather Legs a little encouraging tap on the wing. Feather Legs wouldn't have any of that and gave Emma a good peck. Emma respectfully kept her distance after that warning peck!

Praying hard to the egg Gods :)

After I had collected the eggs laid so far that day and was ready to leave the coop, Emma stayed at her post. I thought she would run after me and play like she normally does, but apparently she was serious about trying to lay an egg. Sometimes I think she believes she is a chicken!

~Tammy

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

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