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| Blue birds love suet. |
Squirrels have been called a lot of names for being first at the bird-feeders, brazen in waving birds away from the food, clever in sending the youngest out to forage in the wild because bird-feeders are so easy to find and inventory.
I pile up food on two outside kitchen window sills for the squirrels to enjoy. The youngest are only inches away from me, often grabbing one peanut at a time, eating while looking back at me.
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| Bluejays love the same food as squirrels. I watched a juvenile Bluejay jump up and down screaming at a squirrel to leave the barrel top. The squirrel ignored him |
I got a large suet cake with sunflower seeds and tiny worms mixed in. I put it in a wire basket manufactured for bird watchers and hung it on the squirrel-proof feeder. The next day the cake was on the ground and mostly eaten, because I did not fasten the hanging chain correctly.
I was happy about the special suet cake on the ground, because the forlorn feeder was ignored for being empty a long time. Surrounded by Poke Weed, God-created feeders, I did not invest in bird food. So I filled and locked the wire basket with frozen suet from the butcher, made sure seeds were coming out of the bird-feeder, and watched.
The suet did not bring the birds - the cold brought all the favorite birds out for the suet, seeds on the ground, and opportunities on top of the two self-cleaning garbage barrels. Suet eaters are bug eaters, so a few dollars spent on suet is good for next year's nests.
The garden is losing its summer colors quickly now, the roses all nipped by frost. The squirrels of the backyard continue to encourage regular feedings of all kinds. Nothing is funnier than having a more mature squirrel stand up on the window sill, peer in, and look back and forth inside, reminding the humans to bring out more food. Justice demands a regular supply.
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| I notice Goldfinches when they change colors and enjoy sunflower seed. Male dress for mating and to back to their drab colors later. |
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| Getting a close look at a Goldfinch is difficult but good for the camera industry. Notice the wood mulch the ground. That by itself is a giant bird-feeder. |
