I don’t have a bird calendar hanging in my kitchen this year, but we have been enjoying watching the birds at the feeders outside our kitchen window. We didn’t have a feeder when my husband brought home the first bag of bird seed, so rather than buy a feeder I decided to make suet cakes. We had a lot of tallow in the freezer that would be perfect for this project. Since we purchase our beef in bulk, ordering 1/4 cow from a local farmer, we always get the suet (fat from around the kidneys and loins of the cow). Long time readers might remember this post when I explained the process of rendering suet into tallow. Even though they are called suet cakes, technically, they are made with tallow (rendered suet).
To make the suet blocks I melted the tallow, about 6 cups then added about 2 cups oatmeal, 2 cups corn meal and 2 cups birdseed. I then poured it into freezer containers. I poured it about 1 1/2 inches deep because that is how thick I wanted my suet cakes. I then put the freezer containers in the freezer. Once the suet cakes were solid I took them out and used a sharp knife with a long narrow blade to drill a hole in the center of the cake. I then strung a ribbon through the hole and tied it at the top of the suet cake. I could now hang the suet cakes in a tree or on a shepherd’s hook for the birds to enjoy.
That is a suet cake hanging on the right-hand side of the shepherd’s hook in the picture below. My dad then gave us an extra feeder that he was not using so we hung that up as well.
These pictures were taken through my kitchen window so are not very clear.
Regular visitors to the feeder have been Tufted Titmice, Juncos, Black-capped Chickadees, and Sparrows. I did see a Harry Woodpecker a couple times and there is a squirrel who keeps steeling the suet cakes. I saw him (or her) the first couple of times eating from the suet cakes before they were knocked to the ground and disappeared, so it is safe to assume that the same thing happened to the last two suet cakes as well.
On Saturday a large flock of starlings visited. Mostly they sat in the maple trees (and pooped on my car) but a few did grab a snack from the bird feeder before they flew off the parts unknown. Since then, I have seen a few more starlings stop to eat.
Sunday afternoon my husband quietly called me over to look out the window. As I looked out, I saw a small hawk sitting in the arborvitae right next to the bird feeder. While I’m sure it was looking for a meal, it clearly had no interest in the bird seed. Thankfully all the little birds had disappeared, so the hawk had to look elsewhere for dinner. I do understand that hawks need to eat too, but I would prefer that they find field mice and other small rodents, and if they do have to eat a smaller bird I don’t want to see it.
Yesterday afternoon the feeder was visited by three Blue Jays and while most of the smaller birds cleared out while the Jays were there it was delightful to see.
At this point the only bird I am still hoping to see is a cardinal or two as we usually do see them in winter or spring.
Hello and Happy New Year! I hope you all had a nice holiday season. I did buy a new calendar but the calendar I selected for 2024 is just pretty rooster pictures. It looks nice in our kitchen, but there are no inspirational saying to draw from. I have decided to continue to do my monthly inspiration posts, but they will be a little different this year.
This month our inspiration is this poem I wrote – something that has been on my mind for the last week.
In The Spirit of Christmas
The holidays are over, another year through.
It’s common at this time to start feeling blue.
The tree is down now, and lights put away,
but the spirit of Christmas can be here to stay.
To keep it around is up to you,
but read on and I’ll tell you some things you can do.
Greet other people with a smile upon your face.
Comfort those who are hurting with a warm embrace.
Show appreciation along the way.
A simple compliment can make someone’s day.
Offer grace or forgiveness to those who offend.
When you’re wrong admit it and make amends.
Use your time and your talents to do a good deed.
Donate your excess to others in need.
It’s good will toward others that begets peace on earth.
There is no currency to measure it’s worth.
It lives within you, the spirit I speak of.
This Christmas Spirit is AKA love.
If you liked this post or have found it inspiring feel free to share it on your blog (reblog) or on your social media pages.
If you have a few minutes I invite you to listen to one of my favorite Christmas stories, A Christmas Guest by Andy Griffith. I know I’ve shared this story in the past but in reviewing my old posts it looks like that was 5 years ago. So, for new readers or for those, like me, who would like to hear it again, I hope you enjoy it.
From our home to yours we wish you a very Merry Christmas!
November, like the rest of this year, seemed to pass by lickity-split, and I didn’t even have a lot of pictures to record our activities. I think that’s because a lot of our time was spent organizing. Organizing really doesn’t make for good photography. My husband spent countless hours organizing in the barn and I sorted some areas in the house, finding things that could be given away or thrown away. There is still a lot of this to do but we’ve got a good start on it.
Progress at the Farm
We did have some nice weather in early November, and I spent some time at the farm working with my husband. It was November 10th when he began cutting trees.
Together we developed a plan for cutting and cleaning up the cut trees but before we started my husband wanted to build a new sawbuck. A sawbuck is a tool that is used to hold a log up off the ground so it can be cut into smaller pieces. Our old sawbuck, which was already old several years ago when a neighbor gave it to us, was pretty wobbly and worn out, so my husband used the old one as a pattern to make this new one.
