The Bug Geek

My friend Rachel provided us with a wonderful post on her celebration of the Winter Solstice.   Part of the festivities included making homemade critter-feeders, which she hung in the forest.  I’ve been jazzing on the idea ever since, and decided to have a go at it today.  Verdict: fun, simple, and defintely something I’ll do again.

Ingredients: apples, critter seed, peanut butter, string, instrument-with-which-to-poke-holes

Start by cutting nice thick slices of apple.  Use your hole-poking-instrument (mine was a chopstick) to poke holes through the slices.  Thread a length of string through the holes (I wound mine through twice).

Smear a healthy layer of peanut butter on one side.  

 Tell the dogs (repeatedly) that the PB is for the BIRDS not the DOGS. 

Concede to the tiniest lick of PB off a finger for each horribly neglected pooch.  

Grab a handful of seed and press it firmly into the PB.  I used parrot food I found at the grocery store…I liked it because it had a big variety of seeds and even some fruit.   

(LOL @ this “guarantee”. I really don’t think the parrot would mind…and frankly I’m not satisfied with the anti-insect sentiment.)

Repeat the PB smearing and seed pressing on the other side.    Tie a few apple pieces together in a chain if you’re feeling sassy.

Marvel at the simple beautimoniousness of your new critter-feeders.

Hang in a tree and wait for the buffet to begin. 

Make a mental note that a day when it’s -30°C is perhaps not the wisest choice for bare-handed hanging of beautimonious feeders.

Laugh at your dogs who agree that  -30°C is indeed craptacular as they walk around like this:

Go inside, make a cup of hot green tea, and search YouTube for videos of REAL dogs.  Who KICK SNOW’S ASS.  Like this guy: