For those of you who may be unfamiliar with it, the suet nickname refers to infamous blogger, NPR commentator, author, artist, naturalist, Julie Zicklefoose, an experienced bird feeder who has made the recipe renown with her observations about her feathered patrons.
I made my first batch less than two weeks ago and just before our Tennessee thermostats plummeted into single digits. So far it’s given me countless giggle breaks as I've peeped out the window to see what’s going on out there. And there's always something going on.
A titmouse was my first taker. He grabbed a chunk of the peanut-buttery suet and devoured it on a nearby limb. And the suet attracted the first blue jays I’ve seen near my feeders.
They were cautious about approaching the feeders, but eagerly snatched the tidbits scattered on the ground. A parade of other suet lovers has followed, among them, the frequent visiting white-breasted nuthatch, a pair of Downy woodpeckers and flocks of juncos.
The happy chattering of this Carolina wren usually brings me to the window. It’s a sound that reminds me of a giggling child or the purring of a contented cat as he chows down dinner. I watched him grab a bite of dough, drop it to the ground, jump down to gobble it up and hop back to the plate for another helping. 
A couple of days ago, instead of chatter, I heard him scolding. I looked out to find him perched over an empty plate. Visitors had come in the night and cleaned up all the leftovers leaving behind plenty of scat on the ground.
Hmmmm. Raccoon? Opossum? It didn’t look like any scat I found on the web. I became more judicious about handing out dough and started bringing the suet plate in at night. Then last night, a sound outside the door. I turned off the inside light and flipped on the porch light to take a peek and look who I found.
Kind of cute, huh? But I think ‘pure trouble’ is a better description. His buddy sauntered off when he spotted me in the window.I know these guys to be crafty and tenacious. Racoons are responsible for the heavy blocks weighting down trash can lids around here. The good news is the hanging feeders are still unscathed. But I'm guessing there'll be challenges ahead.
Note added Jan 31st: Be sure and read the comment section regarding the night time pellets. There's a good chance that instead of scat, these pellets are castings left behind by a 'possum instead.
This male American goldfinch was feasting on sunflower seeds at my feeder and showing off brighter colors. The black on his wings and tail was richer and darker and he was sporting some bright yellow mixed in with his winter olive. 
Cornell lab says the American goldfinch changes from winter plumage to its bright golden breeding plumage through a complete molt of its feathers. It is the only finch in its 
Even when my photos are 
A goldfinch study. I will be watching for my subject's black cap to arrive right along with spring!
Soon after it peeks over the horizon, the mountains in the distance take on a bluish hue and a soft fog rises briefly in the valley below. My first visitor to the birdbath is often this 
He announces his presence with a squawk that is becoming familiar and if the bath is frozen I soon add water. Think maybe he's training me?
Sketching is fun because its relaxed. Generally used for 
It's a doubly worthwhile experience to take photos as the sketch progresses. I'm discovering this as I remind myself to do it. You get to see what's happening twice, once while you are deep in your creative brain, wandering the uncharted territory of color, shape and perspective as it relates to a ne
Generally, I like to begin with the background when I start a painting, to see how the colors and light play out. Then I work with the painting focus to make sure these same colors are reflected in the subject.
In the end the sketch was wonderful practice. I noticed and corrected details in the placement of the eye, the shape of the beak, the shape of the white feather pattern against the black cap. I also noticed snow. It's crusty and irregular. I lost my snow shapes easily. So, with my sketch to remind me, I'll draw the snow detail more carefully in the final painting.
Inauguration day. New hope and new energy for the world.
But we've had no snow to speak of in the 
I drove to a meeting mid-day and spent a pleasant couple of hours watching snow fall through large paned windows as we held our discussion beside a warm fire. 
On the drive home, at 36 degrees F, the clouds of falling snow quickly turned to water and it seemed the show was over. But when I turned off to climb the hill where I live, the trees magically transformed into a fairyland of wintery boughs of fluff.
The light was gray and snow still falling when I snapped these photos. 
And despite being a non-native species, this 
Sigh.... Maybe one day they'll make glass that won't confuse my automatic focus.
I can count on the 
When I looked at these photos I couldn't help but laugh. The birdbath had shifted in the soggy ground making the water farther away on one edge than the other. And when the artic air arrived, the ground froze so I could neither remove the ice nor straighten the bowl. 
The pine siskin that landed on the 'away' side had a time, not only with the distance he had to reach for the water, but the smooth surface on which he perched. You can see a curious, contemplative and even frustrated experience going on in his behavior.
Okay, lets try this another way.
I first thought that I just hadn't been observant enough in the past. Pine siskins are new to me this season. But a naturalist friend of mine in the area, 
Reading about pine siskins just makes these birds all the more intriguing to me and so I will be observing and reading more as the winter progresses.
Today was the first leisurely day I've had at home in a while. I could add water frequently to the frozen bird bath until the sun and rising temps loosened up the block of ice that formed overnight. The combination of water, cold weather and plenty of sunflower seeds yielded a surprising list of birds for me today. Most surprisingly, this hermit thrush.
Though blurred by the double pane glass, I am thrilled with these images!
I am certainly not confident about my ability to distinquish the subtle differences between the brown thrushes and am prone to automatically think, "
I nearly stopped breathing while I grabbed my camera, afraid he would leave before I returned to snap some photos. Do you think I'm in love with this birdbath? It attracted the most amusing and surprising visitors today. So, so gratifying. 
Here's today's yard list:
He first tried to land on the 4x4 post to the left of the hanging plate, but failing to find a rough enough surface to grasp, he flew, only to return seconds later and land on the plate.
True to his name, after grabbing a seed, he quickly flew to a near-by tree to slide his treasure under the bark and “hatch” it.
These guys are incredibly fun to watch. In this silhouette below that I captured in October you can see the length of his toes and sharp claws that enable him to travel upside down along the trunk.
And in his beak, a nut. Not only do they use the tree bark and lichen to hold the nut while they crack the casing, they also hide their bounty so they can retrieve it later. During this particular observation I determined that this little guy was either very careful or picky. Through the series of photos, it was apparent that he buried his seed, walked away, thought better of it, retrieved it again, and repeated the process several times until he found just the right place to deposit it.
Don’t you just wonder how they remember where they put it? And then don't you wonder how many of these carefully hidden stores are pilfered by hungry neighbors?
