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conulyWhich reminded me it's time to make the squirrel food. Spring can be a hard time for squirrels. The nuts and seeds are mostly gone, as are the berries and fruits and insects (yes, squirrels eat insects, and they'll also eat eggs, and even meat if they have to), so they're forced to subsist on buds and bulbs, two foods which are high in cellulose they can't digest. That and garbage, of course, which is generally not good for them either.
So I saved up my bacon fat and bought some more peanut butter and cornmeal and raisins.
The basic principle of suet is simple - mix together peanut butter (you can also use almond butter, which is healthier, but mad pricy), fat of some sort (lard, suet, or coconut oil is preferred, but i used the bacon fat as I already had it and couldn't find the coconut oil anyway), and some sort of binder (the cornmeal) until it's a nice even consistency. To this simple, high-fat mixture you're probably going to want to add some treats. I always put in a good deal of raw sugar, as squirrels (and birds, for that matter - if you're making this for birds, add a shitton of cayenne, the squirrels and raccoons can't eat that) have high energy requirements. (It doesn't have to be raw, I just rarely ever buy white sugar.)
Then I looked around and decided to do what people always do when asked to donate to food pantries - clear out my shelves! Small sample box of raisin bran? Half a bag of coconut flakes which are like a year old? Dollar bag of almonds? Really old jars of pumpkin and sunflower seeds? Bag with seven squashed dates? Remaining half scoop of rolled oats that have been stepped on? Ground up flaxseeds? Yup, all that stuff went in the bowl. I even added a small amount of almond flour - not too much, as that stuff is really pricey, but a little to make the mix more nutritious. (Neither peanuts nor sunflower seeds make a nutritious meal for squirrels. This isn't such a huge problem, except that when people DO feed squirrels they universally seem to give just those things, probably because they're cheap. I get it, I'll do the same thing with my leftovers.)
I'll spread the suet out over the next week or so, that'll be a nice treat for them. And I will *definitely* be putting out the remainder of the sunflower and pumpkin seeds!
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So I saved up my bacon fat and bought some more peanut butter and cornmeal and raisins.
The basic principle of suet is simple - mix together peanut butter (you can also use almond butter, which is healthier, but mad pricy), fat of some sort (lard, suet, or coconut oil is preferred, but i used the bacon fat as I already had it and couldn't find the coconut oil anyway), and some sort of binder (the cornmeal) until it's a nice even consistency. To this simple, high-fat mixture you're probably going to want to add some treats. I always put in a good deal of raw sugar, as squirrels (and birds, for that matter - if you're making this for birds, add a shitton of cayenne, the squirrels and raccoons can't eat that) have high energy requirements. (It doesn't have to be raw, I just rarely ever buy white sugar.)
Then I looked around and decided to do what people always do when asked to donate to food pantries - clear out my shelves! Small sample box of raisin bran? Half a bag of coconut flakes which are like a year old? Dollar bag of almonds? Really old jars of pumpkin and sunflower seeds? Bag with seven squashed dates? Remaining half scoop of rolled oats that have been stepped on? Ground up flaxseeds? Yup, all that stuff went in the bowl. I even added a small amount of almond flour - not too much, as that stuff is really pricey, but a little to make the mix more nutritious. (Neither peanuts nor sunflower seeds make a nutritious meal for squirrels. This isn't such a huge problem, except that when people DO feed squirrels they universally seem to give just those things, probably because they're cheap. I get it, I'll do the same thing with my leftovers.)
I'll spread the suet out over the next week or so, that'll be a nice treat for them. And I will *definitely* be putting out the remainder of the sunflower and pumpkin seeds!
Climate change seen bringing more fires, less snow to Yellowstone
Reckoning point: Ex-US guards face sentencing in Iraq case
Unease with Australia's Islamophobia
Virtual protest: Demonstrators challenge new law with holograms
Flavorless and Colorless? Minority Experiences in MG/YA Books About Autism
Greece may have blown best hope of debt deal
'Human Sat Nav' guides tourists through streets by controlling leg muscles
Malta rejects spring bird hunting ban
Saudi Arabia dismisses Iran calls for Yemen ceasefire
Yemen crisis: More than 500 rebels killed in airstrikes, Saudi Arabia says
Saudi soldiers killed in fighting near Yemen border
Yemen's exiled president appoints conciliatory figure as deputy
Paper towels, toilet tissue latest uses for wheat straw
UN chief says 'crime and terrorism' feed off each other
A “Polio Warrior” Recounts Decades of Struggle Toward Eradication
60 years after a vaccine, new technology may finally eradicate polio
Ukraine Has an Oligarch Problem, Too
Monitor says Syrian army bombs Aleppo school
New misery in Yarmouk, symbol of Syria’s suffering
UN Calls For Safe Passage From Yarmouk Refugee Camp Under ISIS Attack
Two U.S. labs to pay $48.5 million to settle unnecessary testing claims
NSA thinks it can keep spying without compromising your security
978 migrants rescued in one day in Mediterranean Sea
Gender balance in small groups makes a big difference for women in STEM
Turkey Recalls Ambassador Over Pope's Armenia Genocide Words
Electrical blast sends hundreds of Nairobi university students fleeing from dorm, believing armed group was attacking
Ten killed in new fighting in Libya's Benghazi
History now made, U.S. and Cuba face bumpy road ahead
Tax Day extra difficult for many same-sex married couples
