Feed the Birds, Too

It’s February, and the birds have finally finished my supply of suet (bought last fall).

So…. being the crafty and frugal one I am……I made up my own!

Easy, peasy, simple, simple

I used this 8 cupper I have to mix all the ingredients

Base Suet Recipe

Melt in microwave:

2 c. lard

1 c. peanut butter

Mix in:

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. cornmeal

1/4 c. sugar

Broken up stale bread -

(enough to soak up liquid)

Add-ins to keep the birds coming

I used a handful raisins and a chunked up apple.

You could use dried fruits, cranberries, oranges, birdseed, nuts,

or just about anything hanging out in the pantry

Now, at this point, you can decide how you want to feed the birds !! It’s all about options!!

For the normal suet feeders, put all the goop into a loaf pan, put in fridge or freezer to harden, then slice. I got my inspiration from Suzanne, and she completed her’s this way.

I however, felt a little crafty, and made my own feeder!!

I started by deciding if I REALLY REALLY wanted to do away with my birchwood display by my fireplace………YUP!! I CAN GET MORE WHEN THIS SNOW FINALLY GOES DOWN AND WE CAN GET INTO THE WOODS!

Out to the shop I went with my logs…………… I used a 1″ spade bit to drill the holes. 1 1/4″ would have been a little better I think, but……… I just spaced them out, drilling all the way through when there wasn’t a branch in the way. Where I had a branch, I put a hole just above, this gives a natural perch. There’s a total of 8 openings (remember some of them were drilled through — 1 hole, 2 openings).

For the openings that didn’t have the natural perch, I took some twigs that were lying out back, and broke into about a 4″ piece. Then I drilled holes below the openings with a bit the size of the branch. I used 3 different ones, as the branch pieces were smaller as I went up the twig. Then just shoved the piece of twig into hole until it was real snug!

Next, I drilled a hole all the way through at the top with a small bit, and strung twine through a couple times to give me something to hang the feeder up with.

Now…….IS THE FUN PART!! Smash the gooey mess of suet into the openings!