The new suet blocks are a big hit!

Recipe for the block shown, starts with equal parts of beef tallow and peanut butter. 

I stir in the following until I can form a decent ball with the mixture without it being too gooey.

• Raisins or any dried fruit (I used raisins and cranberry in this batch)
• Cornmeal
• Oatmeal
• Crushed dried beans
• Bird seed and other grains like rice, wheat, etc.

Once I get to that point, I pack it in any container I can find to make blocks about 4 x 6 inches. The lid to egg cartons work well. I usually use old carry out or frozen dinner containers. Just remember you don't want the blocks to be to heavy to hand in your location. Mine hang on some flimsy limbs so I have to watch the weight. 

Crystal stays busy watching the birds feast much of the day unless of course she's on the side of my desk supervising me (napping). 

I think she enjoys the birds as much as much as I do. They are a pleasant distraction for sure. 

We are seeing chickadees mostly, a few finches, a couple of wrens, cardinals abound, a single mourning dove, and three species of woodpeckers; red headed, hairy, and downy. 

This guy is a Red -bellied woodpecker. 

You would think that this one might be the red headed wood pecker, but nope. Most male wood peckers, regardless of the species, have a red head, or at the very least a dot of red at the nape. 

He's the super-duper paranoid boy in the yard. If you have ever done much bird watching you've probably noticed they are constantly scanning their surroundings; looking for preditors I would assume or bigger birds to be swooping in for a meal. This one, he never lands anywhere in sight for long. And if a twig snaps he splits without a second thought. They are supposed to prefer suet but I have only ever witnessed him at the window a handful of times. 

As long as he stays off of my house with that destructive little beak I don't care where he hangs out. We see him very infrequently and never at the window feeder. 

There are always cardinals hanging around. Always. Everywhere. 

In the trees...

...all over the ground. Can you see her?

The big fat wrens never miss an opportunity to peck away at those tasty seed and fats in that suet.

And our tiny little chickadees always wait quietly for their turn and there are many turns throughout the day.

This particular baby (above) and a couple of his friends made their way onto postcards and stationary for a private bed and breakfast in Virginia. How cool is that? Missouri birds are getting around without leaving the yard.

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Try not to hate on me for being a photographer and taking such foggy looking pics. I shoot many of these through 40 year old windows. The weather dictates how much fog hangs out between the panes. Let's just call it nature's filter :-)