"Suet Yourself", Mrs I Said. Mesh Bags Impounded for Crafts

St. Francis of Springdale

My big worry for the winter was getting suet to the birds at a reasonable cost. The meat market sold me five pounds, but I needed mesh bags or another system to offer them to the birds.

I searched the Net and found mesh bags, which I ordered. The package was alarmingly small for 10 bags. Nevertheless, I decided to put them on the desk so I would fill them soon. Big mistake.

Mrs. I found the bags and said, "I need these for crafts." She carried them off, reminding me of Little Precious taking Sackett's bone away, carrying it in triumph as Sacky stared in disbelief.

I ordered a second set, large ones, and got this ominous response when they arrived - "I can store my little mesh bags in one of those."

Next on the shopping list - metal baskets for the suet - heavy, ugly, ones with rough edges.

I am still studying the gardening for birds book. It is organized by plants - which ones favor birds for food, nesting, etc. Look up lobelia and other flowers for the birds attracted.

And it is also organized in another part by birds - which flowers, bushes, or trees they like for food, nesting, etc. So - look up blue birds for all their favorites.

Many plants are popular with as many as 40 species. Berry plants attract a wide array of birds. So do sunflowers and hawthorns.

I never thought of trees feeding birds with their seeds, but maples and sycamores have seeds that birds enjoy.

God has created a wide variety of foods for birds, with an enormous overlap in what they need or love. They like soft lining for their nests, so I leave out tufts of Sassy's fur when I comb her.

Once I saw a robin tugging at string on my pea vines. She wanted that string for her nest and would not give up. Some people create baskets of parts for birds - string, lint, and so forth for their nests.

Winter Bonus
Birds want water for bathing, suet, and sunflower seeds in the winter. The colder it is, the more they need water for bathing and preening. My birdbath warmer - don't laugh - was extremely popular in Midland. Once I had about 50 birds lined up by twos to get in. Two would hop in, take a quick bath, and get pushed out. The next two would jump in. I put several gallons of water in each day during the coldest spells.

In Phoenix I ran the waterfall so the recesses were always full of water for drinking and bathing. Birds loved the sound of rushing water, two. Ironically, so many people watered and over-watered that there was always a supply for the birds in one yard or another, and often on the street as the automatics sprinklers overflowed the yard.

The compost pile can be a feeder too. Compost will be warmer in the winter, and there will be some action near the outside and on top when the heap is more mature. Birds will perch on it and grab their food when they see the movement.

Toad houses, perhaps not this splendid,
will attract slug-eating toads.

One Thing Leads to Another
I like bananas and cannot bear to throw the peels away. Instead, I compost them under a layer of newspaper. One place is near the leaky faucet, where two shallow dishes catch water for the birds to use. I realized that was handy for toads, too, and they love slugs.

Slugs are annoying and ugly but they do most of their work underground. By saving puddles of water I am sheltering the predators who get  rid of slugs for me. I have them in the back yard and the front yard, both near the faucets.

Last Big Yard Effort
I found dirt on sale at Lowe's. Torn bags were selling at a deep discount. Sassy and I bought some mulch and mushroom compost.

By trimming the trees I opened up the view to our no-man's-land alley. Some blocks have grassy stretches. We have the back view of storage sheds. I am going to screen that view with butterfly bushes and giant sunflowers. The bushes go in soon, The bushes called Bonnie are known for their size, bigger than any other.

This Mike Dirr selection was named after his wife, Bonnie, and if you know Mike, you know that it must be one fine buddleia! This giant deer resistant butterfly bush reaches 10 feet tall and is covered in large grey-green leaves, then topped from June until frost with large 10" panicles of very fragrant, light blue-violet (RHS 94D) flowers. This is a new color in the world of butterfly bushes to add to large gardens. - See more at Plant Delights: 

I will have a lot more butterfly and hummingbird friendly plants in that area - bee balm, borage, lobelia, butterfly weed, plus berry plants.

On my large, dead tree I will grow trumpet vine, which is popular with hummingbirds.

Trumpet vine - so tempting for the long-beaked hummingbirds.