nido
tips for living a creative lifestyle
zine
mother nature
In this issue ...
Keep our fine feathered friends well-fed in the winter months.
Delectable treats for (wo)man's best friend.
Easy peanut butter suet
Those of you who are backyard bird-watching enthusiasts know that fall and winter can be difficult times for our feathered friends. Food is scarce and surviving a bad winter can be dicey even for the most hardy species. I can't tell you how many times last winter I found the corpses of little birds in my yard after a cold night, and I live in Georgia! So I keep the feeders (both sunflower and thistle) full of seed and put up several of those cheap little suet feeders for woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees, grosbecks, and other insect eaters.
You can buy those prepackaged suet cubes in stores, but I find the birds like the homemade stuff better, and frankly, I think it's more nutritious for them. Birds need a lot of fat and sugar to keep up their metabolism in the winter, and this recipe gives them that, plus it's fairly inexpensive to make. You can alter it a bit with what you have on hand for a little variety, which I'm sure the birds won't mind.
And here's a tip--to keep the squirrels from munching down all your suet, sprinkle some cayenne pepper in the mix. The birds can't taste it (they have no tongues), but the squirrels sure can.
easy peanut butter suet recipe
Ingredients:
crunchy peanut butter (I use the cheap Walmart brand)
corn meal
oats (old-fashioned or quick)
raisins
nuts (optional -- any kind you might have except salty cocktail nuts)
extras (trail mix or bars, granola bars, etc.)
fruit (optional)
Tear off a generous sheet of wax paper and sprinkle it with about a handful (more or less--this isn't rocket science) of corn meal. (This is where you sprinkle in the cayenne pepper, if you're concerned about squirrels.) Sprinkle a handful of oats over that, then the raisins and any nuts you might have, chopped into smaller pieces.
Next add the extras. If you have those granola or trail bars, just tear one up into little pieces and sprinkle it over top, or sprinkle a handful of trail mix over the mixture. If you have any apples, grapes, berries, or other semi-firm fruit laying around, chop it up and throw in into the mix as well. The point here is to add some much-needed sugar into their diets in a form they can use.
The binder for this concoction is the peanut butter. I dip about 4 or 5 knifefulls (it's easier to get it off the knife than a spoon) and drop in over the mix. Now it's time to get your hands dirty. Just dig in and start mixing all the ingredients together. You might have to add a little more corn meal if it's too squishy, or peanut butter if it's too dry, but after a little practice, you'll get a suet firm enough to shape into a flattened ball and stuff it into one of those cage feeders.
I find that in peak feeding season, the birds will empty a feeder in a week to 10 days (depending on how many birds you have feeding from it). If the mixture hasn't been consumed by then and starts getting moldy, toss it out and mix up a new batch.
BTW - another treat many birds (especially blue jays) like is dry dog food, though I wouldn't mix it into the suet. Just place a tray some place where they'll spot it (out of the rain or snow) and watch them pig out.
And don't forget--birds need fresh water too, especially in winter when most water sources are frozen. If you live where a bird bath will freeze in the winter, you might want to invest in one of those little bird bath heater/de-icers to keep the water from freezing. You can find them online at a variety of sites such as Bird Oasis or The Bird Shed. Happy birdwatching!
Return to topHooty Bea's doggie cookies
Hooty Bea found her parents through the fine people at Cocker Rescue. She is active in supporting the local humane society through her cookie baking efforts. Being vice-president in charge of quality control, she personally samples every batch.
Hooty Bea's hobbies include playing tennis, chewing on toys, chasing squirrels, and being cute. She loves all children, prays for world peace, and was elected Cocker Spaniel of the Month for August 2007 by My Cocker Spaniel.
Ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter
4 tbsp corn oil
2 cups water
4 cups sifted flour
2 cups wheat flour
Blend the first 3 ingredients with a mixer. Mix the flours together well. Roll out to 1/4 inch thick and cut with a dog bone cookie cutter. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes.
Cookies will keep up to 10 days, or can be frozen.
Bone-appetite from Hooty Bea!
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