Peaaanuts! Get Your Peanuts!

At the ball park a treasured memory is the guy hiking up and down the steps of the grandstand pitching salted-in-the shell ballpark peanuts.  In my view the perfect game day snack.  Just thirst-provoking enough to justify a frosty beer and easy enough to eat because you can leave the shells on the concrete beneath your seat  for someone else to clean-up.  

In any event, after consulting with my pal and mutual bird aficionado, Braumeister, I invested in this contraption.

It's spring-loaded device for holding unsalted peanuts in the shell for song birds.  Namely blue jays and other peanut-centric birds.  I picked it up at the local bird food supply outlet in Sturgeon Bay, primed it with a generous dose of peanuts and hung it from a maple tree in the yard by means of a raccoon-proof length of army surplus braided metal parachute rigging.  (At least I think it will be raccoon proof.)

Days passed and aside from an occasional curious chickadee nobody was acknowledging the presence of my bird-world ballpark peanuts.  Days turned into a week without a single customer. At that point I reached-out to my buddy to inquire as to what might be the problem.  He cautioned patience.

The next day, sure as shooting, there was a blue jay on the feeder pecking-away at my peanuts to break the shell and extract a nut.  At which point the bird would fly-off, disappear to likely stash the prize in a food cache.  Jays do that.  In reasonably short order the word went forth and every day there have been jays hammering-away at the peanuts.  Once and a while a chickadee or nuthatch might give it a passing sniff - but only jays have been actively feeding.

Braumeister says to be patient as other species will naturally become attracted and join-in the ever-growing bird buffet in our yard.

Peaaanuts!  Get Your Peanuts!

  

Backyard Birding

On the recommendation of my pal, Braumeister, at the start of last  month I hung the contraption you see below from a branch on a red maple in our yard.  It is a bird feeder that you fill with peanuts.  Peanuts in the shell; raw and unsalted.   

I bought a big bag of nuts at a local bird food joint.  And while they're clearly labeled:  NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION I suppose if I tried one I don't think it would kill me.  But you never know.  

It took a few days for the local birds to figure-out what it's for and now I'm restocking it almost twice a week.  

In any event the trail camera I installed to monitor who might like peanuts needed to be rearranged.  It needed to have its back to the sun so that subjects were appropriately lit.  It took a couple of tries to get the focal length correct.  Trim some branches and there was the opportunity cost of losing several days of potential photos as a consequence of an improperly-formatted SD card.  Mind you, the camera is old too.  Originally-deployed during COVID in 2020 it is quite frail and could fail catastrophically just about any time.  Nevertheless, being the cheap SOB that I am I intend to squeeze every last gigabyte of digital imagery out of this old Moultrie device as I can.

So, here's an update

Yours-truly wrangling and wrassling the gizmo one of countless times to get it situated 

Blue jay

White-breasted nuthatch

Red-breasted nuthatch

Pileated woodpecker

Downy woodpecker

Black-capped chickadee

And a hairy woodpecker

Altogether a nice collection of some of the year-round bird residents.  The migrators are beginning to arrive so it will be interesting to note if any of them like peanuts.

Stay-tuned....  

 

Peanut Eaters

We witnessed a nasty blizzard four weeks ago leaving something on the order of 36 inches of snow on the level.  And we're not in the clear either as we had a couple years where spring now storms basically cancelled my spring turkey hunt which is next week.  Anyway, I learned from that storm that more birds than expected will avail themselves of peanuts for the fat and protein they offer including redwing blackbirds.  Who knew? 

It won't be long before I'll have to remove the peanut and suet bird feeders.  Not because the birds want me to; rather as a consequence of seasonality.  With warming conditions and rain instead of snow leaving peanuts out invites mold and mildew.  And leaving suet out invites rancidity.  Both of which would be bad for my feathered friends.

Nevertheless and coincidentally this will mark the arrival of the orioles so new feeders featuring an oranges and grape jell will be deployed.

Meanwhile here  are some recent photos of some of the peanut eaters... 

Hairy Woodpecker

 

Downy Woodpecker and Chickadee

Couple of Hairys

The Help

Bluejay

Flicker

Red-breasted Nuthatches

Update On The Peanut Gizmo

On the recommendation of my pal, Braumeister, at the start of this month I hung the contraption you see below from a branch on a red maple in our yard.  It is a bird feeder that you fill with peanuts.  Peanuts in the shell; raw, unsalted.   

I bought a big bag of nuts at a local bird food joint.  And while they're clearly labeled:  NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION I suppose if I tried one I don't think it would kill me.  But you never know.  

