For the Birds

I have always liked the Winter Solstice tradition of decorating a tree outside with various treats for the birds, but this time of year always gets busier than expected and I decided that just making some birdseed suet ornaments was the next best thing. My son has a real affinity for birds, so he was all on board for this project.

I had some lard I had rendered a while ago in the freezer, and a big bag
of birdseed, so I found a recipe on Pinterest and went to work on it. I added dried raisins from our grapevines for the fruit and some raw unsalted peanuts in our pantry. 

Here’s a link to the recipe I used: Homemade Suet Cakes

 

We got an assorted bag of cookie cutters at the thrift store, and spread them out on a parchment lined cookie sheet with just twine taped on for the hangers. We experimented with drilling holes in the tops of the plastic ones to put the jute hangers through, but it really didn’t end up make a difference as to how set in the middle of the suet they were.

Whatever didn’t fit in the cookie cutters, I poured in a parchment lined baking dish to cut up for our square suet feeder. The consistency came out a little softer at room temperature than I was expecting, but I figure it will be cold outside where these are hanging up, and extras can be stored in the freezer. 

We had a lot of fun making them, and will enjoy watching the wildlife eat them, so these ornaments are definitely not just for the birds!