Feeding Our Flocks

While The Boy, Ben and I were huddled under a quilt during last week's ice/snow/deep freeze, Bridget could often be found here:

She's bird-watching. Our two little bird feeders became a haven for all sorts of songbirds trying to survive the cold - finches (of all color variations), cardinals, blue jays and more. They were so desperate for food that they wouldn't fly away when I braved the cold to refill the feeders.

We're saving feathery lives, The Boy said. And I think he was right.

It didn't take long at all for us to run out of the main attraction: suet cake. There was no way I could get to the store to buy more, but I remembered making suet cakes as a child.

A quick bit of research on Google and I had a recipe that matched what was in my pantry.

I melted 1/3 cup Crisco (use any type of suet, bacon fat, lard or vegetable oil solid) and 1/3 cup peanut butter. I stirred frequently and kept the temperature on low.

Meanwhile, I mixed together 2 cups cornmeal (not cornbread mix!), 1/2 cup sugar (gives the birds extra energy) and 1/4 cup flour.

In a separate bowl, I blended 1 cup birdseed and 1/2 cup raisins. If I'd had 1/2 cup chopped raw peanuts,  I would have tossed those in as well.

When the peanut butter and fat are melted together, stir in the cornmeal mixture. The mixture should be very stiff - add more cornmeal if needed.

Then stir in the "extras."

Press into a plastic or glass container to shape. (If using a metal pan, line with foil first so it will remove easily).

Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Extras can be frozen until ready to use.

When cool, remove from container and put in suet feeder.

Less than five minutes later, we had an official vote: YUM.

And Bridget had plenty to look at for the rest of the week.

Note: These photos were taken post-ice storm, pre-snow storm. That's about an inch of solid ice in our yard. The next morning we had 5 inches of snow on top of the ice! Poor birds.