Avian Testimonials

Early this week, with the ground dry and parched and the temperature plunging like an elevator in free-fall, the birds at our feeders were ravenous. It seemed like a good time to mix up some suet.

Suet is easy to make. Here's my recipe:

1 cup lard
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup oatmeal
2 cups unsalted sunflower seeds, shelled
1 cup flaxseed meal or yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup raisins

Melt the lard and peanut butter in a large saucepan, and mix in the other ingredients. Spoon into molds (I used the bottom 2 inches of plastic cups), press the mix together, and freeze. Sometimes, I also press the mix into pinecones.

When the suet was frozen and out of the molds, I made a hole with a skinny nail through the center of each one, then threaded a thin wire through the hole, and hung them in a tree near our feeder, where the birds were sure to notice them.

It's always nice when your cooking is appreciated. 

When the food is devoured and they come back for more, it's better than 5 stars on the internet.

Consider these photos visual testimonials.

Of course, there's Winterberry for desert.

Linking with Wild Bird Wednesday

and Saturday's Critters

Morning Watch

It's first light, and Barley takes his job as garden watchdog pretty seriously.

After all, who knows when a marauding rabbit might want some breakfast?
Not that Barley would hurt a fly, but the rabbits don't know that.

Meanwhile, there are plenty of things to engage a watchdog's attention.

In the old dogwood tree across the yard...

...a Carolina Chickadee has made a home, 

and makes frequent trips in and out to feed the little ones.

After a quick bath...

...and a flip of the tail, she's back to work.

The much maligned Brown-headed Cowbird bathes next,

then shakes and sends out a shower of droplets.

Despite his bad reputation, he considers himself quite handsome.

None of them seem to be too troubled by Barley.

Maybe next time we'll get a Rottweiler...





Linking with Wild Bird Wednesday

Spring Gold

After a colorless winter,

 the earth heaves a sigh of relief;

  its breath rustles feathers, spins wildflowers into a dance, and stirs the dogwoods.

A chickadee examines a home in the dogwood tree;

  What could be nicer than a curtain of lacy white?

Gold finches, so drab in the winter,

have put their down jackets in mothballs,

 and now bid for attention as the males molt into their breeding colors...

and animate the forest with their brilliance.

There is gold in these hills,

not the kind of gold that many seek,

but warm and animated.

Who could ask for more?






Linking with Weekly Top Shot

Barley Gets His Bounce Back

There's something nice about late fall. 

The landscape, exhausted from the exuberance of spring, 

and the productivity of summer,

 has donned its tawny nightgown, and lounges on the couch.

 Oak leaves, despite their tatters, still cling tenaciously to the trees...

and mullein leaves, tired of supporting tall flower stalks,

crumple like wrung out dishrags on the ground.

Barley loves this time of year;

the cooler air puts a new spring in his feet,

and makes him eager to explore.

Winterberry trees brings a touch of color to the earth.

The birds eat the berries, 

posing as living Christmas cards, 

and remind us that it won't be fall for long.

"As long as the earth endures,

seedtime and harvest,

cold and heat,

summer and winter,

day and night will never cease."

Genesis 8:22

Thanks to Leslie Nicole for the texture, Opaline.

Linking with Weekly Top Shot
and Camera Critters

Fabric of the Morning

Little chickadee

Singing in vibrant color

                Dressed in black and white





Linking with Wild Bird Wednesday.




Textures are Kim Klassen's Providence,
 and Leslie Nichole's Smokehouse,
along with a sheet of handmade paper.

Carolina Chickadee

This little Carolina chickadee is so like its northern cousin, 

the black-capped chickadee,

I wonder if the ornithologists aren't just splitting feathers.

I can't post these little birds without thinking of the pleasure and inspiration I receive from Pat at Bailey Road.  She's on hiatus because of a death in the family, and she is in our thoughts and prayers.  If you'd like to see some delightful images from the natural world, click here, and scroll through some of her past blog posts.  

The texture used on these photos is pdpa Abstract Scratches.

Breakfast of Champions