Don't Forget Our Feathered Friends

It's cold and snowy here. Don't forget to feed the birds.


They love this suet recipe. I make the big squares for slicing in my soap mold and put them in my homemade suet feeders.

You may even see a fight or two over this stuff.


"It's MINE! Step away from the suet log!"

While the Cardinals fight, the Downy Woodpecker and Titmouse sneak in for a little snack.


At least they get along!


And then old Mr. Blue Jay crashes the party and runs everyone off. He's the law enforcement of the backyard!


Someone has to watch out for the little "Goldfinch" people!


And this guy refuses to do the job today. He has other places to be!

Rustic Suet Feeder #2

I love making suet for the birds, especially this time of year when it's cold and I know there are not a lot of nuts, berries or seeds left for the little guys to feed on. All you need is a broken tree limb and you can make this little feeder. I found a beautiful cherry limb on the side of our road while I was walking. We had some wind and rain last night and several limbs left from the ice storm of '09 fell. Yes, they are still falling!


Here's what you need to make this feeder.
1 larger limb about 6 inches long and 1.5 inches in diameter
2 smaller limbs about 5 inches long 1 to 1.5 inches in diameter
6 small sticks about 7 inches long
4 finishing nails (about 2 inches long)
12 small nails about 1 inch long
2 Screw hooks
Wire for hanging.
Suet

I cut the limbs up with a miter saw. You can use a hand saw but the miter is faster. I measured mine to fit my son's sandwich box. That's what I use for a suet mold from time to time and I happened to have one already made in the freezer. You can change the dimensions to fit your mold. I also have a double feeder like this that holds two suet cakes. Just make your larger limb longer!

I cut notches in the ends of my smaller limbs to fit the ends of my larger one. You can see the cuts in this photo.


Nail the end pieces on with the larger of the nails. I use two nails per per end. Then take the 6 longer sticks and put 3 on each side about an inch apart working from the bottom up. Attach these with a small nail on each end and trim any excess overhang.

It will look like this when you finish.


Add your screw hooks to the top of the two side "posts", attach your wire, add suet, hang and enjoy! I know your birds will.

Rustic......


and cute!

You can find Rustic Suet Feeder #1 here.
and Hey,
I have over 300 followers now! You guys are awesome! Thank you!!!

Not Just For Soap

It's that time of year! Time to start thinking about our feathered friends who have to spend the winter outdoors in the cold!

Don't forget to try my suet recipe. I like this one because it doesn't melt if the weather turns warm. Not that it has a chance to melt once the birds find it!

I make up a large batch of suet each year to feed the birds. I was thinking about making a batch of suet last night when I happened to notice my soap mold sitting on the counter. Ding, ding, ding..don't you just love those light bulb moments!? I made up a triple batch of my suet recipe, poured it into my wax-paper-lined mold and let it sit on the counter overnight.

It had hardened up this morning but I stuck it in the fridge for about an hour to make it easier to cut. It lifted right out of the mold, no sticking whatsoever.

I peeled the wax paper off and sliced it up with a sharp kitchen knife. I tried my soap slicer but the edge was a little too blunt to go through the seeds and peanuts.

They turned out so pretty, I decided these would be adorable additions to baskets I am making for friends for Christmas. I have several bird lovers on my list! If you don't have a soap mold, you can use lots of things as molds. Orange juice boxes were a favorite to use before I made my soap mold. I also used those little sandwiches boxes for your lunch you can get for $1 at the dollar store.

I made up some cute little labels.

Then I wrapped my suet cakes in plastic wrap and hit them for a second with my heat gun to make them look nice and there you have it, homemade suet treats for your friends, your birds and your friend's birds! This batch made 12 suet cakes.

Don't forget about the glass light block give away!

Potting Up My Herbs

and a few other plants. It's been stormy and rainy here all day so this has been a process of running out on the back deck, planting a few things, running back in until the next rain shower passes. This fellow kept me company on the bird feeder. He is a male rose-breasted grosbeak. They come through this area every Spring but never stay long. I guess they have better places to be!

I brought all my potted herbs inside so the hail wouldn't beat the poor things to death after I had them in their new pots so my kitchen looks like a greenhouse today.
I have herbs, peppers, tomatoes and cabbage on the bar.

More herbs on the counter by the window...

More on the other counter...

Some smaller ones started from seeds on the window sill.

I also spent some time thinning my hens and chicks plants and started a flat of them to give away to friends.

This wild and hairy Aloe Vera guy is next on my list to thin!

So what herbs do you grow and what do you use them for?
This year I have Rosemary, Sage, Pineapple Sage, Lemon Balm, Sweet Basil, Sweet Marjoram, Greek Oregano, Lemon Balm, Parsley and Lavender. I love to use herbs in cooking and I am hoping to use the Lavender in my goat milk soap!
Last year was my first year of growing herbs and I am addicted!

Cardinalfest 2010

SENDING OUT A BIG WELCOME TO ALL MY NEW FOLLOWERS!

I love to blog about Northern Cardinals, also called red birds and known to birders as the Cardinalis cardinalis, because they are such beautiful birds!

I forgot to fill the feeders yesterday evening and we got about 4 inches of snow during the night. I went out this morning and filled them for my little feathered friends. By the time I made my rounds to all the feeders and got back inside, the cardinals had found the gazebo feeder out back. The deer broke the Plexiglas in this feeder pushing on it with their noses trying to get to the birdseed so now I use it as a platform feeder and the roof keeps my seeds dry.