It took a few days for the local birds to figure-out what it's for and now I'm restocking it almost twice a week.  I figure before too long some other undesirable critter is going to discover it; so it's hung on a branch (likely limber-enough to NOT support a large mammal) from a carabiner using a length of army-surplus metal cable parachute rigging connected to the feeder.  It might just be raccoon-resistant.

These four photographs are a bit of an experiment.  It's an old trail camera on its last legs and the position is all wrong as it's aimed generally into the sun.  I'm thinking I'll have to reposition the cam 180 degrees and relocate the feeder - if the tree and its branches allow.

Photos are from this morning.  Chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, blue jay and a downy woodpecker.

Stay-tuned....

 

Dog Patch

At the end of the day there is hardly anything better than setting on the porch with your four-legged girls and enjoying a frosty adult beverage.

Unsalted peanuts in the the shell for the girls.

Labs will do anything for peanuts.

Truth in Labeling

Food labeling is confusing.  But do not be deceived.

When orange juice says it's non-GMO, it is useful to know that all oranges are non-GMO.  The only potential GMO products in the USA are papaya, corn, alfalfa, soybeans, cotton, potatoes, squash, canola, sugar beets, and apples.

When organic milk is labeled antibiotic free, remember that all dairy products, including milk, are always antibiotic free.  Same applies to meat.

Those bananas advertised as cholesterol free?  That's because all bananas are cholesterol free.

When a jar of peanuts says it is made in a plant that processes peanuts just use your common sense and roll your eyes.

When a bag of apples says it is gluten free, remember that gluten comes from wheat.

When you see a Facebook post that talks about hormones in beef, please understand that an 8oz serving of beef has 2-3 nano-grams of estrogen, an 8 oz serving of white bread has 136,080 nano grams of estrogen, and 8 ounces of soy flour has 342,468,000 nano grams of estrogen.  All living things produce estrogen,  it's science.

When that carton of eggs says that they came from vegetarian fed chickens, don't forget that chickens are naturally omnivores.

So yes, eat healthy, but don't be swayed by deceptive advertising.  Be informed.

No farms, no food.  Know your farmers, know your food.

 

Selfie

click on image to enlarge

From the weekend before last (that would be ten days ago) and from the trail camera furthest north (think active scrape and all the YUGE bucks that paid a call) there is yours truly scattering a bag of stale peanuts within range.  Stay tuned to see if this profligate waste of stale legumes catches anyone's attention.

Field of Dreams

Just down the road from where we live you will find our local Field of Dreams in the tiny town of Kolberg Wisconsin.  It's a regulation ball park with a small set of bleachers, a new fence and backstop along with a new concession building including bathrooms.  Home to the Kolberg Braves - included in the lineup of teams belonging to the county's baseball league.

We spent yesterday afternoon with friends for the last game of the season.  What a spectacular summer afternoon in the shade with a cold beer or two, brats, peanuts admission and parking for a fraction of the cost of VIP parking at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

Braves over the Bays - 7 to 0. 

 

Kolberg defeats Sister Bay to bring home another Peninsula County League Championship!

 

Good Things Come to Dogs That Wait

My girls are being very patient because they know the pouch-like pocket of my field coat is full of stale, unsalted peanuts.

Good things come to dogs that wait...

Bachelor Life

Doggo and I are roughing it for a couple of day while Jill is away. 

This evening we enjoyed porch peanuts and a frosty import.

Fresh sautéed mushrooms.

Steak and baked potato - including snipped chives from the kitchen garden.

And a beautiful peninsula sunset for for desert....

 

 

Pretty good chow if you can get it......

Adding To Your Stash

Blue Jays are well-known for their food caching behavior, stashing nuts or seeds at hiding spots for later consumption. 

 

They bury food like acorns and peanuts in various locations, often using distinct landmarks as memory cues to relocate their caches. 

 

This behavior allows them to build up a food supply, especially for the winter months when food is scarce.

 

Blue Jay with an acorn….

Shoeing

click to enlarge

Nothing better than a sunny day snowshoeing with the girls.  And a bowl of steaming chili afterwards and unsalted peanuts for the Labs.

Porch Beer

After working in the garden it's always good to retire to the porch with my sidekick to enjoy a bowl of salted in the shell porch peanuts, a frosty Canadian lager and watch a spring thunder storm roll-in.

It's quitting time after-all.

Raising a toast to our friendly neighbors to the north!

Me and the Girls

Great winter for snowshoeing so far.  Good exercise for the girls and good exercise for the people.

