Author Archives: jkmcintyre

Baracka Figures It Out

Posted on April 7, 2009 by jkmcintyre


After discovering the eggs under the porch last week, I feverishly read BackYardChickens for advice about how to get our chicken to lay her eggs in the nest box. First I thought: I built the boxes wrong. So I read a hundred posts on nest boxes and no two were alike (ground-level vs. raised; dim vs. bright; indoor vs. out; roost vs. ramp; from dresser drawers or milk crates lying on the ground to fancy colourful built-ins up next to a roost). Continue reading →

Posted in chickens, eggs, nest boxes | 5 Comments

The First Egg!

Posted on April 1, 2009 by jkmcintyre

Of course it should happen that on April 1st, the coldest most miserable day this spring, I discover that Baracka has been laying eggs in a remote corner under the front porch. I’d looked in there a few days ago when Mike suggested they might be checking it out as a laying spot, but it was too dark and cornery to see anything. Continue reading →

Posted in baby chickens, eggs, nest boxes | 6 Comments

Spring in Seattle!

Posted on March 23, 2009 by jkmcintyre


It no longer freezes at night, buds are swelling on our trees, and our chicken Baracka wants to mate. Spring has arrived. For my part, I frantically plant seeds that my books tell me I could have planted last month, some outdoors, some in. Two weeks ago I planted tomato seeds from 2008 in egg cartons in the kitchen windows. I also started other longer season crops like onions, peppers, and eggplant (yes, I may be dreaming). Continue reading →

Posted in DIY, geek, Scientific, starting seeds, tomatoes | 1 Comment

Fences that disappear

Posted on February 17, 2009 by jkmcintyre


Trim, layer, trim, layer. That’s the sound of us filling our composting fence.

It took us about 45 min to dig hole, plant post, pack gravel, then string the wire mesh. Subsequently, we fill the fence at our leisure.

Drag over the pile of branches from the Japanese maple, break them down, drop them in. Trim the pine, layer the lovely needled limbs. Cut back the hedge, drop it in. Layer on layer to the top. Continue reading →

Posted in compost bins, composting fence, DIY, Sustainability, update | 9 Comments