Cheryl’s Party for the Birds

Creative ways to enjoy the outdoors during winter

We ’re visiting with Cheryl Joslin today , who is deal how she gets through the long New England winter .

Our maturate season here in primal Vermont ( Zone 4 ) is really short . We have an 8×14 greenhouse to aid in extending our season , but we do n’t heat it through the winter . In late October to early December I repurpose my greenhouse to become a workshop to makewreaths , garlands , andwinter arrangements . Once that wind up , I turn the greenhouse over to making bird feed ornaments to put out for the snort . I use the Christmas tree and whatever I find to put some color back into my winter gardens . This January , COVID has given me more meter to be creative because of mandatory quarantine and because I ca n’t watch my daughter dally crank hockey game . bound is just around the corner and this will keep me busy till I start laying out cum and start the physical process of making my gardens colored again . In the meantime , the pretty things I make keep it colorful around here .

A beautiful homemadewreath

In the winter , the glasshouse gets turned into a workshop , with slew of turn out branch loaded with Chuck Berry ready to be added to lei .

Thegreenhouse / workshop from the outside , with slashed branch filling the planter boxes outside .

These beautiful birdseed ornamentation are as tasty to hoot are they are attractive . Here ’s the recipe Cheryl use to make them :

3 cups of birdseed

1/2 cup of live water

1 bundle of Knox gelatin

1/2 loving cup flour

3 Tbs . corn syrup

Spray cooky cutters , a cupcake pan , or whatever you ’re using with cooking spray . arrange on a sheet goat god with parchment paper .

Add seed to bowl . In a separate container , dissolve the gel , then add corn syrup , followed by the flour . call down it all together , and add it to the seeds .

The mix last about 30 minutes before it begin to become stiff .

Cheryl practice this same commixture as “ glue ” to adhere birdseed and other treat for the birds to childlike wooden birdhouses .

To make these birdseed cupcakes , Cheryl used a admixture of seeds on the bottom , added a stratum of peanut butter , and then place tender sunflower seeds on the top . Each one is dress with a crab apple from the garden .

Since she is not permit to host human race for a assembly at this clip , Cheryl decided to throw a party for the birds !

Here ’s a close - up of the various offerings out for the birds to gather and enjoy !

And a final creative and colorful way to feed the birds and sum up interest to the winter garden .

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party for birds

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A wreath hanging on a wooden wall

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