Bird seed cookie ornaments

We started following a different recipe that turned into a crumbly mess, so I modified it, and baked it, and came up with this:

3 c. wild bird seed
1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. cornmeal
1/4 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. water
3 Tbsp. corn syrup (or molasses)
3 eggs (including shells crushed)
+ add-ins (We added a handful of pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) and a handful of flax seeds.  You could add chopped dried fruit or nuts or a little extra bird seed instead if you like.)

Mix all ingredients together.

Press onto a wax paper lined baking dish.  Cut out ornament shapes and transfer carefully to another lined baking sheet, or bake as is, and cut shapes later with a knife.

Bake.  I baked it at 375 F for 15 minutes because the oven was already in use, but I would lower the temperature and bake it a little longer otherwise.

You can cut out holes with a straw (before baking) for stringing, or leave it and use embroidery thread and a thick needle to string after baking.

Hang them out for the birds and observe.

We saved some unstrung pieces for the chickens and they were greatly enjoyed.  A treat for wild birds and domesticated alike.

for the birds

Sylvia and I wanted to make birdseed cookies today, but we didn't have all of the ingredients, mainly bird seed.  So, we set out for the grocery store about 6 miles away.  Well, we decided to go all the way into town and walk across the hydro-electric dam first.  Then we saw cattails on the other side, and needed a closer look.

 We took one apart and looked at the seeds.  We talked about what other plants spread their seeds on the wind, like dandelion, milkweed, etc.  Then we walked a little further to get a closer look at a gaggle of geese.  (Did you know a group of geese on the ground is a gaggle, but a group of geese in flight is a skein?)  

 Back across the dam, there was a train to climb on...

 and pine cones to collect.  Oh, and the playground was in view, so of course, we had to stop there tooo.

Then it was necessary to stop at the library for books about birds :)   Back home, after getting our ingredients, Ayla was napping.  So, Blokus was the order of the day.  Sylvia loves to play games when Ayla naps.

 Then, well, we weren't as inspired as we were in the beginning, so we just slathered the found pine cones with peanut butter and rolled them in the birdseed.

 Sylvia hung one down low especially for the chickens.  It took them a while to discover it, but they were quite happy when they did.

 Birdseed cookies will have to wait for another day, but we have all of the ingredients now!

So, there it is, our unplanned day.  Not productive in the way of accomplishing an intended outcome, but well, such is life with young children,

and isn't it the journey that's important?

Oh, and here's a cool video about pinecones and the Fibonacci sequence....(It even has glitter glue :)

                 

unseasonably warm

We spent the bulk of the day outside, hiking down the valley.

 photo by Sylvia

  The snow was all melted except down in the valley and behind the solar panels, so there was mud!

 We came inside to string popcorn and cranberries for the birds.  We draped them on our relocated Christmas tree.

 Then back out for a picnic and a snuggle in the sun.  Bare feet in January in Wisconsin!

 ..and playing in the melted snow.

 All worn out in the late afternoon, Sylvia and Ayla curled up in a 'nest' in the living room for a snuggle.

 In the evening there was more popcorn stringing, and the Camille-bird promptly hung and ate her strand.

One thing I appreciate about living with solar and wood heat, and also with the variable weather in the midwest, is that it makes me very aware of the weather.  And on days like this I am so happy to soak it up.  Let the sun shine!

sweetening the little moments

I feel like we're finally post-holiday back to normal, ...or what passes for normal for us.  I'm getting outside a little each day, even if it's just four 5-minute trips to play with the puppy, check on the chickens, haul in a load of wood, and shout "La Luna!" at the top of my lungs to the daytime moon in the bright blue sky.  That's my new built-in me-time, and I love it (OK, I don't always shout at the sky).  Sylvia and Ayla can't get into too much trouble while I'm out there, and Ayla likes to watch out the window, especially if I'm feeding the chickens.

I'm not an early-riser.  Sylvia, Ayla, and I are the stay up late - sleep in late set, and Camille and Papa are the early to bed - early to risers.  Every day Papa waits with Camille for her school bus.  She sits on his lap in a lawn chair at the end of the driveway.  I think it's very sweet.  She can wait alone like every other child on her bus route, but it makes her nervous.  This morning Papa wasn't feeling very well so I got up and waited with her, and breathed in the pre-dawn cold air.

Life is a series of little moments.  There is a place for grand plans and grand adventures, but right now in my life, I'm focusing on sweetening the little moments.  They add up to a sweet big life.  It really is the opposite of a Mama-martyr-give more than I have-kind of mode.  It's little interactions that nourish me as well as my girls and quite possibly spill out into my other interactions in the world.
.

Other than that, the last few days have been filled with knitting, cooking, eating, reading aloud (Eragon, Farmer Boy, or Moo, Baa, La La La depending on who I'm reading to), rocking a teething toddler to sleep in front of the woodstove, singing, silliness, living room dance parties, crafty things involving coffee filters, recyclables, and tape for Sylvia, playing on the Wii, and lots of deep breaths.

Living room dance parties are a staple of our winter days.  Sometimes it's just a few wild moments to move our bodies to some funky music.  Sometimes it's a clean, sweep, and set-the-stage kind of  affair, complete with dresses and crowns, dollies, and animals to join our elaborate party with elegant music.  Either way is fine with me :)

 I started this blog post 12 hours ago, but Sylvia interrupted with, "I need a Mama-front-to-back-snuggle."  (It's her favorite snuggle position :)  She promptly laid her head on my shoulder, curled her little fingers around my thumb and went back to sleep.  I laid there for an hour, sleepy, grateful, and realizing how much bigger her nearly-five-year-old fingers are than when she was a wee baby.  One thing led to another and my day of little moments moved forward, but I'm back and I hope that your day is filled with little moments sweetened with thoughtful attention.

awareness

Today is blustery, but it's not slowing down the girls...

 or the chickens.

I'm ready for a new year and being out in the wind and snow seemed like a good way to shake off the dust of 2011.

My word for 2012 is awareness.  I don't have any resolutions to change who I am or how I behave, but an intention to bring a little more awareness to my daily life and interactions.  Washing the dishes...I would like to enjoy the warm suds and giving the gift of clean tableware to my family.  Helping the girls manage a difficult moment...I would like to appreciate that they will bring their troubles to me and trust me to help them.  Even if I'm feeling extremely frazzled... I hope to look at that and be aware of it and breathe instead of simply reacting.  Auto-pilot is easy to slip into with three young children and feel sometimes like we're all just getting our needs met....

For this year I'm choosing to focus on awareness, and I think this may bring along its friends... like gratitude, joy, contentment, ...and when it brings along sorrow, fear, insecurity, I'll sit with those feeling too.

What are you choosing to focus on in the new year?