Cat-sitting and winter preparations for our feathered friends

Cat-sitting for families gives me the opportunity to meet some lovely people. I provide the service of caring for the cats, tailored to their daily needs, while people vacation or travel for business. Sometimes it can be family emergencies that take them away or they may be unwell themselves and need someone to care for the animals while they recover.
For the last two weeks I have been caring for two very cherished, albeit confused and shy, orange kitties.
Their owner is fighting a terrible diagnosis of lung cancer and is unable to provide them with the care they are used to. That's where I can help and I'm so glad I can. 

The weather has changed to wet and windy days and nights and I am already thinking about the care of Simon and the resident birds this winter.

Simon will hibernate off and on but the birds will be relying on food every day as they struggle through the many cold months ahead. Did you know that chickadees can lose up to a third of their weight just from shivering throughout the night. Imagine. And we can have -30C temperatures for much of our winter. And they have to find enough food each day to replace that weight or they freeze. Just knowing that keeps me filling those feeders all winter long. It's time now to make and provide the suet for them to pack on some weight. And this week I will pick up one hundred and fifty pounds of seed from a local farmer. That will do 'til January... maybe.

                           Home-made Suet
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup lard
2 cups corn meal
1 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups rolled oats
Mix together and heat on medium. Once mixed, add seeds, peanuts and cranberries.

Line muffin tins
with plastic wrap
Fill tins and pop into freezer.
Once frozen, remove suet cakes and place in plastic bags. 
Keep frozen and use when needed.

Note: You can also use up stale, sugarless cereals by adding them to your suet just to make it go further.

                                              (Shreddies)

Here's the finished product. Photo taken last year. They are smaller than the commercial suet cakes but, oh boy, the birds really prefer these.
                                                     2015

For now I keep the feeders full and leave some seed & apple under the sumacs at the back on the table. The blue-jays love eating here mostly. 

I cover Simon's eating spot now with our adirondack chairs against the attack of hungry hawks. I see them hiding in our trees on occasion and I know why they are visiting. I can't protect him everywhere but at least while he's eating he is safe. His den is under this old pump.

Simon has stayed in his den for three days with all the rain and wind we've had. He's probably dining on his stash and will be needing to replenish it later. Did I mention he has enough apples down there to make a pie? Uh huh!
He's lived under the old white pump for three years now.
I have no idea where his friend, Simone, is hiding out.

                                         =^..^= =^..^=

                                  Sun-puddle worshipper.

Today the sun returns, as it always does, and clean-up of the property will commence. Lots to do in the fall around here. :)

Enjoy your day. 

hugs, Deb