Sawbuck
Once we got to the cutting and clean up, we started by removing all the smaller (in diameter) limbs.
We stacked these in an out-of-the-way spot. They will make nice habitat for wildlife. Rabbits, mice and birds will use this pile of branches for shelter especially in the winter..
Larger limbs were cut for future firewood and stacked where they will be left to season.
While the largest trunk portions, that will take even longer to season, were stacked in another area. This process has been repeated a couple times with my husband cutting down just two or three trunks at a time.
As of this writing there are still two large trunks of that tree to be cut down and then we will move on to the other trees that need to be removed.
A Visitor
November 14th was one of those nice weather days. I was standing in the driveway when I got a glimpse of a blue heron flying over the back field toward our pond. for a moment it was blocked from my vision by trees then suddenly it landed at the north end of our pond.
It didn’t stay long because Ruby was quick to spot it and it flew off as she headed in that direction.
My husband and I were both surprised to see it land in one of our maple trees. Neither of us have ever seen a heron in a tree before and we were even more surprised that the limb that it perched on did not bend, droop or sag.
The heron sat in the tree for at least 10 minutes before flying off. Shortly after that my husband took the dogs and I back to the house so I could fix dinner and when he returned to the farm, he reported that there were then two blue herons fishing at the edge of the pond.
Crafting
In early November I learned that our community was collecting hats, scarves and mittens to donate for the mitten tree at a local elementary school. These items would then be given to children who needed them. The deadline for the donations was November 22 so I figured I had time to make a few hats. I decided loom knitting was the quickest way to make them. To learn more about loom knitting see this post.
I used yarn that I had on hand and completed five hats and delivered them before the deadline.
Recommended Reading
This month I’m recommending two books, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed and are appropriate for the Christmas season.
The first book, A Log Cabin Christmas, is a collection of nine Christmas stories by different Christian authors. The stories about American pioneers take place in various regions of our country as it was being settled. These stories of hardships and triumphs are filled with inspiration and faith. I have read this book several times and for me it has become like a favorite Christmas movie that you might watch every year.
Synopsis from Amazon: Experience Christmas through the eyes of adventuresome settlers who relied on log cabins built from trees on their own land to see them through the cruel forces of winter. Discover how rough-hewed shelters become a home in which faith, hope, and love can flourish. Marvel in the blessings of Christmas celebrations without the trappings of modern commercialism where the true meaning of the day shines through. And treasure this exclusive collection of nine Christmas romances penned by some of Christian fiction’s best-selling authors.
Amazon gives this book a 4.5-star rating. Personally, I give it 5 plus stars.
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The second book, A Lineage of Grace, is not really a Christmas book, yet is fitting for the season.
Amazon synopsis: The Bible is filled with inspiring stories of unlikely candidates God chose to change eternity. This bestselling compilation in one volume contains five novellas about such people―women in the family tree of Jesus Christ.
Tamar. Rahab. Ruth. Bathsheba. Mary.
Each was faced with extraordinary―even scandalous―challenges. But they had courage. They lived daring lives. Sometimes they made mistakes―big mistakes. And yet God, in His infinite mercy, used them to bring forth the Christ, the Savior of the world. Their stories still hold great meaning and inspiration for us today.
Tamar risked her life and her reputation to be the woman she was called to be. See how God uses our circumstances and our steps toward Him, however faltering, to fulfill His plan.
Rahab was exploited by men who saw only her beauty, yet she held fast to her faith in God and was rewarded. Discover how God seeks and finds those whose hearts are tender toward Him, no matter how far away they are.
Ruth’s loyalty, especially toward her mother-in-law Naomi, helped her to persevere in the face of tragedy, and God gave her a second chance at love. Be encouraged that God will provide even when all hope seems lost.
Bathsheba’s scandalous affair with David did not end in one night. Learn that God is willing to restore those lost in the depths of despair who call out to Him.
Mary is one of the most revered women in history. But first, she was an ordinary woman striving to please God in the same way that women still do today. When God spoke, Mary responded in obedience which changed the world forever.
This book is considered fictional history, while the story of each woman is biblically based the author shares her vision of how the story played out using details that are not in the bible. To quote another reviewer, ” The author makes these women come to life. And shows how God loves unconditionally and used these very imperfect women as part of his plan to bring a savior, Jesus Christ into this world.”
This book also received 4.5 stars on amazon, and I would give it a five-plus rating. If it were still on my bookshelf I would not hesitate to read it again. It was, however, passed along to one of my sisters with a slip of paper inside which I wrote “Must Read”.
Hello Everyone. It’s hard to believe that it’s December already but indeed we are in the homestretch of 2023.
From my 2023 wall calendar.
Our last inspirational verse this year “My Peace I give you.” John 14:27 is presented with a picture of many of the beautiful birds we have seen earlier this year.
I hope you have enjoyed this series. Now it’s time for me to shop for a new calendar.
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