Thrifty Thursday-Homemade Suet Feeders

chickadee

I'm a sucker for the birds.
They are fascinating creatures,
and in our Central Florida backyard, we fed them daily. 
We even left a bag of birdseed for the new owners, 
hoping they would continue to take care of our feathered friends.
Here in North Carolina, it's no different.
One of the first purchases we made was a bag of birdseed
and we fashioned a homemade feeder out of what we had on hand.
We continue to add to our feeding stations in the side yard
and suet was something that I really wanted to provide for them.

I found the suet easily enough.
Some day, I will venture into making my own,
but for now, I wanted to figure out a way to make a feeder.
(Update:  here's our suet recipe.)
At first, we just hung the container in a tree,
using these tie wraps.
They didn't really seem to use it.
Then I scoured pinterest and found this.
So grateful for folks who keep the good stuff moving...

The tools were gathered.
 I had been collecting some thick branches when cleaning up the yard,
so this was a great way to reuse them.
A drill, a couple of drill bits, some smaller twigs, 
a bit of string or wire, and you're in business!

Holes were drilled about 1/2 inch deep on several areas of the branch.
These will hold the suet.
The whole time I was using the drill,
I couldn't help but think of Carole West at Garden Up Green,
who is a power tool maven!
I think she'd be proud!

Then smaller holes were added underneath the larger areas.
These are for the twigs on which the birds can perch.
Another hole with the smaller bit can be drilled in the top,
drilling all the way through, so that the feeder can be hung with string or wire.

We used the string saved from our daisy tote project
to hang the feeders from trees.

Suet is added to the larger holes and you're ready to hang!

This craft is so quick and easy

(um, and did I mention practically free?)!

I'm planning to make a few extra

to see if I can sell them at my next daisy tote venue.

I guaran-dang-tee ya, they will come.
So far, we've seen cardinals, chickadees, finches 
and Carolina wrens using the feeders.
We are blessed to be able to provide for them.
They give us so much pleasure, it's the least we can do.