SNOW!!! and how to make treats for the wild birds!

So, I am finally getting my long awaited snow!

It started flurrying this afternoon and I didn't think much of it because winter has been teasing me thus far...

But now, well it is sticking to the ground and you can feel the static in the air and peacefulness in the woods.

I love snow.

I brought in plenty of firewood.

The stove is going, nice and hot!

...

I have been steadily working,

dying silk,

crocheting bracelets out of some hand spun, hand dyed yarn of mine.

(both for the shop and as gifts for friends!)

I even (finally) made the pinecone bird treats that I have been talking about doing for a couple of weeks now!

I love watching the wild birds,

I leave my garden wild all year and don't cut it back until spring so that the ground is protected and so that the little birds and other creatures have a place to stow away

as well as things to root around for and nibble on.

So today I thought I might share how I made the pinecone feeders/treats I made!

What you need:

Unsalted peanut butter

Knife or spoon for spreading on the pinecone

Pinecones (I did 5 with this 1 jar)

Loose seed (I used sunflower, but you can try others or a mixture)

Some kind of chord to tie on the tops of the pinecones

Andy had actually gotten unsalted peanut butter by accident (which is not so tasty),

so on one of my walks I picked up a bunch of pinecones and tied some cotton twine at the tops.

Next I covered the pinecone with the peanut butter, trying to get as much on it as possible!

Then came the dipping in seed.

I just got some a day or two ago... I got sunflower, a mix of cracked and in the shell.

The chickadees, cardinals and downy woodpeckers love this stuff

(and so does Poesy, we call it birdie crack in this house)

Roll, Roll, Roll...

Get the pinecone as covered with seed as you can get to stick on there!

When finished find good places to hand them.

It is good to find places where you can watch from the windows.

The nice thing about this is that even if you live in the city and don't have much wildlife around,

you can always watch the birds!

I hung one by the door because there are a few birds that really like foraging around under the little piney tree we have right outside it.

The others I hung by the main bird feeder on the tipi that sits over it.

This is a really fun project for anyone, but if you have kids, they will love watching the birds go to town on the treat that they made!

Have fun!!!