How to Set Up a Brooder for Chicks
Once you’ve determined that backyard chickens are right for you, the next step is to set up a brooder for baby chicks. A brooder is a little box or tub with just the right temperature for your baby chicks. It’s doesn’t have to be fancy at all. Your chicks won’t notice if it’s an old {Read more about How to Set Up a Brooder for Chicks}
The Good and Bad of Backyard Chickens
There are good points and bad points when it comes to having backyard chickens. For us, the good outweighs the bad and we love keeping chickens on our urban homestead otherwise known as our small backyard in the city, but it’s a good idea to know what you’re in for.
Are Backyard Chickens Right For You?
If you’re thinking about keeping chickens on a small urban homestead, otherwise known as a backyard, there are several points to consider. Chickens are sweet pets, will give you delicious eggs, and provide you with entertainment but before heading out to pick out your chicks, you’ll want to have a few things lined up first. {Read more about Are Backyard Chickens Right For You?}
How to Hold Baby Chicks
When we have baby chicks, all the kids on our street want to come over and hold them. It’s great watching the kids be gentle with the chicks or overcoming their fears of grabbing them and holding them. When the chicks are held closely, they feel calmer and many times their eyes will close and {Read more about How to Hold Baby Chicks}
The Non-Gardeners Gardening Strategy
Gardening doesn’t come naturally to me. When someone asks me a question about my garden, it makes me laugh, because I feel like a pretend gardener. With trial and error, I’ve had some successes but mostly because I’ve learned what doesn’t work first. I only like to plant hearty herbs and vegetables that are practically {Read more about The Non-Gardeners Gardening Strategy}
Baby Chicks
We have baby chicks at our house and they’re doing just what babies do – eating, pooping, sleeping, and growing. I think they’re drinking water but I can’t tell because I never see them drinking. They’re so adorable when they’re cute and small. They’re starting to lose their downy fuzz and grow feathers. They’re turning {Read more about Baby Chicks}
Light Lanterns for Garden
These sweet little lanterns hang from the lilac tree in our backyard. I bought them at the Goodwill Clearance Center (otherwise known as “The Bins” because everything is piled up in bins and you have to dig around to find your treasures). The lanterns were attached to lights that didn’t work so I removed the {Read more about Light Lanterns for Garden}
Bathtubs in Old Bathrooms
I’ve gotten several questions from readers about our claw-foot bathtub in our old bathroom so, I thought I’d address them here. The first question is about our tub surround that we have in our bathroom. Our tub surround is not a new-fangled “all in one tub/shower combo” that you might purchase at a large warehouse {Read more about Bathtubs in Old Bathrooms}
Three Easy Herbs to Grow
This should really be titled, “Three Fool-Proof Herbs to Grow” because these herbs are easy to grow even if you’ve never gardened before. Growing herbs is an excellent way to get started gardening because you don’t need fancy tools or special equipment to do it. All of these herbs can be grown in the ground {Read more about Three Easy Herbs to Grow}
Laundry Chute Evolution
The final component of the bathroom re-do, the laundry chute door, was a real puzzle to figure out. We were really brainstorming about what to use – Brand new door? Custom made door? Build it ourselves out of wood door? Find a used cabinet door? A reader , Laurie, even had a great suggestion of {Read more about Laundry Chute Evolution}
DIY Project Claw Feet
As you’ll recall, we discovered an ugly secret during our bathroom re-do project about our claw foot bathtub: our bathtub was missing one of its claw feet. To be honest with you, I’ve always thought it was me, not the bathtub, whenever the bathtub moved during my shower. I’d begin to question myself: Did I {Read more about DIY Project Claw Feet}
How to Keep a House Project Sustainable
When we set out to re-do our bathroom, our dual goals were to keep our house project sustainable for both our wallets and the environment. We wanted to keep the cost down and be as easy on the environment as we could. It worked and the end result was better than we expected. We had {Read more about How to Keep a House Project Sustainable}
Fall in Love with Backyard Chickens
I love keeping chickens in our backyard. The fresh eggs they provide, eating our kitchen scraps, and giving us great material for our compost bins can’t be beat. Chickens are very funny creatures and can be quite amusing. During the summer, we like to sit in the backyard and watch our chickens. If you were {Read more about Fall in Love with Backyard Chickens}
Happy New Year 2012
Happy New Year to you. There’s something so refreshing about the start of the New Year. I use it as a time to reflect and check-in with myself. Did I accomplish all I wanted during the year? Did I reach the goals I set for myself for the year? Did I stick with my New {Read more about Happy New Year 2012}
Green Holiday Guide
I’m thrilled to announce that Go Gingham has collaborated with the City of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability on this wonderful Green Holiday Guide. The City of Portland (Oregon, not Maine) launched a new recycling program this fall and contacted me about their Green Holiday Guide project. Reducing garbage, eliminating food waste, and decorating {Read more about Green Holiday Guide}
