Why so close? Supposedly they hate each other. (Please disregard the mess in the background.)
We moved the suet feeder closer to the window for close-up views of some of the more interesting suet-eating birds. Please help ID this one, Ann and Jim.
I finally got around to making an artisan bread recipe featured a while back in Mother Earth News:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx
You mix up a big batch of dough, let it rise, then store in the fridge- no kneading required! Pull out a hunk of dough when you’re ready to bake, shape and let stand before baking at 450F with a pan of boiling water in the oven to produce steam. This bread has become the JOY of our existence around here. Just look at the crust on this thing!
That’s the beautiful European Starling, an invasive and introduced species that would make a nice meal for the cat. And that loaf of bread looks awesome,can’t wait to try it, will work on drinking beer to make way in the fridge for the dough!
Thanks for the ID, Ann. I wish I could get those free-loading barn cats to kill on demand. A mouse gnaws on a wood beam as I type. Have you made the bread yet? We’re on batch 2.
The bird you have there is an European Starling… not on of my favorites, but as Pa says…. when you put out a buffet you can’t be picky who comes to lunch! We have finally attracted the Iowa state bird… The Goldfinch… It has taken years, but they now come in large numbers. We counted twelve yesterday and there may have been more but all the preches were full. I buy an upsidedown feeder for them as then the sparrows and other seed eaters can’t feed from them, although the sparrows really try! We feed the other birds from a different location so not to disturb the little birds. We have been favored with Bluejays, Cardinals, Red Breasted woodpeckers and Downy woodpeckers, House Finch and White capped sparrow along with Junco and some Nuthatches…. We hve a very busy back yard… Of course there is the clean up crew…. Rabbits and squirrels.
How did the last snow treat you folks? We collected another 6 inches of the white stuff, but the wind really did a number on us… I bet you folks really caught it, living in that little pocket. Have you missed much work? Thankfully that is no longer a problem for us
Hope you are all doing well, people, dogs and cats…… later…………….Ma
Thanks for confirming the ID, Ma. Sounds like you’ve got the bird-feeding thing down. I like your idea of feeding the sparrows in a different location. We’ve got plenty of those around here.
We got at least 6 inches and a whole bunch of drifts this time around. Alan almost didn’t make it back home the other evening. Took him 3 hours total and our main routes weren’t passable. Finally got the drive well plowed today in the warmer temps.
Hope all is well on your end, too. Anne
Ann, there is an article in the Courier today about Ornamental Millet. It is an annual, but very decorative. Earlier last year some one ask for decorative grasses. Maybe this would be something they would be interested in. Don’t remember who it was… It is a long article so if you think you would like to read it….send me your land mail address and I will ship it off to you.
Love the hoar frost pic’s you have, specially the one with the berries. These frosty days are pretty to look at but sure makes driving a pain…..Later………M