I had read several articles and researched several recipes, so I felt prepared to attempt to make my very own suet.

It looked pretty easy. Melt fat and add lots of ingredients that birds like, such as nuts and seeds. No problem right?

I decided to use the packages of lard that have been at the bottom of my freezer since the last time we butchered a hog, say 3-4 years. (Somehow I never quite got around to using it!)

Do you have any idea what fat does when it sits in the freezer for a long time (say 3-4 years)? It gets rancid and very smelly. We discovered this as soon as I put the lard in a pot on the stove. The entire house was filled with the horrid smell of old fat. My children were running around with the noses plugged making gagging noises. I can’t blame them, I felt like it, too.

Thankfully the fat melted quickly and we could add the peanut butter, old wheat berries, and oatmeal to the pan. We mixed it quickly and poured it into an old cake pan to harden.

Once you got past the smell it actually went pretty well. They birds seemed to enjoy it, the chickens loved the scraps that fell off, and I got rid of some very old (say 3-4 years) lard.

I’d say it was a win-win for everybody (at least once the smell cleared out of the house)!

When should you set out your bluebird boxes? In my part of the country (Southern Iowa) now would be a good time! Bluebirds typically start nesting in March and continue through August.

We’ve always found that having a nest box open and ready in the early season is a great way to attract bluebirds. Many times we are able to get one nesting early in the season before some of the more aggressive birds (such as the house sparrow and the house wren) arrive to compete for the nest boxes.

We’ve attached the nest boxes on hedge posts and metal T-posts (used for fencing), but you could also a commercial wooden post. You can mount them right on trees, but they seem to be more susceptible to predators. (Raccoons, snakes and other climbing predators can easily climb the tree and destroy the nesting birds. Squirrels have also been know to chew and destroy the box itself!)

Once the boxes are out, you are ready for business! Now all you need is spring and the return of the bluebirds. But I’ll have to admit, that seems pretty far away right now! As I am writing this, we are under yet another Winter Storm Warning, and March is just 2 weeks away!

But the thought of spring with all the green leaves, warmer weather and the bluebirds nesting is enough to give me hope that sooner or later, even this winter will have to end! Preparing the bluebird nest boxes is just another act of faith, just like buying my garden seeds!

Everything has been so peaceful and calm at our feeder this winter. The regulars have been polite and very social, no pushing or shoving, that is until now. The blue jays are back. He flew in with a whole flock of his cronies and took over the feeder for a while, sending all but the bravest of the smaller birds up into the tree to wait for him to be finished.

Maybe I’m a little prejudiced but the character Sammy Jay in the classic Thornton Burgess books for children, but to me, the blue jay has always appeared to be the bully of the bird feeder. He swoops in like he owns the place and scares everyone else away. He chitters and chatters as if scolding all he sees.

He is a beautiful bird, but please don’t tell him. His head is already big enough! The deep blue coloring of his back and wings are set off perfectly by his white breast. He’s a bright spot of color against a dreary winter horizon . But there’s something about the way he holds his head and how his beak looks as if he is wrinkling his nose at the world that makes his entire demeanor appear stuck-up. Oh well, Sammy Jay can still feed at my feeder, despite his bad manners. I will admit that his antics provide a bit of enjoyment for those of us on the other side of the window.

I finally got out of the house today and enjoyed a beautiful winter afternoon. The sky was a brilliant blue and the sun was shining. The most recent snowfall was melting showing more patches of brown grass than snow. It was wonderful to be out. I walked the trails for the first time in weeks and was amazed by the stillness. The only sounds that could be heard were a raucous crow, an occasional dripping of melting snow and my own feet as I crunched along the trail. It was as if all the world around me was asleep. What a difference from my walks in the spring and summer when I’m surrounded by a cacophony of sounds. The whole world is alive then with bird songs and the buzzing of insects and the croaking of the frogs in the ponds.

But now it is quiet. I appreciate the stillness of a winter walk. I need the stillness of a winter walk. My soul soaks up the quiet like a sponge. My responsibilities and worries and concerns just melt away as the peace of the winter afternoon surrounds me. I returned to my responsibilities with a clear thoughts and a smile on my face, ready to face my challenges.

We had another first at our feeder this past week! A Mourning Dove with her air of class and distinction choose our Woodlink feeder to partake of a meal during the cold snap . Although doves are common to many feeders, we have never seen one at ours. My father-in-law has several feeders out just down the road from us and had seen quite a flock of 24 mourning doves feeding just a few days before ours arrived.

At 9-13 inches tall, they are a mid-sized bird. Their muted gray and brown coloring reminds me of the dignified matron of the past. Always neat and well-dressed in a classical kind of way. Not a hair out of place and dressed to not call undue attention to oneself. Even their call is smooth and mournful. They are seed-eaters and typically ground feeders, but when the ground is snow-covered, they are quick to find a feeder and thoroughly enjoyed our sumptuous feast of sunflowers. She was just a guest however, and did not linger long after lunch. We do hope she stops by again so we can further enjoy her demur appearance.

All the ice, snow and cold weather has made our bird feeders the “in” place to hang out the last few weeks! It was right after a massive ice storm that we spotted our first Downy Woodpecker at our Woodlink feeder. What a beautiful bird! I’m not sure why they haven’t frequented our feeders, although they might feel more welcome if we added suet to our menu. This loner was looking for an easy meal during pretty tough conditions and we were very glad to serve it. He didn’t stick around long, just for a day and we haven’t seen him since, although we have looked! He seemed to get a long just fine with the juncos and the finches, all of our regular customers. I guess he just needed a respite from the storm as he journeyed onward.

That’s one of the joys of feeding birds during the winter months, the ability to watch a bird closely for a few minutes from the warm, dry house. They are much harder to see in the other seasons when there is an abundance of color and activity all around. The stark surroundings of winter and the need for food brings these hard to spot birds out in the open where even my young ones can watch them and enjoy them.