WINTER BIRDS

Tractor Supply was having a sale!  We get pretty excited about these kinds of things, especially when they offer 12 seedcakes for $8!!!  We have a lot of hungry birds to feed around here.

Although we feed year round, we really pop it up a few notches when the winter comes.  Sitting knitting or quilting in front of the french doors is so enhanced by the feathered entertainment that goes on at the feeders.  First, you have to prepare the shepherd's hooks with this  -  good old fashioned Crisco.

I grease about halfway up - this is more than enough to prevent the squirrels from sitting in the feeders and devouring every last seed.  It doesn't matter to them that they are fed on the ground and away from the bird population.  They are greedy and relentless and downright destructive so they have to be 'schooled'.  Ha!  Plus, it is really amusing to watch their antics - they jump on the pole and then S L O W L Y slide down....
After we've cleaned the glass doors inside and out, we start sorting the Tractor Supply haul - putting it into storage in the potting shed.  The summer feeders get put away too - these are the ones that tend to gum up and freeze when the snow comes.

The Buddha keeps a benevolent eye on the comings and goings in the potting shed.  I always leave a little something for the inhabitants and their families.

The new feeders are set out and filled and the dining begins!

If you are wondering where the birds are, I can tell you - they are perched in the New Dawn rose, waiting for me to go inside!

I've been checking the Duncraft catalogue and I think that this year I will spring for one of those deluxe feeders which feature a wide dome to protect the birds on snowy days.  I love my birds.  When I come outdoors to feed them in the morning there is a rustle and a whirring and the call goes up, beginning with the bluejays, the raconteurs of the bird world.  The announcement spreads quickly and suddenly the still air is filled with birdsong.  Yes, you did notice safflower seed with the others.  I hold back on that, dolling it out like precious stones.  It is my one indulgence - I use it to persuade the shy cardinals to return.  They are a selective group, but I always win out.