Stakeout

 
My grandmother mailed me a Birds & Blooms magazine that included a simple suet recipe. I had all of the ingredients in my pantry so I gave it a try. I even sampled the treat myself. It tasted like cookie dough but with the wrong ingredient ratios.


I waited until Saturday to hang the goodie outside so that I could spend a few hours spying on the backyard wildlife. One thing led to another and I figured, if I was going to sit in front of the window, I should create a bird sanctuary.


First, I filled the bird bath.


Next, I plugged in the fountain for some inviting sounds.


Then, I set up five kinds of bird feeders. (This seems excetric, even for me.)


Mrs. Cardinal was the early bird.


She and her mate like safflower seeds.


This hummer was fun to watch and a challenge to photograph.


The blue jay was the cleverest guest. He could extract a peanut faster than I could focus the camera.


I'm glad I set up the other feeders because the only bird that I saw eat the suet was this sparrow.

The squirrel, on the other hand, wasn't picky. For him, my bird sanctuary was an all you an eat buffet.




Here's the suet recipe in case you want to try it yourself this weekend.
1 cup shortening (Crisco)
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup crushed dry cereal (I used Corn Flakes)
1 cup cooked oatmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
Mix together. Line a food storage container with wax paper and spread mix inside. Freeze until solid.