Christmas Treats for the Birds

Peanut Butter and Old Flour Balls - An Annual Christmas Tradition

The sticky dough is formed into rough balls

Every holiday season my sister gets rid of her old flour and buys a fresh bag for Christmas baking, usually a 5 lb. bag of King Arthur. Flour actually does have an expiration date. This year was noteworthy because she dumped the remains of the 20 lb. bag she had scrounged up during pandemic shortages. Then, as in previous years, she mixed the stale flour with other discarded items to make balls for the birds outside her Connecticut house. This year she inherited some Jiff peanut butter that she wouldn't dream of eating, and some old mixed nuts. She added enough water to make the mixture stick together and formed the mass of sticky dough into small balls. Of course there are many elaborate recipes for homemade bird treats on the Web, but she thinks it's much more fun and ecological to compost her expired food supplies this way . 

Note the pumpkin seeds placed on top to create an appetizing bird treat

Pictured above are some finished balls ready to be scattered in the woods on Christmas Eve.

                 Have a Merry Compost Christmas and a Happy Composting New Year!

Season's Greetings

Instead of my usual green Christmas tree, I decided to scale down and make do with the Swedish wooden table tree my mother found in Milwaukee many years ago. She also collected most of the mini ornaments that decorate the tree today. There are four holders for candles and if you look closely you can see the charred wood where her red wax candles burned when she forgot to blow them out. It's a wonder she didn't burn the house down. This year we decided to find battery powered red tapers so we could have flickering "candle" light without risk. Home Depot had just the ticket and the four tapers arrived in time for Christmas. The result is very satisfying, especially in fire prone California.

                         
                     Merry Christmas to all and to all a safe night

( A special greeting to Jeanette Baird who's blog has been silent for too long. I missed this year's pumpkin carving post, among others.)

Merry Christmas Kitty Ornaments

                 Merry Christmas from my favorite Jack-in-the-box kitty ornament

                        Here's the new calico kitty addition to my tree thanks to my sister Lucia

                                   And here's another cutie from a few years back

Christmas 2017

                                               Merry Christmas to All

Merry Christmas from Fat Cat

Fat Cat  is this year's new kitty ornament

HAPPY NEW YEAR

This cat ornament from my sister Lucia is the newest addition to my collection 

Kitty Ornaments Fom My Collection

I have collected these kitty treasures over many years. Actually, most of them were given to me by my sister Lucia who lives in New York City and seems to come up with a precious cat ornament every year, which she sends with her incomparable plum pudding. I am still waiting for this year's installment...

Merry Christmas from me and my green bin