Chicks-In-The-Hood 2013 – East End

“Angry Bird” – © chriscondello 2013 – Squirrel Hill – Pittsburgh, PA – This chicken run is spacious enough to stand in… It is the one chicken coop on the tour where the visitors are invited inside to roam with the chickens… Though this chicken seemed to have a thing with personal space…

“Clematis Composition” – © chriscondello 2013 – Squirrel Hill – Pittsburgh, PA – Standing in this backyard looking into Frick Park… The wind blowing through the forest broke two leaves from the maple trees overhead… I watched them fall into the bird bath next to me… I picked a Clematis bloom off the ground and floated it in the bird bath… And realized I was a total nerd…

“Chicken Hill” – © chriscondello 2013 – Chicken Hill – Pittsburgh, PA – One of the misconceptions of urban chickens is the smell… After visiting 12 coops yesterday… I can honestly say that unless I was on the ground inside the coop… They did not smell… And the ones that do have a slight odor… Were out-of-the-way enough to not affect any neighbors…

“Urban Shocker” – © chriscondello 2013 – East Hills/Homewood – Pittsburgh, PA – Located at the very top of a hill that as far as I was concerned was considered Wilkinsburg… Is one of the nicer coops on the tour… This hilltop has been converted into an urban paradise that should not be missed next year…

“Trick Chicken” – © chriscondello 2013 – East Hills/Homewood – Pittsburgh, PA – Chickens are specifically prohibited in Wilkinsburg… Which is only 50′ away from this coop… In fact… My street is off the same street this garden is off… Center Avenue…

“Bright Lights Chard” – © chriscondello 2013 – East Hills/Homewood – The amount of food grown around this coop is amazing… And judging by the health of everything… This woman surely has a green thumb…

“People Coop” – © chriscondello 2013 – Park Place/Point Breeze – Pittsburgh, PA – The tour is also a great opportunity to drive through some neighborhoods you might not normally see on your day-to-day travels… And honestly… Even bad neighborhoods are interesting to look at…

“Deuce Coop” – © chriscondello 2013 – Park Place/Point Breeze – Pittsburgh, PA – One of the interesting things I learned while talking to the homeowners… Even if you buy a coop… You will probably end up adding on to it… Although the homemade coops did not look as good as the store-bought coops… They are easier to modify… I would build my own…

“Common Clematis” – © chriscondello 2013 – Park Place/Point Breeze – Pittsburgh, PA – I think every house I visited had a purple or blue clematis… This one was growing up as trellis next to the table…

“Brown Clucker” – © chriscondello 2013 – Park Place/Point Breeze – Pittsburgh, PA – Coop owner after coop owner was complaining about raccoons… They all stressed the importance of using 1/2″ hardware cloth instead of chicken wire fence… Chicken wire will not exactly hold up to a hungry racoon…

“Neon Zinnia” – © chriscondello 2013 – Park Place/Point Breeze – Pittsburgh, PA – This tour is about so much more than just chickens… Many of the homes have extensive gardens… And a few of them are even permaculture based… I would need an entire day at each of these houses to really do this job right… Maybe someday…

“Another Clematis” – © chriscondello 2013 – Park Place/Point Breeze – Pittsburgh, PA – I’m taking blue and purple clematis off my list… I love them… But each and every one of you already have one… Anyway… This clematis graces the front door of one of the homes on the tour…

plant petunias and question everything – chriscondello

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