I always have several cardinals at my feeders but this morning I got a special treat. I think they all showed up and brought their relatives!


I love that splash of red against the white snow!

I had them on the feeder....

and patiently waiting their turn in the trees.

They are so much more refined than those grackles, starlings and cowbirds who fight and push and shove and squawk at each other trying to get a bite of food!

Of course, this little guy doesn't care how many show up as long as they leave his feeder alone!

Don't forget to feed the birds! I'm making up a big batch of my suet this afternoon. All my homemade suet feeders are empty!

Snow Birds!

Took a few shots of the birds today. I love watching the bright splash of red against the snow that the cardinals make. I am proud to call this guy our state bird!

We also have goldfinches. They lose that bright yellow color during the winter months.

And the dark-eyed junco. These are the ones that my grandmother always called "Snow Birds".

and then there is the ever entertaining NutHatch!
He's always upside down!

He loves the rustic suet feeder I made.

There's also the cute little titmouse, the chickadees, the finches and the doves that I didn't get pics of because these guys showed up.

I know they have to eat too, but I don't like them very much!

But even more than the brown-headed cowbirds and the boat-tailed grackles, I dislike the European Starlings!

Anyone know how to keep the guys from emptying all your feeders and running the little guys off? If you do, please tell me!!!

Hope you enjoyed the pics!

How to Make a Rustic Suet Feeder

Pumpkins and suet seem to be the themes around here lately. I have a bought suet feeder on my back deck that the birds absolutely love. The titmice and nuthatches are constantly pecking away at it and I have had bluebirds and woodpeckers visit it as well. I wanted one for my front porch but didn't want to pay for another suet feeder when it looked so easy to make. It was easy! Here's how I did it and I had all this stuff out in the tool shed.

Here's what you need:
*A piece of wood no longer than 1 1/2 feet if you plan on hanging it, about 3 to 4 inches in diameter
*One eyelet screw
*Drill
*1 1/2 inch drill bit
*5/16 inch drill bit
*3 ft. piece of wire
*Twigs from your yard
*Garden shears (or something to cut small sticks)


Take a piece of wood. I just pulled a piece from our wood pile that we stacked up when we did the clean up from the ice storm last January. Make sure the ends are flat if you want to mount it on your deck rail or a post instead of hanging it up.


Begin by drilling 3 of these 1 1/2" holes equal lengths apart down one side of the log.


Make them about an inch deep. You want a good seat for your suet but not deep enough that you'll drill all the way through when you make the holes in the other side.


When you get your 3 holes drilled, rotate your log 1/4 turn and drill 2 holes between the 3 you just drilled.


Rotate and repeat the 3 and 2 again. You will have a total of 10 holes when finished.

Some people put the hanger on and leave it like this so the woodpeckers and nuthatches can hang from the bark and eat but I like to spoil my birds and make it a bit easier for the little guys like the chickadees and titmice to get a tasty meal. Take your 5/16" drill bit and drill holes 1 to 1 1/2 inches below the large holes. Make these about 1 inch deep.


Now screw the eyelet hook in top. You might want to use a bit larger one than this. I just happened to have this size in the tool box.


Cut a piece of wire about 3 feet long and double it a couple of times, run it through the hook and then twist, twist, twist. You want it to be about 4 inches long, any longer and the feeder will swing and cause your eye hook to loosen.


Now, grab your feeder, tuck it under your arm and go on a walk-about!
You could buy wooden dowels to cut and insert into the small holes but I think twigs/sticks from your yard make it look much more rustic (and they are free).
I carried my suet feeder around grabbing sticks and inserting them into the holes. If they aren't quite snug you can add a drop of Elmer's glue in the hole then put them in. My boys used all my glue so I just made sure to find ones that fit snugly. Don't worry if they are too long just make sure they have a straight spot that will be the perch for your feathered friends. Mine sort of looked like it had a bad hair-do by the time I was finished stuffing in the sticks.


Now, go to your garage and rummage for those hand clippers in the toolbox and on the shelves. I don't have a pic of mine because I never found them. I borrowed my husband's big limb loppers and carefully cut each of my perches of to about 1 1/2 inches.
Then, I stuffed each hole with some of my homemade suet. You can make this and when it cools, roll it into balls that will fit in the holes.


and there you have it, a rustic suet feeder to hold wonderful goodies for your birds all winter long.
And something you can be proud of because you made it all by yourself!


Supper's ready! Come and get it!

Birdseed Cookies

Elle asked about a birdseed cookie recipe so I just had to look it up and try it! Luke and I decided to bake some and here are the results of this recipe...


Birdseed Cookies
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup bacon grease or lard (melted)
2 eggs
1/2 cup birdseed
water

Mix flour, sugar and baking soda in a large bowl. Add melted grease or lard and mix. Blend two whole eggs (shell and all) in blender and add to mix. Add 1/2 cup birdseed and mix well. My mix was a little dry so I added 1/4 to 1/2 cup water.


Cover this with a wet towel and refrigerate until chilled. When chilled, roll dough out to 1/4 inch thick and cut with cookie cutters and use a drinking straw to poke a hole in each cookie for hanging.


Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 325 degrees for about 15 minutes.


Let cool and hang from twine or in our case...ribbon...I couldn't find my twine and we used our Christmas cutters. Here's our gingerbread men.


The titmice are in love with these and we even had a Carolina wren munching on some that we laid out on the deck banner.