Treat the Birds

House finch enjoying our homemade bird treats

In cold winter months birds need extra fats in their diet to help keep them warm. These homemade bird treats are a great way to give them the nutrition they need and I whenever I've made these the birds have really loved it.

Caleb and I made these the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and we're seeing more and more types of birds every day: two types of juncos, house finches, magpies, a downy woodpecker, rufus sided tohees, scrub jays, vireos, flickers, chickadees and a couple new types that we haven't looked up yet.

These make great Christmas gifts if you want to give a little something to your neighbors.

My little mad scientist in his bathrobe mixing bird treats. I'm not entirely sure why the 3D glasses were necessary.

HOMEMADE BIRD TREATS

1 1/2 lbs beef lard (cooking oil section of the grocery store)
2 1/2 lbs peanut butter (one large jar)
2 1/2 lbs corn meal (can find 2 1/2 lb boxes--often in the Mexican food aisle)
2 1/2 lbs corn grits (or substitute part bird seed mix)
plastic sandwich bags or waxed paper

Melt the lard on high and then turn down to medium. Add peanut butter and melt it. Mix in corn meal and corn grits (or part bird seed). This will resemble no-bake cookie mixture.

Fill plastic sandwich bags up to 1 1/2 inches from the top, seal them and lay flat on a cookie sheet and place in refrigerator to solidify.  Store in frig or freezer. This size fits pretty well in most of those little black cages for suet cakes you can buy for birds--you may have to trim the edges a bit, but then you just put the trimmings in the cage too.

OR

Line a baking pan with waxed paper and fill to about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inch deep. Put in refrigerator to solidfy and then cut into pieces to fit into a suet cage. Store in frig or freezer.

Yield 9 lbs (5-6 large cakes). Can be doubled, but then you may need to divide it to stir.

Downy woodpecker

Magpie--they are so big they have trouble getting to the feeder cage, but they are determined!

Chickadee who thinks he's a bat.

Icicle Enchantment

View out of our side window toward the Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island. My son, Caleb, is delighted with the icicles.

Icicle earrings

Sunrise Thanksgiving morning view from the front of our house. No, nothing was on fire :-) .

Snowball pendant - I also have matching earrings

First Snow !

I just had to share this picture taken from my front porch this morning. We had a rainy and blustery night and woke up to this. We've just had a few flakes down here in the valley, but it's coming.

Sue

Christmas Break Activity

When you have a kid home from school for Christmas break it helps to have some activities planned. Today my eight year old son Caleb and I sat down and painted these ornaments. I had actually meant to purchase some from Dunkdesigns shop on Etsy, but she finished for the season before I got around to it.

Emperor penguin ornament I painted for my son. He's really into penguins.

Snowman and Santa ornament my son painted

Caleb's favorite animal--the tapir. Not just everyone has a tapir ornament!

snowflake ornament by Caleb

Our tree

Merry Christmas!