Easy wild bird treats

Directions:

Use your cookie cutter to make shapes from your bread.

Thread your yarn through each heart with a skewer or tapestry needle.

Spread each shape with peanut butter.

Sprinkle birdseed all over the hearts.

You can also do this with plastic bottles and tie the ribbon around the bottle neck, screw on the cap. If you want also poke a hole or two for a branch on the side. It's fun to watch them eat like this. Unlike the bread you will of course need to take the plastic down. I also use pine cones, so I included simple instructions for that below also.

Homemade Suet

You will need

1 Cup Vegetable Shortening

1 Cup Chunky Peanut Butter

2 Cups Cornmeal

2 Cups Quick Cook Oats

1/3 Cup Sugar

1 Cup White Flour

Melt shortening and peanut

Instructions

Melt shortening and peanut butter together and blend. Stir in the rest of ingredients. Pour the mixture into a square container about 1-1/2 inches thick. Allow it to cool, then cut it into squares and store in the freezer.

Other Treats

Berries: Collect bunches of red berries from holly, highbush cranberry, viburnum, spicebush and dogwood. Tie a string around each bunch and hang them on a tree.

Pine cones: Tie a string around a pine cone smeared with peanut butter and rolled in wild bird seed mix and hang it on a tree.

Popcorn: String plain popped popcorn with a needle and thread and hang these natural garlands on a tree or bush.

Suet cake ornaments: Put a homemade suet cake in an empty red plastic mesh bag from vegetables and hang it on a tree.

Indian corn: Tie a string about the end of the corn and hang it on the tree.