Simple Christmas idea #20 -- Feed the birds

Remember our feathered friends...

Our suet ball is hanging outside the window nearest my computer, so I see a lot of our winter feathered friends as I work. Lately, there's been a huge yellow-shafted flicker visiting, but mostly, it's characters like nuthatches, chickadees, and the downy woodpecker you see below.

Our sunflower harvest was amazing this year. We cut off the sunflower heads and stored them in our garage, thinking we'd bring a new one out for the chickadees every so often... but the mice had other ideas. So we hung our sunflowers on our fence, and there were lots of squirrels and blue jays around for a while. They're too heavy to hang from the heads like the smaller birds do, so they picked seeds from around the edges, and our smaller feathered friends cleaned up the leftovers. The jays still come around now and then, hoping, I think, that we've set out a few more heads. They eye the suet ball, too, as does our squirrel, but it's hard for him to reach it. So he checks out the sunflower heads in case he missed anything.

Nature is something that puts us more in touch with who we are, reminding us that our planet is one huge web of life of which we are just a tiny part. Today's idea is to find ways to bring nature closer to your door, even if it's just your neighbourhood birds. Hang a suet ball, put out some bird seed or unsalted peanuts, and welcome some guests of a different sort. Merry Christmas to the animals in our midst!

Simple Suggestion #57... Hang a bird feeder

Here's a really simple one. Birdfeeders can be made out of all sorts of things with a bit of creativity, and birdfood is easily purchased at many grocery stores. Having wild birds and their song around us connects us to nature... I've already moodled a few times about the importance of nature to our physical and mental health. Well, hang a feeder, and you're guaranteed a few natural visitors, maybe some you've never noticed before.

We get endless enjoyment from watching birds zoom around our yard, having foodfights at the bird feeders in our pear tree, waiting for their turns at our suet ball in the lilac bush in the winter. Sparrows, nutchatches, finches, Pine Siskins, chickadees, Downy woodpeckers and all sorts of others I can't think of at the moment catch our attention on a pretty regular basis. And last year, my parents gave me a hanging bird bath for Christmas, something I'd never seen before. I finally hung it last week, and am waiting to catch someone splashing around so I can post a picture for you.

When I type suggestions like these, I often wonder if readers understand the connection between some of these suggestions and simple living/voluntary simplicity. The thing is, we can voluntarily do simple things -- we don't have to do or buy expensive or complicated things to find great joy in life. And for me, birdfeeders are part of that kind of joy.

P.S. Looking for more Simple Suggestions? Try here.