Gentle Gardens

Suet…long time favorite of birds. I make my own with the material I have in the kitchen…some die-hards use fresh rendered beef fat that you can get from your favorite grocery.  I just make it easy on myself because I make it once a month in the winter.  Here is my recepie:

2 cups lard

2 cups chunky peanut butter

4 cups yellow cornmeal

4 cups quick oats

1 and 1/4 cup white flour

1/2 cup white sugar

Melt lard then mix in peanut burrer and then the other ingredients.  Pour into a 9×13 inch baking pan, cool, cut into squares. Keep in freezer until ready for use.  Besides my log that I keep up all year long I also use old mesh onion bags and hang several when the winter gets really cold.  Birds have a high metabolisms and need lots of calories to help stay warm. My favorite visitor is a red-bellied woodpecker…don’t forget the outdoor friends need water!