Never leave home without the pistolero and a pocket full of peanuts.

click to enlarge

Trails

Bush-hogged  4+ miles of trails yesterday and the day before.  If you can believe it I’ve taken great pains to avoid the vast swatch of milkweed and other plants favored by the local pollinators.  As a consequence the wildlife openings and the trails will be touched-up in October following the migration.  

You know, it’s funny how the deer seem unfazed by a clattering diesel and loud machinery.  A handsome velvet buck stood in the trail long enough to give me the hairy eyeball and a doe saw fit to observe at a distance.  No such thing during hunting season.  They read the regulations after-all.  Go figure.

Porch setting with my girls over salted peanuts and a frosty Leinenkugel....

click on image to enlarge

......

Quitting Time

Most of the garden has been planted and the girls and I are shucking peanuts on the porch watching heavy farm equipment come home for the day.

Frosty Bohemian Style Pilsener brewed in the traditional Czech style for a deeply refreshing flavor with a hint of malty sweetness.

New Belgium Brewing - Fort Collins, CO

Raising a toast to planting time....

Pushing the Edge of the Retort Envelope

About that twelve-year-old MRE I live to tell the tale.  By and large it was not only edible – some of it was actually very good.  And some was not so good.  As a point of fact a few things were really, really unpleasant.  My review is as follows: 

First-off this is more than I typically eat at one sitting so I spaced it over a couple of days.  The packet contained the following: an entrée featuring chicken noodle stew with vegetables, applesauce, nut raisin mix, oatmeal cookie, orange-flavored drink mix (vitamin C added), a flameless MRE heater pouch and accessory pack with a spoon, napkin, salt and pepper, non-dairy creamer, sugar, instant coffee and lemon-scented refreshing moist wipe.

Since life is short (especially if you are dining on very old MREs) I started with dessert - apple sauce, nut raisin mix and the oatmeal cookie.  The apple sauce looked good – more red than blonde or brown and with some chunky texture.  Giving it a sniff it smelled of apples with a hint of cinnamon and was not too sweet.



There was reading material about the history and use of applesauce included on the exterior packaging.  Heretofore, I was unaware that apple sauce combats diarrhea.  Who knew?

As for the raisin nut mix – ugh.  From the moment I opened the packet I could tell it had gone rancid.  The peanuts had turned to an off-color.  Not passing the smell test I didn’t even give it a taste and tossed it after finishing the apple sauce. 

After the nut mix I wasn’t holding out much hope for the cookie.  I fully expected the shortening in the manufacture to have gone rancid too.  I’ll be danged – the cookie was excellent.  It sported a sprinkling of sugar crystals over the top, still had its crunch, not a hint of any off-flavors and was good to the last crumb.  Twelve-year-old cookie. 

If I do this again I’m having my cookie together with the applesauce. 

I was expecting the orange-flavored drink to resemble something like the Tang we drank gallons of at scout camp as a kid – only this was worse.  

Giving it a sniff it smelled orangey-enough yet it had a strange, metallic, funkiness about it. 




A cup of cold water didn’t improve matters – I gave it a sip and concluded the metallic, off-flavors were too much for my palate.  Down the drain it went. 

The main course spent the required fifteen minutes in the flameless MRE heater (which gave-off a bad, hydrogen gas smell) but didn’t impact the meal and everything warmed in the enclosed retort pouch. 

Opening the pouch and dumping the contents of the chicken noodle stew with vegetables into a mess kit my first impression was that of baby food – toddler to be exact.  Truthfully the nose appeal was far better than the eye appeal but I gave the congealed toddler food a taste.  Not at all bad – although it took a wee bit of salt and a generous dash from the pepper packet to liven it-up.
 

There were nice chunks of chicken; the noodles were just about indiscernible and the only ‘vegetables’ I could find were soggy carrot slices. 

dehydrated carrots were included on the list of ingredients

 
The entrée made for a terrific hot lunch and no indigestion followed. 

Lastly, I added the instant coffee to a cup of boiling water and got mediocre instant coffee in return. 

click on any image for a closer look



I didn’t even consider the non-dairy creamer considering the shelf-life.  The towelette was moist, lemony and refreshing.  On balance the old ration pack was good and I’m looking forward to working my way thru some of the other menu items with clear expectations about certain things prone to going south.  The entire meal scored 1090 calories – the largest contributor was the nut mix (weighing-in at 400 calories) and 90 calories from the orange drink.  Both were bad resulting in a loss of almost half of the meal's total energy contribution.