Suet cakes can be provided in a wire feeder or in mesh bags.
I found the Luther quote mentioned before:
"Early in the morning it rises, sits upon a twig and sings a song it has learned, while it knows not where to obtain its food, and yet it is not worried as to where to get its breakfast. Later, when it is hungry, it flies away and seeks a grain of corn, where God stored one away for it, of which it never thought while singing, when it had cause enough to be anxious about its food. Ay, shame on you now, that the little birds are more pious and believing than you; they are happy and sing with joy and know not whether they have anything to eat."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed. John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, V, p. 114. Trinity 15, Matthew 6:24-34.
In Midland I noticed everyone feeding the birds and having great results. For instance, one prominent bush in a backyard featured seven bags of suet, with birds taking turns feeding, all day long. In those days, someone could get suet for almost nothing from the grocery store and some nylon citrus bags. A few dollars fed the birds all winter. Besides, suet is listed in an Old Wives Tales book on gardening for planting at the base of roses bushes. In Midland I planted the leftover suet below the new roses. I did not have a control bed of roses so I have no idea how effective it was.
The suet arrived on Christmas Day, from Duncraft. Duncraft emails me twice a day now, realizing that someone who buys suet will buy almost anything else.
They included mesh bags on top of each package of suet. Very small cakes of suet can be found at Wal-Mart, pet stores, and grocery stores. I really hate to think what those cost per pound. The stores also sell the wire cages. My first cake and cage set disappeared, perhaps purloined by raccoons or squirrels.
I figured the large packages put me in the professional leagues of bird-feeding. We were set to watch the Chipmunk Squeakquel, after lunch, so I hurried to get some ready. Birds are slow to feed on something new, so I wanted to get it started. I had one hanging from a bush in the front yard and another around the railing on the back porch.
Sassy watched me cut the suet out of the plastic containers and put it in the bag. She is half-German and a good supervisor. I did not think her interest was unusual, even though peanut butter aroma made it smell rather tasty.
We were getting ready to go when I went looking for Sassy. She was busy on the back deck, eating the aromatic suet from the bag.
I moved the bag to a much higher location. The next challenge will be setting up a birdbath where we can enjoy the bathing without having Sassy use it as her bubbler (Wisconsin for water fountain). She has her own five-galloon water dish, but she is known for raiding the bird bath. We kept the one in Arizona behind the pool fence.
To enjoy the most birds, feed them at various levels. Ground feeders will often glean from the seeds dropped from the birdfeeder, but people will scatter extra seed for them. Sunflower is the best all-around seed. Suet is best food for insect-eating birds.
Birdbaths at different locations provide for different species. Cardinals are fairly shy, so they might bathe far away while a bluejay will come up close and demand his breakfast. A lot of wasted food can be used to provide for birds: old popcorn, bread crusts, the remains of corn on the cob, fruit.
God provides most of their food in abundance. Trees and bushes harbor insects waiting to be reborn in the spring. We never think of them hiding in the bark, but the birds know how to look for them. The only time a bird is really desperate for food is when a sleet storm covers all the bark in all the bushes and trees. Brutally cold weather will also demand more food calories than a bird can find to keep alive.
I will write more about God's use of rot to recycle elements of His Creation.
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