Friends

This is Jake. He is my morning alarm clock. Jake taps at my bedroom window to let me know that it is breakfast time for him. So, I load his feeder with whole peanuts and he is a happy Scrub Jay.

Dear Friends

I know, I know, it has been a long, long time, but you all know what a hectic and joyous time of year this is. We had company for five days, cooked many meals, and had lots of great adventures. I am hoping that your Thanksgiving was wonderful and filled with love. Ours was. We celebrated our first Thanksgiving with a little boy who fought hard and long for life. He is our blessing.

Thanks so much for your letters, cards, and gifts. I can't believe how thoughtful you all are. Oh, and a wonderful gift was this autographed book from the author herself. It was a surprise, but oh how welcome in my library. 

Marta McDowell's book, Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life, is scholarly, but homey, elegant, and filled with information for all the fans of Beatrix and her works. I LOVE this book. For those of you who are Beatrix lovers too, please visit my blog posting I did on Beatrix's beloved Hilltop a few years ago.

Thanks dear Marta. I wish you great success. YOUR book is brilliant!

And to my dear Cousin Julie Marie at Idyllhours.blogspot.com. Thank you for the little squirrel friend who is doing her best to get me through my separation anxiety with my little Audrey.

As I work through 280 pages of what is called First Pass on my new middle grade novel, Running Out of Night, (Delacorte Press/Randon House, Fall 2014), the sights outside my window keep me going. What could be tedious and trying is punctuated by the beauty and grace of the birds in my life. I love them.

What better gift for a youngster than a simple feeder or a birdbath? Such a great way to introduce a child (or someone who is infirm and housebound) to the nature right outside a window. I treasure my bird friends and love them so much.

The shy Hermit Thrush visits a few times a day for berries and baths.

The Yellow-rumped Warbler ...

... drinking daintily.

Dear little Chestnut-backed Chickadees and White-crowned Sparrows feasting at the wooden feeder Jeff built for me. Such a busy stop for so many birds.

House Finches try to run the show...

...but the chickadee never gives up. (A good lesson for us all?)

An immature White-crowned Sparrow

Jeff shows our little guy how to feed the birds.

And at the window feeder he drops in seed by seed. Phew, that took awhile. This is a great feeder with heavy duty suction cups to hold it on the window and an easy fold out front for quick cleaning. This comes with my book My First Bird Book and Bird Feeder (Workman Publishing).

You're never too young to enjoy nature. And, never too old.

This is my girlfriend, author Sherry Shahan. Her grandsons used the recipe for my bird booster, which can be found in Toad Cottages and Shooting Stars and My First Bird Book and Bird Feeder.

Bird Booster Recipe: 

Note: please replace peanut butter with almond butter IF your child has an allergy to peanuts.

1 cup almond or crunchy peanut butter

1 cup canola oil

4 cups yellow cornmeal

1 cup white flour

A few tablespoons of shelled sunflower seeds and/or raisins.

Mix together and stuff into a pine cone. Hang the cone from a wire or string. Place it where you and your children can enjoy all the activity. The birds need protein and fat during the winter months. Feed them and feed your soul!

NEWS FLASH!! The winner of Susan Branch's new book, A Fine Romance, has never responded. So Jeff did another random number generator choice and the winner is number 67, Bonnie K at Birds, Bees, Berries, and Blooms. Bonnie is a Grimy Hands Girls' Club member so she'll be receiving a bonus gift.

Joys to you and love across the miles,

Sharon

Feather Your Nest

Bird's nest cookies simple enough for a four year old to create

Dear Friends,

Spring, birdsong, nest building, hidden eggs, and the magic of newborn birds. How could anyone not love this time of year?

A real bird's nest, which is NOT simple in any way!

To celebrate the season, we make simple bird's nests for our special family gatherings. These nests are easy enough for a four year old (with grown-up help) to make. They're featured in the cooking section of my book Toad Cottages and Shooting Stars. 

If you're like me, you do not feed your children much sugar, but I believe that "everything in moderation" is a good adage. Sometimes the forbidden becomes the desired. So, remember moderation and have fun making these sweet little nests.

Sometimes (it depends on the children) I add a bit of toasted coconut to the freshly formed nests. The coconut looks very twiggy and natural.

By necessity, this is a short, short posting. A big schedule crunch has me on the run, but I think things will return to normal by next week.

I'm happy to announce a series of winners of the give-aways I posted last week. The winner of the Gardener's Supply kneeler is: Dee Nash, Red Dirt Ramblings.

The five winners of the Peaceful Valley Farm Supply tins of seeds are: Jeri Landers (Hopalong Hollow Gazette), Martha Ellen (Anonymous), Donna Conghaile (Conghaile Cottage), Clarice (Storybook Woods), and (Bees, Birds, Berrries and Blooms). Winners, send us your mailing addresses. Please.

Last week, I received a FABULOUS book, The Birding Life-A Passion for Birds at Home and Afield from Clarkson Potter (this is a colorful, coffee table sized book). I literally lost myself in the glorious pages, which are filled with history, decorating, and the homes and studios of great bird artists like Audubon, Charley Harper, Kenn Kaufman, David Sibley, Julie Zickefoose, and others. I loved the profiles of irreplaceable ornithologists, such as Stephen Kress, who reestablished the puffins on Egg Island in Maine, and the personal collections of antique and contemporary carved birds featured in the homes of passionate and dedicated bird lovers. You will want to feather your nest after reading this book!

One of the treats in this book was seeing photos of Hog Island, Maine, which is where you can go to an old-fashioned camp to learn about the magical and amazing lives of birds. Years ago, I received a scholarship to Hog Island Ornithology Camp from the Audubon Society. Jeff and I spent a week studying birds outdoors, catching and banding them, and studying specimens in the lab and on the land and sea. 

If you're a bird lover, you will treasure this book. If you're just beginning to appreciate birds, well, this book could send you into the stratosphere. TO WIN THIS BOOK, simply leave a short comment on my blog about what birds mean to you and how they enrich your life. The winner be chosen next week by a random drawing. I feel so happy to pass this on to YOU.

All joys,

Sharon