Due to hazardous, or cold and rainy, weather conditions, we decided to try out making our own suet cakes. We bought the square hanger last year and the cakes only lasted about a week or so but cost a pretty penny so we wanted to try our hand at them without the expenditure.
This first involved scouring the internet for the best recipe. There are lots of them and guessing which is best is probably just that... a guess. However, we hung three out in the tree and the one that was had the most droppings won.
The mixture looks rather nasty, but it brought back childhood memories of mud, worms, and all other gooey substances that are lots of fun to squish. Then we emptied our cupboards finding anything that the birds might like and since Lucy likes prizes (m & ms), she thought that the birds would like them as well.
Lastly, we put the whole mixture in a pan with tin foil and froze it. The next day I cut them into nice squares and viola! its done.
So far the birds have eaten on average a square each week, so I think that they like it. Below are pictures of the experiment. It was rather less painful than I had anticipated, however if there is anyone in the house with morning sickness, the smell isn't the best. If you plan on doing this, I think you'll enjoy it.
 |
| Lots of ingredients |
 |
| There is nothing like lard and xtra crunchy peanut butter... if you are a bird. |
 |
| The whole mixture in the freezer |
 |
| Final Product |
 |
| Its the offseason for these orchids, so here is their once a month bath with miracle gro |
Your homemade suet looks great.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cathy, it looks delicious, minus the Lard. Actually, a side note: Lard makes the flakiest crusts. We had one last night and even the bottom crust was flakey. These old farmstead women know how to cook. Okay, back to the subject, how did the birds like the mix?
ReplyDeleteThe kids and I used to make the suet blocks when A. they were younger and B. we lived in the country where every manner of critter from the woods stopped by.
ReplyDeleteI don't dare make them here, my cats wouldn't be able to keep up with the wrong kind of critter traffic - it's bad enough that I put out birdseed. I miss that other lifestyle!