Backyard Chickens in the Winter Time

We've been asked several times how we take care of our chickens in the cold, Chicago winters.  Hope this video answers those questions and gives some ideas to those of you who might be thinking about starting your first backyard flock in the spring.

Experimenting With Chicory: Another Edible Weed

You've probably noticed these blue flowers growing up along the side of the road and along the bike paths here in Chicago like I have.  I remember reading somewhere that they are the flower of an edible plant called chicory.  After some quick Internet research I found out the part of the plant most often used is the root.  It's used as a coffee substitute and also added to coffee, especially in New Orleans.  It also has medicinal value as an anti-inflammatory.  But how does chicory taste?  If it's good in coffee, could I use it in my brewing to make something like a chicory-chocolate stout?  I had to find out.

Read This!

I stumbled upon this great book while looking through the "new book" section of my local library yesterday and was not able to put it down last night.  The author, Derek Fell, was a former seed catalogue manager for Burpee and another top selling seed catalogue in both Europe and the United States. This would seem to make him uniquely qualified to explain what to grow and what not to waste your time and effort on.

Backyard Breakfast

This morning's harvest of eggs and purslane

There is something deeply satisfying about eating a meal that came from your own backyard at a table made with your own two hands.  If you are reading this post, you are interested in the same things and probably know exactly what I'm talking about.  So we're sharing one of our favorite backyard meals in hopes that you'll

Where Have You Been All My LIfe, Ho-Mi?

The Ho-Mi - or Korean Hand Plow.

It was by sheer luck that I discovered the most useful gardening tool I have ever owned.  I was exploring a nearby wooded area with my kids this summer when my son spotted something on the forest floor that wasn't put there by nature.
 "What's this, Dad?" he asked, holding out the rusting implement for my inspection.  I had never seen a hand tool like this before.  It had what looked like a miniature plow blade attached to a bent handle.  It must have been left behind long ago by someone digging around on the forest floor for who-knows-what.

Ignorance Made You My Enemy But Knowledge Has Made You My Friend!

What a fool I've been!  I've cursed you while constantly pulling you from my garden and from cracks in my sidewalk.  I've carelessly stepped all over you without even knowing your name.

Save Money Like a Man!

If you're a man and you need to save money (and who doesn't?) why not try cutting your own hair?  If you've never tried this, it's easier than you think.  This video is just one of many out there on YouTube that shows how easy it really is.

I've been cutting my own hair for over ten yeas now.  In that time, I estimate I've saved over $1,200.00 (assuming a ten dollar haircut per month).  Think of all the beer you could buy with that money!

If you have a son, you can easily cut his hair as well.  In ten years, you'll save over $2,400.00 between the two of you!  If you make a mistake - no worries; it's just hair.  It always grows back.  So man up and give it a try!

Our Teak Breakfast Booth: Another Trash-to-Treasure Story

This is just one of a series of posts I plan to do on some of the woodworking/re purposing projects I've done for our home.  I really wish I had taken pictures of the process of making this, but I wasn't blogging at the time.  I feel like I need to post these projects because I get most of my best ideas from scanning the Internet for images of furniture that other people have made and graciously taken the time to post pictures or videos of.  These posts are my way of giving back to the "DIY" community that has helped me so much.  I hope this helps or inspires someone else out there.

Planting a Fall Garden

We just planted a fall garden using the seeds in the picture above because that's all we had on hand.  I went to the nearest big box store to get more but I was too late. The seeds had already been moved out to make room for the next seasonal merchandise.  So I guess we'll have lots of beets this year, which isn't a bad thing since Mary makes an awesome borscht.

One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure

I don't consider myself a dumpster diver, but when someone throws something like this away, I just have to stop and take a look.  In this case, it turned out to be two pieces of solid white oak, probably from a piece of IKEA furniture that fell apart due to those great fasteners they use.  Anyway, Mary had been after me for a long time to build a coffee table and I figured this would be just the thing for the table top.